his
talmidim
and eats the
seudah
togetherwith his beloved
bochurim
. He spends four
to ve hours with them, sharing insights
on the
parshah
and telling them tales of tzaddikim — usually of a tzaddik whose
yahrtzeit
falls that week.”Reb Chaim Shlomo is suddenlydistracted as he has to tend to a phone callfrom a chassid in Australia who is seekingthe Rebbe’s opinion on a medical issue.He goes to see the Rebbe on the otherside of the apartment to relay the chassid’squestion.
On his return, I tell Reb Chaim Shlomothat I am truly spellbound by the Rebbe’sthreefold role. And I am not overstatingmy feelings. One would think that a leader
such as the Satmar Rebbe would spendmost of his time immersed in communalaffairs and in the management of hisworldwide network of chedarim, yeshivos,
batei medrash
, girls’ schools, charityorganizations, and so much more.
The Rebbe would later tell me that the
time he spends in the yeshivah make upthe sweetest hours of his day and the mosttranquil and precious moments of his life.
A Glimpse of Royalty
The Satmar
Rebbe appears somewhat slighter in person
than he does in photographs. Though he’s
sitting regally in his chamber at the head of
a long table, I notice a certain restlessness
in him, or to put it more accurately, a certain
re. The Rebbe has no time to waste. His
sense of purpose and mission is palpable.
He smiles brightly at me as I approachhim. I place a kiss on his outstretched handand he asks me to be seated. I tell him
my name, and he tells me that he knowsmy father and is aware that he hails fromthe city of Kosice, Slovakia. Rav Aharonhad traveled to Kosice together with hisparents; the previous Rebbe,
ztz”l
; and hisRebbetzin. My father was also present onthis memorable trip, which began with abomb threat by some pranksters on their
charter ight out of New York’s Kennedy
Airport, delaying their departure for
many hours. After nally arriving at their
destination, my father led the Rebbe,
ztz”l,
and his family on a tour of the historicalsites of his hometown.
The Rebbe, however, is now interested
in hearing my impression of the many
Satmar institutions I had the great privilegeto visit in the past few days. I do nothesitate to tell him how humbled I was by
the exhilarating experience of witnessing
rsthand the massive infrastructure that is
serving not only his followers, but much of Klal Yisrael as well.
The discussion leads to the Satmar village of Kiryas Yoel, in Orange County, New York. I ask the Rebbe whether living
in an isolated community prevents onefrom abandoning Yiddishkeit, or perhapsvice versa. He thinks for a moment, andthen points out that the fallout rate amongthe youth in Eretz Yisrael, especiallyamong girls, is far greater than it is in theUnited States. “And the reason for this is
simple. In Eretz Yisrael, there are no social
or language barriers between the chareidimand secular people. Even the wrongdoers
there are Jewish. In America, there is still a
social divide between a Yiddish-speakingchassid and a non-Jew.”
I tell the Rebbe that when I was studyingin Jerusalem, I had a
chavrusa
who was aSatmar chassid. Before he got engaged, hetelephoned the
gabbai
of the late SatmarRebbe, the Divrei Yoel,
ztz”l
, to receive theRebbe’s endorsement and blessings for the
shidduch
. The response that he got was that
the Rebbe would agree to the
shidduch
onthe express condition that the girl commit
to living in America. “Is this something theRebbe too would demand?” I ask.The Rebbe chuckles in a lighthearted
manner, and tells me that “today we cannotrequest that everyone should immigrate toAmerica.”
As the discussion progresses, I realize
how many public issues and private mattersthe Rebbe has to deal with on a daily basisand wonder aloud how the Rebbe managesto spend close to twelve hours every day in
the yeshivah. In place of an answer, I geta warm invitation for me to join him. “If
the Rebbe would make me feel welcome
there,” I tell him half jokingly, “I wouldmost denitely consider taking the Rebbe
up on the kind offer.”
A Single Focus
When one tries toglean some insight into the captivatingpersonality of Rav Aharon of Satmar,whose life has had its fair share of angst anddistractions, a multifaceted image emerges,
whose every facet consists of: Torah,Torah, and once again, Torah. This Rebbe
seems to be forever immersed in learning,teaching, or composing
chiddushei
Torah
,primarily on the most complicated areasof
Shas
. He is a chassidic leader witha worldwide following and a colossalnetwork of institutions, yet he spends hisdays in the yeshivah with the
bochurim
just like a small town Rosh Yeshivahwould. When he’s not davening togetherwith his
talmidim
or delivering a
shiur
, heis in his room right off the yeshivah’s
beismedrash
, learning together with one of the
bochurim
.
