Kiryas Joel, NY – Hundreds of boys and young men in dark coats and hats stood in the blazing sun at the cemetery gate, awaiting a Brooklyn rabbi they either adored or – didn’t adore.
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Rabbi Zalmen Teitelbaum, leader of one of two warring factions in the Satmar Hasidic movement, came to pray Wednesday afternoon at the grave of Satmar founder Joel Teitelbaum on the latest anniversary of his death – a sacred occasion that draws tens of thousands of visitors to Kiryas Joel each year.
Cars and busloads of worshippers began showing up on Tuesday. Most were came from Orthodox communities in New York and New Jersey, but some traveled from as far away as Toronto and Montreal. Village officials estimated a crowd of 40,000 by the time the event peters out Thursday.
In past years, Rabbi Zalmen’s arrival on the old rebbe’s yertzheit – as it’s known in Yiddish – had stoked tensions, since Kiryas Joel is the home base of his older brother and rival, Rabbi Aaron Teitelbaum.
This year was no different. When Rabbi Zalmen’s black GMC Denali pulled up to a cemetery side entrance about 2 p.m. Wednesday, spectators had been jockeying for position for nearly an hour, as at least a dozen state troopers and Kiryas Joel public safety officers stood guard.
Times Herald Record reporter covers the story
As the grey-bearded rabbi and his entourage exited and pushed through a sea of black hats, a shushing sound went up – an apparent reminder from Rabbi Aaron’s young supporters to stifle any shouts or jeers.
Then, as the procession made its way to the cider-block mausoleum, the hissing seemed to hit a crescendo. Boys scattered, kicking up dust. An acrid smell wafted through the crowd.
“Gas!” people shouted. Troopers and public safety officers herded onlookers away as the odor and hissing continued.
Was it tear gas? A broken gas line? No, someone had snapped a valve on a rusty, partially buried propane tank, once used to heat the mausoleum. Firefighters exhumed and carted away that tank and another tank. The spectacle resumed.
Rabbi Zalmen and his followers prayed for about an hour and then ran the gauntlet again. Beefy officers leaned into the surging crowd like a football practice sled as the visitors came through. But no violence except pushing took place.
Minutes later, after the SUV pulled away and the dust literally settled, Moses Witriol, the village’s public safety director, sat in a golf cart and rated the crowd control a success.
“Super,” he said. “Better than I thought.”
who is this Moses Witriol guy he seems to always be in the news
So sad it has to be like this. Youd think both sides are real enemies, when the reality is that we are all brothers with one father.
was it natural gas or real gas explosion?
Major Success… blowing up a gas tank just as R’ Zalmen Leib arrived. And putting hundreds of lives in danger.
im sure the rebbe zatsal is shepping loads of nachas
What a shanda – two brothers can’t make sholom – they need police for protection? Pushing and hissing? What a great legacy for Satmar!
Even if the brothers can’t get along they should announce to their supporters not to be have any animosities.
thank g-d that have activities to keep them busy
if the rebe would be alive he would ban the tzion so not to support the fight
I have never heard of state troopers and security guards required to keep order between Chabad meshichisten and Chabad non-meshichisten.
it sounds that the record reporter is a zali
This is why Moshiach does not come and why so much is happening to Klal Yisrael…..I am sure the Rebbe ZZL is not resting ….. how can his two sone s do this all in the name of KAVOD but more MOney
How very sad. It would almost be comical if it wasn’t so serious. It is amazing to me that in so many chasidic groups the same story exists with wars, fights.. between brothers, leadership etc.. What is the point of it all if this is what it’s about. How far we have come from what chasiddus was started for.
Babishka Says:
I have never heard of state troopers and security guards required to keep order between Chabad meshichisten and Chabad non-meshichisten.
thats because most people have there views and dont think about weather the Rebbi is moshaich or not on a daily base’s by the way in my class the most anti & mishichist bouchur are chavrousa’s
BTW, the rebbi mentioned by a speach in yeshiva on Monday that there should be no violance what’s so ever, nobody should bother them and whoever thinks that he supports the rebbi when he assaults someone is only making a mistake and it bothers him very much the fighting…..
