Objects

Portrait photograph depicting a rebetsin (Yiddish: רביצין), wife of a tzaddik of the Bobov dynasty. Bobowa – the town where the dynasty originated – is one of the former shtetls, the often visited by today's Hasidic communities. The tzaddik, called the rebbe by the Hasidim, is the spiritual master of the community, mediating between God and the people through his piety. Tzaddiks were responsible for establishing communities; by the end of the 18th century, the custom of maintaining the courts of the tzaddik with contributions from the communities became widespread, and the position became hereditary. This led to the establishment of tzaddik dynasties, so that after the end of the Second World War, those of the dynasty who survived were able to rebuild it under its original name in the countries of their settlement.

MBK, AW