Ozharov (Hasidic dynasty)

The Ozerov Hasidic dynasty is a Hasidic group that began in 1827 when Rabbi Yehudah Leib Epstein, Rabbi of Ożarów in Poland since 1811, assumed leadership of his Hasidim ("disciples").

Rabbi Epstein was a disciple of the Seer of Lublin, the Holy Jew of Prshiskhe, the Ohev Yisrael of Apt, Poland^{[citation needed]}, and Rabbi Myer, the Or LaShamayim of Apt. When Rabbi Myer died in 1827, his chasidim asked the Rabbi of Ożarów to be their new rebbe. Rabbi Yehudah Leib accepted this position reluctantly. His followers were numbered in the thousands. He moved to Opole towards the end of his life and died in 1837. He was succeeded by his son, Rabbi Yechiel Chaim Epstein. Rabbi Yechiel Chaim was succeeded by his son, Rabbi Arye Yehuda Leib Epstein in 1887.

Rabbi Arye Yehuda Leib had six children:

1. Grand Rabbi Avraham Shlomo Epstein of Ozharov (1864-1917) (who succeeded his father in 1913),
2. Rabbi Eliezer Shalom Epstein of Partzev,
3. Rabbi Yoseph Epstein of Josefów,
4. Grand Rabbi Alter Moshe David Epstein of Ćmielów,
5. Rabbi Yaakov Epstein, Rebbetzin Chava Rabinowicz (wife of Grand Rabbi Yerachmiel Tzvi Rabinowitz of Biala-Shedlitz),
   and
6. Rebbetzin Feiga Taub (wife of Rabbi Yaakov Yerachmiel Taub of Radom, brother of Rabbi Israel Taub of Modzhitz).

Rabbi Avraham Shlomo Epstein was the son-in-law of Grand Rabbi Chaim Shmuel of Khentshin. He served as rebbe for only four years, and was succeeded by his son, Rabbi Moshe Yechiel Epstein.

In 1925, the Ozerover Rebbe, Grand Rabbi Moshe Yechiel Epstein of Ozerov came to New York where he set up his Hasidic court. He spent several years in the Lower East Side of Manhattan, and then moved to the Bronx. In 1952, the rebbe moved to the Holy Land, where he spent the rest of his life. After World War II the remnants of the chasidim of Chentshin were left leaderless, their rebbe having been killed by the Nazis. They adopted the Ozerover Rebbe, a grandson of the first Chentshiner Rebbe, as their leader. Rabbi Moshe Yechiel was therefore given the title Grand Rabbi of Ozerov-Chentshin.

Rabbi Moshe Yechiel Epstein was known as one of the great Torah scholars of his generation. His encyclopedic series of Torah commentaries entitled Eish Dos (11 volumes) and Be'er Moshe (12 volumes) are renowned for their depth. They were considered to be just a small sample of the Rebbe's erudition.

In 1968 Rabbi Epstein was a recipient of the Israel Prize in the category of Torah literature.

The Rebbe died in 1971, and was succeeded by his grandson, Grand Rabbi Tanchum Becker (son of Rabbi Epstein's daughter, Rebbetzin Miriam Becker of Milwaukee, Wisconsin), the present Rebbe of Ozerov-Chentshin, who was trained by his grandfather to succeed him. Grand Rabbi Becker presently resides with his family in Bnei Brak, where he leads the Ozerov Torah Center, comprising a yeshiva, a kollel for married Talmudic scholars, and the Ozerover Beis Medrash..

Outline of Ozerov dynasty

• Grand Rabbi Yehuda Leib Epstein of Ozharov (d. 23 Teiveis 1837), disciple of Rabbi Meir of Apt (d. 1827), the author of Or LaShamayim
  • Grand Rabbi Yechiel Chaim Epstein (1820-1888), son of Rabbi Yehudah Leib
    • Grand Rabbi Aryeh Yehuda Leib Epstein of Ozharov (1836-1914), son of Rabbi Yechiel Chaim
      • Grand Rabbi Avrohom Shlomo Epstein of Ozharov (1864-1917), author of She'eiris HaBrachah, son of Rabbi Arye Yehuda Leib and son-in-law of Grand Rabbi Chaim Shmuel Horowicz-Szternfeld of Chentshin
        • Grand Rabbi Moshe Yechiel HaLevi Epstein of Ozerov-Chentchin (1889-1971), author of Eish Dos and Be'er Moshe, son of Rabbi Avrohom Shlomo
          • Rabbi Dovid Eliyahu Becker of Milwaukee (was not Rebbe), son-in-law of Rabbi Yechiel Moshe Epstein of Ozerov-Chentchin
            • Grand Rabbi Tanchum Becker of Ozerov-Chentchin (b. 1949), present Ozerover Rebbe, son of Rabbi Dovid Eliyahu Becker and Rebetzin Miriam Becker (daughter of Reb Moshe Yechiel, Zt"l)
      • Grand Rabbi Alter Moshe David Epstein of Tshmelov, son of Rabbi Arye Yehuda Leib.

See also

• History of the Jews in Poland

References

• בלבת אש Belabas Eish - history of the Ozharov dynasty.
• Y. Alfasi החסידות מדור לדור Hachasidut midor ledor, Jerusalem.

External links

• Text of Sefer Eish Dos Volume 1 in Hebrew, PDF file
• Text of Sefer Eish Dos Volume 2 in Hebrew, PDF file
• HaRav Moshe Yechiel Halevi Epstein zt'l, the Ozharover Rebbe - Part 1
• HaRav Moshe Yechiel Halevi Epstein zt'l, the Ozharover Rebbe - Part 2
• A Letter from Grand Rabbi Tanchum Becker of Ozharov-Khentshin concerning the Jewish Cemetery in Ożarów, Poland, and a history of the Ozharover Dynasty