THE TRAGIC STORY OF RAV DOV BER OF LEOVA

Rabbi Dov Ber "Berenyu" of Leova was a son of Rabbi Yisrael of Ruzhyn, founder of the most aristocratic dynasty of nineteenth-century Hasidic rabbis. As a "crown prince", Reb Berenyu was thrust into the leadership limelight at an early age, but was reluctant to take on the role of a spiritual rabbinic figure. But faced with uncompromising family pressure, and the unrelenting loyalty of his followers, he was forced to remain at the helm of his community even as his personal life fell apart. Rabbi Dunner reveals the tragic and often shocking true story of this scion of one of the most famous and distinguished rabbinic families, caught in a life he didn't want and attempted to abandon, resulting in one of the most astounding controversies to have ever occurred in the history of Hasidism.