The Vizhnitzer Bais Hachaim
Reb Shmuel once told his family:
At one of the meetings addressing the dire financial straits of Vizhnitz Institutions, I asked to speak.
“Morai Ve’rabbosai, there is immeasurable value to the donations that each individual in our community gives to support our mosdos. It is a tremendous merit to be a partner in the support of Torah, and money that people donate to support Torah is gebentshed.
However, we can’t just rely on individuals’ donations; we must come up with a different approach in order to make up the shortfall. I propose that we establish a foundation, which will enable us to reap profits for many generations, and the revenues will be used for the benefit of the mosdos.
I propose we establish the Bais Hachaim Vizhnitz, a cemetery that will yield high profits for many years to come. The value of the kevarim would total tens of millions of dollars, so each year, there would be a tremendous amount of revenue for the mosdos...”
Not much time passed, and we succeeded in signing a contract for the purchase of a lot for a very low price. We hired the best lawyers to procure the necessary permits for a cemetery. After a few years of extensive efforts, we got the permit. The dream had become reality.
Today, reflecting on the past thirty years, it is clear what a great success this plan was for Vizhnitz Institutions.
There were other partners in the establishment of the bais hachaim. One was Reb Shmuel’s very close friend, Reb Baruch Greenberger, who worked tirelessly for this cause — although Reb Baruch himself confirmed that it was Reb Shmuel’s initiative.
Vizhnitz Hotel
“I’ve often marveled at the deeds of Harav Yosef Shlomo Kahaneman, Rosh Yeshiva of Ponevezh,” Reb Shmuel remarked.
“When the Ponevezher Rav established his yeshivah, he did not suffice with just putting up a building and relying on supporting the yeshivah with donations from generous people. He also established profitable foundations, and their yields benefit the yeshivah to this day. That is the vision of a great person. He realized that it is impossible to put a mossad on firm footing just with donations.”
Reb Shmuel was asked, “Did you establish any other entities to benefit Vizhnitz besides the cemetery?”
He responded, “Yes, the Vizhnitz Hotel also yields profits. Many years ago, the executive director of the institutions at the time, Rabbi Yaakov Dovid Vizhnitzer, reached out to me and told me that he had begun building a hotel, and the anticipated profits would be going to the mosdos. But he’d run out of funds, and hadn’t been able to complete the project. I liked the idea and was happy to become a partner in an enterprise that would yield funds for Vizhnitz Institutions. I gave him checks for the amount he needed.”
Real Estate in Givat Shmuel
Reb Shmuel’s children related:
We once overheard my father talking on the phone about properties and their values and we inquired, “Have you gone into real estate?”
“Look,” he replied, “I’m working on something important here. In order to put Vizhnitz Institutions on firm footing, it’s necessary to have principal funds and yields. After Reb Baruch Greenberger and I established the Bais Hachaim Vizhnitz foundation, we are now working to purchase a large piece of agricultural land near Vizhnitz, in Givat Shmuel. In time, this land will be rezoned for construction, and its value will go up; the profits will go to Vizhnitz Institutions. We have asked several businessmen in the Vizhnitz community to assist the mosdos through the process of buying the land. I gave half the money and several businesspeople are dividing the other half amongst themselves.”
Twenty years later, the land was rezoned for construction and sold for twenty million dollars, which saved the mosdos from bankruptcy. His investment had yielded a hefty profit — half the amount, ten million dollars, was gained from his part of the venture.
“What Reb Shmuel did for Vizhnitz, no one else did,” Rabbi Shmuel Halpert, a former Agudas Yisrael Knesset member, said about the remarkable success of the real estate in Givat Shmuel.
But few know the extent of his philanthropy. When the deal was nearing completion, one of the people involved turned to Reb Shmuel and asked, “Mr. Daskal, what percentage of the profits are you requesting for yourself?”
“Me?” he asked, taken aback. “Chalilah! All the profit is for Vizhnitzer mosdos.”
Reb Shmuel once told his son-in-law, Rabbi Yitzchak Zeideh, executive director of Vizhnitz Institutions in Bnei Brak, “Because my intentions were l’shem Shamayim, and I didn’t want any profit, the deal succeeded beyond expectations!”
Kiryat Vizhnitz in Rechovot
Reb Nachman Dov Heller shared Reb Shmuel’s role in building Kiryat Vizhnitz in Rechovot:
The housing crisis was beginning to take a toll on Vizhnitzer families, like in all the chareidi communities. Apartment prices were skyrocketing and many parents could not possibly afford to purchase apartments for their children. Gedolei Yisrael implemented far-reaching measures in order to establish communities beyond the borders of Yerushalayim and Bnei Brak and encourage families to move there.
Rabbi Baruch Pollak of Rechovot, Rabbi Yaakov Dovid Vizhnitzer, and Rabbi Baruch Weltzer, the directors of Vizhnitz Institutions in Eretz Yisrael, reached out to Reb Benzion Preisler about methods that could be used to alleviate the housing crisis. After the passing of Reb Benzion, they learned that he had left his estate — various pieces of real estate — to Vizhnitz.
Rabbi Pollak proposed an idea. His goal was to establish a kiryah, a neighborhood of Vizhnitz avreichim, which would be built on these properties. Mr. Preisler had also expressed a desire that the properties be put to use, and not sold for profit. The plan was presented to the Rebbe, who declared, “Kiryat Vizhnitz in Rechovot will come to be!”
