Spinka (Hasidic dynasty) - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Spinka is the name of a Hasidic

Hasidic Judaism

Hasidic Judaism or Hasidism, from the Hebrew —Ḥasidut in Sephardi, Chasidus in Ashkenazi, meaning "piety" , is a branch of Orthodox Judaism that promotes spirituality and joy through the popularisation and internalisation of Jewish mysticism as the fundamental aspects of the Jewish faith...

group within Orthodox Judaism

Orthodox Judaism

Orthodox Judaism , is the approach to Judaism which adheres to the traditional interpretation and application of the laws and ethics of the Torah as legislated in the Talmudic texts by the Sanhedrin and subsequently developed and applied by the later authorities known as the Gaonim, Rishonim, and...

. The group originated in a city called Săpânţa

Sapânta

Săpânţa is a commune in Maramureş County in northern Romania, 15 kilometers northwest of Sighet and just south of the Tisza River. It is composed of a single village, Săpânţa....

, Maramureş

Maramures

Maramureș may refer to the following:*Maramureș, a geographical, historical, and ethno-cultural region in present-day Romania and Ukraine, that occupies the Maramureș Depression and Maramureș Mountains, a mountain range in North East Carpathians...

, Romania

Romania

Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...

, near the Hungarian

Hungary

Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...

border.

Spinka rebbes

The first Spinka Rebbe was Joseph Meir Weiss

Joseph Meir Weiss

Joseph Meir Weiss , also known as the Imrei Yosef after his major work, was a Hungarian rabbi and founder of the Spinka Hasidic dynasty.-Early life:Weiss was born in Munkacz, Hungary...

, author of Imrei Yosef. He was succeeded by his son, Isaac Weiss, author of Chakal Yitzchak. The Chakal Yitzchak was murdered by the Nazis in the Holocaust

The Holocaust

The Holocaust , also known as the Shoah , was the genocide of approximately six million European Jews and millions of others during World War II, a programme of systematic state-sponsored murder by Nazi...

.

After World War II, the group was divided among many Rebbes, descendants of the Imrei Yosef. Spinka Rebbes can be found in Williamsburg

Williamsburg, Brooklyn

Williamsburg is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, bordering Greenpoint to the north, Bedford-Stuyvesant to the south, Bushwick to the east and the East River to the west. The neighborhood is part of Brooklyn Community Board 1. The neighborhood is served by the NYPD's 90th ...

, Boro Park, Flatbush, Kiryas Joel, Queens, Bnei Brak, Antwerp, London, throughout Israel, and Europe. All are offshoots of the original dynasty. Several Spinka Rebbes live in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn alone, and Israeli branches are found in Jerusalem and Bnei Brak.

Among the surnames of the Spinka Rebbes are Weiss, Horowitz, and Kahane.

Lineage of Spinka rebbes (Weiss branch)

Joseph Meir Weiss
Joseph Meir Weiss
Joseph Meir Weiss , also known as the Imrei Yosef after his major work, was a Hungarian rabbi and founder of the Spinka Hasidic dynasty.-Early life:Weiss was born in Munkacz, Hungary...

, (1838-1909 (ו' אייר תרס"ט)) - Author of Imrei Yosef
- Isaac Weiss, (1875-1944) - Author of Chakal Yitzchak, son of the Imrei Yosef
  - Israel Chaim Weiss, (d. 1944) - son of the Chakal Yitzchak
    - Jacob Joseph Weiss, (1916-1988) - Author of Siach Yaakov Yosef - son of Rabbi Israel Chaim
      - Naftali Tzvi Weisz - Spinka Rebbe of Boro Park - son of Rabbi Jacob Joseph
      - Israel Chaim Weisz - Spinka Rebbe of Bnei Brak - son of Rabbi Jacob Joseph
      - Meir Eleazer Weisz - Spinka Rebbe of Boro Park - son of Rabbi Jacob Joseph

Lineage of Spinka rebbes (Horowitz branch)

Joseph Meir Weiss - (1838-1909 (ו' אייר תרס"ט)) - Author of Imrei Yosef
- Isaac Weiss - (1875-1944) - Author of Chakal Yitzchak, son of the Imrei Yosef
  - Abraham Abish Horowitz of Kruly, son-in-law of the Chakal Yitzchak
    - Samuel Tzvi Horowitz - Spinka Rebbe of Williamsburg - affectionately known as "Reb Hershele Spinker", son of Rabbi Abish of Kruly
      - Issachar Dov Berish Horowitz, (d. 2007 (י"ט תשרי תשס"ח))- Spinka Rebbe in Williamsburg - Beth Samuel Tzvi Synagogue - eldest son of Reb Hershele Spinker
        
        Joseph Meir Horowitz - Spinka Rebbe in Williamsbug - Beth Samuel Tzvi Synagogue - eldest son of Reb Berish Spinker.
      - Abraham Abish Horowitz - Spinka Rebbe in Williamsburg - Beth Isaac Synagogue - son of Reb Hershele Spinker
      - Isaac Horowitz - Spinka Rebbe in Williamsburg - Toldoth Tzvi Synagogue - son of Reb Hershele Spinker
      - Nata Horowitz - Spinka Rebbe in Boro Park - Beth Abraham Synagogue - son of Reb Hershele Spinker
      - Naphtali Horowitz - Kruly Rebbe of Williamsburg - youngest son of Reb Hershele Spinker

