Vizhnitz (Hasidic dynasty)
Hasidic dynasty of the Hager family from Vyzhnytsia, Bukovina; main centres in Bnei Brak, Haifa and Kaser (Monsey), with communities in Brooklyn, Montreal and London
| Vizhnitz | |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1854 Vyzhnytsia (Vizhnitz), Bukovina (now Ukraine) |
| Founder | Menachem Mendel Hager (1830–1884) |
| Leader | Rebbe Yisroel Hager (Bnei Brak, born 1945); Yisroel Hager (Monsey) |
| Headquarters | Bnei Brak; Kaser, New York |
| Type | Hasidic dynasty |
| Languages | Notes |
Vizhnitz (also Viznitz or Wiznitz) is a Hasidic dynasty of the Hager family. It is the main branch of the Kosov–Vizhnitz dynasty, and takes its name from the town of Vyzhnytsia in Bukovina, now in Ukraine.[3] After the Holocaust it was rebuilt in two main centres in Israel, Bnei Brak and Haifa. A later branch, which grew out of disputes over the succession, is active in New York.[3] The New York Times reported in 2012 that the dynasty numbered 5,000 families in Israel and perhaps as many in North America.[1]
History
Kosov and Vizhnitz
The Kosov–Vizhnitz dynasty was founded by Menachem Mendel of Kosov (c. 1768–1825), who served as rabbi of Kosiv from 1790 and became a rebbe after 1802. His eldest son, Chaim Hager of Kosov (c. 1795–1854), succeeded him in Kosiv. After Chaim's death most of his Hasidim followed his youngest son, Menachem Mendel Hager (1830–1884), who set up a court in Vyzhnytsia and served there as both rabbi and rebbe. He married Miryam, a daughter of Israel Friedman of Ruzhyn. YIVO notes that these family links helped the dynasty strengthen its hold on Transylvania and Subcarpathian Rus'. His teachings were published as Tsemach tsadik (1885).[3]
His eldest son, Boruch Hager (c. 1845–1893), was rebbe of Vizhnitz for a short time. Most of Boruch's sons became rebbes in Otynia, Horodenka, Storozhynets, Zalishchyky, Suceava and Borșa. The most prominent branch descended from his eldest son, Yisroel Hager (1860–1936), who succeeded him in Vizhnitz.[3] In 1903 Yisroel founded the Ahavat Yisrael yeshiva; it closed in 1914 and was reopened in 1922 by his son Eliezer.[3]
When the First World War broke out, Yisroel moved the court to Oradea (Grosswardein) in Transylvania. Between the wars he was the most influential rebbe of the dynasty, and almost all of his sons became rebbes, in Oradea, Siret, Vișeu de Sus (Vishiva) and Vizhnitz.[3] The New York Times reported that Russian soldiers killed many of Vyzhnytsia's Jews during the war, which forced the dynasty to move to Grosswardein.[2]
YIVO notes that the Vizhnitz rebbes were involved in disputes with other Hasidic leaders, including a long rivalry with the Teitelbaum family. In the 20th century some Vizhnitz leaders were leaders of Agudat Yisrael and opposed Zionism, while others showed sympathy for settlement in Palestine and even for the Mizrachi movement.[3] Music and nigunim (melodies) have had a prominent place in the dynasty since its beginnings.[3]
Israel
Some members of the dynasty, among them the rebbes of Borșa, were killed in the Holocaust. Three sons of Yisroel settled in the Land of Israel:[3]
- Chaim Meir Hager (1887–1972);
- Eliezer Hager (1891–1946);
- Boruch Hager (c. 1895–1964), who led the Seret branch.