Just for the record! Everybody should know who supports fighting. Its the zaly people. Its the zaly fraction that’s always bringing the media along to get some PR. But it dosnt work, since the aroninim are for themselves and are plain ignoring the other side. I’m sitting here by the tish and what I see is 4000 people listening what the rebbi has to say… That’s all we care for. We are just looking forward and hashem will do the rest for us…
how come by the conservativ and reform by them there is no machlokis
because they belong to him (yetzir hora)
but the chasidem r his enemies
so he makes a machlokis
8:42,
That’s because Crown Heights is in NYC, which rarely sees state troopers. NYPD, on the other hand, has been involved in such disputes.
theyre like children who need some good petch to behave………seriously somebody give them that please
KOKOSH Cake 8:18PM. Why do you have to read something sinister into an innocuous situation?! We must have an optimistic [maybe, naive?] outlook! Things are getting better, BE”H! There are people who have an outlook of admiration for both Rebbis [at the same time?]!
lebediger 8:44PM. …It seems the reporter is a Zali! …Well, he’s NOT an Ahroiny!..when he reports stuff on KJ! And he (or she, to be politically correct) is NOT a Zali, either. When reporting news about Williamsburgh, (not Virginia)!!!
ex-frummie 10:03PM. I don’t believe you! [that you’re an EX! If it were true, you wouldn’t take an interest in Frum News/Scandals!!!
A shaine meisse r”l. Tried to turn the “Tzion Hakodosh” into a gas chamber. Who was it? a Zali? Sounds more the a wanna be Nazi.
I think the Zalis should Pravve a “Seedes Hodoah”,
Part of Arons speach to the BUCHEREM yerterday. ICH HUB SHOIN ETLICHE MUL GEZUGT AZ VEN DE BUCHEREM MACHEN MEHIMES HUB ICH TZAR. AUBER YETZT MEIN ICH ES ERENST! Now you tell me what aron said to me it sounds like he said start fighting boys.
bigwheel, I wouldn’t jump to conclusions about what would or wouldn’t interest people regardless of their background.
actually not that i need vindication but all these stories just convince me that i chose wisely and YES im not frum anymore but thats a pointless argument with self assured people like u
The reporter was a bystander to the event and reported what he saw.
As for the tank explosion, it was an accident and was not planned. There was a crowd watching his arrival, and someone trying to get a good position climbed on the tank and broke the top off. At first no one knew what it was, and the tensions were high, as eceryone was thinking it was related to R’ Zalman Leib’s arrival.
The reporter made it clear that there was no fighting at all. State police are use to guard celebrities all the time, and this was no different.
for such a big gadol hador i dont see the 30,000 people like the Lubavitcher Rebbe has on his Yourtzeit
What do you mean the Lubabs don’t fight? Didn’t you see the story from the Village Voice?
enough tzoras, please stop the none sense
dear ex-frummie
dont mind any of the comments on this site there mostly from fustrated people angry at society and have nothing else to do but vent to/on anyone they can.
im sure you have your reasons why you chose to be an “ex-frummie” yet i have one polite question
i have seen on this site you comment a few times that “this is another reason why you are not frum anymore” but when did you get these reasons/questions was it before the ex-frumie stage or after? ask yourself are these reasons or excuses?
please re-consider your ex-frummie and perhaps look at the beuty of klal yisroel (all the chesed organazations too many to list) and not the faults thank you!
sincerly,
A loving and caring yid
You should just see when it comes to charity how satmar helps each other and even the other side even enemys
Me keamchu yisroel
& to you ex frummie
Lets see if you need a favor WHO will help you? No one you r alone in this world and in the nextworld chazoir buch come back home a home is a home for good or for bad even the goyim cant belive how much we help each others whats all this fighting about? In a family the kids fight with each other but in the heart there is love how do u know? When the second brother is in a tzarah one will allways help the u see all the fights r only from the outside.
What I admire about the satmars is (I am no satmar )that eventho there is disagreements about the two brothers of who should be the satmar rebbi ,but when it comes to shiduchim,or helping each other out financialy,or just plain plain one on one friedship the whole fight gets forgotten..that is a mido that only the satmars could do
Babishka Says:
I have never heard of state troopers and security guards required to keep order between Chabad meshichisten and Chabad non-meshichisten.
