Baal Shem Tov family tree

The following charts illustrate the family of Rabbi Yisrael Baal Shem Tov, the founder of Hasidic Judaism.

The first chart shows the Baal Shem Tov's close family: his closest relatives, by blood and by marriage. This is meant to clarify the various family relations mentioned in the Baal Shem Tov's biography.

The second chart shows his descendants to the fourth generation.

The Baal Shem Tov did not found a Hasidic dynasty proper, as his immediate successor was his student, Rabbi Dov Ber of Mezeritch, and not any of his descendants. Even so, the descendants of the Baal Shem Tov were revered.

Eventually, some of them founded their own courts and dynasties. Notably, his grandson R. Baruch of Mezhbuzh established his Hasidic court stressing that he was the sole heir of the Baal Shem Tov, a controversial issue in his time, which eventually distanced him from many of his colleagues, including R. Shneur Zalman of Liadi and R. Yaakov Yitzchak of Lublin.

Other descendants became allied by marriage to other powerful Hasidic dynasties (e.g. Chernobyl, Karlin-Stolin), producing many dynasties, including some of the dynasties still active today (e.g. Skver, Vizhnitz). Thus the family of the Baal Shem Tov can be considered a sort of Hasidic dynasty in its own right, and is often treated as such in reference works on Hasidic dynasties where it is sometimes referred to as the Mezhbuzh dynasty. (This term is sometimes used specifically for the dynasty of R. Baruch of Mezhbuzh, see Mezhbizh (Hasidic dynasty), or for an unrelated dynasty from Mezhbuzh: see Apta (Hasidic dynasty).)


 * R. is an abbreviation for the honorific "Rabbi". It does not necessarily indicate that the subject was a Rabbi. A rebbe is the spiritual leader of a Hasidic group or community.

Descendants of the Baal Shem Tov

 * R. Yisrael Baal Shem Tov (18 Elul 5458 [25 August 1698] or c. 1690/1695 – 6 Sivan 5520 [21 May 1760]) For more biographical details, see Baal Shem Tov Married (i) ? (died without issue), (ii) Chana
 * R. Tsvi Hirsh of Pinsk (? – 7 Tevet 5540 [16 December 1779]) Married (i) ? (mother of R. Aharon, R. Dov Ber and Sheina Rachel), (ii) Beila (mother of R. Yisrael and Sara Reizel), daughter of R. Shmuel Chosid (i.e. the Pious) of Pinsk. Tsvi Hirsh lived in Mezhibuzh during his father's lifetime, and some time after, until his first wife's death. According to some traditions, he succeeded his father as the leader of united Hasidic Judaism before stepping down in favor of R. Dov Ber of Mezeritch. Upon marrying Beila, he moved to Pinsk, where he was a rebbe to a small following.
 * R. Aharon of Titiov (? – 15 Tevet c.1808/1818), called Reb Orale. Rebbe in Kostantin, Titiov and Pavilitsh. Oldest grandson of the Baal Shem Tov.
 * Sima Chusha Married (i) R. Tsvi of Korstshov (grandson of R. Nochum of Tshernobl), (ii) her cousin, R. Boruch of Mezhibuzh (see below) Descendants: the Chernobyl branch of the Chernobyl dynasty, including the Belz (specifically R. Aharon of Belz), Chortkov, Machnovka, Skver, Faltichan, and Vizhnitz dynasties.
 * R. Tsvi Hirsh (Hershel) of Skver. Rebbe in Skver. Descendants: the Skver and Chernobyl dynasties
 * R. Avraham of Skver His father died when he was a child, and he was raised by his sister Sima Chusha. Descendants: the Savran dynasty
 * [R. Naftali]
 * [? married R. Yaakov]
 * R. Dov Ber of Ulanov. Rebbe in Ulanov.
 * R. Tsvi Hirsh of Tshudnov (? – c.1848). Rebbe in Tshudnov.
 * Sima Married (i) ?, (ii) R. Tsvi Menachem Mendel Auerbach, rebbe of Dinovits, son of the rebbe R. Zusha of Anipoli Descendants: the Hornsteipl, Satmar and Bobov dynasties.
 * Sheina Rachel Married R. Yaakov of Karlin and Tiberias (? – 21 Kislev 5594 [3 December 1833]), called Reb Yankele Moneles. Son of R. Menachem Mon (Monele) of Karlin, a disciple of R. Dov Ber of Mezeritch and uncle (and foster-father) of R. Aharon "the Great" of Karlin She took kvitelech in the manner of a rebbe.
 * R. Naftali Tsvi Hirsh of Karlin and Tiberias. Called Reb Hershel dem Baal Shems (R. Hershel, the Baal Shem [Tov]'s [descendant]). Spiritual and secular leader of the Hasidic community (in particular, the Karlin community) of Tiberias (? – 27 Elul 5624 [28 September 1864]) Married Sara Sosha, daughter of R. Yisrael, the rabbi and rebbe of Pikov, son of R. Levi Yitzchok of Berditchev. Descendants: the Boston dynasty
 * R. Yisroel שותק Shotek i.e. "the Silent" of Chernobyl, a close associate of R. Mordechai of Chernobyl. Died in Yarovitsh near Homel and was buried there.
 * Sara Reizel Married R. Moshe Shimon Volf Auerbach (? – 24 Tevet 5597 [1 January 1837]) of Safed, son of R. Avraham Dov Auerbach, rabbi of Chmielnik, and grandson of R. Yaakov Yosef of Polnoe, one of the most prominent disciples of the Baal Shem Tov. Died in the Galilee earthquake of 1837.
 * ? Married R. Dov Ber of Chvastov, great-grandson of R. Dov Ber of Mezeritch and grandson of Rabbi Shlomo of Karlin.
 * Tsivya Married R. Yehuda Arye, son of R. Menahem Mendel Tsauzmir the rabbi of Mohliv.
 * R. Yisrael of Lodezhin.
 * Odl (? – c. 1772 or c. 1787) Married R. Yechiel of Medzhybizh, son of R. Baruch.
 * R. Moshe Chaim Ephraim of Sudilkov (c. 1748 – 17 Iyar 5560 [12 May 1800]). Rebbe of Sudilkov and Mezhibuzh.
 * R. Boruch of Mezhibuzh (c. 1753 – 18 Kislev 5572 [4 December 1811]). Rebbe of Tultshin and Mezhibuzh. Married (i) ? (daughter of R. Tovia Katskes of Ostroh), (ii) Sima Chusha, daughter of R. Aharon of Titiov, his cousin (see above). All his children are from his first marriage.
 * Feiga (? – before c. 1802) Married R. Simcha (c. 1763 – before c. 1802), son of R. Nachman, rebbe of Horodenka, a disciple of the Baal Shem Tov.
 * R. Nachman of Breslov (1772–1810). Rebbe of Breslov those paternal ancestry came from (According to Jewish tradition), the Maharal's family descended patrilineally from the Babylonian Exilarchs (during the era of the geonim) and therefore also from the Davidic dynasty. Married (i) Sosia (mother of his children), (ii) ?, daughter of R. Yehezkel Trachtenberg of Brody.
 * R. Yisrael der Toyter (or Hebrew: מת Met) i.e. "The Dead" Married a granddaughter of R. Moshe of Kitov, an early disciple of the Baal Shem Tov.
 * R. Yechiel Tsvi (? – c. 1812)
 * Perl Married R. Pinhas Meir They went to Safed.