Rabbi Yakov Yosef Twersky (June 23, 1899 – March 31, 1968) was the Grand Rabbi and spiritual leader of the village of

New Square, New York New Square () is an all-Hasidic village in the town of Ramapo, Rockland County, New York, United States. It is located north of Hillcrest, east of Viola, south of New Hempstead, and west of New City. As of the 2020 United States census, i ...

, and of Skverer

Hasidism Hasidism () or Hasidic Judaism is a religious movement within Judaism that arose in the 18th century as a Spirituality, spiritual revival movement in contemporary Western Ukraine before spreading rapidly throughout Eastern Europe. Today, most ...

worldwide.

Biography

Born in

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

, Twersky was a

Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

survivor. In 1950, he arrived in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and lived in

Williamsburg, Brooklyn Williamsburg is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, bordered by Greenpoint to the north; Bedford–Stuyvesant to the south; Bushwick and East Williamsburg to the east; and the East River to the west. It was an independe ...

. In 1956, Twersky founded the first

shtetl or ( ; , ; Grammatical number#Overview, pl. ''shtetelekh'') is a Yiddish term for small towns with predominantly Ashkenazi Jews, Ashkenazi Jewish populations which Eastern European Jewry, existed in Eastern Europe before the Holocaust. The t ...

in the United States, the village of

New Square New Square () is an all-Hasidic village in the town of Ramapo, Rockland County, New York, United States. It is located north of Hillcrest, east of Viola, south of New Hempstead, and west of New City. As of the 2020 United States census, i ...

Rockland County Rockland County is the southernmost county on the west side of the Hudson River in the U.S. state of New York. It is part of the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the county's population is 338,329, making it the state's ...

, New York.

Family

Lineage from Ba'al Shem Tov

* Ba'al Shem Tov ** Rabbi Tzvi *** Rabbi Aaron of Tituv **** Rabbi Tzvi of Tituv (Hershele Skverer) ***** Chana Sima (married Rabbi Yitzchak Twerski of Skvira) ****** Rabbi David Twersky of Skvira ******* Rabbi Yakov Yosef Twersky

Lineage from Rabbi Menachem Nachum Twerski of Chernobyl

* Rabbi Menachem Nachum Twerski of Chernobyl ** Rabbi Mordechai Twersky of Chernobyl *** Rabbi Yitzchak Twersky of Skvira **** Rabbi David Twersky of Skvira ***** Rabbi Yakov Yosef Twersky After his passing, his son Rabbi David Twersky succeeded him as the grand rabbi of the Skverer

Hasidim Ḥasīd (, "pious", "saintly", "godly man"; plural "Hasidim") is a Jewish honorific, frequently used as a term of exceptional respect in the Talmudic and early medieval periods. It denotes a person who is scrupulous in his observance of Jewish ...

Bibliography

* ''Bikdusha Shel Ma'la'', Biography of Rabbi Yakov Yosef (Twerski) of Skver, by Mechon Mishkenos Yakov, 2005

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Twersky, Yakov Yosef Skver (Hasidic dynasty) People from New Square, New York American Hasidic rabbis Descendants of the Baal Shem Tov Rabbis from New York (state) People from Williamsburg, Brooklyn Religious leaders from Brooklyn 1899 births 1968 deaths Rebbes of Skver he:יעקב יוסף טברסקי