Chabad meshichisten don’t go to the tzion because they believe the Rebbe is still alive, so there’s no reason for guards to keep order…
A tragic Chilul HaShem!
When will it end; when will they get some SeiChel?
Why look at the negative?
Reb Aharon appearantly warned his Chassidim to act like mentschen, perhaps this is the begining of a reconciliation?
PA and ex-frummie: Personally, I don’t care what someone’s beliefs and outlook on the world are! So, stop being sooo serious, OK! Thanks, EX. Yes, I am (B”H) self-assured! Also, it’s nice to find [the] humor in [almost] every situation! What’s the exception?! When you touch my interests!!!
is that supposed to be a coherent statement?
I’m not satmar, but I’m pretty well acquainted with quite a few of them, mostly through business.
some are zalis- some aroni- most couldn’t care less.
the common denominator with all of them is that none of them have an ounce of hatred for their fellow satmarers on either side.
Yes- there are strong disagreements- but I would assume the actual fighting is instigated by the bored & clueless among them.
The Rebbe’s Yortzite is a three-day event filled with prayer, charity and hospitality when tens of thousands come to pray and to give charity. All visitors are served hot/cold drinks, cookies and cake and sandwiches for the road. Literally hundreds of needy individuals along with representatives from Torah and charitable institutions line the path to the Rebbe’s Tzion and the tens of thousands in attendance contribute generously. Kiryas Joel’s Public Safety Officers and the State Police witnessed not a single lawbreaking incident throughout the three-day period.
The reporter’s sensationalizing a minor incident (an accident according to all eye-witness accounts) was an effort to usurp the tens of thousands of prayers, donations and acts of hospitality that occurred in Kiryas Joel during this holy period. Fellow Jews should not let themselves be drawn into this reporter’s negativism.
Am I missing somthing or what?
I don’t see any major event happening here. None. Do you? please tell me what?
I can’t point at any part of this article that tells me that something crazy or out of the ordinary happend yesterday (besides the excidental gas leak, which the article admits it was an excident.)
All I read is , “tension”, “security”, “shushing”, “hissing”,”spectacle”…bla bla bla…this is all making an issue out of a tissue…
I think given the ugly history of this fight, yesterday was the most peacfull encounter of the two sides in Satmar…
I look at it as a move in the positive direction…
Since the Public Safety is a real political agency, it’s sure that the Williamsburg Satmar chasidim couldn’t trust them to be in charge when the Satmar Rebbe RZ”L is there.
But on the request of the Aroinim Village Leaders to the State Police, that only the Public Safety should be in charge there, the Williamsburg Satmar leadership was arranging that the County Sheriff’s office will escort the Rebbe’s visit.
After the Sheriff notified the State Police Superintendent about the arrangement, the local State Police Captain was directed by the Superintendent to give the fully pretection for the Rebbe when he visits there.
does the public safety have any history of taking sides, is there any incident that supports you alagation?
I am not a satmar chosid by any stretch of the imagination but it never ceases to amaze me that whenever the tensions on both sides shows, Satmar bashers shoot their mouths off. Yes, the fighting is a terrible terrible thing. But it should not minimize the rest of the beautiful charachteristics of the satmar chasidus. Their way of dress (not like the goyim), their chesed, their women’s tznius, etc. I could go on and on about the many maalos of both sides. All the bashers could do is to point out this one terrible thing.
BTW, as I said before I’m not a Satmar chgosid (I’m actually a regular american guy from Brooklyn.)
Now the biggest Chasidus are split in half. Someone asked his friend, where do you daven? He responded “In Satamr”. “Which Satmar?” “The One Next To Bobov”. “Which Bobov?” “The one not too far from Lubavitch”. “Which Lubavitch?”…………
B”H we have time until the Belzer machlokes, Belzer Rebbe only has one son. 🙂
what is the old guy thinking talking about money and all the rest we know it’s true but no one else [the goyim] don’t have to hear it