They renewed Vizhnitz in two centres, Bnei Brak and Haifa.[3]
Chaim Meir's son Moshe Yehoshua Hager became head of the Bnei Brak community in 1972.[2] He died in Bnei Brak on 14 March 2012, aged 95. Tens of thousands of Hasidim attended his funeral. The New York Times described him as a participant in Israeli politics who "encouraged moderation on issues like the expansion of settlements in the occupied territories".[1] The International Court of Justice found in 2024 that Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem "have been established and are being maintained in violation of international law".[4]
His son Yisroel Hager (born 1945) is the Vizhnitzer Rebbe in Bnei Brak.[5]
United States
Mordechai Hager was born in Oradea on 20 July 1922, a son of Chaim Meir Hager. During the Second World War the family escaped to Bucharest, where he married Feige Malka Twersky, a daughter of the Skverer Rebbe. After her death a few months later he married her sister, Sima Mirel. Unable to obtain a visa for Palestine, he emigrated to the United States in 1948 with his father-in-law.[2]
He settled in Williamsburg, where he headed the Viznitz synagogue at 6 Lee Avenue. In the 1960s he moved his followers to Monsey in the town of Ramapo, New York. In 1990 his followers set up their own village, Kaser, which the New York Times described in 2018 as having 5,300 residents in one-tenth of a square mile, the most densely populated municipality in the state.[2] In 2012 the newspaper called Kaser "an almost exclusively Viznitz village in Rockland County".[1]
Hager died of liver failure at Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan on 16 March 2018, aged 95. The New York Times wrote that, like most Hasidim, he believed Israel should not have been created as a state before the Messiah came. However, he accepted it as a practical reality and honoured the Haredi legislators who took part in the Israeli government. This stance often put him at odds with Satmar.[2] He opposed the public school district created for disabled pupils in Kiryas Joel. He was also unhappy that Orthodox Jews who did not send their children to public schools dominated the board of the East Ramapo Central School District, which includes Kaser.[2]
He had eight sons and six daughters. His eldest son, Pinchas Sholom, died in 2015. The seven surviving sons each head a Vizhnitz congregation in London, Montreal, Israel, New York City or Kiamesha Lake, New York:[2]
- Yisroel
- Mendel
- Yitzchok Yochonon
- Aron
- Dovid
- Eliezer
- Boruch
In September 2026 the "Vizhnitzer Rebbe of Monsey" was part of a delegation of Hasidic leaders who met President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Jared Kushner at the White House.[6]
| Rebbe | Dates | Seat | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Menachem Mendel Hager | 1830–1884 | Vyzhnytsia | Founder of the Vizhnitz court; Tsemach tsadik[3] |
| Boruch Hager | c. 1845–1893 | Vyzhnytsia | Eldest son[3] |
| Yisroel Hager | 1860–1936 | Vyzhnytsia; Oradea from the First World War | Founded Ahavat Yisrael yeshiva, 1903[3] |
| Chaim Meir Hager | 1887–1972 | Bnei Brak | Rebuilt the dynasty in Israel[3] |
| Moshe Yehoshua Hager | died 2012 | Bnei Brak | Head of the Bnei Brak community from 1972[2][1] |
| Mordechai Hager | 1922–2018 | Williamsburg; Monsey and Kaser | Head of the American branch[2] |
| Yisroel Hager | born 1945 | Bnei Brak | Present Bnei Brak rebbe[5] |
Israeli politics and the army
Jerusalem Post writer Levi Cooper notes that, like other mainstream Hasidim, Vizhnitz Hasidim do not serve in the Israel Defense Forces and do not actively support soldiers. On the first Shabbat after the attacks of 7 October 2023, Rebbe Yisroel Hager recited a prayer for Jews "who stand in battle against those who hate Israel". The text was not the usual prayer for IDF soldiers but an older one composed by Rabbi Menachem Mendel Reuven Gefner. Cooper wrote that there was no historical precedent for the Rebbe's act.[5]
In June 2026 Meir Porush, chairman of Shlomei Emunim, said that an arbitration within Agudat Yisrael about five years earlier had settled "the power balance between Belz and Vizhnitz".[7] In September 2026 the Ger, Vizhnitz and Sanz factions signed separately with Degel HaTorah when the United Torah Judaism slate was submitted.[8]
United Kingdom
Vizhnitz institutions in Britain are concentrated in Stamford Hill and Clapton, in the London Borough of Hackney.[9][10]
| School | Address | Pupils | Proprietor / head | Ofsted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wiznitz Cheder School | 126b Stamford Hill, London N16 6QT | Boys, 3–11; 61 pupils; opened 21 December 2011 | Proprietor Viznitz Limited; headteacher Rabbi Pesach Akiva Taub | Inadequate (October 2021 and January 2024); March 2026 report card: safeguarding standards met[9][11][12] |
| Vishnitz Girls School | 49 Amhurst Park, London N16 5DL | Girls, 2–16; 504 pupils; opened 2 August 2012 | Proprietor Vishnitz Girls School Limited; headteacher Mrs Leah Weiss | Inadequate (March 2022); requires improvement (July 2024)[13][14][15] |
