Koson (Hebrew:קוסון,Yiddish:קאסאן) is aHasidic dynasty originating inKoson, Zakarpattia Oblast (also Kossyny[1] or Kaszony)[2] in Ukraine. The dynasty was founded by Yehosef Rottenberg in 1897.
Yehosef Rottenberg was born inHalych in 1853 to Tzvi Hirsh and Chaya Dreizya Rottenberg.[3] He studied underChaim Halberstam ofSanz andYekusiel Yehuda Teitelbaum ofSiget.[citation needed] Yehosef married Sara Yittel, the daughter of Meshulim Feish Segal-Lowy I ofTosh and authored theseferBnei Shileishem (and is therefore sometimes referred to by its name).[3][1] He settled inKoson in 1897 where he served asrebbe. After his death in 1911, he was succeeded as rebbe in Koson by his son, Chaim Shlomo Rottenberg.[1]
Chaim Shlomo Rottenberg married Raitze, daughter of Asher Yashaya Rubin[YI] ofKolbuszowa, Poland, and authored theseferShmuah Tovah.[3] In 1920 however, nine years after assuming the position of rebbe, Chaim Shlomo died, and was succeeded by his younger brother (and son-in-law), Yisrael Tzvi Rottenberg, known by the name of hissefer,Ohr Moleh.[1]
Yisrael Tzvi Rottenberg established a Hasidicyeshiva in Koson, Ateres Tzvi, attracting over a hundred students from throughout the region who studied Torah for a year or more.[2][1] For theJewish holidays, many morehasidim came to Koson to be with the rebbe.[2] During World War II in 1944, the entire Jewish community of Koson was taken to the brick factory at 3-Beregszász Ghetto in nearbyBerehove. Soon after, they were deported to theAuschwitz concentration camp,[2] where Yisrael Tzvi and all his children, save for one son-in-law, perished there.[1]
A third son of Yehosef Rottenberg, Moshe Shmuel Rottenberg served as a rabbi inKisvárda before emigrating toLos Angeles, and was recognized as the KosonerRebbe. His son, Pinchas Shalom Rottenberg, served as Kosoner Rebbe in New York, as did his son after him, Menachem Yisrael Rottenberg.[4] He was succeeded by five sons: Meir Yehosef inBorough Park, Brooklyn and, later, inLinden, New Jersey; Moshe Shmuel inLondon; Naftali Tzvi inFlatbush and, later, inHillcrest, New York; Avraham Baruch inLakewood Township, New Jersey; and Chaim Yehuda Leib (Chaim Leibish) inMonsey, New York.
The Koson community came under the spotlight in theMonsey Hanukkah stabbing, in the home of Chaim Leibish Rottenberg, the Kosoner Rebbe ofMonsey, New York. After the attack, Then-New York GovernorAndrew Cuomo said, standing outside Rottenberg's home, "This is an intolerant time in our country. We see anger. We see hatred exploding. It is an American cancer on the body politic."[5]
Meir Yehosef Rottenberg, a son of Menachem Yisrael Rottenberg, served as Kosoner Rebbe inBorough Park, Brooklyn before relocating his congregation toLinden, New Jersey. Although the community had started very small, it grew quickly and currently includes families living in nearbyRoselle,Cranford,Clark, andRahway. After the opening of the Kosonner congregation, other Hasidic communities sprouted in Linden as well, includingBobov,Rachmastrivka,Pupa, andSatmar communities.[6]
The son of Chaim Shlomo Rottenberg, Moshe Shmuel Rottenberg (also the first cousin of Pinchas Shalom Rottenberg, Kosoner Rebbe of New York), served as a rabbi inDebrecen. He later emigrated to New York, where he became recognized as theKozova Rebbe[7] and in 1961, toBnei Brak, Israel. His son, Asher Rottenberg, continued the Kosoner dynasty in Bnei Brak[1] (two of his other sons, Rabbis Yechiel Mechel and Chaim Shlomo Rottenberg, succeeded him as Kozova Rebbe).[7]
The Kozova Rebbes, who descend from Yehosef Rottenberg, are included in the dynasty of the Kosoner Rebbes.
Yeshaya Meshilem feish of Rozla ( Eretz Yisrael)
