Boston is a Hasidic dynasty, originally established in 1915 by Rabbi Pinchas David Horowitz, a scion of the Nikolsburg Hasidic dynasty. Following the custom of European Chassidic Courts, where the Rebbe was called after the name of his city, the Bostoner branch of Hasidic Judaism was named after Boston, Massachusetts. The most senior and well-known of the Bostoner Rebbes in contemporary times was Grand Rabbi Levi Yitzchak Horowitz, who died in December 2009.

Amid a spectrum of notable accomplishments and "firsts in America," Bostoner Hasidim claim to be skilled in applying ancient Jewish values in modern society, engaging in outreach to students, and providing tangible help for the sick and their families during crucial times of need. Bostoner Hasidim also pride themselves on their musical tradition.^[1]

The worldwide community of Bostoner Hasidism has headquarters in Brookline, Massachusetts and Har Nof, Israel, with additional branches in Beit Shemesh, Israel; Beitar Illit, West Bank; Flatbush, Brooklyn; Highland Park, New Jersey; Lawrence, Nassau County, New York; and Monsey, New York.

Origins

Grand Rabbi Pinchas David Horowitz, the first Bostoner Rebbe, a scion of Shmelke of Nikolsburg and the Lelov dynasty, was born in Jerusalem in Ottoman Syria. He first arrived in Boston in 1915 from the Russian Empire, where he had gone to collect charity.

Shortly after his arrival, Rabbi Pinchas David was accepted as Rebbe by a group of followers he attracted from within the Boston Jewish community. However, in 1939, he left Boston and moved to Brooklyn where he opened the Bostoner beth midrash of Williamsburg, Brooklyn. After his death in 1941, his older son, Rav Moshe, succeeded him in New York, while his younger son, Levi Yitzchak Horowitz, moved back to Boston in 1943 and built the New England Chassidic Center.

In his lifetime, Reb Moshe founded the Bostoner beth midrash of Crown Heights, Brooklyn and the Bostoner beth midrash of Borough Park, Brooklyn. In 1985, upon the passing of Reb Moshe, his eldest son, Chaim Avrom Horowitz, succeeded him as Bostoner Rebbe of New York. In 1989, Reb Moshe's younger son, Pinchas Dovid, moved to Flatbush, Brooklyn to establish a community there. He eventually accepted the mantle of Bostoner Rebbe of Flatbush. In 2006, Rav Chaim Avrom moved to Beit Shemesh in Israel to establish a community there. He died in 2016 while visiting America for his granddaughter's wedding to the grandson of the Skverer and Rachmanstrifker Rebbes. He was succeeded by his sons, Rabbi Yaakov Yitzchak Horowitz of Lawrence, NY, And Rav Yisrael Yona Horowitz of Boro Park.

In the mid-1980s, Levi Yitzchak Horowitz established another Boston community in Har Nof, Jerusalem, and would spend half of the year in Boston and half of the year in Jerusalem. On Saturday, December 5, 2009, Levi Yitzchok Horowitz died in Jerusalem, survived by his three sons and two daughters. In his spiritual will, the title of Grand Rabbi of Boston was bestowed upon all three surviving sons.^[2][3] Pinchas Dovid Horowitz, the Chuster Rebbe of Borough Park, the oldest, serves as Bostoner Rebbe in New York; Mayer Alter Horowitz serves as Bostoner Rebbe in Har Nof; and Naftali Yehuda Horowitz, the youngest, serves as Bostoner Rebbe in Boston.

Lineage of the Boston dynasty