Did you ever wonder how ‘Boyan chassidut’ got pole position in Meron on L’ag B’omer?

In this post, we finally going to figure that, as we continue to swim through the murk.

Why are we continuing to swim through the murk, to find out what was really going on?

Because behind all the ‘politics’ and ‘idealogical clashes’ going on in our beloved country, it really just boils down to ‘who gets to sit in the driving seat while the ‘controllers in the shadows’ are handing out all the bribes and perks’.

And that’s still going on today.

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So in this post were going to try and take a closer look at what was going on with KOLLEL VOLHYNIA, that was raising funds for the so-called ‘chassidic aliya’ from the region of Volhynia / Poland.

You’ll recall that the HOLY LAND FUND gets split into two in 1796, after disputes start to brew brew between SHNEUR ZALMAN of Chabad, and AVRAHAM KALISKER, who is heading up the settlement in Tiberius after MENACHEM MENDEL of VITEBSK dies.

(BTW, there are many more aspects to this dispute, and many more rebbes involved…. Some of that information will start to shake out in this post and could change the whole picture, again, of the ‘official story’ we’ve all been told.)

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But let’s begin with a translated snippet about KOLLEL VOLHYNIA from the Hebrew wiki HERE:

It was founded by the Admor of Poland, RABBI MORDECHAI of NECHCHIZ, together with the Admor RABBI YAAKOV YITZCHAK OF LUBLIN (“The Seer of Lublin”), the Magid from Koznitz and the Ohev Yisrael of Apt in order to raise funds for the community of Hasidic Jews who came from Poland who began immigrating to Eretz Yisrael.

Other organisations later split off from this, and cast themselves as its successors.

Especially notable is Wahlin-Jerusalem, which was established in 1841 by YISRAEL FRIEDMAN OF RUZHIN.

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YISRAEL FRIEDMAN of RUZHIN, you’ll recall, is one and the same as MOSHE TZVI of SAVRAN, on the run from the Russian government for ordering the murder of two informers. And the main ‘persecutor’ of R NATAN of BRESLOV, to the point of literally trying to have him killed in his bed.

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Straight after Rabbenu goes to see Shneur Zalman on his way back from Israel, who is heading up the KOLLEL RAISENI, as we brought down in THIS post, he goes to see the Rav of Neskhiz, MORDECHAI SHAPIRO (1742-1800) who is now heading up the KOLLEL VOLHYNIA.

Here’s what it says, from Tzaddik:

On the subject of his journeys to and from Israel and his stay there, there are many stories to be told. The Rebbe was with the sainted Rav of Neskhiz five days before the latter passed away.

The Rebbe went to him in a great hurry because he was anxious to find him still alive. He arrived immediately prior to his death.

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The story continues that Rav Mordechai of Neschkiz is extremely ill, and asks Rabbenu to do a pidyon for him.

I read this following passage with fresh eyes, once I understood that the Rav of Neshkiz is heading up the KOLLEL VOLHYNIA for the Holy Land:

The Rav [of Neshkiz] sent the Rebbe ten gold coins for a pidyon. The Rebbe saw that the Rav was obliged to distribute all of his money, but this was impossible, and he understood that he would have to pass away.

The Rebbe returned home prior to his death.

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Rav Mordechai of Neshkiz is also a very well-known follower of YECHIEL MICHEL of ZLOTCHOV.

Who we learned in THIS and THIS post was the real successor to the Baal Shem Tov.

‘DOV BER the MAGGID of MEZERITCH’ was either ‘reverse-engineered’ into the story, because of who his descendants were (that same YISRAEL FRIEDMAN OF RUZHIN, mentioned above), or he played a much lesser role in the story of chassidut.

At this point, I’m wondering if he’s the same ‘Dov Ber of Lubavitch’ who is meant to be the principal teacher of SHNEUR ZALMAN of LIADI. That would make a lot of sense.

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OK, let’s get back to ‘following the money’.

The Rav of Neshkiz dies in 1800 – and I have no idea who takes over from him, as president of the KOLLEL VOLHYNIA.

For sure, someone did, because the amount of money flowing through that channel was tremendous – and the chassidic aliya in Israel was very dependent upon it.

But I am currently pulling a blank, on who takes over.

Until 1841.

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1841 is when ‘YISRAEL FRIEDMAN OF RUZHIN’ comes back into the picture, just as he’s getting re-established in Sadigora, after fleeing from the Russian authorities.

Remember, he’s got a very expensive life-style to fund, and now he’s having to rebuild his chassidut from scratch. It can’t be easy for the guy. So what does he do?

He creates a brand new charidee, called VOLHYNIA-JERUSALEM, which begins operating in 1841, and also opens new branches in both the Ukraine and Serbia.

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The main agents for this charidee in Eretz Yisrael are YISRAEL BAK ( 1797–1874)and his son, NISSAN BAK (1815–1889), originally from BERDICHEV.

