Koson (Hasidic dynasty)

Koson (, ) is a Hasidic dynasty originating in Koson, Zakarpattia Oblast (also Kossyny or Kaszony) in Ukraine. The dynasty was founded by Yehosef Rottenberg in 1897.

History

Bnei Shileishim Yehosef Rottenberg was born in Halych in 1853 to Tzvi Hirsh and Chaya Dreizya Rottenberg. He studied under Chaim Halberstam of Sanz and Yekusiel Yehuda Teitelbaum of Siget. Yehosef married Sara Yittel, the daughter of Meshulim Feish Segal-Lowy I of Tosh and authored the sefer Bnei Shileishem (and is therefore sometimes referred to by its name). He was succeeded by five sons: Meir Yehosef in Borough Park, Brooklyn and, later, in Linden, New Jersey; Moshe Shmuel in London; Naftali Tzvi in Flatbush and, later, in Hillcrest, New York; Avraham Baruch in Lakewood Township, New Jersey; and Chaim Yehuda Leib (Chaim Leibish) in Monsey, New York.

Chanukah attack

The Koson community came under the spotlight in the Monsey Hanukkah stabbing, in the home of Chaim Leibish Rottenberg, the Kosoner Rebbe of Monsey, New York. After the attack, Then-New York Governor Andrew 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."

Linden, New Jersey Meir Yehosef Rottenberg, a son of Menachem Yisrael Rottenberg, served as Kosoner Rebbe in Borough Park, Brooklyn before relocating his congregation to Linden, New Jersey. Although the community had started very small, it grew quickly and currently includes families living in nearby Roselle, Cranford, Clark, and Rahway. After the opening of the Kosonner congregation, other Hasidic communities sprouted in Linden as well, including Bobov, Rachmastrivka, Pupa, and Satmar communities.

Israel

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 in Debrecen. He later emigrated to New York, where he became recognized as the Kozova Rebbe and in 1961, to Bnei Brak, Israel. His son, Asher Rottenberg, continued the Kosoner dynasty in Bnei Brak Menachem Yisrael Rottenberg of New York (1928-2002), Kosoner Rebbe Meir Yehosef Rottenberg of Linden, Kosoner Rebbe Chaim Yehudah Leibish Rottenberg of Monsey, New York (b. 1958), Koson-Forshay Rebbe Avraham Baruch Rottenberg of Lakewood, Kosoner Rebbe Moshe Shmuel Rottenberg of London, Kosoner Rebbe Naftali Tzvi Rottenberg of Hillcreast, Kosoner Rebbe Yeshaya Meshilem feish of Rozla ( Eretz Yisrael)