9 Nisan · Yahrzeit
Rabbi Chaim Meir Hager – the Vizhnitzer Rebbe – the “Imrei Chaim”
Rabbi Chaim Meir ben Yisrael Hager – the Vizhnitzer Rebbe – “Imrei Chaim”
Yahrzeit - 9 Nissan
Burial place - Bnei Brak
Rabbi Chaim Meir Hager, who was revered as the Vizhnitzer Rebbe for 35 years, passed away in Eretz Yisrael on the night of Thursday before Pesach of 5732.
The next day, about 50,000 mourners accompanied his aron to his final resting place.
He had an enormous number of followers, including thousands of residents of Shikun Vizhnitz and hundreds of students of the Vizhnitz Yeshiva in Bnei Brak; he was a member of the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah (Council of Torah Sages) of Agudat Yisrael Eretz Yisrael; he was a descendant of a distinguished Chassidic dynasty;
Sipurei Tzadikim
A chassid once came to Rabbi Chaim Meir Hager of Vizhnitz, author of the “Imrei Chaim,” and complained that extraneous thoughts were disturbing him during prayer. He asked the Rebbe for advice on how to get rid of them. Here is what Rabbi Hager answered: “First, we must clarify what kind of extraneous thoughts you are talking about. If a person gets up while it is still dark, immerses in the mikveh, and hurries to learn a page of Talmud, and then, when he prays, various thoughts disturb him — those are indeed extraneous thoughts. But if he gets up at seven in the morning, goes down to the mailbox, takes the newspaper and studies it carefully, and then, grabbing his tefillin, heads to the synagogue — after chatting about this and that with a couple of friends — and then thoughts come to him during prayer, that is not extraneous thoughts at all. On the contrary, in this case it is the prayer itself that is extraneous…” Of course, not everyone has the opportunity for such thorough preparation, but everyone should take to heart just how important it is to prepare for prayer.
(based on an article by Rabbi M. Eppel)