The Role Of The Rebbe’s Son
Increasingly we are seeing the sons of chassidishe rebbes serving as representatives of their fathers, whose responsibilities are often too numerous for one individual to meet. Chassidishe followings are growing at increasingly rapid rates, and chassidishe rebbes are unable to attend every engagement, wedding, bar mitzvah, bris, pidyon haben, chinuch habayis, etc., of their individual chassidim, some who may live in a distant state or even abroad. Chassidishe shtiebels are multiplying, and each has its own melaveh malkahs, siyumei mesechtas, siyumei hashas, previous rebbes’ yahrzeit seudas, etc.
The two sons of the Bnei Brak Vishnitzer Rebbe seem to be in perpetual orbit around the world, visiting Vishnitzer shuls and yeshivas in America, Canada, Europe, Israel, and Australia. The oldest son of Rabbi Aaron Teitelbaum, Satmar Rebbe, the son of the Belzer Rebbe, as well as the two sons of the Skverer Rebbe are being seen and heard more often. They represent their fathers at chassidishe events.
Skverer Rebbe’s Son in Israel
Rabbi Dovid Twersky, the current Skverer Rebbe, was born in 1940. In 1958, he married Rebbetzin Chana, eldest daughter of Rabbi Moshe Yehoshua Hager, Bnei Brak Vishnitzer Rebbe. Their offspring are:
Rabbi Aaron Menachem Mendel Twersky, born in 1962, married in 1980 to Rebbetzin Chava Reizel, daughter of Rabbi Mordechai Hager, Monsey Vishnitzer Rebbe;
Rabbi Yitzchok Itzik Twersky, born in 1963, married in 1981 to Rebbetzin Malka, daughter of Rabbi Yisroel Hager and granddaughter of Rabbi Moshe Yehoshua Hager, Bnei Brak Vishnitzer Rebbe;
Rebbetzin Hinda Twersky, married in 1982 to Rabbi Avrohom Yehoshua Heshel Twersky, son of Rabbi Chai Yitzchok Twersky, Rachmestrivka Rebbe in Boro Park;
Rebbetzin Tzipora, born in 1965, married in 1983 to Rabbi Eliezer Goldman, son of Rabbi Yaakov Goldman, scion of the Zhviler chassidishe dynasty;
Rebbetzin Tzima Mirrel, born in 1969, married in 1987 to Rabbi Yaakov Yosef Hager, son of Rabbi Yisroel Hager, Vishnitzer Rav in Monsey, and grandson of Rabbi Mordechai Hager, Monsey Vishnitzer Rebbe (the Monsey Vishnitzer Rebbe is both a brother-in-law and an uncle by marriage to the Skverer Rebbe);
Rabbi Yaakov Yosef, born in 1973, married in 1992 to Rebbetzin Chana Yenty, daughter of Rabbi Yehshaye Twersky, Chernobler Rebbe in Boro Park;
Rabbi Chaim Meir, born in 1981, married in 2000 to Rebbetzin Rochel Dinah, daughter of Rabbi Zvi Elimelech Halberstam and granddaughter of Rabbi Moshe Halberstam, (zt”l 1924-2011) Kiviashder Rebbe in Williamsburg.
Increasingly, the two older sons are representing their father by participating in events that years ago the father would have attended but is no longer able to due to the growth of the Skverer community in Monsey, Boro Park, Williamsburg, Lakewood, Montreal, England, Belgium, and Israel.
Most recently, Rabbi Yitzchok Itzik Twersky, the Rebbe’s second son, was in Israel for ten days, to the great delight of Skverer Chassidim there. Rabbi Yitzchok came to participate in the wedding of the son of: Rabbi Chaim Meyer Hager, Boro Park Vishnitzer Rav; grandson of Rabbi Yisroel Hager, Vishnitz-Bnei Bark; great-grandson of Rabbi Moshe Yehoshua Hager, Bnei Brak Vishnitzer Rebbe. The chassunah took place in Bnei Brak.
Rabbi Yitzchok was feted with a kabolas panim in the Bnei Brak Skverer Beis Medrash. He was joined by many Skverer chassidim as he visited Bnei Brak’s leading chassidishe rebbes, rabbis, and rosh yeshivas. Especially meaningful was his visit to his grandfather, the Bnei Brak Vishnitzer Rebbe. Hundreds of chassidim joined Rabbi Yitzchok in visiting the burial cites of prominent sages. During his visit to Jerusalem, Rabbi Yitzchok was honored with a kabbolas panim by Skverer chassidim there. The same happened in Beit Shemesh.
A highlight of Rabbi Yitzchok’s visit was the Shabbos Vayishlach melaveh malkah in Jerusalem, which drew nearly every Skverer chassid in Israel. Various chassidishe rabbis addressed the event. On Tuesday, December 13, Rabbi Yitzchok left Israel, returning to Monsey. He left an indelible impression in service of his father.
- Tasher Rebbe
New York Children Visit Tasher Rebbe
Shabbos Vayishlach, December 9-10, was very special in the Tasher (or Tosher) community in Boisbriand, twelve miles from Montreal. The Tasher Rebbe survived the Holocaust and established his chassidic court in Nieredhaus, Hungary. In 1951, the Rebbe, together with eighteen chassidishe families, immigrated to Montreal. In 1963 he established Kiryas Tash in Boisbriand. The Tasher Rebbe has a tremendous following and thousands of chassidim from all over the world regularly participate in Tasher events. Children from the greater New York City metropolitan area who actively participate in Tehillim recital events held at Tasher shuls, which take place every Shabbos, earned a visit to Tash. Some 350 boys gathered at Tasher shuls where they were escorted by their melamdim onto buses that arrived in Boisbriand Friday morning. Upon their arrival, the children were warmly welcomed and assigned to their Shabbos quarters.