One of the greatest sources of pridefor the Rebbe’s followers, I am quick to
learn, is the widely distributed weeklypublication
Shulchan Shel Melachim
,which is printed by his chassidim in Bnei
Brak. It regularly transcribes a recent
conversation the Rebbe had with a Rav
or Rosh Yeshivah. These talks, his loyal
chassidim boast, demonstrate the Rebbe’s
astounding uency in every segment of the Torah. The Rebbe always opens a
conversation with a Rosh Yeshivah or Ravby asking: “
Vus lerent men yetzt ba enk?
–What are they learning by you now?” Andwhatever the reply, he delves directly intothat topic, demonstrating perfect mastery.
The chassidim tell me that many
rabbanim
and Roshei Yeshivos have confessed thatthey prepare themselves before they visit,or are being visited by, the Rebbe, becausethey know that he’s at home in everysubject they wish to discuss.Reb Moshe Aharon Hoffman, anintelligent, articulate, and charmingman, who heads Satmar’s Williamsburginstitutions, illustrates this by a personal
experience: “I had the privilege of taking
Rav Binyamin Remer,
shlita
, of the
Tchebiner Yeshivah (son-in-law of Rav
Yosef Shalom Elyashiv,
shlita
) where myson was learning at the time, to visit the
Rebbe during the Rebbe’s trip to Israel last
year. When the Rebbe entered the room, this
was the rst question he asked Rav Remer:
‘
Vus lerent men yetzt
?’ When Rav Rimmernamed the
masechta
, a lively discussionensued between them for the next thirtyminutes in the
sugyos
of that
masechta
.
I also had the privilege of ying with theRebbe to London last year. The Rebbe
took along a briefcase full of seforim,
and during the entire ight he learned and
wrote
chiddushei Torah
. He didn’t close aneye, although a heavy week was waiting
for him. I stayed together with the Rebbe
the entire week that followed, and otherthan the two to three hours he managed tosleep at night, every free minute he had he
grabbed a Gemara.”
Ask a knowledgeable Satmar chassidwhat the Rebbe’s greatest
avodah
and thespiritual high point of his day is, and he’llmost likely tell you that it is those moments
when he recites the Bircas HaTorah each
morning. At least that is what Reb MattesDeitch, who as a young
bochur
frequentlystayed overnight at the Rebbe’s home,tells me. Reb Mattes relates that the Rebbe
would recite the Bircas HaTorah with such
great care and concentration that hearing ithas left an everlasting impression on him.
Indeed, when the Rebbe was still a young
man, his landlord once asked his father,the Beirach Moshe,
ztz”l
, to please tell his
“How can one not be an admirer and a chassid of the Rebbe?”he asks me. “Do you know any other Rebbe like him?”His chassidim have nointerest in discussingsupernatural miracles;over and over again theywill tell you of the Rebbe’slove for the Torah
The Klausenburger Rebbe of Netanya checking thekashrus of a chicken with the Satmar Rebbe at the KiryasYoel
shlachthoiz
The Beirach Moshe,
ztz”l,
at the Pragueairport with Reb Elimelech Frankfurter,the author’s father, en route to KosiceRav Malkiel Kotler, Rosh Yeshivah of Beth Medrash Govoha of Lakewood, with the Rebbe.Standing between them is the Rebbe's
gabbai
, Reb Chaim Shlomo FisherThe Rebbe arriving in Eretz Yisrael for his
chasunah
along with his father, the BeirachMosheThe Rebbe at his
chuppah
. To his rightis the Beirach Moshe; to his left is theVizhnitzer Rebbe“The Great Light”: even as a youngster,he was recognized by the Divrei Yoel as aluminary. The Rebbe engrossed in a seferas a
yungerman
Respected by the leaders of the generation:The Rebbe, the Beirach Moshe, the PupaRav,
ztz”l
, and the Mattersdorfer Rav
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12 Nisan 5769 4.6.09
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