Abraham J. Twerski

Abraham J. Twerski

Abraham Joshua Twerski (Yiddish: אֲבְרָהָם יְהוֹשֻׁע טווערסקי; born October 6, 1930 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin) is an American Hasidic rabbi, a scion of the Chernobil Hasidic dynasty, and a psychiatrist specializing in substance abuse. He is a son of Grand Rebbe Jacob Israel Twerski (1898–1973) of Hornosteipel of Milwaukee, Wisconsin and Dvorah Leah Twerski (1900–1995).

Twerski's medical career includes Gateway Rehabilitation Center, Pittsburgh, which he founded and serves as medical director emeritus, clinical director of the Department of Psychiatry at St. Francis Hospital in Pittsburgh, associate professor of psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh's School of Medicine, and founder of the Shaar Hatikvah rehabilitation center for prisoners in Israel.

In his rabbinic career Twerski is a prolific writer of Jewish books and of shiurim Torah-themed lectures. He was co-spiritual leader of Congregation Beth Jehudah with his father from ordination until 1959. During this time he composed a melody for the Hebrew verse Psalms 28:9 "Hoshea es Amecha", which became popular in Jewish circles. Twerski had a major influence on the turn toward orthodoxy of several young men in Milwaukee, including most notably Meir Tzvi (Stanley Martin) Schuster, who later moved to Israel and founded the Heritage House in Jerusalem. (Schuster is known in Israel as "The Rabbi of the Wall" for his efforts to recruit Jewish students at the Western Wall.)

Twerski was educated in Milwaukee Public Schools, and graduated from North Division High School in 1948. He then enrolled in the Hebrew Theological College of Chicago (now located in Skokie, Illinois) and was ordained a rabbi in 1952. In 1953 Twerski enrolled at Milwaukee's Marquette University, and subsequently graduated from its Medical School in 1960, after which he moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

He married his first wife Golda before settling in Milwaukee. The couple had four children, Izhak Meir, Ben Zion, Sholomo, and Sarah. After the death of his wife Golda, he married Gail. The couple resides in Teaneck, New Jersey.

His brother Aaron Twerski was the Dean at Hofstra University and was appointed by Federal Judge Alvin Hellerstein to handle cases filed by workers who suffered respiratory illnesses from the World Trade Center site after the September 11, 2001 terror attacks. Aaron also represented class action plaintiffs in the automobile industry. His other brothers are Michel Twerski, the Hornosteipler Rebbe of Milwaukee; the late Shloime Twerski, the previous Hornosteipler Rebbe of Denver; and the late Mordechai Dov Ber Twerski of New York.