Satmara Niyes

The final days of Yom Tov Pesach, "B'tzeil HaKodesh," with the Satmar Rebbe shlit"a in the midst of our holy kehilla in Kiryas Joel.

Erev Shabbos Kodesh, the seventh day of Pesach, at 8:05 the Rebbe entered for Mincha and went to the amud. Kabbalas Shabbos and Maariv: HaGaon R' Yoel Meisels, son of the Gaavad of our kehilla in Montreal shlit"a. After davening, everyone went over to wish a good Shabbos and good Yom Tov.
At 12:15 the Rebbe entered for the Shabbos seudah. They sang Shalom Aleichem until Melech Tamim Darko, and Eishes Chayil: the grandson, the bochur Meir Eliezer, son of HaGaon R' Baruch. Borei Minei Besamim was on "hyssop and sweet spices." The order of the foods was as on Shabbos. Kol Mekadesh: R' Peretz Tuvi Deutsch of Beit Shemesh. Menucha V'Simcha: R' Yaakov Hersh, a rebbe in Williamsburg. After the Torah, they sang "Shirah Chadashah" and "U'vakata Yam Suf," and began dancing "Vayosha," and the Rebbe danced the shirah with great strength and vigor. Bentching: the son-in-law, HaGaon, Rav of the Beis Medrash Avnei Tzedek shlit"a. Yah Echsof: HaGaon R' Meir Meyer of Boro Park. Fruits were brought in. The Shalom Zachor took place at the home of the bochur Yechezkel Wozb, the bochur Avrohom Moshe Klein, the bochur Yoel Bruchmeir Greenfeld, and the bochur Elimelech Klein, as "on the seventh day": R' Yisroel HaKohen Landau of Monsey. It concluded at 2:10.

Shabbos Kodesh, the seventh day of Pesach, the Rebbe entered for Shacharis at 10:45. The Rebbe went to the amud for all the tefillos, Pesukei D'Zimra, Shacharis, Hallel and Mussaf, in honor of the holy hilula of his father, the Rebbe, the Kedushas Yoel zt"l, this Thursday, 26 Nissan. At the Torah reading (the Shirah), the Rebbe read. The Rebbe was called up for Shishi, and made a naming for the birth of a daughter for HaGaon Yaakov Hillel Lichtenstein, R' Chaim Hersh Landau, and R' Shlomo Elazar Neuman. After the reading they sang "Kah Keli," as the Rebbe said that it may be said on Shabbos because it is praise and not a plea. After davening, the bris of the bochur Yechezkel Wozb took place. It concluded at 3:20.
At the afternoon seudah, the Rebbe honored his grandson, the bochur Yissachar Dov, son of HaGaon R' Baruch, with bentching.
In the afternoon at 7:25 the Rebbe entered for Mincha and Shalosh Seudos. A few minutes after the zman, he entered for Maariv. After davening, everyone went over to wish a good Yom Tov.
Around 12:15 the Rebbe entered for the seudah in the Polish shul of the great beis medrash. The Rebbe made Kiddush and Havdalah, the matzah was dipped in salt, and in the sieve there were knaidlach. HaRav R' Naftali Moshe Weiss brought "matzah kugel" and HaRav R' Yechezkel Frenkel "matzah chremslach." The Rebbe tasted them and distributed shirayim to the entire crowd. The Rebbe honored HaGaon R' Kalman Halberstam shlit"a, Av Beis Din of Tzanz, Kiryas Yoel, with the zemiros, and HaGaon R' Dovid Yitzchak Wozb shlit"a, moreh tzedek in our kehilla, with bentching. It concluded at 1:45.
The following day, the Rebbe entered for Shacharis around 10:00 and went to the amud for Shacharis and Hallel. Mussaf: the son-in-law, HaGaon, Rav of the Beis Medrash Berech Moshe shlit"a. It concluded at 1:50.
At the afternoon seudah the Rebbe honored his grandson Rabbi Yoel Ashkenazi with the piyut. Bentching: the son-in-law, HaGaon, Rav of the Beis Medrash Avnei Tzedek shlit"a.
In the afternoon at 7:40 the Rebbe entered for "Mincha and Neilas HaChag." After Mincha he sat down at the tish, where they sang in honor of Yom Tov. The shamash, R' Yoel Kaufman, poured the cups. The Rebbe said lechayim to the Chevra Kadisha and to the entire tzibbur. The Rebbe delivered a Torah thought, and at the end of his words mentioned the difficult period and offered praise and thanks to Hashem for all the kindnesses. Around 8:50 they stood up and danced "Chasal Siddur Pesach," sung over 20 times. Afterward the Rebbe, with holy fire, recited three times "Next year in Yerushalayim." The Rebbe davened Maariv at the amud in honor of the holy hilula of his father, the Rebbe zy"a, this coming Thursday, 26 Nissan. After Maariv the Rebbe made Havdalah and wished the tzibbur a good week. It concluded at 9:30.

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Moshe, the faithful shepherd

With holy excitement, tens of thousands of our community members, students and chassidim of Satmar are preparing for the 15th yahrzeit hilula of our father and shepherd, our holy and pure Rebbe zy"a, the Beirach Moshe. The coming 26 Nissan begins tomorrow, Wednesday night, with the night of the holy hilula, and then on Thursday, the day of the hilula, our community members will hold the seudas hilula in our batei medrash around the world. Great preparations are already underway in the city of righteousness, "Kiryas Melech Rav, Kiryas Joel," at the cemetery of our holy community, to accommodate the tens of thousands of Jews who come to pour out their hearts and bring about salvation at the holy kever, and at the magnificent central grand seudas hilula in our Great Beis Medrash. The schedule and times of the holy hilula, "B'tzeil HaKodesh" with his eldest son and successor in holiness, the Satmar Rebbe shlit"a, will follow.

