Detailed
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Detailed history of the Vizhnitz hasidus written about the courtyard, that is, where hasidim and others come to the rebbe by R. Herman Apsan. The author’s purpose is in writing the book as given in the introduction, is to describe life, how days and nights, seasons, particularly festivals were spent. How the hasidim came to the rebbe, requesting advice and blessings, heeding the rebbe’s instructions unfailingly, witnessing miracles and wonders. He has not taken anything from other works,but everything is original, witnessed by him or heard from Viznizer hassidm and his family. He describes such such occasions as shalom zakhors, shelsh seudot, etc. Much of the book is centered about Maramuresh.
The Vizhnitz hasidic dynasty, founded by R. Menahem Mendel ben Hayyim Hager (1830–1884). After the death of his father, the zaddik of Kosov(1854), R. Menahem Mendel began to lead the community of Vizhnitz (Vizhnitsa) where he also served as av bet din. He became famous as a miracle-worker and a distributor of amulets. He headed Kolel Vizhnitz and Maramuresh, a fund for the poor in Erez Israel. He also attempted to settle the dispute between R. Hayyim Halberstam of Zanz (Sandz) and the sons of R. Israel of Ruzhin. His book Zemah Zaddik (1885) was written in the spirit of hasidic Kabbalah. His oldest son R. Baruch (1845–1893) served as a hasidic rabbi in Vizhnitz for eight years, and gathered around him many Hasidim. A collection of his writings was published as Imrei Barukh (1912). Seven of his nine sons and three of his sons-in-law were hasidic rabbis, a fact which contributed to divisions among the Hasidim and gave rise to controversy. He was succeeded by his son R. Isrel (1860–1938). R. Israel was very popular and had thousands of hasidic followers. Vizhnitz today is a large and popular hassidic movement with many followers in Erez Israel, the Unites States, and Israel.
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