Temerl Bergson
| Temerl Bergson | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Native name | תמריל ברגסון |
| Born | Tamar |
| Died | 1830 |
| Residence | Warsaw, Poland |
| Other names | Temerl Sonnenberg Temerl Berekson |
| Known for | Patroness and benefactress of Polish Hasidic Jews |
| Spouse(s) | Jacob Jacobson Berek Bergson |
| Children | 6 |
| Parent(s) | Avraham of Opoczno |
| Relatives |
Michał Bergson, Polish composer and pianist Henri Bergson, French philosopher |
Temerl Bergson (also spelled Tamarel; Hebrew name Tamar; surname alternately Sonnenberg or Berekson; Hebrew: תמריל ברגסון, died 1830) was a Polish Jewish businesswoman. She was a supporter of Jews living in Warsaw and patroness of the Hasidic movement in Poland. She was renowned for her largesse in her philanthropy toward Polish Hasidic leaders and tzadikim, and was said to have "distributed money like ashes". Referred to as the "Doña Gracia of Hasidism", she is credited with the success of the Hasidic movement in Poland in the early 19th century.
Temerl's father, Avraham of Opoczno, Poland, was said to be "learned and extremely wealthy". She had a sister who married Rabbi Moshe Simcha of Opoczno.
Temerl was married at a young age to Jacob Jacobson, a Warsaw merchant; they had one son, Hirsch, before Jacobson died. The young widow remarried in February 1787 to Dov (Berek) Sonnenberg (1764–1822) son of Shmuel Zbitkower. Berek changed his surname to Sonnenberg during the Prussian rule of Poland. Like his father Shmuel, a court Jew who amassed a fortune by supplying both the Polish and Russian armies during the Partitions of Poland in the late 18th century, Berek built up a personal fortune through his own government contracts. He gave generously to Jewish causes and was known as the "Rothschild of Polish Jewry".
While Berek engaged in general Jewish philanthropy, his wife Temerl directed the couple's efforts to support the Hasidic movement in Poland. Followers of Rabbi Yisroel Hopsztajn, the Maggid of Kozhnitz, they donated generously to Hasidic causes, took hundreds of Hasidic Jews into their employ, and made their home a meeting place for the movement's followers. In 1807, the couple built the first Hasidic synagogue and study hall in the Praga suburb of Warsaw. The couple was honored by the Hasidic leaders of their day with their attendance at their children's weddings; they also married their only daughter to a grandson of Shmelke of Nikolsburg.
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