20.10.1999

 BAL-SHEM-TOV

Compiled by

According to the chart "DRZEWO GENEALOGICZNE B. SZEM TOW"

published in 1927 by

S. Ch. Goldsztejn, Miedzyrzec

On 29 June 1998 Ms. Ada Holtzman, member of the Israel Genealogical Society, knowing my interest in Rabbinical genealogy, gave me a copy of the Chart mentioned above, apparently the Family Tree of the Bal-Shem-Tov.

At that time I had already a fairly large data base, including rabbis through the ages, and was in the process of studying and recording the Chasidic Rabbis and their dynasties. Needless to say, I more that welcomed Ada's gesture and saw in it the opportunity of improving my ongoig work.

The Chart, apparently a handwritten copy of a copy of a copy, not very legible, offered a challenge to anyone interested in and familiar with the subject. My work on Chasidic Rabbis, already comprising more than 1,000 names, greatly helped me in deciphering the Chart, compile the lists and present them in a legible and easy-to-use form.

The Chart is not a Family Tree of the Bal-Shem-Tov but a roll of his disciples and their disciples thereafter, and contains some of his close family members as well. It has two parts:

1. The upper part of the Chart is the tree of Bal-Shem-Tov's disciples and their dynasties. The author attached a Hebrew numeral, à to ùôã (1 to 384), to almost all persons or group of persons. The majority of persons were identified also by the location of their birth or the location of their activity, as is the custom. The number of persons that I was not able to decipher or identify can be counted on one hand, and are listed and marked in the Persons Listing. This list shows the Arabic numerals followed by the authors original Hebrew numerals, my data base code number and the details of the person. The details contain first name, fathers name (if known - father's names are not included in the Chart), last name and the name of the location.

2. The lower part of the Chart is a listing of persons according to locations, arranged alphabetically in 11 columns. This part of the Chart was somewhat more difficult to decipher, particularly the names added at the bottom of the columns, apparently at some other stage, in a most illegible way. It resulted nevertheless in the Locations Listing. This list presents the locations as listed by the author, my data base code numbers, the name of persons related to that specific location and the author's respective Hebrew numerals. Efforts have been made to maintain each of the author's columns on a separate page.

I added the List of Chasidic Dynasties, not included in the Chart, showing which of the persons in the Chart (marked by the author's numerals) belongs to which Chasidic dynasty. Note, that some of the latter dynasties, particularly those of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, have not yet been included in the Chart.

I made extensive use of the learned work of Y. Alfasi: "HaChasidut" (in Hebrew). Maariv Publ. 1977.

Special appreciation and thanks are extended to Ada Holtzman for entrusting me with a copy of that Chart. Hopefully she is not disappointed.

Yehuda Klausner

20.10.1999