Introduction
This article, based extensively but not exclusively on the
research by Rabbi Dr Carmi Horowitz,[1]
looks at the extraordinary story of Rabbi Professor Isadore (Yitzchak) Twersky
(1930-1997). As both a rebbe and professor, Isadore Twersky straddled two very
distinct worlds.
The story
Rebbe Professor Twersky, as he was affectionately known, was born into a Chassidic line of rebbes from the Chernobyl dynasty. He was a great-grandson of Rabbi David of Talne, an important leader of the Chassidic movement in Ukraine during the nineteenth century. By all expectations, he should have just grown up to become another rebbe in the chain going back to R. Nachum of Chernobyl (1730-1789), a student of the Baal Shem Tov. The Talner Chassidim are a branch of the Chernobyl Chassidic dynasty.