But the property they’d received was not enough, and it was decided to purchase additional lots. Vizhnitz Institutions negotiated the purchase of a lot that was owned by a contractor. Reb Shmuel was the driving force behind the negotiations.
In addition, Reb Shmuel donated the unimaginable sum of $400,000(!) to Vizhnitz Institutions in Rechovot. The Rebbe marveled to Reb Shmuel’s son, Reb Yitzchak Beirach, several times, “Your father gave $400,000 for Kiryat Vizhnitz in Rechovot.”
Reb Shmuel himself never wanted public acclaim for his incredible donation. Even at the cornerstone-laying event for Kiryat Vizhnitz in Rechovot, he stood on the side as though he had not been a main catalyst of the entire enterprise.
It should be noted that he told his sons and sons-in-law on numerous occasions about the tremendous privilege that he had to be the patron of Vizhnitz Institutions in Rechovot.
Reb Shmuel’s mechutan, Reb Dovid Zeideh, related that he heard the story of Reb Shmuel’s donation to Kiryat Vizhnitz in Rechovot from Reb Shmuel:
For many years, I dreamed of building a yeshivah gedolah for Vizhnitz. The askanim presented to the Rebbe the idea of building a yeshivah outside Kiryat Vizhnitz in Bnei Brak. One of the suggestions was to establish a yeshivah in Givat Shmuel, on land that had been purchased by Vizhnitz.
As soon as the suggestion was made, I deposited a donation of $400,000 for the yeshivah that would be built b’ezras Hashem. That was in 5738/1978. For various reasons, the plan fell through, and the money remained in the yeshivah’s safe.
At one of the meetings of the mosdos’ administrators with the Rebbe, the askanim brought up the topic of Kiryat Vizhnitz in Rechovot, and Rabbi Baruch Welcher explained the need to purchase another lot to expand the neighborhood. During the meeting, Reb Baruch asked me, “Maybe you’d agree to give the money that you gave for the yeshivah in Givat Shmuel to Kiryat Vizhnitz in Rechovot?” I agreed immediately. In this way, I merited to donate $400,000 to Kiryat Vizhnitz in Rechovot.
Talmud Torah Vizhnitz
Reb Shmuel’s children related:
Talmud Torah Vizhnitz is one of the impressive edifices that graces Kiryat Vizhnitz. We walked past it with my father hundreds of times, but he never so much as hinted that he had any part in it. We only learned about the role he played after his passing.
During the shivah, Rabbi Baruch Welcher, deputy director of the mosdos, related that my father was the only one who had donated $25,000, a huge sum in those days, to renovate the cheder. It was the largest donation that they received, but he asked that his name not be publicized.
A Large, Polished Diamond
Reb Shmuel’s children continued:
This gave us a lot of food for thought. In addition to the tremendous sums of support my father gave Vizhnitz Institutions on a monthly basis, and aside for the regular support for the needs of the Rebbe’s home, my father had established so many entities and built so many buildings for Vizhnitz. He established many profitable assets for Vizhnitz, which, to this day, generate millions of dollars. This includes the Vizhnitz Cemetery, Vizhnitz Hotel, and others. Likewise, my father was behind the purchase of land in Givat Shmuel, which was developed and then sold for tens of millions of dollars. This profit saved the mosdos in the years 5750–5753 (1990–1993).
Likewise, our father donated half a million dollars in 5738/1978 to build Kiryat Vizhnitz in Rechovot, which in today’s terms is a sum equivalent to millions of dollars. He also built half of Talmud Torah Vizhnitz, and contributed to so many other worthy endeavors. This is all in addition to the millions of dollars that he gave to support the mosdos. And yet, his name does not appear on any building — not in his lifetime and not after his passing.
At the end of his life, we asked our father about this, he replied simply, “My children are my buildings!” When he told us that, we were heartened by knowing that the Rebbe understood my father’s true greatness, and appreciated that his priorities lay in his children’s success in Torah, and not in the fame he could have acquired. This was well-proven by the incident that Rabbi Aryeh Hager of Kiryat Vizhnitz related:
One year, Reb Shmuel brought a very distinguished personality from the Diamond Bourse to see Chanukah lecht by the Rebbe. After lighting the lecht, the Rebbe turned to the guest and said, “You know, there are various types of diamonds — large and small, clean and less so. I also have different kinds of diamonds. Reb Shmuel is a large, beautifully polished diamond. He is very, very precious...”
The Rebbe appreciated his true worth.
Member of the World Executive Committee and the Va’adah Ha’elyonah
9 Nissan 5732/1972 was the bitter day when Vizhnitzer chassidim parted from their Rebbe, the Imrei Chaim. The Yeshuos Moshe then became Rebbe and he was an exalted and revered leader.
Reb Baruch Greenberger, a member of the Va’adah Ha’elyonah, once related:
One of the things that the Rebbe instituted was the establishment of a supreme committee, a Va’adah Ha’elyonah, and its job was to oversee the administration of the mosdos. Its members did not receive a salary, and were all wealthy, distinguished people. The Rebbe appointed Reb Shmuel to be one of the members of this committee.
As we sat together for meetings, we were able to appreciate Reb Shmuel’s many talents, wisdom, and creativity. He was a very involved member and was the main speaker at every meeting.
Reb Shmuel had the ability to get to the core of an issue and was able to come up with solutions to many problems that arose. He didn’t get intimidated by naysayers, and he did everything with absolute trust in the Rebbe and in Vizhnitz.
Even when Reb Shmuel was very busy, it was apparent that his work on behalf of Vizhnitz came before other concerns.
