A major controversy has erupted in Kiryas Vizhnitz in Bnei Brak after a building in the heart of the community was leased to a Chareidi high school whose educational outlook has been deemed incompatible with Vizhnitzer principles.
The Bais Din Tzedek and Bais Horaah of Vizhnitz issued a sharply worded letter ordering that every necessary step be taken to cancel the agreement and prevent the institution from establishing itself within the Vizhnitzer neighborhood.
The letter was issued under the leadership of Vizhnitzer raavad Rav Moshe Shaul Klein and Vizhnitzer av bais din Rav Chaim Meir Hager, the eldest son of the Vizhnitzer Rebbe.
In the letter, addressed to Vizhnitzer chassidim and residents of the neighborhood, the dayanim described the situation as an unacceptable breach of the principles upon which the community was established.
Under the heading, “To our alarm and the alarm of the hearts of all our community,” the Bais Din wrote that “an unthinkable obstacle has arisen within a faithful community” through the leasing of a building to an institution affiliated with those who hold an ideology from which Vizhnitzer leaders and other gedolei Yisroel throughout the generations have warned their followers to remain far removed.
The letter said that the community must certainly not permit such an institution to gain “a foothold” in a neighborhood whose entire purpose was to provide an environment protected from outside influences.
The Bais Din noted that Kiryas Vizhnitz was established through the extraordinary efforts of the Imrei Chaim of Vizhnitz and subsequently carefully preserved by the Yeshuos Moshe of Vizhnitz and, yibadel l’chaim, the current Vizhnitzer Rebbe.
According to the letter, the neighborhood was intended “to serve as a dwelling place for chassidim and anshei maaseh in kedushah and taharah, and as a city of refuge from every foreign influence.”
Once the leasing arrangement became known, Rav Chaim Meir Hager met together with Rav Moshe Shaul Klein to address the matter. The two summoned the leadership of Igud Mosdos Vizhnitz, the organization that controls the building in question.
During that meeting, the organization’s leadership was given an unequivocal directive to immediately undertake all necessary measures to cancel the transaction. According to the Bais Din, the organization accepted the directive and committed itself to carrying it out without delay.
However, the matter has reportedly been complicated by various legal issues resulting from the stage the agreement has already reached.
Because of those difficulties, Rav Chaim Meir Hager and the full membership of the Bais Din subsequently convened a special bais din session to examine the details of the case and determine how to proceed.
After reviewing the various considerations, the Bais Din instructed the organization’s leadership on the steps it should take to terminate the agreement.
A special “action committee” has also been appointed by the Bais Din to oversee the process and accompany the effort until the transaction is fully canceled.
At the conclusion of its letter, the Bais Din appealed directly to Vizhnitzer chassidim and residents of the neighborhood, stressing that some of the steps now being undertaken are sensitive and should be conducted discreetly.
Residents were therefore asked to assist the effort primarily through tefillah and by asking Hashem to protect the community’s spiritual character and preserve its ancestral heritage.
The Bais Din expressed confidence that the dispute can ultimately be resolved peacefully and properly, “quietly and securely.”
At the same time, the dayanim left open the possibility that a broader public response could eventually become necessary.
Should circumstances require public protest involving the wider community, the Bais Din said, residents will receive an organized directive informing them how to proceed.
Until then, the Bais Din explicitly warned individuals not to take matters into their own hands or engage independently in actions that are inconsistent with the path established by the Vizhnitzer rabbonim and Rebbes.
The letter was signed by the members of the Bais Din Tzedek and Bais Horaah of Vizhnitz in Kiryas Vizhnitz, Bnei Brak.
