Vizhnitz (Hasidic dynasty)

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Vizhnitz (sometimes Viznitz or Wiznitz) is the name of a Hasidic dynasty founded by Rabbi Menachem Mendel Hager. Vizhnitz ('ויז׳ניץ or וויזשניץ) is the Yiddish name of Vyzhnytsia, a town in present-day Ukraine (then, a village in Austrian Bukovina).

Followers of the rebbes of Vizhnitz are called Vizhnitzer Hasidim.

History of dynastic leadership

Menachem Mendel Hager

Menachem Mendel Hager was born on May 17, 1830, in Kosiv. He was the son of Rabbi Chaim Hager of Kosiv, and the son-in-law of Rabbi Israel Friedman of Ruzhyn. He was appointed Rebbe at the age of 24, and soon after, he moved to Vyzhnytsia, a small town close to Kosiv. As his reputation grew, so did his followers. He became known and admired for his charitable acts, sincerity in prayer, and love for Eretz Yisrael. In his older years, he endeavored to emigrate there. He had two sons, Reb Boruch and another, Reb Yaakov Dovid, who died during his lifetime. His son-in-law was the son of Rabbi Yehoshua Rokeach of Belz, Reb Shmuel of Sokal. His Torah thoughts were published under the title Tzemach Tzaddik. He died on October 18, 1884, and was buried in Vyzhnytsia. His son Reb Boruch took his place, becoming the second Rebbe of Vizhnitz.

Boruch Hager

Boruch Hager was born in 1845 and was named after Rabbi Boruch of Medzhybizh at the behest of his grandfather, Yisroel Friedman of Ruzhyn. In 1885, aged 40, he inherited the mantle of leadership from his father, Menachem Mendel Hager, and became rebbe to thousands of Hasidim. He led them for only eight years until his death in 1892. His Torah thoughts were collected in Imrei Boruch by his son-in-law. Eight of his sons became rebbes in different locals: His eldest, Reb Yisroel, succeeded him in Vyzhnytsia; Reb Chaim became rebbe in Ottynia; Reb Moshe in Suceava; Reb Shmuel Avrohom Abba in Horodenka; Reb Yaakov Yitzchok Dovid in Storozhynets; Reb Pinchos in Borsha; Reb Feivish in Zelishtshik; Reb Yechiel Michel succeeded his brother in Horodenka. Another son, Reb Sholom, died in his youth. His sons-in-law were Reb Shmuel Dov Chodorov of Petriva; Reb Mordechai Chodorov of Kolomea, who published Imrey Boruch; Reb Sholom Yosef Friedman of Sadigur-Chernovitz.

Yisroel Hager

Yisroel Hager was born on August 20, 1860. He was the first-born son of Rabbi Boruch Hager. He married the daughter of Rabbi Meir Horowitz of Dzhikov. In 1875, he moved to his father-in-law's house and studied at great length with his brother-in-law Rabbi Yehoshua of Dzikov. Three years later he returned to Vyzhnytsia and became very close to his grandfather, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Hager. In 1893 he was appointed as rebbe in Vyzhnytsia. The young rebbe invigorated the dynasty and attracted many more followers from the surrounding provinces. He established many Talmud Torahs, and also a yeshiva, to which he appointed his son Rabbi Menachem Mendel as rosh yeshiva. When World War I broke out he was forced to move to Grosswardein (Oradea). He lived there until his death on 2 June 1936.[1] In 1949, his remains were transferred to Israel and re-interred in Zichron Meir, Bnei Brak.

Hager had 5 sons and six daughters. Four of his sons became Rebbes:

  • Reb Menachem Mendel of Visheve
  • Reb Chaim Meir (Chayim Meir'l), who inherited his father's position in Grosswardein
  • Reb Eliezer of Vyzhnytsia, author of Demesek Eliezer
  • Reb Boruch of Siret, founder of the Seret-Vizhnitz Hasidic dynasty

Chaim Meir Hager

After the Holocaust, Reb Chaim Meir settled in Bnei Brak, Israel, to build a community there. Disciples from pre-war Europe gathered around him, and formed a comprehensive net of educational and communal institutions. He became a spiritual mentor of the Agudas Yisrael party in the Israeli Knesset. Agudas Yisrael won substantial government aid for Bnei Brak and affiliated communities, in return for its support in coalition governments.[2]

