Hasidic groups regularly visit the city.
In January of 2018, the city of the Matriarchs and Patriarchs welcomed over 1,000 members of the Viznitz Hasidic movement. The wedding of the Viznitzer Rebbe’s grandson was reason to celebrate and family, students, and followers joined in with traditional Jewish songs and prayers.
It is common for Hasidic groups to gather at the Tomb of Machpela in Hebron for special occasions. Over 700,000 tourists visit the site every year.
Founded by Rabbi Menachem Mendel Hager in the 1850s, the Vizhnitz Hasidim take their name from the Yiddish pronunciation of Vyzhnytsia, a town in present-day Ukraine. Today, there are Viznitz communities in various cities in Israel such as Jerusalem, Bnei Brak, and Beit Shemesh and throughout the world mainly in cities such as New York, London, and Montreal.
(Originally published on en.hebron.org.il 28.1.18)