Slonim (Hasidic Dynasty)

Slonim (Hasidic Dynasty)

Slonim is a Hasidic dynasty originating in the town of Slonim, which is now in Belarus. Today, there are two Slonimer Rebbes, both in Israel: one resides in Jerusalem and the other in Bnei Brak. Colloquially, the Jerusalem side is called the "White" (Veissa) side and the Bnei Brak side is called the "Black" (Shvartza) side, a reference to their political leanings, white meaning more liberal and black meaning more conservative in Haredi parlance. These names are also attributed to the fact that when Slonim Hasidim split into separate factions, the leader of one, Rabbi Sholom Noach Berezovsky, had a white beard and the leader of the other, Rabbi Avraham Weinberg, had a black beard. The factions are distinguished by different Hebrew spellings, the Jerusalem sect being known as סלונים and the Bnei Brak sect being known as סלאנים. They are two distinct groups today and have many differences between them.

The first Rebbe of Slonim was the author of Yesod HaAvodah. In 1873 he sent a group of his grandchildren and other Hasidim to settle in Palestine; they set up their community in Tiberias. Almost all of the Slonimer Hasidim in Europe perished at the hands of the Nazis in the Holocaust. The present-day Slonimer community was rebuilt from the Slonimer Hasidim who had settled in Palestine.