Rabbi Menachem Mendel Hager (born November 28, 1957) is one of the two Grand Rabbis of the

Viznitz Vizhnitz 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 ...

(Admor Mviznitz) Hasidic dynasty in

Bnei Brak Bnei Brak or Bene Beraq ( he, בְּנֵי בְּרַק ) is a city located on the central Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean Israeli coastal plain, coastal plain in Israel, just east of Tel Aviv. A center of Haredi Judaism, Bnei Brak covers an are ...

and a current member of

Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah (, "Council of great Torah ages) is the supreme rabbinical policy-making council of the Agudat Yisrael and Degel HaTorah movements in Israel; and of Agudath Israel of America in the United States. Members are usually pres ...

(Council of great Torah Sages) of the

Agudat Yisrael Agudat Yisrael ( he, אֲגוּדָּת יִשְׂרָאֵל, lit., ''Union of Israel'', also transliterated ''Agudath Israel'', or, in Yiddish, ''Agudas Yisroel'') is a Haredi Jewish political party in Israel. It began as a political party re ...

movement.

Biography

Rabbi Mendel was born in

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

to Grand Rabbi Moshe Yehoshua Hager, the previous spiritual leader of the Vizhnitzer Hassidim and to Rebbetzin Leah Esther, the daughter of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Paneth of Deyzh who was murdered in the Holocaust, and after whom Rabbi Mendel was named. He is the youngest of six siblings. As a child, he received his education in the Vizhnitz educational institutions. About a year after his Bar Mitzvah, he traveled to the United States to study in the Skverer

Yeshiva A yeshiva (; he, ישיבה, , sitting; pl. , or ) is a traditional Jewish educational institution focused on the study of Rabbinic literature, primarily the Talmud and halacha (Jewish law), while Torah and Jewish philosophy are s ...

. In 1976, he married Rebbetzin Miriam, daughter of Rabbi Avrohom Dovid Horowitz (deceased) who served as the Chief Rabbi of the Ultra-orthodox community in

Strasbourg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...

, France, and later as a member of the

Edah HaChareidis The Charedi Council of Jerusalem ( he, העדה החרדית, ''haEdah haCharedit'', Ashkenazi pronunciation: ''ha-Aideh Charaidis'' or ''ha-Eido ha-Chareidis''; "Congregation of God-Fearers") is a large Haredi Judaism, Haredi Judaism, Jewish comm ...

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

. In 1984, their father, Rabbi Moshe Yehoshua Hager, removed the older brother Rabbi Yisroel from his main post as Chief Rabbi of Vizhnitz, and expelled him from the Vizhnitz community as well. In 1990, on the orders of Rabbi Moshe Yehoshua, Rabbi Mendel was crowned to serve as a Chief Rabbi of The Vizhnitzer Hassidim and also was destined to become his father's heir and to take over the leadership. In 2002, the older brother, Rabbi Yisroel, returned to Vizhnitz and was given back his post according to multiple sources close to the father he was forced to bring back his older son. The overwhelming majority of the Hassidim supported Rabbi Yisroel, and only a few hundred families followed Rabbi Mendel who decided to separate from his brother's community and establish his own community. In 2009, he founded his synagogue and Yeshiva on Shlomo Hamelech Street, which is located near the Vizhnitz neighborhood. In March 2012, after his father died, Rabbi Mendel was officially crowned as a Grand Rabbi of his community. Despite the dispute in the past, the two brothers currently maintain a good relationship and attend each other's family events.

Children

*Rebbetzin Machle, the wife of Rabbi Yoel Moshe Mordecai Katz, son of Grand Rabbi Usher Anshil of

Vien (Hasidic community) Vien () is an American Haredi Kehilla (community) originating in present-day Vienna. The name of their congregation is ''"Kehal Adas Yereim Vien"'' () (translation: Congregation of the Reverent, Vienna). History Kehal Adas Yereim Vien was form ...

in Williamsburg. *Rabbi Chaim Meir, married Rebbetzin Nechama Mirel, daughter of Grand Rabbi Naftali Tzvi Weiss of

Spinka Spinka is the name of a Hasidic group within Haredi Judaism. The group originated in a city called Szaplonca ( yi, Spinka), in Máramaros County, Kingdom of Hungary (today Săpânţa, Romania). Spinka rebbes The first Spinka Rebbe was Rabbi ...

Borough Park – Serves as a Chief Rabbi of his father's followers in the United States. *Rebbetzin Sarah Rivkah, the wife of Rabbi Boruch Hager, son of Grand Rabbi Ya'kov Hager of Seret Vizhnitz ( A branch of the Vizhnitz dynasty) in

Haifa Haifa ( he, חֵיפָה ' ; ar, حَيْفَا ') is the third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropol ...

. *Rebbetzin Margulis, was married to Rabbi David Rosenbaum, son of Grand Rabbi Meir of Premishlan.They divorced in 2019.

References

External links

On 5tjt.com

On

Ynet Ynet (stylized as ynet) is one of the major Israeli news and general-content websites, and is the online outlet for the '' Yedioth Ahronot'' newspaper. However, most of Ynet's content is original work, published exclusively on the website and wri ...

.

On

Haaretz ''Haaretz'' ( , originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , ) is an Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel, and is now published in both Hebrew and English in the Berliner f ...

On Matzav {{DEFAULTSORT:Hager, Menachem Mendel Haredi rabbis in Israel Hasidic rabbis in Israel Rebbes of Vizhnitz 1957 births Living people