The phrase “Ukraine is the homeland of Hasidism” sounds emotional, but it has a serious historical basis. Modern encyclopedic and academic sources indicate that Hasidism originated in the 18th century on the lands of present-day Western and Central Ukraine — primarily in Podolia and Volhynia, around the circle of Baal Shem Tov and his disciples. It is important to clarify: the formula of “37 main dynasties, of which 15 originate from the territory of present-day Ukraine” is more of a popularization scheme than a strict universally accepted academic standard. But the general conclusion does not change: the Ukrainian space was one of the main centers of the emergence and early development of the Hasidic world.
In Hasidism, they usually talk about courts or dynasties — lines of rebbes, which were most often named after their cities of origin. Over two and a half centuries, there have been many such lines: modern lists include dozens and hundreds of names, not a single canonical register. Therefore, when it comes to “37 main,” it is more correct to understand this as a conditional list of the most notable historical houses, rather than a definitive list that everyone equally recognizes.
Jews from Ukraine: Ukraine as the homeland of Hasidism – 37 main dynasties and their Ukrainian roots
The Ukrainian cradle of Hasidism and why there is a debate around the number “37”
The founder of Hasidism, Israel ben Eliezer, better known as Baal Shem Tov (circa 1700–1760), was associated with Podolia and Medzhybizh. After his death, the movement was systematized by Dov-Ber, the Maggid of Mezeritch (died in 1772), and his disciples spread the new religious impulse across Ukraine, Belarus, and Poland. It was from here that large family dynasties later grew — the Chernobyl, Ruzhin, Kosov-Vizhnitz, Breslov, and others.
Therefore, the thesis that Ukraine is one of the main historical homelands of Hasidism is quite justified.
The fact is that the list of exactly 37 “main” dynasties is not a universally accepted scientific standard: old Jewish encyclopedias highlighted several key lines like Lubavitch, Chernobyl, Ruzhin-Sadigura, Lublin, and Kotzk, while modern reference books show a much more complex picture with many branches and offshoots.
Nevertheless, if we take a working list of the 37 most notable lines, the Ukrainian presence is indeed enormous. This circle usually includes dynasties that originated in Belz, Boyan, Breslov, Vizhnitz, Zvyagel, Makhnovka, Mukachevo, Nadvorna, Rakhmastrivka, Savran, Sadigura, Skvira, Skole, Chernobyl, as well as historical centers of Berdichev and Medzhybizh. Many of them, after the Holocaust and subsequent migrations, moved their living centers to Israel and the USA — primarily to Jerusalem, Bnei Brak, Brooklyn, Monsey, Kiryas Joel, and New Square.
CHABAD: a separate line with a very strong Ukrainian connection
CHABAD-Lubavitch is usually not considered a Ukrainian dynasty in the narrow geographical sense, because its historical centers are primarily associated with Lyady and Lubavitch. The founder of the movement was Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi (1745–1812), who created a special intellectual branch of Hasidism at the end of the 18th century; the name CHABAD itself comes from the words Chochma, Bina, Da’at.
But without CHABAD, the history of Ukrainian Hasidism would be incomplete. Shneur Zalman was a disciple of the Maggid of Mezeritch, which means the spiritual roots of the movement are directly connected with the Ukrainian environment, where early Hasidism received powerful development. Moreover, the founder of CHABAD himself is buried in Hadiach, in the Poltava region of Ukraine, and this place remains a point of pilgrimage.
here’s something interesting about this – “A “Cohen Bridge” was built in Ukraine for $1,000,000: in Hadiach, the CHABAD shrine was made accessible to the descendants of ancient priests — what it is and for what purpose”
In the 20th century, CHABAD turned into a global movement with its main living center in New York and a wide network of communities in Israel, the USA, Europe, and the countries of the former USSR. Therefore, in an article about the Hasidic dynasties of Ukraine, it is logical to highlight CHABAD separately: not as a Ukrainian dynasty by place of origin, but as a world movement closely connected with Ukraine spiritually and historically.
Ukrainian dynasties: from Podolia and Volhynia to Bnei Brak and New York
The earliest center of memory remains Medzhybizh — the city of Baal Shem Tov. Medzhybizh did not become a separate largest modern mass dynasty, but symbolically it is one of the main points of the entire Hasidic history. Berdichev is associated with the name of Levi Yitzchak of Berdichev (1740–1810), one of the most famous early righteous men of Hasidism. This is also more of a historical center and spiritual name than the largest modern court.
