<P> The largest sect in the world, with some 26,000 member households which constitute 20% of all Hasidim, is Satmar, founded in 1905 in the namesake city in Hungary and based in Williamsburg, Brooklyn and Kiryas Joel . Satmar is known for its conservatism and opposition to both Agudas Israel and Zionism, inspired by the legacy of Hungarian Ultra-Orthodoxy . The sect underwent a schism in 2006 and two competing factions emerged, led by rival brothers Aaron Teitelbaum and Zalman Teitelbaum . The second - largest "court" worldwide, with some 11,600 households (or 9% of all Hasidism) is Ger, established in 1859 at Góra Kalwaria, near Warsaw . For decades, it was the dominant power in Agudas and espoused a moderate line toward Zionism and modern culture . Its origins lay in the rationalist Przysucha School of Central Poland . The current Rebbe is Yaakov Aryeh Alter . The third largest dynasty is Vizhnitz, a charismatic sect founded in 1854 at Vyzhnytsia, Bukovina . A moderate group involved in Israeli politics, it is split into several branches, which maintain cordial relations . The main partition is between Vizhnitz - Israel and Vizhnitz - Monsey, headed respectively by Rebbes Israel Hager and the eight sons of the late Rebbe Mordecai Hager . In total, all Vizhnitz sub - "courts" constitute over 10,500 households . The fourth major dynasty, with some 7,000 households, is Belz, established 1817 in namesake Belz, south of Lviv . An Eastern Galician dynasty drawing both from the Seer of Lublin's charismatic - populist style and "rabbinic" Hasidism, it espoused hard - line positions, but broke off from the Orthodox Council of Jerusalem and joined Agudas in 1979 . Belz is led by Rebbe Yissachar Dov Rokeach . </P> <P> The Bobover dynasty, founded 1881 in Bobowa, West Galicia, constitutes some 4,500 households in total and has undergone a bitter succession strife since 2005, eventually forming the "Bobov" (3,000 households) and "Bobov - 45" (1,500 households) sects . Sanz - Klausenburg, divided into a New York and Israeli branches, presides over 3,800 households . The Skver sect, established in 1848 in Skvyra near Kiev, constitutes 3,300 . The Shomer Emunim dynasties, originating in Jerusalem during the 1920s and known for their unique style of dressing imitating that of the Old Yishuv, have over 3,000 families, almost all in the larger "courts" of Toldos Aharon and Toldos Avraham Yitzchak . Karlin Stolin, which rose already in the 1760s in a quarter of Pinsk, encompasses 2,200 families . </P> <P> There are two other populous Hasidic sub-groups, which do not function as classical Rebbe - headed "courts", but as decentralized movements, retaining some of the characteristics of early Hasidism . Breslov rose under its charismatic leader Nachman of Breslov in the early 19th century . Critical of all other Rebbes, he forbade his followers to appoint a successor upon his death in 1810 . His acolytes led small groups of adherents, persecuted by other Hasidim, and disseminated his teachings . The original philosophy of the sect elicited great interest among modern scholars, and that led many newcomers to Orthodox Judaism ("repentants") to join it . Numerous Breslov communities, each led by its own rabbis, now have thousands of full - fledged followers and far more admirers and semi-committed supporters; Marcin Wodziński estimated that the fully committed population of Breslovers may be estimated at 7,000 households . Chabad - Lubavitch, originating in the 1770s, did have hereditary leadership, but always stressed the importance of self - study rather than reliance on the Righteous . Its seventh and last leader, Menachem Mendel Schneerson, converted it into a vehicle for Jewish outreach . By his death in 1994, it had many more semi-engaged supporters than Hasidim in the strict sense, and they are still hard to distinguish . Chabad's own internal phone - books list some 16,800 member households . 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Who were the hasidim and why were they important