Reb Chaim Meir had two sons: the older Moshe (Reb Moshelle), and the younger Mordechai (Reb Mottele).[2]

Reb Chaim Meir's sons-in-law include Rabbis Yidele Horowitz, Yitzchok Yaakov Weiss (both were married to Reb Chaim Meir's daughter, Miriam),[3] and Yisrael Friedman (married to Reb Chaim Meir's daughter, Tziporah. Their son is Hoshea Friedman).[4]

Moshe Yehoshua Hager

Rabbi Moshe Yehoshua Hager, was the Vizhnitser Rebbe in Bnei Brak. He died on March 13, 2012, aged 95.[5] He had two sons and four daughters. His elder son is Rabbi Yisroel, named after his grandfather, the "Ahavas Yisroel"; his other son is Rabbi Menachem Mendel, named after the founding Vizhnitzer Rebbe, author of Tzemach Tzaddik. Rabbi Moshe Yehoshua's sons-in-law are famous rabbis. The eldest daughter married Rabbi David Twersky, the Skverer Rebbe of New Square, New York. One daughter married Rabbi Yissachar Dov Rokeach, the Belzer Rebbe from Jerusalem. One daughter married Rabbi Aaron Teitelbaum, the Satmar Rebbe from Kiryas Joel, New York. The youngest daughter married Rabbi Menachem Ernster, the rosh yeshiva of the Vizhnitz Yeshiva in Bnei Brak.[6]

Mordechai Hager

File:The Great Synagogue of Vizhnitz Beit Shemesh.jpg
The Great Synagogue of Vizhnitz Beit Shemesh, with a new Holy Ark

Rabbi Mordechai Hager zt"l, born in 1922, was the Vizhnitzer Rebbe in Monsey until his passing in 2018.[7][8] Following the death of his father Rabbi Chaim Meir Hager of Bnei Brak, Israel, tens of thousands of Vizhnitz hasidim followed him. At the time of his passing, he was the oldest hasidic rabbi in the world. He was known for his devotion to learning Torah: he studied 18 hours a day and asked his Chasidim to study at least two hours every day. He had about 30,000 followers internationally.[9]

Rabbi Mordechai died on March 16, 2018 (29 Adar 5778), at Mount Sinai Hospital.[10] The funeral was held with the attendance of 100,000 mourners.[11] He was buried in the Vishnitzer Cemetery in Monsey, New York.[12] Rabbi Mordechai bore 14 children, 8 sons and 6 daughters. His sons and grandson serve as leaders of his followers in the United States and internationally: Rabbi Yisroel in Monsey, New York; Rabbi Mendel in Kiamesha Lake, New York; and Rabbi Yitzchok Yochonon in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. The other sons serve internationally: Rabbi Eliezer in Jerusalem, Israel; Rabbi Dovid in London; Rabbi Aharon in Canada headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, his youngest son, Rabbi Buroch Shamshon, in Beit Shemesh, Israel; and his grandson Rabbi Yakov Yosef, son of eldest son Rabbi Pinchus Shulem, in Boro Park, Brooklyn.