The Breslov dynasty, or Breslov, is associated with Rabbi Nachman of Breslov (1772–1810), the great-grandson of Baal Shem Tov. Its peculiarity is that after the death of Rabbi Nachman, no new continuous line of rebbes arose in the classical sense, but the movement did not disappear: on the contrary, it lives through his books, the teaching of personal prayer, and the famous pilgrimage to Uman. In the 21st century, Breslov is a global network of communities, especially noticeable in Israel and among pilgrims who annually come to Ukraine.
The Chernobyl dynasty is one of the most important overall. It was founded by Menachem Nachum Twersky of Chernobyl (circa 1730–1797), a disciple of both Baal Shem Tov and the Maggid of Mezeritch. It was from the Chernobyl house that a whole cluster of separate lines emerged: Skver, Rakhmastrivka, Tolna, Trisk, as well as genealogically related branches of Makhnovka. This is one of the main examples of how one Ukrainian dynasty turned into a whole family of world courts.
From the Chernobyl circle grew the Skver dynasty — today it is especially known for its closed community in New Square, New York. Rakhmastrivka originates from Rakhmastrivka and now has centers in Jerusalem and Brooklyn. Tolna comes from Talne, and Trisk — from Turisk in Volhynia. Makhnovka, originating from Makhnovka, today has its headquarters in Bnei Brak and remains a lively, notable line with thousands of families.
No less influential was the house of Ruzhin. It was founded by Rabbi Israel Friedman of Ruzhin (1796–1850), and it was this line that gave part of the Hasidic world the very “royal” style of the court. From the Ruzhin house came Boyan, Sadigura, Chortkov, Husiatyn, and other branches. The Boyan dynasty, formed in the 19th century, is today firmly associated with Jerusalem. The Sadigura line, originating from Bukovina, was the most important force in the region before the Holocaust, and today its continuation is also primarily associated with Israel.
The Vizhnitz dynasty originated in Bukovina. It is associated with Menachem Mendel Hager (1830–1884), and the line itself grew out of an earlier Kosov tradition. Today, Vizhnitz is one of the largest and most influential courts in Israel, with a strong presence in Bnei Brak, Jerusalem, and American communities. Next to it stands Nadvorna, founded by Mordechai Leifer (1835–1894) in Nadvorna; now it is not just one center, but a whole network of branches, especially noticeable in Bnei Brak and Jerusalem. Zvil, originating from Zvyagel, is not large in numbers, but remains a very respected name in Jerusalem.
The Ukrainian space is also associated with Belz, Mukachevo, Savran, and Skole. The Belz dynasty was founded by Shalom Rokeach (1779–1855) at the beginning of the 19th century, and today it is one of the largest Hasidic courts in the world, restored after the Holocaust in Israel. Munkacs / Mukachevo is associated with strict Carpathian traditionalism. Savran is an old Podolian line, and Skole today more often appears in international lists under the form Skole/Skolye, which is important for historical accuracy.
In the middle of this whole story, it is especially noticeable that NANews — Israel News | Nikk.Agency approaches the topic not as a museum exotic, but as a living bridge between Ukraine and Israel. Because for the Israeli audience, this is not an abstract history of Eastern Europe: a significant part of today’s centers of Ukrainian-origin dynasties is located precisely in Jerusalem and Bnei Brak, and the pilgrimage to Uman, the memory of Chernobyl, Belz, Sadigura, and Vizhnitz have long become part of the modern Jewish religious world.
All 37 notable dynasties: names, dates, origins, and where their centers are now
If you compile a working list of the 37 most famous lines, it is more convenient to divide it into several large groups.
The first is the earliest system-forming centers: the circle of Baal Shem Tov in Medzhybizh, the school of the Maggid of Mezeritch, early Karlin-Stolin with Aaron of Karlin (1736–1772), Lubavitch/Chabad, founded by Shneur Zalman of Liadi (1745–1812), as well as Polish intellectual lines Lublin, Pshiskha, and Kotzk. They are not always the most numerous today, but without them, it is impossible to understand how Hasidism turned from a spiritual movement into a system of hereditary courts. Chabad today is a global network with a center in New York; Karlin-Stolin maintains strong positions in Israel and the USA; Kotzk and Lublin live more as lines of influence in other dynasties.
The second large group is the Ukrainian-Bukovinian-Volhynian belt, which makes Ukraine so important in Hasidic history. This includes Berdichev, Medzhybizh, Breslov, Chernobyl, Skver, Rakhmastrivka, Tolna, Trisk, Ruzhin, Boyan, Sadigura, Vizhnitz, Kosov, Nadvorna, Makhnovka, Zvil, Belz, Mukachevo, Savran, Skole, and related lines. It is here that you can see how from the towns and villages of present-day Ukraine grew courts that today live in Jerusalem, Bnei Brak, Brooklyn, Monsey, London, and Antwerp.
