Yakov Yosef Twersky
Grand Rabbi of Skver
Rabbi Yakov Yosef Twersky (June 23, 1899 – March 31, 1968) was the Grand Rabbi and spiritual leader of the village of New Square, New York and of Skverer Hasidism worldwide.
Born in Ukraine, Twersky was a holocaust survivor. In 1950, he arrived in the United States and lived in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. In 1956, Twersky founded the first shtetl in the United States, the village of New Square in Rockland County, New York.
After his passing, his son Rabbi David Twersky succeeded him as the grand rabbi of the Skverer Hasidim.