ר׳ פינחס דוד הלוי הורוביץ

ר׳ פינחס דוד הלוי הורוביץ (1876–1941) was a Jerusalem-born Hasidic leader and founder of the Boston dynasty, one of the earliest Hasidic courts created in the United States. A descendant of ר׳ שמואל שמלקה הורוביץ מניקלשבורג and raised after his father’s death under his uncle ר׳ דוד בידרמן מלעלוב, he combined rabbinic learning with architectural work in Jerusalem. Sent to Europe in 1914 as a representative of the Jerusalem community, he was stranded by the First World War and reached Boston in 1915. There he gathered Hasidim of varied European backgrounds, promoted kashrut, Sabbath observance and Jewish education, and became known by the American city in the traditional Hasidic manner. He also participated in Agudath Israel of America and the founding milieu of Yeshiva Torah Vodaath. In 1939 he transferred his court to Williamsburg, Brooklyn, where he died in 1941. His sons ר׳ משה הורוביץ and ר׳ לוי יצחק הורוביץ continued the New York and Boston branches. This person must not be confused with ר׳ פינחס הלוי הורוביץ (1731–1805), author of הפלאה.