The third group is Polish, Galician, Hungarian, and post-war world dynasties. Here, at the forefront are Ger, founded by Yitzchak Meir Alter (1798–1866), Alexander, Bobov, Sanz, Klausenburg, Sighet, Satmar, Pupa, Tosh, Modzitz, Radzyn-Izbica, Biala, Amshinov, as well as Jerusalem anti-Zionist circles like Shomer Emunim, Toldos Aharon, and Toldos Avrohom Yitzchok. There is already less Ukrainian origin here, but these lines determine the modern numbers and political-religious weight of the Hasidic world. Satmar, for example, formed as a separate force under Joel Teitelbaum (1887–1979), was restored in New York after the war and is today considered one of the largest Hasidic groups in the world. Ger is now one of the largest courts in Israel. Bobov and Klausenburg are especially noticeable in the USA and Israel.
A brief guide to the dynasties and their current status
- Chabad-Lubavitch — late 18th century, Shneur Zalman of Liadi, today a world center in New York.
- Breslov — turn of the 18th–19th centuries, Rabbi Nachman of Breslov, the strongest center of memory — Uman, and living communities are especially noticeable in Israel.
- Belz — early 19th century, Shalom Rokeach, today the largest center in Jerusalem.
- Chernobyl — 18th century, Menachem Nachum Twersky, continues through many branches.
- Skver — Ukrainian origin, modern center in New Square, New York.
- Rakhmastrivka — Ukrainian branch, centers in Jerusalem and Brooklyn.
- Tolna and Trisk — old Volhynian lines, preserved as smaller but living branches.
- Ruzhin — mid-19th century, Israel Friedman, gave rise to the entire “house of Ruzhin”.
- Boyan — one of the Ruzhin branches, historically Bukovina, today center in Jerusalem.
- Sadigura — also a Ruzhin line, today primarily associated with Israel.
- Vizhnitz — 19th century, Hagers, one of the largest Israeli courts in Bnei Brak.
- Nadvorna — 19th century, Leifers, today a network of branches in Israel.
- Makhnovka — Ukrainian line, modern center in Bnei Brak.
- Zvil — historical Ukrainian court, especially respected in Jerusalem.
- Mukachevo — Carpathian line, played a significant role in Hungarian-Carpathian Hasidism.
- Savran — old Podolian line, today small but historically significant.
- Kosov — ancestor for Vizhnitz, Ukrainian by origin line.
- Ger — Polish dynasty, today one of the most influential courts in Israel.
- Alexander — very large Polish dynasty before the Holocaust, then restored.
- Bobov — Galician line, strong in Brooklyn.
- Sanz — 19th century, Chaim Halberstam, gave many offshoots.
- Klausenburg — post-war restoration, noticeable in Netanya and the USA.
- Sighet — important Hungarian-Romanian line, ancestor for Satmar.
- Satmar — largest anti-Zionist dynasty with centers in New York and Israel.
- Pupa, Tosh, Modzitz, Radzyn-Izbica, Biala, Amshinov — smaller but stable lines with centers mainly in Israel and North America.
- Shomer Emunim, Toldos Aharon, Toldos Avrohom Yitzchok — already largely Jerusalem dynastic circles, defining the appearance of the radically conservative part of the Haredim.
Why this history is important for Israel right now
For the Israeli reader, the history of the Hasidic dynasties of Ukraine is not just a story about the past.
It is an explanation of why Ukrainian cities and towns occupy such a place in the religious memory of Israel, why Uman gathers pilgrims annually, why the names Belz, Vizhnitz, Boyan, or Satmar are heard in the Knesset, in the religious press, in debates about the state, and in the everyday life of ultra-Orthodox neighborhoods.
Historical Ukraine did not give Hasidism a periphery, but one of its central foundations.
And if you remove the controversial number “37” as too rigid a formula, the picture becomes even stronger. Ukraine was not just one of the sites, but a space where Hasidism took shape as a mass movement, and then gave rise to entire families of dynasties, whose living centers are now located in Israel and the USA. From Medzhybizh and Breslov to Bnei Brak and Brooklyn — this is one long historical line that remains part of the Jewish world today.
The history of Ukraine and the Jews: why the conversation about Hasidism cannot be separated from the history of the country itself
The history of the Jews on the lands of present-day Ukraine began long before the appearance of Hasidism.
Encyclopedic sources indicate that Jewish settlements existed here even in ancient times — in Crimea and in the Greek colonies of the northern Black Sea coast. Later, Jewish life developed in the cities and towns of different historical eras — from Kievan Rus and the Lithuanian-Polish period to the Russian Empire and Austria-Hungary.
