Avraham Yissachar Dov Rabinowicz | |
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Second Radomsker Rebbe | |
Term | 1866 – 1892 |
Full name | Avraham Yissachar Dov Hakohen Rabinowicz |
Main work | Chesed L'Avraham |
Born | November 15, 1843 Radomsko, Poland |
Died | September 5, 1892 Radomsko |
(aged 48)
Buried | Radomsko |
Predecessor | Shlomo Hakohen Rabinowicz |
Successor | Yechezkel Hakohen Rabinowicz |
Father | Shlomo Hakohen Rabinowicz |
Avraham Yissachar Dov Hakohen Rabinowicz (also Avraham Yissachar Ber Rabinowicz, Rabinowitz, Rabinowich, or Rabinovitch) (November 15, 1843 – September 5, 1892) was the second Rebbe of the Radomsk Hasidic dynasty. He was the youngest son and successor of Rabbi Shlomo Rabinowicz (1801–1866), who founded the dynasty in the Polish town of Radomsko (Radomsk) in 1843. He is known as the Chesed L'Avraham after the title of his Torah work.
Rabinowicz was born in Radomsk, where his father served as Rav. In 1843, the year of his birth, his father founded his Hasidic dynasty, becoming the first Radomsker Rebbe. He was named after two rabbis who had greatly inspired his father: Rabbi Yissachar Ber of Radoshitz, his father's mentor; and Rabbi Avraham Ber of Avrutch, author of Bas Ayin, whom his father had never met but whose sefer his father studied. He had two older brothers: Leibush, the eldest, was a Talmid Chacham and merchant, and Hirsch Mayer, who succeeded their father as Rav of Radomsk.
As a youth, Rabinowicz studied many hours with his father, who taught him his derech (approach) in Shas, Poskim, and Kabbalah. In his teens he learned under Rabbi Yisrael Yitzchak of Plavna. Rabinowicz was 23 years old when his father died. Initially he refused to succeed him as Rebbe, but eventually he did assume the mantle of leadership, leading the Radomsker Hasidim for 26 years until his death.
Among the pressing issues which he dealt with during this period was the forced conscription of young Jewish men to the army, which was rife with antisemitism. The Rebbe headed a committee established by his father, the Tiferes Shlomo, which raised money to ransom new recruits. Rabinowicz was a great Torah scholar and was also known for his refined and modest bearing. Like his father, he was musically-gifted and had a beautiful singing voice. After he became Rebbe, he attracted many Hasidim from Poland and Galicia, including prominent rabbis and rosh yeshivas.