Tuesday, Parshas Va'eschanan — 'B'tzeil HaKodesh' with the Satmar Rebbe shlit"a

In the morning the Rebbe entered for Shacharis in the beis medrash of Kahal Yireim – Beis Elimelech at around 7:30.

Before davening, the Rebbe put on tefillin with the bar mitzvah bochur, the bochur Dovid Mordechai Schwartz (Williamsburg).
Baal Tefillah: HaRav R' Yoel Berish Friedlander (Kiryas Joel).

After davening, a lechayim gathering took place with the bar mitzvah bochur in the hall of the beis medrash. A lovely conversation developed about the Gaon HaKadosh, the Kol Aryeh zt"l, whose grandson the bar mitzvah bochur is.
The Rebbe drank a lechayim and wished the bar mitzvah bochur and the whole family well, after which the Rebbe recited Tefillas HaDerech.

At around 9:15 the Rebbe shlit"a left his holy residence on the way to the Laconia airport in Gilford, New Hampshire, where the private plane from New York had just landed. The several accompanying mekuravim, among them HaGaon Rabbi Av Beis Din of Sighet shlit"a and HaGaon Rabbi Av Beis Din of Monsey shlit"a, bid him farewell. On the plane, before takeoff, the rabbonim of the bakeries of our holy kehilla from Williamsburg and Kiryas Joel, who were in Idaho for the 'second wheat cutting' for the matzah production of our holy kehilla for Pesach 5786, IY"H, on a holy mission from the Rebbe shlit"a, connected with the Rebbe by phone.
The Rebbe heard a report from the wheat field, which was preparing to begin cutting the wheat in the coming hours (the local time is two hours behind), and the Rebbe gave several instructions and guidelines and bestowed his holy blessing.

At around 10:40 the Rebbe's private plane took off together with his son HaGaon Rabbi Av Beis Din of Sighet shlit"a, HaGaon Rabbi Av Beis Din and Rosh Mesivta of Monsey shlit"a and several mekuravim, on the way to Postville, Iowa, to visit the mehudar shechita of our holy kehilla for cattle. During the flight the Rebbe engaged in a longer conversation with the accompanying people about the differences and hiddurim of shechita over the past years, from the old country until here in America and to this day.
The Rebbe's plane landed at around 11:45 (local time) at the local airport in Wisconsin, and the Rebbe traveled about half an hour to Postville, to the slaughterhouse.

Upon arriving at the slaughterhouse, the Rebbe shlit"a warmly greeted HaGaon Rabbi Menachem Meir Weissmandl shlit"a, Av Beis Din of Nitra Monsey – the rav hamachshir of the slaughterhouse, and HaGaon R' Efraim Shimon Leichtag shlit"a – dayan and moreh tzedek of our beis medrash on 15th Ave., Boro Park, who is there these days on behalf of our holy kehilla to supervise the shechita.

The Rebbe immediately went into the slaughterhouse, where the Rebbe surveyed the entire plant from beginning to end, examining every detail for an extended period of nearly four hours!

Beginning with the entire order of the lung examinations, where the Rebbe stood for an extended time and examined all the details on the spot, and then over to the shechita area, where the Rebbe inspected the knives of the shochtim, and greatly admired the tremendous hiddurim of the knives, which are entirely at the highest standards, and the chumra of a dry check (bedikas yaves), for which an extra appointed examiner is stationed each time, and then looked over the mehudar shechita as it takes place, and continued to observe how the parts of the animal are placed on the chain as it proceeds through the plant, and the special chumra that a Jew marks the numbers on the parts of the animal,
after which the Rebbe continued to the remaining parts of the plant, where the Rebbe looked over the nikkur (deveining) apparatus with all its hiddurim for an extended time, and from there to the areas of salting, rinsing and washing with all the chumros and hiddurim that were introduced by the Rebbe shlit"a, and so on through all the parts of the kashering process up to the packaging.

After arduous work and physical exertion of a full 4 hours, the Rebbe shlit"a went over to the shochtim's beis medrash to rest for several minutes, where the Rebbe, full of emotion and joy, expressed his heartfelt feelings about the fact that we have, Baruch Hashem, merited to establish these tremendous hiddurim in the slaughterhouse and to bring up the standard for kosher meat among Chassidic Jews, and expressed the great joy felt each time one comes to visit the shechita, and especially praised the devotion of the distinguished baalei batim of the Meal Mart company in following all the chumros and hiddurim required according to the instructions of the Rebbe shlit"a.

The Rebbe shlit"a wished the shochtim and mashgichim abundant blessings, left the slaughterhouse and immediately traveled to the airport, where the Rebbe boarded the private plane on the way back to the vacation place in Bethlehem, New Hampshire.

Before the plane took off, the Rebbe shlit"a connected by phone with the distinguished donors Mrs. Rispler tichye and her son, the esteemed philanthropist R' Fishel, to personally thank them for their enormous donation toward building a third magnificent building for girls' chinuch for Beis Rochel of our holy mosdos in Williamsburg. The Rebbe discussed all the details of the upcoming building, which will hold many classrooms, a magnificent auditorium and a simcha hall, and the Rebbe bestowed his holy blessing on them, saying, 'You have given me great joy with this joyous news.'

The plane took off at around 5:00 (local time).
At around 8:00 the plane landed at the Laconia airport, where the Rebbe davened Mincha in a side room in the airport. Baal Tefillah: the bochur Aryeh Leibush Stein (Williamsburg).

After Mincha the Rebbe warmly bid farewell to the distinguished rabbonim shlit"a and thanked HaGaon Av Beis Din of Nitra Monsey shlit"a profusely for helping to establish such a beautiful shechita. The Nitra Rav shlit"a admired the devotion of the Rebbe shlit"a in rising in the middle of his vacation to supervise the kashrus of the meat.

The Rebbe then traveled home, a one-hour trip to Bethlehem, New Hampshire. Meanwhile, the Rebbe shlit"a received a telephone report about the second wheat cutting from HaGaon Av Beis Din of Williamsburg shlit"a, who was there in Idaho on a holy mission, and the Rebbe derived great pleasure to hear that the cutting of nearly half a million pounds of wheat came out very nicely with all the hiddurim for the sake of the mitzvah of matzah.

Upon arriving at around 9:40, the Rebbe davened Maariv in the beis medrash of Kahal Yireim – Beis Elimelech,
Baal Tefillah: R' Shalom Weiss (Kiryas Joel).

▫️ Satmar'er Niyes 🌴 ▫️