Dovid Halberstam

Raised in a family of enormous prestige, from childhood and early youth he was exposed to Talmudist, poskim and Kabbalistic disputes of his time, and was trained to be a religious leader.

It is not clear if Halberstam had served as rebbe before moving to Chrzanow; also the exact date of him assuming the post is unknown (probably around 1860).

Though the Radomsk leader, Tiferes Schlomo, was a disciple of his father and the two maintained fairly respectful relations, Dovid Halberstam aggravated them by his personal intransigence.

Over time the influence of Halberstam grew so significant that he became the founder of the dynasty of Chrzanow rebbes, which guided the Jewish population of the town for almost a century.

His son Naftoli and then his grandson Mendel succeeded him at the post and led the local religious community until its destruction in 1942–1943.