The surprising discovery of 92-year-old Yaakov Koppel Mendelovitz, the childhood friend of the elderly Vizhnitz-Monsey Rebbe and his brother Rav Moshe Yehoshua Hager ztz”l, the Vizhnitzer Rebbe whose first yahrtzeit is this week, brought back to life the images of prewar Grosswardein and reconnected both the Rebbe and his chassidim with a world almost no one remembers.
“Zeidy, you won’t believe it!” the Vizhnitz-Monsey Rebbe’s grandson couldn’t contain his excitement, “a Yid from Eretz Yisrael called to tell me that he met your childhood friend, Yaakov Koppel Mendelovitz, the one who learned together with you in the talmud Torah in Grosswardein!”
The elderly Rebbe Mottele (Rav Mordechai Hager) raised an eyebrow, surprise flickering in his eyes. “Reb Moshe Aharon’s son?” he asked, astonished. “How was this connection made?”
The Rebbe was instantly transported 85 years into the past, when he was a young boy living in the company of his illustrious grandfather, the Ahavas Yisrael, the revered forebear of the current Rebbes of Vizhnitz.
Rebbe Yisrael Hager, known as the Ahavas Yisrael — the third rebbe in the Vizhnitz dynasty, was a young man when he was appointed as Rebbe of Vizhnitz in 1893 after the passing of his father, the Imrei Baruch. When the First World War broke out he was forced to move to Grosswardein, Transylvania, and although the Jewish community was far from chassidic, the arrival of the Rebbe — who had already achieved fame throughout the region — created a powerful momentum for the spread of Chassidus.
Create a free account to keep reading.