| Charity | Number | Address (register) | Trustees (register) | Finances and notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Friends of Wiznitz Limited | 255685 | First Floor, 94 Stamford Hill, London N16 6XS | Barry Feldman, Ephraim Gottesfeld, Shulom Feldman | Registered 22 April 1968; company 00929964. Orthodox Jewish education, religion and poverty relief; operates in Hackney, Haringey, Israel and the United States. Income £4,734,350 and expenditure £4,526,324 in the year to 31 March 2025[10] |
| Viznitz Limited | 1143314 | 126B Stamford Hill, London N16 6QT | Mordechai Kahan, Samuel Stein | Registered 12 August 2011; company 07569016. Runs Wiznitz Cheder School. Income £702,164 and expenditure £742,432 in the year to 31 March 2025[16] |
| Vishnitz Girls School Limited | 1135285 | 196 Lordship Road, London N16 5ES | Rabbi Mordechai Steren, Israel Zieg, Benzion Steiner | Registered 29 March 2010; company 06919686. Income £2,651,372 and expenditure £3,010,443 in the year to 31 May 2024[17] |
| Viznitz Institutions Trust | 1073284 | 8 Jessam Avenue, London E5 9DU | Rabbi Mordechai Steren, Izchak Aizik Menachem Vizel, Ahron Shimshon Zelig Deuitch | Registered 13 January 1999. Supports people in hardship and the Talmudical College of Viznitz in London; operates in Hackney and Israel. Income £663,506 and expenditure £697,086 in the year to 5 May 2025[18] |
| The Viznitz (Keren Nitzchi) Foundation | 326581 | 23 Overlea Road, London E5 9BG | Henrich Feldman (chair), Joseph Feldman, Shulom Feldman | Registered 29 May 1984. Operates in Israel and the United States. Income £200,073 and expenditure £185,756 in the year to 31 March 2025[19] |
| Kollel Imrei Chaim Wiznitz Trust | 1122005 | Flat 3, The Gardens, Clapton Common, London E5 9AZ | Leibish Hager (chair), Shaina Rochel Hager, Yisroel Meir Cohen, Solomon Gluck | Registered 17 December 2007. Income £164,624 and expenditure £230,189 in the year to 31 December 2024[20] |
| Kollel Viznitz London | 1166611 | 67 Watermint Quay, Craven Walk, London N16 6DN | Simon Zieg (chair), Jehoshua Gross, Yoshua Hochhauser | Registered 19 April 2016. Expenditure £1,562 in the year to 31 December 2024[21] |
| Kupath Gemach Trust (formerly Kupath Gemach Chaim Bechesed Viznitz Trust) | 1110323 | 171 Kyverdale Road, London N16 6PS | Israel Kahan, Alexander Pifko, Saul Weiss | Registered 5 July 2005. Operates throughout London and in Israel and the United States. Income £997,112 and expenditure £1,026,133 in the year to 31 May 2025[22] |
| Keren Yedidei Beis Viznitz Ltd | 1195033 | 30 Plevna Crescent, London N15 6DN | Yosef Shlomo Ganz (chair), Israel Kahan, Nachman Taub | Registered 1 July 2021; company 12835710. Operates throughout England and in Israel. Income £501,847 and expenditure £603,938 in the year to 31 August 2025. Taub is also a trustee of British Friends of Chatzer Hakodesh Viznitz[23] |
| Ezer Viznitz Foundation | 1161881 | c/o Raffingers LLP, Unit 19–20 Bourne Court, Woodford Green, Essex IG8 8HD | Chanoich Muller (chair), Rachel Stern, Yakov Babad | Registered 28 May 2015. Aid to families in distress; operates in Hackney, Haringey, Salford, Belgium, Israel and the United States. Income £4,665,384 and expenditure £4,935,630 in the year to 31 March 2025. Under Charity Commission inquiry (see below)[24][25] |
COVID-19 pandemic
In February 2021 Jewish News reported that Rebbe Yisroel Hager, head of what it called the second-largest Hasidic group in Israel, had written an opinion piece in the Israeli Hamodia during the national lockdown. According to the paper, he wrote that the pandemic came from God and had nothing to do with nature, and that the right response was more prayer and greater piety. He called the schools "the bedrock of Charedi society" and wrote that one must endanger one's life to teach children Torah, as his father had done in the Second World War. He argued that the government had closed Haredi schools while allowing many other activities it regarded as essential, so those who regarded their children's education as essential should do whatever they could to keep it going.[26]
Jewish News also reported that in November 2020 Hager had denounced Jews who reported breaches of coronavirus restrictions. He urged his followers to protest strongly against Jews who "snitch and inform" on other Jews who opened schools or held celebrations. He said the closure of Haredi schools had caused "unbearable spiritual and material damage", and vowed that they would not close again.[26]
Controversies
Allegations and investigations
- Charity Commission inquiry, 2025. In May 2025 the Charity Commission opened a class inquiry after HMRC found that 105 charities had cashed cheques worth £22 million with a company in Hackney.[27] In September 2025 it added ten more charities to the inquiry, including the Ezer Viznitz Foundation.[25] An inquiry is not a finding of wrongdoing.
