The first Spinka
Rebbe was Rabbi
Yosef Meir Weiss, author of
Imrei Yosef. He was succeeded by his son, Rabbi Yitzchak Isaac Weiss, author of
Chakal Yitzchak. The
Chakal Yitzchak was murdered by the Nazis in
the Holocaust. Another son, Naftali Weiss, the
Bilker Rebbe, is a prominent subject in the
Auschwitz Album of rare photographs taken at the death camp. After World War II, the group was divided among many
Rebbes, descendants of the
Imrei Yosef. Spinka Rebbes can be found in
Williamsburg, Borough Park,
Flatbush,
Kiryas Joel,
Monsey, N.Y.,
Bnei Brak, London, Antwerp, throughout Israel, and Europe. All are offshoots of the original dynasty. Several Spinka Rebbes live in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn alone (Toldos Tzvi, Beis Yitxchok, and Beis Shmuel Tzvi communities), and Israeli branches are found in
Jerusalem and
Bnei Brak. Among the surnames of the Spinka Rebbes are Weiss (or Weisz), Kahana, and Horowitz. == Lineage of Spinka rebbes ==