One of the most historically significant properties connected to the Vizhnitzer Chassidic dynasty in Eretz Yisroel is poised to be sold in a major real estate transaction worth more than 32 million shekels. The historic building at 13 Feirberg Street in Tel Aviv — where the Damesek Eliezer of Vizhnitz established the first Vizhnitzer yeshiva in Eretz Yisroel during the dark years of World War II — is expected to be sold to the “Teri Finansi” company, controlled by Eti Richman.
The deal, which is currently awaiting final approval from the Tel Aviv District Court, comes on the 90th yahrtzeit of the Ahavas Yisroel of Vizhnitz, father of the Damesek Eliezer. The nearly century-old property is slated to be sold for the full appraised value of 32.25 million shekels.
The building itself, known for its classic architecture, high ceilings, and vintage windows, occupies a revered place in Vizhnitzer history. The Damesek Eliezer originally received the structure as a gift from the wealthy philanthropist Reb Ephraim Fishel Feldman, one of the great supporters of Vizhnitzer chassidus.
In 1944, the Damesek Eliezer, son of the holy Ahavas Yisroel of Vizhnitz, arrived in Eretz Yisroel after escaping war-torn Europe. During the height of the destruction sweeping across European Jewry, the rebbe established a major center of Torah within the Tel Aviv building and founded the “Bais Yisroel V’Damesek Eliezer” yeshiva there — the institution that would later become the foundation for the Vizhnitzer Torah empire in Eretz Yisroel after the war. Only two years later, in 1946, the rebbe was niftar without leaving children.
During that period, the Damesek Eliezer granted his nephew, the Vizhnitzer rebbe Rav Chaim Yehuda Meir, permission to live in a special apartment that had been constructed atop the building.
Around 1958, ownership of the property began changing hands. The heirs of the Damesek Eliezer — his brothers, the Imrei Chaim of Vizhnitz and the Mekor Boruch of Seret-Vizhnitz — sold their shares in the property to Reb Simcha Ernster and to the widow of the Damesek Eliezer.
The building’s rooftop apartment continued to house Rebbetzin Retza Hager, wife of the Visheva rebbe. Following her husband’s passing, she later remarried Rav Schlesinger. In 1974, the rebbetzin amended her will and directed that ownership of the building remaining under her control eventually pass to the “Tiferes Menachem V’Ohel Meir” kollel. To facilitate the implementation of the will, the “Hekdesh Hager” trust was formally established in 1978 in memory of Rav Chaim of Visheva and Rebbetzin Retza.
Over the next fifty years, the aging structure deteriorated significantly. When the current trustees, attorneys Nimrod Teper and Shmuel Appel, were appointed in 2021, they discovered a severely neglected property plagued by major financial and maintenance problems. According to reports, there were no organized rental agreements, the trust was operating with ongoing deficits, and the building suffered from major plumbing leaks, collapsing sewage lines, and municipal safety concerns serious enough to place it on Tel Aviv’s dangerous structures list.
To stabilize the property and pay off mounting municipal tax debts, the trustees reportedly took out a mortgage of 750,000 shekels. At the same time, the building became the center of complicated legal battles involving former trustees, including Rav Boruch Hager and Rav Mordechai Lustig, members of the Hager family seeking trustee appointments, and a tenant who attempted to purchase the property at a reduced price.
Today, the property contains ten residential apartments along with the “Damesek Eliezer” bais medrash, which spans roughly 204 square meters and is currently undergoing renovations.
In 2024, the District Court formally authorized the trustees to move ahead with the sale. Based on an appraisal prepared by real estate assessor Motti Zeid, the minimum price was fixed at 32.25 million shekels. Although twelve companies reportedly purchased the bidding documents, only “Teri Finansi” submitted an offer meeting the required amount and has already deposited ten percent of the purchase price.
Much of the current discussion surrounding the sale centers on the fate of the enormous proceeds. According to the rebbetzin’s will, the beneficiary is the small Yerushalayim-based “Tiferes Menachem V’Ohel Meir” organization, whose declared purpose is operating batei knesses and Torah and chesed institutions. Financial records reportedly show that the organization’s annual operating budget in 2024 was only about 146,000 shekels — meaning the sale proceeds equal more than two centuries of its ordinary yearly funding.
In court filings, the trustees stressed that the funds will not immediately be distributed. “The trust will continue to exist regarding the net financial proceeds that will be received,” the filing states. The trustees are expected to later submit a separate request determining whether the funds will be preserved as a permanent endowment, used to purchase a replacement property, or directed toward Torah institutions — all subject to consultation with Israel’s Registrar of Trusts and final court approval.
Perhaps the most surprising aspect of the story involves speculation over whether any of today’s major Vizhnitzer courts will ultimately benefit from the sale. According to the report, none of the present-day Vizhnitzer factions in Eretz Yisroel or abroad are expected to receive any portion of the inheritance, since the elder Vizhnitzer rebbes of previous generations already sold all of their rights to the property decades ago in 1958.
{Matzav.com}