And they aren’t just funding chassidim anymore in Eretz Yisrael, now, they are apparently funding everyone! Including followers of the Vilna Gaon, i.e. The Perushim – and also, CHABAD.

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Nissan BAK is another interesting character.

They say he’s the head of the SADIGURA-RUZHIN chassidim in Jerusalem, but actually, he’s a maskil.

You can read more about him HERE.

Here’s a snippet:

After assisting his father until his death in 1874, Nisan Bak took over the printing press, which he managed for another nine years.

After selling it he continued with his work as a leader of the Jewish community in Jerusalem, more specifically of the Hasidic sector, where he also acted as the local head of the Ruzhin-Sadagura dynasty.

Bak, who had good relations with the Ottoman government, managed to soften the decrees targeting the Jewish community and initiated and carried out on its behalf the construction of several housing projects in the city.

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Bak was also a pioneer of the Jewish Enlightenment, or Haskalah, within his community, together with his brother-in-law I.D. Frumkin, who had renewed the publication of the Havazzelet newspaper in 1870. 

As part of their reform attempts, Bak and Frumkin opposed the traditional distribution system of charity funds coming from abroad, the halukkah.

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Maybe, you’ll also remember that ‘ISRAEL DOV FRUMKIN’ popped up in THIS post about the Chabad war over who was going to control the money flowing into the KOLLEL CHABAD coffers.

The Chabad-wide dispute was over control of the Chabad Kolel.

The Admor Shalom Dubar Schneerson of Lubavitch [the 5th Rebbe] wanted the control to be with his men, who were mostly Hebron men.

And the Admor Shmarya Noah Schneerson of Bobroisk, on the other hand, tried to seize control by his men, who were mainly Jerusalem men.

On Lubavitch’s side was Rabbi Yisrael Dov Frumkin, editor of the Havatzelet, and on Bobroisk’s side was Rabbi Chaim Eliezer Biakhovsky. The dispute was of a fierce nature and lasted for several years, with mutual skirmishes.

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FRUMKIN is part of the wider ZEITLIN family.

Nissan BAK is meant to be ‘SADIGURA-RUZHIN’ – but really, it doesn’t matter.

As we’re learning more and more, all these people are all just exactly the same, and the arguments between them were about establishing new ‘brands’ of chassidut to fundraise money for the rebbes’ personal use.

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YISROEL FRIEDMAN of RUZHIN (1796-1850) / MOSHE TZVI of SAVRAN has a large family.

And a VERY lavish lifestyle. Take a look at these two pictures of his ‘court’ (i.e. home, or maybe palace would be more accurate) and Beit HaMidrash:

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We already mentioned YISRAEL OF RUZHIN (aka MOSHE TZVI WERTHEIMER of SAVRAN) was in prison in THIS post, but let’s bring a few more details:

He was banned by the Tsar’s regime.

He was accused of ordering the killing of two men (Jews who were informants for tax evasion among the Jewish community and undocumented conscripts in the census).

Snippet continues:

After nearly two years , he managed to escape from prison with the help of bribes given to the prison director, and was smuggled over the Russian border.

After a lot of wandering about and difficult trips settled, in the year of 5602 on the POTOK estate in the town of Sadigora near the city of Chernovina in Bukovina, which at the time was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, where he continued His royal way….

Many admorim used to travel to him, including Rabbi MOSHE OF KUBRIN and Rabbi David of Lubin, who held themselves to his disciples.

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MOSHE of KOBRIN is the son of JOEL SMOLYAN / CHAIKIN, who was one of the main schlichim bringing money to Eretz Yisrael.

We learned a lot about him HERE.

I just tripped over more info that shows that the CHAIKIN surname appears to have been ZEITLIN…

But park that for now, as I’m trying to keep these posts very focussed, to avoid ‘reader overwhelm’.

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YISROEL of RUZHIN’S second son is:

Rabbi Avraham Yaacov Friedman of Sadigura (1820-1883), who marries Miriam, the daughter of AHARON OF KARLIN.

This guy:

He becomes the head of the KOLLEL VOLYHNIA-JERUSALEM after his father dies in 1850.

He is the main ‘mover’ behind the construction of the TIFERET YISRAEL synagogue in Jerusalem, (that is overseen by the maskil NISSAN BAK) and also ends up in prison, apparently after someone ‘informs’ on him for sending money to Eretz Yisrael.

(Where have we heard this story before?)

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OK, so how come ‘BOYAN’ chassidut now comes to the top of the pile here in the Holy Land?

I’ve been wondering that for a couple of years, ever since the BOYANER REBBE was the only one ‘allowed’ to light a bonfire mamash on Meron, during L’ag B’omer last year.

Here’s how, snippet from Hebrew wiki HERE:

The founder of Hasidot Boyan was Rabbi Yitzhak Friedman, the Pachad Yitzhak, the elder son of Rabbi Avraham Yaakov Friedman of Sadigura [ABOVE].

