NEW YORK (JTA) — The eldest son of the Vizhnitz Hasidic sect’s grand rabbi died unexpectedly at age 67.
Rabbi Pinchas Shulem Hager, whose father Rabbi Mordechai Hager is international grand rabbi of the Vizhnitz Hasidic sect, died Thursday morning following back surgery at Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan.
Hager, known for officiating at many Vizhnitz weddings, served as the rabbi of the Vizhnitz Monsey Kehilla in the Boro Park section of Brooklyn, according to various media outlets. He also ran several Vizhnitz educational institutions in Boro Park.
The funeral was held Thursday afternoon in Boro Park. A funeral procession scheduled to follow, in the predominantly Vizhnitz village of Kaser, New York, where the grand rabbi lives, was expected to draw thousands of people. Kaser is about an hour north of New York City.
Hager is survived by a wife, nine children and numerous grandchildren. According to the Journal News, the family is related by marriage to the Twersky family, which leads the Skverer sect in New Square, New York.
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