Rav Yoel Sirkis Bach (Adar 20, 5401 / 1641 - 383rd Yahrzeit)
Rabbi of Krakow and author of the Bayit Chadash ("Bach") commentary on the great Halachic work, the Arba'ah Turim. Served as Rav of Belz from -שעדשעב as he signs himself in his teshuvos Siman 78 as Rav of Belz.
Rav Chaim Meir Yechiel of Mogolintza used to say that any sick person who was brought within four amos of the Bach, as he sat and studied Torah, would be healed instantly. They say that he was so poor and his wages as Rav in Belz were so meager that he could not afford to purchase candles and so at night he had no choice but to study and review by heart. The townsfolk however were not only stingy but also lacking in the attribute of judging others favorably and giving them the benefit of the doubt. When they saw that the windows of the Rav’s home were always dark at night they assumed he was asleep and concluded that “any Rabbi who isn’t up at night engaged in Torah study is not worthy of serving as the Rav in Belz.”
The Bach was invited to serve as Rav in Shidlov which he gladly accepted and as he left Belz behind he retorted back to the ungrateful citizens that “The reason why Sodom was overturned was not because Hashem couldn’t think of any other punishment. Rather Hashem punished them measure for measure. Their behavior was to overturn all manner of things upside down and backwards, for example, instead of worrying about the Rav’s livelihood and that their Rav should worry about their state of spirituality, they worried about his state of spirituality and whether he studied enough Torah and they thought the Rav should be the one to worry about the material state of the townsfolk and her poor! Therefore they were punished measure for measure and the city was overturned.
Afterwards he served as Rav in Brisk and from there as Rav of Cracow where he passed away 20 Adar תא and is buried in the ancient Bais HaChaim adjacent the Rema Shul, alongside other great Rabbonim such as the Rebbe Reb Heschel and the author of Maginei Shlomo.
Rav Dovid of Lelov once remarked that when the Bach passed away and ascended on High they honored him to say a derasha in the heavenly academy of Yeshiva Shel Maalah but he refused to accept the honor until they would cool off Gehinom for thirty days so that the wicked would enjoy the respite from their sufferings, first. And so they did. (cited from Intro to Shaar HaGilgulim)
Rav Moshe Yehoshua Hager of Vizhnitz, the Yeshuos Moshe (Adar 20, 5772 / 2012 - 12th Yahrzeit)
The Yeshuos Moshe, Rav Moshe Yehoshua Hager, was born on 13 Sivan 5676/1916, in Vilchovitz, Romania to his mother, Rebbetzin Margalis, a daughter of Rav Ze’ev of Rachmastrivka and to his father the Imrei Chaim of Vizhnitz. Already during his father’s lifetime, he was the Rosh Yeshivah of the yeshivos of Vizhnitz, and was known as a phenomenal
When his father passed away in 5732/1972, he succeeded him as Rebbe, leading his flock for the next forty years. He was the Nasi of the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah of Agudas Yisrael, and fought tirelessly to preserve religious standards in Eretz Yisrael.
Although he was the Imrei Chaim’s first son and there were many great tzadikim after who to name the baby, his zeide, the Ahavas Yisrael of Vizhnitz, advised that he be named Moshe Yehoshua, after the first two leaders of Klal Yisrael, explaining that “the child has the neshamah of a Jewish leader.”
The Rebbe grew up in the home of the Ahavas Yisrael in Grosswardein, Hungary, and staunchly followed in his ways. The Ahavas Yisrael was extremely fond of his young einikel. He once told one of his chassidim: “I am not totally lost — as long as I see that I love my Moshe, I know that my heart is still attracted to the good ...”
Already in his early years, the Rebbe gained fame for his exceptional hasmadah, learning until the wee hours of the morning and, at least once a week, on Thursday nights, devoting the entire night to Torah study. Even after his grandfather’s Friday night tisch, which concluded in the early hours of the morning, the young Moshe Yehoshua would be seen immersed in the sefer Chovos Halevavos.
In Grosswardein he learned with leading talmidei chachamim including Harav Yitzchak Yaakov Weiss, the Minchas Yitzchak, zt”l, who later taught the Rebbe shimush in halachah. Later, the Rebbe traveled to Vizhnitz to learn in the yeshivah of his uncle, the Damesek Eliezer of Vizhnitz. At the young age of 20 he received semichah from the leading Rabbanim of Hungary, who applauded his wide knowledge and understanding in all halachos. After the petirah of the Ahavas Yisrael, the Imrei Chaim, who was Rav in Vilchovitz, moved to Grosswardein to assume his father’s post, and the 20-year-old Harav Moshe Yehoshua was appointed Rav in Vilchovitz.
