Iconic Williamsburg: Rav Levi Yitzchok Landman, zt”l, Tarnopoler Rebbe

Rav Levy Yitzchok Landman, zt”l, a scion of the greatest Chassidic and rabbinic dynasties in Galicia, who established generations of Torah families in America, came to Williamsburg in the 1920’s. 

Tarnopol 

The city of Tarnopol is one of the most famous cities in Galicia (Western Ukraine), and the Rabbonim of the city were of the Babad family, the father, and the descendants, of its most famous resident; Rav Yosef Babad, author of the monumental Minchas Chinuch. 

The city teemed with Jewish life for close to two centuries, and was home to many talmidei chachomim.

In this milieu settled—in 1870—a tzaddik and mekubal by the name of Rav Yaakov Koppel Landman.  His father, Rav Tzvi Hirsch Landman, was the son in law of Rav Yitzchok Itzik, the son in law of Rav Uri of Strelisk (1757–1826), known among chassidim as ‘the Saraf’—a prize student of Rav Shlomo of Karlin and Rav Elimelech of Lizensk, zy”a. 

Rav Tzvi Hirsch was the great-grandson of “Rav Yaakov Koppel Chossid,” a famed talmid of the Baal Shem Tov, and after his marriage he became the rov of Strelisk, and later he became a Rebbe in Kitov. He had five great sons, each of whom was a giant of Torah and avodah, writing seforim on all areas of Torah. The second son was named Yaakov Koppel, for his legendary ancestor. 

Rav Yaakov Koppel married Chaya Sheindel Weissblum—a granddaughter of the Noam Elimelecha, and settled in Tarnopol in 1870. In his approbation to one of Rav Yaakov Koppel’s three monumental works, his rebbi, the Minchas Chinuch writes… Rav, Gadol b’Torah, known among the masses as a shepherd of Israel with wisdom and insight…” 

He was also known as a tremendously heartfelt ba’al tefillah and ba’al menagen; people would come from all over Tarnopol to watch him as he served Hashem in tefillah. 

His son Levi Yitzchok—named for his great ancestor of Berdichev—was born in Tarnopol in 1877. In his youth, he made his way to the Rebbes Yehoshu’ale and Yisachar Dov of Belz. As a talmid chochom and great meyuchas, he merited being drawn close to the tzaddikim. 

Rav Levi Yitzchok married Chaya Sheindel Weissblum, a cousin, another descendant of the Rebbe Elimlech. Due to the harsh times for Jews of Eastern Europe, he made his way to America in 1921, where he was welcomed by expats from Tarnopol. They founded a shul at 161 Rivington Street. He brought over his family a short time later. Tragedy in 1924, when his Rebbetzin passed away from a heart ailment.

Williamsburg

The following entry in the Works Progress Administration records led us to the discovery of the shul on Bedford Avenue: “Congregation Chevra Mishnayis; Services previously held 161 Rivington Street, Manhattan to 1931; at 357 Bedford to 1936, when a 2 story building was bought, and first floor occupied as a synagogue. First Rabbi: Levi Isaac Landman, 1923—. Members are emigrants from Tarnopol, Galicia, Austria, Burial plots at Beth David Cemetery.

They had two children; Rivka Brailofsky, and a son, Tzvi Hirsch Landman. Each of them would go on to establish beautiful Torah families. A son of Tzvi Hirsch was Reb Yaakov Shlomo Landman, a talmid of Rav Reuven Grozovsky in Torah Vodaas, and later joined the contingent at Beis Medrash Elyon in Monsey. After ten years in kollel, he returned to Williamsburg. He received kabboloh for shechitah from Rav Moshe Feinstein. Upon the advice of his rebbi, Rav Yaakov Kamentzky, he pursued a degree in psychology, and helped many people in the community through this. 

The Shul remained at 368 Bedford—even as the neighborhood was changing—until the Rebbe’s passing in 1949. Around 1970, there emerged a collection of sifrei kabboloh with the name stamps attesting to their previous owner Rav Levi Yitzchok Landman. 

The seforim were heavily footnoted along all of their margins—testifying to the toil in Torah of their owner, as he sat for decades immersed in Torah, oblivious to the hustle and bustle all around him in the strange new land of Old Williamsburg.