"Come and gather for the hilula of Rabbi"

"The first shearing of your flock you shall give him"

Report from the elevated gathering of the presentation of Reishis HaGez by the Satmar Rebbe shlit"a, on Chol HaMoed in the Great Beis Medrash in Kiryas Joel, in the presence of thousands of Jews.

At around 3:30, the chairman of the gathering, HaGaon R' Shlomo Shabsi Kestenbaum, one of the dayanim of our holy kehilla, opened the gathering with his pleasant words, clarifying the matters of Reishis HaGez. The beis medrash was full from end to end, with tall rows of benches, with elders together with youths who came to take part in the simcha of the mitzvah, "in the multitude of people is the glory of the King." At around 4:20 the Satmar Rebbe shlit"a was received, and there was an outburst of fiery dancing to "Asher bachar banu mikol ha'amim," and so that the mitzvos of Hashem could be fulfilled among a multitude of people. Afterwards, the great Gaon, one of the great poskim of our generation, the Av Beis Din of Kiryas Joel shlit"a, proclaimed the word of Hashem, "zu halacha." Then the singers sang words of prophetic vision, and the Rebbe delivered words of Torah, beginning with words of praise to Hashem that we are able to gather together in the beis medrash: "...Do not forget what the situation of Klal Yisroel was a year ago today, and Baruch Hashem that this year we can gather together and celebrate the Yom Tov... I want to give praise and thanks to the Holy Creator, 'Blessed is He who has given us life, sustained us, and brought us to this time,' that we are able to gather together..." Then he delivered a longer discourse, explaining with pleasant taste and knowledge the halachos of Reishis HaGez, all the types of kinyanim and so on, according to all the opinions of the Gemara, Rishonim and Acharonim. After the longer discourse, the Rebbe rented the place of the bimah from the venerable R' Dovid Eckstein in order to be able to acquire it through kinyan chatzer, hired workers, and bought the sheep from the seller. He made a kinyan sudar, and then went down to the bimah and performed the kinyanim of meshicha, chatzer, hagbaha and mesira, with the help of the workers. Then he delivered a discourse about the mitzvah of Reishis HaGez and the greatness of the mitzvah. In the course of his words, he welcomed with the blessing "Baruch haba b'shem Hashem" the Kohen, HaGaon HaTzaddik Rabbi Binyon HaKohen Strasser shlit"a, Av Beis Din of Nitra in Boro Park, "who is among the most prominent rabbis in Boro Park." He mentioned that the Kohen had come on Yom Tov of Pesach: "...But there has already been a connection with this Kohen to Yom Tov of Pesach for many years. He was among the first rabbis who understood that wheat is a problem, and he came along to Arizona to cut wheat many years ago..." Then he bestowed many blessings on the Kohen, and continued the discourse on the halachos of giving matnos kehuna and on repeating the bracha of Shehecheyanu. After the second discourse, the Rebbe, for a longer time of over half an hour, sheared the wool of the sheep, "mitzvah bo yoser mibishlucho," himself without any agent, with fervor and passion for the mitzvah, while the singers sang melodies of arousal and joy in the fulfillment of the mitzvos. At the conclusion, the Rebbe broke into fiery dancing for a few minutes. Afterwards the Rebbe once again delivered holy words on the subject of the mitzvah, with words of derush and pilpul connecting the mitzvah of Reishis HaGez to the Yom Tov of Pesach and its great influence. He said that it is not only beneficial for whoever performs it, but "one who attaches himself to those who perform a mitzvah is as one who performs the mitzvah," and it benefits all who attach themselves to the mitzvah. He bestowed lengthy holy blessings. The Rebbe went out and returned wearing a new garment, and with fiery holy sparks said the "L'shem yichud," made the blessing on separating the gifts, and with a voice hewing flames of fire said the Shehecheyanu blessing with Shem and Malchus. He gave the Reishis HaGez to the Kohen and broke out in an elevated, fiery dance to "Ashrei ha'am shekacha lo, ashrei ha'am sheHashem Elokav," that we merited to fulfill a positive Torah commandment. Then the distinguished Kohen, HaGaon HaTzaddik, Av Beis Din of Nitra in Boro Park, spoke, and in the course of his words he brought out the merit of the chassidim in having such a Rebbe, "a Rosh Yeshiva of Torah, Torah, Torah," who has "the crown of Torah, the crown of royalty, and the crown of a good name." He then blessed the thousands of the assembled with Birkas Kohanim.
Then the chairman announced "the time for Mincha has arrived," and due to the shortage of time the gathering of the lottery drawing for the matnos kehuna did not take place. Instead, the Rebbe distributed the matnos kehuna: the zeroa to HaGaon R' Yosef Strasser, son of the Nitra Boro Park Rav; the lechayim to HaGaon R' Berel HaKohen Glantz shlit"a; and the keiva to his grandson Rabbi Nachman Kahana shlit"a. He then danced once more with the joy of the mitzvah, to the fiery "Hatz'a'ls, 'Hast gepoelt alles gutes.'"

"The awesome sight that thousands of chassidim witnessed, the joy of the mitzvah, the fervor and passion for a mitzvah, how a leader of Israel approaches a mitzvah, is impossible to describe for one who did not see it,

and through this may abundant blessing flow to us and to all Israel


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