Lineage of Spinka rebbes (Kahane branch)

Joseph Meir Weiss (1838-1909 (ו' אייר תרס"ט)) - Author of Imrei Yosef
- Nachman Kahane - Author of Orchos Chaim - son-in-law of the Imrei Yosef
  - Tzvi Hirsch Kahane of Spinka
    - Nachman Kahane, (d. 1976) Spinka-Kahane Rebbe of Bnei Brak - son of Rabbi Tzvi Hirsch
      - Moses Eliakim Briah Kahane, Spinka-Kahane Rebbe in Bnei Brak - son of Rabbi Nachman
      - Asher Yeshayah Aryeh Kahane, Spinka Rebbe in Kiryas Joel - son of Rabbi Nachman
      - Elimelech Kahane, Rosh Kolel of Zidichov Kollel in Bnei Brak - son of Rabbi Nachman
      - Menachem Mendel Kahane, Spinka Rebbe of London - son of Rabbi Nachman
      - Kahane, Spinka Rebbe of Antwerp - son of Rabbi Nachman
        
        Baruch Kahane, Spinka Rebbe in Williamsburg
    - Joseph Meir Kahane, (d. 1978), Spinka Rebbe of Jerusalem - son of Rabbi Tzvi Hirsch
      - Mordecai David Kahane (1932-2011), Spinka Rebbe of Jerusalem - son of Rabbi Joseph Meir
        
        ‎‎‏‏Rabbi Shlomo Shmuel Kahana Shlita (son of Rabbi Mordechai David) spinka Rebbe of Jerusalem
      - Alter Kahane, Zidichov
        Zidichov (Hasidic dynasty)
        Ziditshov is a Hasidic dynasty originating in town Ziditshoyv , in Galicia . It was founded by Rebbe Tzvi Hirsh of Ziditshov...
        
        -spinka Rebbe of Jerusalem - son of Rabbi Joseph Meir of Spinka

Lineage of the Ulemer Rabbis of the Friedman family from the Spinka line

Joseph Meir Weiss, (1838-1909 (ו' אייר תרס"ט)) - Spinka Rebbe - Author of Imrei Yosef
- Isaac Weiss, (1875-1944) - Spinka Rebbe - Author of Chakal Yitzchak, son of the Imrei Yosef
  - Israel Chaim Weiss, (d. 1944) - son of the Chakal Yitzchak
    - Shmuel Friedman, Chief Rabbi of Ulem - son of Rabbi Yaakov Yitzchak Friedman - son-in-law of Rabbi Israel Chaim Weiss
      - Yaakov Yitzchak Friedman, present Ulemer Rav of Kew Gardens Hills, Queens, N.Y., son of Rabbi Samuel
        
        Chaim Joseph Friedman, Brezaner Rav of Boro Park, Brooklyn, N.Y., son of the Ulemer Rav
        
        Berish Friedman, Spinka Rav of Cedarhurst, N.Y., son of the Ulemer Rav
        
        Hershel Friedman, Seilish Rav of Williamsburgh, N.Y., son of the Ulemer Rav
      - Yisroel Chaim Friedman, present Ulemer Rav of Bayswater, N.Y., son of Rabbi Shmuel

Important Spinka works

The main books particularly revered by the Spinka Hasidic Hasidim (in addition to those revered by all Hasidim) are Imrei Yosef, Chakal Yitzchak. The followers of the Horowitz Spinka line also revere the book Toldos Tzvi. Since then many of the Spinka Rebbes have written books, and several prayer books have been published according to the nusach
Nusach
Nusach is a concept in Judaism that has two distinct meanings. One is the style of a prayer service ; another is the melody of the service depending on when the service is being conducted.-Meaning of term:Nusach primarily means "text" or "version", in...

of the Spinka Rebbes.

Fraud scandal

On December 19, 2007, Rabbi Naftali Tzvi Weisz, his Gabbai

Gabbai

A Gabbai is a person who assists in the running of a synagogue and ensures that the needs are met, for example the Jewish prayer services run smoothly, or an assistant to a rabbi...

, and six other men were charged in connection with an alleged tax fraud scheme in Los Angeles, California

Los Angeles, California

Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...

. American authorities claimed that the scheme involved soliciting tens of millions of dollars of donations to Spinka charities over a span of approximately ten years, then refunding 80-95% of the funds back to the donor through an Israeli bank, despite the donors' claiming a tax deduction on the full amount. Five Brooklyn Spinka institutions were also named as defendants.

In July, 2009, Weisz pleaded guilty to charges of money-laundering. On July 28, he spoke at a public symposium on business ethics in Brooklyn, NY, admitting and apologizing that "things happened that were not supposed to happen... we have to commit that in the future this will never happen again." He disclosed a legal compliance plan developed in conjunction with a team of lawyers and accountants, to which all Spinka institutions were bound to follow, and which he offered to share freely with all other synagogues, schools and institutions.

External links

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