Religionמשה יהושע הגר

Moshe Yehoshua Hager

Moshe Yehoshua Hager was a rabbi who served as the fifth Rebbe of Vizhnitz and as president of the Council of Torah Sages of Agudat Yisrael.

1916 to 2012Fifth Rebbe of VizhnitzCouncil of Torah Sages presidentFounding Tzeirei Vizhnitz

Born: 16 April 1916, Oradea
Died: 13 March 2012, Israel
Occupation: rabbi

Moshe Yehoshua Hager was born in 1916 in Oradea

Moshe Yehoshua Hager was born in 1916 in Grosswardein in Transylvania, today in Romania. His father was Rabbi Chaim Meir Hager. He was named after Moses and Joshua, who appear in the Torah readings of the week of his birth.

At 17 he went to study at the Vizhnitz yeshiva of his uncle, Rabbi Eliezer Hager. At 20 he received rabbinic ordination from 3 rabbis. In 1939 he founded a yeshiva in Grosswardein and headed it, and in 1942 he married Leah Esther.

In 1944, after the Nazis invaded Hungary, he fled with his family to Romania. They sailed on the immigrant ship Morina and reached Haifa in August 1944. The British held them in the Atlit detention camp, and they were released after 3 days.

In 1945 he moved to Tel Aviv to head the Vizhnitz yeshiva there. He later moved to the Vizhnitz neighborhood in Bnei Brak and served as its rabbi. After his father died in 1972 he became the Rebbe and founded the Tzeirei Vizhnitz organization.

During his time as Rebbe many Torah and education institutions were founded. He died in 2012.