See also
- Vishnitz/Wiznitz non profits in the US
- Friends of Wiznitz Limited
- Satmar (Hasidic dynasty)
- Belz (Hasidic dynasty)
- Skver (Hasidic dynasty)
- Hasidic dynasties
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Joseph Berger, Rabbi Moshe Hager, a Hasidic Leader, Dies at 95 The New York Times, 15 March 2012 (archived 23 June 2024), accessed 27 October 2026.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 2.9 Joseph Berger, Rabbi Mordechai Hager, Leader of Large Hasidic Sect, Dies at 95 The New York Times, 16 March 2018 (archived 3 October 2025), accessed 27 October 2026.
- ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 Gad Sagiv, Kosov-Vizhnits Hasidic Dynasty YIVO Encyclopedia of Jews in Eastern Europe, accessed 27 October 2026.
- ↑ International Court of Justice, Summary of the Advisory Opinion of 19 July 2024 icj-cij.org, 19 July 2024, accessed 26 October 2026.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Levi Cooper, Israel-Hamas war: A Hassidic rebbe's prayer for soldiers Jerusalem Post, 8 December 2023, accessed 27 October 2026.
- ↑ The Yeshiva World, Historic White House Visit: Inside Rebbes' Extraordinary Meetings With Trump And Vance The Yeshiva World, 4 September 2026, accessed 27 October 2026.
- ↑ Chaya Mushka Rubenstein, Porush Attacks Gur's Control of Agudat Yisrael Party JFeed, 17 June 2026, accessed 27 October 2026.
- ↑ The Yeshiva World, After Split And Hours Of Turmoil, UTJ Submits Party Slate The Yeshiva World, 9 September 2026, accessed 27 October 2026.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Department for Education, Wiznitz Cheder School, URN 137809 Get Information about Schools, accessed 27 October 2026.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Charity Commission, Friends of Wiznitz Limited, charity 255685 Register of Charities, accessed 27 October 2026.
- ↑ Ofsted, Inspection of Wiznitz Cheder School Ofsted, 30 January – 1 February 2024, accessed 27 October 2026.
- ↑ Ofsted, Wiznitz Cheder School: inspection report Ofsted, 24 March 2026, accessed 27 October 2026.
- ↑ Department for Education, Vishnitz Girls School, URN 138516 Get Information about Schools, accessed 27 October 2026.
- ↑ Ofsted, Inspection of Vishnitz Girls School Ofsted, 9–11 July 2024, accessed 27 October 2026.
- ↑ Ofsted, Vishnitz Girls School Ofsted, accessed 27 October 2026.
- ↑ Charity Commission, Viznitz Limited, charity 1143314 Register of Charities, accessed 27 October 2026.
- ↑ Charity Commission, Vishnitz Girls School Limited, charity 1135285 Register of Charities, accessed 27 October 2026.
- ↑ Charity Commission, Viznitz Institutions Trust, charity 1073284 Register of Charities, accessed 27 October 2026.
- ↑ Charity Commission, The Viznitz (Keren Nitzchi) Foundation, charity 326581 Register of Charities, accessed 27 October 2026.
- ↑ Charity Commission, Kollel Imrei Chaim Wiznitz Trust, charity 1122005 Register of Charities, accessed 27 October 2026.
- ↑ Charity Commission, Kollel Viznitz London, charity 1166611 Register of Charities, accessed 27 October 2026.
- ↑ Charity Commission, Kupath Gemach Trust, charity 1110323 Register of Charities, accessed 27 October 2026.
- ↑ Charity Commission, Keren Yedidei Beis Viznitz Ltd, charity 1195033 Register of Charities, accessed 27 October 2026.
- ↑ Charity Commission, Ezer Viznitz Foundation, charity 1161881 Register of Charities, accessed 27 October 2026.
- ↑ 25.0 25.1 Charlie Moloney, Commission investigates 10 further charities in £22m cashed cheques probe Third Sector, 1 September 2025 (archived 11 September 2025), accessed 27 October 2026.
- ↑ 26.0 26.1 Jewish News Reporter, Grand Rabbi in Israel: Pandemic is from God and has nothing to do with nature Jewish News, 3 February 2021 (full text supplied by David), accessed 27 October 2026.
- ↑ Charity Commission, Serious concerns over use of £22 million triggers investigation by charity regulator GOV.UK, 14 May 2025, accessed 27 October 2026.