A few people asked me about Gedolei Yisrael who lived in Ukraine, so I made a map. It covers some 50+ towns. Some, like Lviv and Brody, get into the Hall of Fame of Jewish communities on the first ballot. Others are lesser known. About half are best known for the Hasidic courts named for them. In all, this should help make what is going on there now much realer. The order is random, and I’m sure there are major figures from other places. Please make suggestions in the comments. Note that this is not a comprehensive map of Jewish communities in Ukraine. Our Searchable Map of Hebrew Place Names, for instance, has over 1500 Jewish communities in today’s Ukraine.
Among the figures included in this map, the one that gave me a jolt was R. Menachem Mendel Hager, the first Rebbe of Vizhnitz, because of the name of his book: Ahavas Shalom, the Love of Peace.
You can open a larger map in a new tab by clicking here.
Please don’t refer to “the Ukraine” – this nowadays is a political statement, implying that Ukraine is actually part of Russia.
Thank you. Updated.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babi_Yar
Pogrebishche
Also Tetiev
https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%90%D7%94%D7%A8%D7%9F_%D7%9E%D7%98%D7%99%D7%98%D7%99%D7%95%D7%91
The Lubavitcher Rebbe grew up in Dnipro (was Yekatarinoslav).
Related question – do we see the term “Ukraine” found in subscription lists or other listing of place names? I’ll try to look in the Aruch Hashulhan’s list for Gittin.
1. I have him in his city of birth, Nikolayev. Haven’t used multiple places for one person, but I can add his father.
2. No. It’s often called “Raseyn” (as in “Ruthenia”) or by region (Volhyn, Podolia, Galicia, Kherson, etc.)
Menachem Mendel of Vitebsk, talmid of the Magid, was based in Horodok before emigrating to Eretz Yisroel.
The Alter Rebbe’s Ohel is in Hadyach. His son, Rebbe Dov Ber of lubavitch, is buried in Nyezin.
Two of the sons of the Tzemach Tzedek were rebbeim in ukraine. The Maharin (Rebbe Yisroel Noach Shneerson) in Nyezin, while his brother the Rayatz (Rebbe Yosef Yitzchak Shneerson) was rebbe in Ovrutch.
Among Chabad chassidim of note, Harav Peretz Chein (was the rov of Chernihiv for well over 50 years (possibly the only Chabad Chassid to encounter 6/7 Chabad Rabbeim), followed by his son Harav Dovid Tzvi Chein. His son, Harav Menachem Mendel Chein (הי”ד), was Rov of Nyezin where he was killed in a pogrom in 1919. Their Teshuvos are printed in שו”ת אבני חן.
Before the Rebbe’s Father was Rov in Dnipro, Harav Dov Zev Kozivnikov was the Rov of the Chassidic community, while Harav Binyomin Zev Zekhiem was the Rov of the Ashkenazim.
Harav Avraham David Lavut, paternal great grandfather of the Rebbe, was Rov of Nikolaev. His sefarim include שער הכולל, קב נקי, דרך חיים עם נתיב החיים, בית אהרן עם הוספות and the סידור תורה אור. He was succeeded by his grandson Harav Meir Shlomo Yanovski, the maternal grandfather of the Rebbe.
The great R’ Hillel Partitcher was appointed by the Rebbe Dov Ber of Lubavitch to be his representative to the colonies he established around Kherson, where he is buried.
Harav Yakov Mordechai Bezpalov was Rov of Poltava.
Harav Yosef Tumarkin was Rov in Kremenchuk, following the passing of Harav Aharon, the grandson of the Alter Rebbe. His Teshuvos are printed in שו”ת מהר”י תומרקין.
Haradok is in Belarus.
Re: the Chabad figures, I will add them.
Thank you!
Hello,
It’s very interesting the map, thank you.
Just a few notes for Rabbis in the Transcarpathian region.
Chust (Huszt)
You mentioned R’ Yehoshua Grunwald, but does not his father R’ Moshe, author of the “Arugath Habosem”, who had a famous yeshiva there.
Also, there was R’ Yoel Tzvi Roth in Chust, author of the Beth Ha-Yotzer.
Koson (Mezokaszony)
There was a famous dynasty there, Admor R’ Yosef halevi Rottenberg and his sons.
Mizhirya (Volove, Okormezo)
Rabbi Yisroel Yaakov Teitelbaum, from the Sighet dynasty.
Nizhna Vorota (Veretzke)
Admor R’ Yissachar Dov Eichenstein, from the Ziditshov dynasty. He’s buried in Munkacs.
Rachiv (Raho)
R’ Yisroel Chaim Friedman.
Tyatchiv (Tecso)
R’ Eli Betzalel Teitelbaum, from the Sighet dynasty.