This guy:

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After three years leading the court with his younger brother, RabbiYisrael of Sadigura, the two brothers decided to separate and divide their inheritance.

Rabbi Yisrael received the assets in Sadigura, including the magnificent home of their grandfather Rabbi Yisrael of Ruzhin, as well as the plot of the tomb where their ancestors were buried.

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Meanwhile, Rabbi Yitzchak received the presidency of the KOLLEL VOLHYNIA and the Tiferet Israel Synagogue in the Jewish Quarter, the management of the Holy Land Fund and the right to light a bonfire for L’ag B’omer by the tomb of Rebbe Shimon Bar Yochai.

Rabbi Yitzhak moved his residence to the nearby town of Boyan, where his followers built a seminary and a residence for him, and where he led his congregation.

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Snippet continues:

Rabbi Yitzchak was the son-in-law of Rabbi Yochanan TWERSKY of Rachmestriwka.

At the outbreak of World War I, the Pachad Yitzhak moved to Vienna, like the rest of the House of Ruzhin, because they feared the Russian regime, which still held a grudge against the founder of the dynasty, Rabbi Israel of Rozhin.

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YOCHANAN TWERSKY is the son of MORDECHAI TWERSKY OF CHERNOBLE.

Here he is, looking kind of scared, worried and lost:

His daughter Malka marries the ‘Pachad Yitzhak’

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Pay attention:

The presidency of the ‘KOLLEL VOLHYNIA’ and the management of the HOLY LAND FUND are being referred to here strictly as assets, to be divvied up between the Rebbe’s sons.

As I keep trying to explain, charidee for Eretz Yisrael is the biggest cash-cow, ever.

And now, a bunch more ‘rebbes’ are now starting to pile into the charidee for Eretz Yisrael game.

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Another new charidee is now: KOLLEL POLAND, aka KOLLEL WARSAW.

This one is started up by Rabbi YAAKOV LEIB LAWI (LOEWY / LURIE) and his brother Rabbi NACHUM SHAIDIKER (1803-1865).

One of NACHUM SHAIDIKER‘s wives is MINNA LEAH RIVLIN, daughter of MOSHE MAGGID RIVLIN.

Because Commandment Number 11 is:

Thou shalt not set up any charidee operation for Eretz Yisrael without some member of the Rivlin family getting a slice of the pie.

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Meanwhile, YAAKOV YEHUDA LEIB LOWY (1813-1889) – that guy who starts up the KOLLEL WARSAW –  is the ABD of Jerusalem.

He has a son called AARON LOEWY who marries ZLATA ALTA ORENSTEIN – the great-grand-daughter of the known freemason, ‘student of the GRA’ and translator of Euclid, BARUCH SHICK of SHKLOV.

Here’s how that shakes down:

BARUCH SHICK of SHKLOV > R AHARON BARUCHIN (SHICK) OF MINSK (d 1844) > R ISAAC ‘KARLINER’ MINKOVSKY, ABD KARLIN m SHEINA ESTHER > ZISSEL m R URI ORENSTEIN > ZLATA ALTA ORENSTEIN m AHARON LOEWY, son of ABD JERUSALEM.

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Other people in the family tree of BARUCH SHICK of SHKLOV include LEIB MACHNES, the ancestor of the guys who set up HANOTEH in the Holy Land, who come up with the brilliant idea of making a deal with the Nazis in 1933 to siphon Jewish money into their business interests in the Holy Land.

(We wrote about them in the post called EUGENICS and the ANGLO PALESTINE BANK.)

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And another (scrubbed….) son of freemason BARUCH SHICK of SHKLOV appears to be none other than MENACHEM MENDEL of SHKLOV, who makes aliya in 1805 – and is meant to be a big student of the GRA of Vilna.

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So now, we have a real name for the freemason-enlightener ‘BARUCH SHICK of SHKLOV’  – BARUCH BENDIT of HASLAWITZ.

Guess what?

He seems to have been the son of none other than SIMCHA BUNIM of PESCHICHA – and that tips us into a whole other can of worms…..

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So, at this point in the tale, I decided to spend a few days piecing together another one of my massive ‘family trees’, to try and figure out who these people really are, a bit more.

Because there is ‘offiical history’, which tells us one story, with one carefully-curated narrative and a set of ‘fake names’ to hide the tracks.

And then…. There is what really happened.

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If your head is exploding trying to follow all this, I know how you feel.

That’s why I keep printing this stuff off, hard-copy, and then going through it more slowly off-line, to really digest all this information.

Which is frankly incredible.

And is totally re-writing what we were all taught about Jewish history…. and who all these Rebbes and rabbis and ‘tzaddikim’ really seem to have been.

So, even though I could continue, I will stop here for now.

But this series is probably not going to stop anytime soon.

The Rav opened the spigot on the tap of ‘real Jewish history’, and now it’s gushing out faster than I can keep up with it.

There must be some big changes on the horizon, BH only for the good.

TBC