Malachim (Hasidic group)
The Malachim are a barely extant Hasidic group with strong Miami and Williamsburg connections. They adhere to the Chabad school of Hasidic thought which emphasizes in-depth Torah study.
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[edit] History
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Rabbi Chaim Avraham Dov Ber Levine haCohen, also known as "The Malach" (lit. "the angel") came to New York in the 1920s. The Malach had been one of the closest followers of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneersohn and the tutor of his grandson, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchok Schneersohn. However, Rabbi Levine became distanced from the Schneersohns and their dynasty, Chabad-Lubavitch, due to personal differences (Lubavitchers and Rabbi Levine's followers' accounts differ substantially as to the exact nature of the incident. Rabbi Nessanel Quinn, a close pupil of Rabbi Shraga Feivel Mendlowitz, maintained that Rabbi Levine was "thrown out" of Chabad). Once in New York, Rabbi Levine became the rabbi of a synagogue in the Bronx. Rabbi Shraga Feivel Mendlowitz, Rosh Yeshiva of Torah Vodaas, encouraged students to visit him so they could see such a luminary. Many of them were inspired and decided to become followers of the Malach, starting a Hasidic quasi-dynasty known as "The Malachim." They began to adopt a more haredi style of dress. In 1936, the students left Torah Vodaas (Rabbi Quinn claims that they left on their own. Rabbi Meir Weberman, one of the Malach's followers, claims that Rabbi Quinn expelled them but later apologized).[1] After The Malach's death in 1938, the Malachim did not choose a successor.
Their synagogue, Nesivos Olam, located at 187 Hewes St. in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, NY, is now led by Rabbi Meyer Weberman.
[edit] Relationship toward other groups
[edit] Chabad-Lubavitch
One leader of the Malachim has noted that one significant difference is that Chabad-Lubavitch involves itself with the affairs of the Israeli government, while the Malachim are staunchly anti-Zionist. Also, the Malachim acknowledge only the first four Chabad-Lubavitch rebbes as the legitimate rebbes of Chabad.[2].
[edit] Satmar
Many descendants of former Malachim have joined the Satmar movement, due to their shared anti-Zionist views. Once a woman is said to have approached a former Satmar Rebbe, Grand Rabbi Joel Teitelbaum, complaining that her son had become a Malach [Hebrew for "angel"]. Rabbi Teitelbaum is said to have replied, "Don't worry. He won't fly away". [3]
[edit] References
- ^ Ben Zion Weberman (1896-1968): Life and Legacy of an Orthodox Jewish Attorney in New York City during the Interwar Period and Beyond, Moshe Rapaport, University of Hawaii
- ^ Hasidic People by Jerome Mintz
- ^ Sefer Tiferes Yoel