Jewish life became especially noticeable in the early modern period, when on Ukrainian lands the very world of shtetls, markets, fairs, crafts, and religious scholarship was forming, which would later be called shtetl. It was in this environment that the human and cultural landscape was formed, from which both the Hasidic courts and the powerful tradition of Eastern European Jewry in general emerged.
The shtetl was one of the key forms of Jewish life in Eastern Europe, and the Ukrainian waves of pogroms in the 20th century and then the Holocaust became a catastrophe for this world.
At the same time, the history of the relationship between the Jews and the Ukrainian lands was never simple or linear.
There were periods of growth, trade, religious flourishing, and cultural coexistence, but there were also severe catastrophes. One of the early tragedies was the Khmelnytsky Uprising of 1648–1649, during which many Jewish communities in Ukraine were destroyed or devastated; this is recorded in reference articles on Podolia and in historical descriptions of individual cities.
And yet, after these upheavals, Jewish life on Ukrainian lands did not disappear, but began to grow again.
By the 18th century, there was already a dense network of communities here, and it was against this background that Hasidism arose. Hasidism became exceptionally popular precisely in Ukraine and in the first decades covered most of the traditional Jewish population of this region. In other words, Ukraine was not the periphery of this process, but one of its central stages.
In the 19th century, the significance of Ukrainian lands for the Jewish world was colossal. By the end of the 19th century, more than a quarter of the entire Jewish population of the world lived on ethnic Ukrainian territory. This means that the conversation about the history of Jews in Ukraine is not a narrow regional topic, but part of world Jewish history.
That is why names like Berdichev, Uman, Belz, Chernobyl, Breslov, Vizhnitz, or Sadigura still resonate far beyond Ukraine itself.
But the 20th century brought a new blow.
Waves of violence, civil war, pogroms of 1905 and especially 1918–1921 hit the Jewish communities of Ukraine hard. Then the Nazi occupation turned a significant part of this history into a history of destruction.
After the Holocaust and the Soviet period, Jewish life on Ukrainian lands could no longer return to its former scale. Many centers were destroyed, many families emigrated, religious life was under pressure for decades. But the memory did not disappear.
After the collapse of the USSR, in independent Ukraine, the revival of community, cultural, and religious life began; by the end of the 1990s, hundreds of Jewish organizations and community structures were operating in the country.
That is why the history of Jews in Ukraine is not only a history of tragedies. It is a history of deep rootedness, religious creativity, trade, the Yiddish language, shtetl civilization, pilgrimage, Hasidic dynasties, and then the severe ruptures caused by the violence of the 20th century.
For the Israeli audience, this is especially important: many lines that today live in Jerusalem, Bnei Brak, Safed, Brooklyn, or Monsey trace their origins to the cities and towns of present-day Ukraine. In this sense, the connection between Ukraine and the Jewish world is not a museum topic, but a living part of modern Jewish memory.
Which cities in Ukraine today remain the main points of Hasidic life
If we talk not about old names on the map, but about real modern presence, then in Ukraine today we can highlight several main points of Hasidic life, memory, and pilgrimage.
In the first place, undoubtedly, is Uman. It is here that the grave of Rabbi Nachman of Breslov is located, and the city remains the main center of Breslov pilgrimage. In 2025, Ukraine officially recognized the grave of Rabbi Nachman in Uman as a national heritage site, and the city continues to receive tens of thousands of pilgrims, primarily on Rosh Hashanah.
A separate place is occupied by Hadiach in the Poltava region. For CHABAD, this is one of the most important points on the map of Ukraine, because it is there that Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi, the founder of CHABAD-Lubavitch, is buried. Hadiach remains a place of pilgrimage and a symbolic connection of CHABAD with Ukrainian land.
If we talk about active community life, then important cities remain Kyiv, Dnipro, Odessa, Chernivtsi, and Kharkiv, where Jewish religious centers and structures continue to operate, including those associated with Hasidic and Chabad traditions. The European Jewish Congress directly notes the continued existence of Jewish communities in Ukraine, despite the war and migration.
At the same time, it is necessary to understand the difference between a historical center of a dynasty and a modern Hasidic court. Cities like Belz, Breslov, Chernobyl, Vizhnitz, Nadvorna, Skvira, Rakhmastrivka, Zvyagel, Mukachevo, and Skole remain extremely important as places of origin of dynasties and historical memory, but the main active dynastic headquarters of these lines today are mostly located in Israel and the USA. Therefore, the modern map of Hasidic Ukraine is primarily Uman, Hadiach, and major cities with living communities, rather than the return of old courts in their full classical form.
Read more in our regular section “Jews from Ukraine“.