Rabbi Mordechai Hager (July 14, 1922 – March 16, 2018), widely known to his followers as Reb Mottele, was a towering spiritual leader who served as the Grand Rebbe of the Monsey branch of the Vizhnitz Hasidic dynasty for 46 years. At the time of his passing at age 95, he was revered as the oldest Hasidic rabbi in the world, guiding an international community of roughly 30,000 followers.

Early Life and Survival

• Lineage: Born in Oradea, Romania, he was the son of Rabbi Chaim Meir Hager (the Imrei Chaim), the fourth Vizhnitzer Rebbe. He descended from a long line of rabbinic leadership originating in Eastern Europe.

  
  

• The War Years: During World War II, he managed to survive the Holocaust by escaping to Bucharest, Romania.

  
  

• Personal Life: In Bucharest, he initially married Feige Malka Twersky, the daughter of the Grand Rabbi of Skver. Tragically, she passed away from an infection just a few months later. He subsequently married her sister, Sima Mirel Twersky (who passed away in 2005). Together, they had 14 children—8 sons and 6 daughters.

  
  

Post-War Leadership & Monsey Expansion

Following the devastation of European Jewry, Rabbi Mordechai immigrated to the United States, while his older brother, Rabbi Moshe Yehoshua Hager, eventually remained in Israel to lead the main branch of Vizhnitz in Bnei Brak.

Rabbi Mordechai established the American headquarters of the dynasty in Rockland County, New York, specifically within the Hasidic enclave of Kaser/Monsey. Over nearly five decades under his guidance, this community expanded dramatically from a modest post-war gathering into a sprawling, self-sustaining global network of synagogues, schools, and charitable organizations.

Defining Values

Reb Mottele was defined by an uncompromising devotion to spiritual life and Jewish law:

• Torah Study: He was legendary for his strict daily routine, routinely dedicating up to 18 hours a day to Torah study.

• Expectations of Hasidim: He demanded a similar standard of commitment from his community, requiring his Hasidim to dedicate a minimum of two hours every single day to personal Torah study.

• Insularity and Piety: He championed an insulated, deeply traditional lifestyle focused entirely on piety, education, and communal welfare, purposefully keeping his community apart from modern secular influences.

Passing and Global Succession

Rabbi Mordechai Hager was hospitalized during the final months of his life and passed away on March 16, 2018 (29 Adar 5778) at Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan.

His funeral in Monsey drew an estimated 100,000 mourners before he was laid to rest in the local Vizhnitz Cemetery. His eldest son, Rabbi Pinchas Sholom Hager, had predeceased him in 2015.

To ensure the continued stability of the global community, leadership of the dynasty was distributed among his surviving sons and a grandson, establishing new, thriving independent jurisdictions across the globe:

• Rabbi Yisroel Hager became the primary Vizhnitzer Rebbe of Monsey, New York.

• Rabbi Mendel Hager took leadership in Kiamesha Lake, New York.

  
  

• Rabbi Yitzchok Yochonon Hager assumed leadership in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

  
  

• Rabbi Yakov Yosef Hager (son of the late Rabbi Pinchas Sholom) became the leader in Borough Park, Brooklyn.

  
  

• Rabbi Dovid Hager leads the community in London, England.

  
  

• Rabbi Aharon Hager leads the community in Montreal, Canada.

  
  

• Rabbi Eliezer Hager oversees followers in Jerusalem, Israel (and Lakewood, New Jersey).

  
  

• Rabbi Boruch Shamshon Hager leads the community in Beit Shemesh, Israel.