JERUSALEM – The spiritual leader of the second-largest Hasidic
community in Israel, Rabbi Moshe Yehoshua Hager, has died. He was 95.
Hager died Tuesday and was buried Wednesday in the Tel Aviv suburb of
Bnei Brak. The funeral drew tens of thousands of mourners from his
community and other Hasidic groups.
The ultra-Orthodox rabbi presided for 40 years over the Vishnitz, the
second-largest Hasidic dynasty in Israel. He also served as president
of the Council of Torah Sages, the decision-making body of Agudath
Yisrael, a political arm of ultra-Orthodox Jews.