Relation to Zionism

Prayer for the IDF

Like other mainstream hassidim, Vizhnitz Hassidim do not serve in the IDF, nor do they actively support soldiers. Yet on the first Shabbat following the Simchat Torah massacre, the Vizhnitzer Rebbe, Rabbi Yisrael Hager (b. 1945), chose to say a prayer for the soldiers. After he was called to the Torah in his Bnei Brak synagogue and completed the reading, the Vizhnitzer Rebbe added: “He who blessed our ancestors, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, may He bless and safeguard and assist and protect and save all our brethren, the house of Israel, who stand in battle against those who hate Israel. As the entire congregation blesses them and prays for them. In merit of this, may the Holy One, blessed be He, watch over them and save them from all harm, and cause peoples to be subject to them, and let five of them pursue 100, and 100 of them pursue 10,000, and wherever they turn they will succeed, and our enemies will fall before them by the sword, and they will return in peace to their tents. [13]
The event was widely reported in the haredi press and in the Religious Zionist press, both in Hebrew and in English. The excitement was justified, as there was no historical precedent for what the Vizhnitzer Rebbe did on that Shabbat. The text that was recited was not the well-known version of the prayer for IDF soldiers; it predates that prayer. This prayer was composed by Rabbi Menahem Mendel Reuven Gefner (1905-1988), who moved to Palestine in 1924, and is famous for instituting the biannual Birkat Kohanim (Priestly Blessing) gathering at the Western Wall. The prayer appears in the 2001 hagiographic account of Rabbi Gefner’s life written by his grandson Baruch Gefner, who is a follower of Rabbi Yisrael Hager of Vizhnitz. This biography is colored by much vitriol against army service. Thus, when recounting the events of 1948 that culminated in the establishment of the state, armed fighting against the Arabs is depicted as futile. Prayer was the only avenue for Jewish survival, and “on this front Rabbi Mendel Gefner positioned himself as the military leader.” [13]
WHILE THE Vizhnitzer Rebbe’s addition on that first Shabbat after the slaughter was widely reported, no such reports were forthcoming a week later. It seems that the addition was a one-time response to the gravity of the military situation and the tragedy that had just unfolded. This leads to a sober assessment of the Vizhnitzer Rebbe’s conduct. On one hand, he recognized the enormity of the moment, sought an appropriate prayer response, and drew from the wealth of Jewish experience. He personally and publicly offered a prayer for those “who stand in battle against those who hate Israel.” On this account, the Vizhnitzer Rebbe deserves credit for his response. On the other hand, this was not a watershed moment. There was no explicit mention of the IDF or the State of Israel. More significantly, the prayer did not become a public mainstay among Vizhnitz Hassidism, and by the second Shabbat after the massacre it was already fading from memory. Time will tell whether there will be reverberations of the Vizhnitzer Rebbe’s prayer for those “who stand in battle against those who hate Israel.”[13]

Institutions

UK

US

Resources

See also

External links

References

  1. ↑ Der Israelit, 4 June 1936, p. 13 Template:Webarchive
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 The Roots of Hasidism: The Two Viznitz's (nyc-architecture.com) Template:Webarchive
  3. ↑ Invitation written by Reb Yisroel Hager to the wedding of his granddaughter Miriam and Reb Yidele Horowitz (in Hebrew)
  4. ↑ Legacy of Many Threads. 6 October 2014. 
  5. ↑ Rabbi Moshe Hager, a Hasidic Leader, Dies at 95
  6. ↑ Vizhnitzer Rebbe Passes Away at 95.  Arutz Sheva. The head rabbis, also known as Admorim (Template:Lang-he, which is the acronym for "אדונינו מורינו ורבינו" "Adoneinu Moreinu V'Rabeinu", "our master, our teacher, and our rabbi"), are located currently in Bnei Brak and Haifa in Israel, and in Monsey, New York. Rabbi Yisroel Hager has inherited his father's community. He is known for his love and devotion to עם ישראל, just like his great grand father who he's named after. He has around 7,500 followers worldwide. He has three sons and four daughters; his oldest son, Rabbi Chaim Meir, leads a kehilla in Borough Park, Brooklyn, New York. His other two sons live in Bnei Brak; his oldest daughter married Rabbi Boruch Shamshon Hager, son of the Viznitzer Rebbe in Beit Shemesh; his second daughter married Rabbi Chaim Tzvi Meizlish, Rav of shikun Satmar in Bnei Brak; his third daughter is married to Reb Chaim Tzvi Teitelbaum from Beit Shemesh; and his youngest daughter is married to Rabbi Menachem Mendel Hager from Bnei Brak.
  7. ↑ Vizhnitz Simcha Complications.
  8. ↑ Second Vizhnitz Rebbe Falls Ill. 20 March 2012.  Israel National News
  9. ↑ Rabbi Mordechai Hager, Leader of Large Hasidic Sect, Dies at 95. 2018-03-16. 
  10. ↑ http://hamodia.com/2018/03/16/vizhnitzer-rebbe-harav-mordechai-hager/
  11. ↑ Mourners say final farewell to grand rabbi in Monsey.
  12. ↑ BORUCH DAYAN HA'EMMES: Levaya of Vishnitzer Rebbe of Monsey ZATZAL [UPDATED 12:00PM].
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 LEVI COOPER Israel-Hamas war: A Hassidic rebbe's prayer for soldiers The text that was recited was not the well-known version of the prayer for IDF soldiers; it predates that prayer, and is meant to underscore that battles are won with prayers, not armed fighting. Jerusalem Post, DECEMBER 8, 2023 12:45
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