Thursday, Parshas Vayeilech – Tzom Gedalia – 'B'tzeil HaKodesh' with the Satmar Rebbe shlit"a

At daybreak, at 5:45, the Satmar Rebbe shlit"a entered the Great Beis Medrash for the recital of Selichos. The baal tefillah was R' Moshe Meir Gottlieb. It concluded at around 6:35, and the Rebbe went home to his holy residence.

At around 9:45 the Rebbe arrived at the Great Beis Medrash for Shacharis.
Before davening, a bris took place for the newborn son of R' Efraim Yitzchak Adler, at which the Rebbe served as sandek.

The Rebbe put tefillin on the bar mitzvah bochurim:
- the bochur Yoel Pasternak.
- the bochur Yoel Eisdorfer.
- the bochur Yoel Bar Mitzvah Mittelman.
- the bochur Yom Tov Berger.

- Petichah: R' Yoel Eisdorfer.
- Baal Korei: R' Yoel Pasternak.
- Kohen: R' Shmuel Weiss.
- Levi: Rabbi Chaim Yoshe Lowy shlit"a.
- Shlishi: the Rebbe shlit"a.
- Hagbah: R' Yom Tov Berger.
- Gelilah: the bar mitzvah bochur Yoel Mittelman.

At around 5:50 the Rebbe entered for Mincha and the Shabbos Shuvah derashah, in the presence of thousands of our chassidim in the Great Beis Medrash.
- Baal Tefillah: R' Kalman Gefen.
- Petichah: R' Baruch Mordechai Oberlander (Montreal).
- Kohen: R' Shmuel HaKohen Friedman, a member of the Rebbe's inner circle.
- Levi: HaGaon HaTzaddik R' Chaim Yosef Wertzberger shlit"a, Av Beis Din of Hunyad.
- Shlishi – Maftir: the Rebbe shlit"a.
- Hagbah: HaGaon R' Yosef Leib Kahn shlit"a.
- Gelilah: Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Weinberger shlit"a.

After Mincha, at 6:30, the Rebbe wrapped himself in his tallis, went up to the Aron Kodesh and davened a silent prayer, then began the derashah on the verse "Shuvah Yisroel ad Hashem Elokecha," and immediately delved into a lengthy pilpul on the topic of a mitzvah performed through an aveira, continuing with words of derush and beautiful explanations in the manner of aggadah.
He then gave chizuk on the following:
- That we should strengthen ourselves in setting fixed times for Torah study in one of the Yesodei HaTorah chaburos, and "Your Torah is my delight." The strength of Torah learning in our kehilla has indeed risen, but every single Jew without exception must have a fixed shiur.
- Regarding tefillah, to daven from beginning to end with unhurried care, starting from the berachos; then one will merit all the berachos.
- The Rebbe spoke about Kiryas Joel, which the holy Rebbe, the Divrei Yoel zy"a, founded so that it would be separate from all the customs of America, "a people that dwells alone." We must continue the legacy of the holy Rebbe to maintain the wall and remain separate from all the fashions and stay apart, so that no outsider should mix into our camp. Someone with a different outlook than ours should not be drawn here, neither to Kiryas Joel nor to Kiryas Joel Expanded.
- The Rebbe continued with words of mussar regarding today's songs, that one should not sing today's modern songs.
- Regarding tznius, from head to toe, from the hair to the socks, and the immodest sheitels.
- He praised and strengthened the Chaburah for Avodah K'Halacha, kashrus in offices, that every business owner and worker should make sure to have it in his office.
- The Rebbe addressed the decree against chinuch in New York, where, b'siyata d'Shmaya, the law was changed for the benefit of chinuch, but the wicked do not rest and filed a lawsuit in court. It is a serious lawsuit, and we hope and pray to Hashem, "Nullify the plans of our enemies," that they should not succeed and not be able to disturb the chinuch of the tinokos shel beis rabban.
- The bitter decree of drafting yeshiva students in Eretz Yisroel, where dozens of bochurim sat in prison on Yom Tov of Rosh Hashana for the sole "sin" of learning Torah, among them a bochur from the talmidim of our holy yeshiva in Bnei Brak. We must thank Hashem that there is a battle cry in the camp, and he strongly strengthened the fighters who are fighting with seriousness. But at the same time, unfortunately, there are those working on compromises through which half of Klal Yisroel could, chas v'shalom, end up in the impure army. We proclaim to the politicians that Jewish souls are not a commodity for politics! And we may not abandon any Jewish soul!
- And in this connection he strongly strengthened the askanim of Merkaz Ezra V'Eitza, who stand on the front line helping to rescue every individual from the army.

- He spoke about the problems of the various devices, particularly the desire of bochurim to have their own phone, and called on parents not to give a phone to a bochur. In the last few years free phones have been provided in all batei medrash, and it is now being introduced in the shopping centers, so that there should be no excuse for a bochur to have a phone.
- The Rebbe continued, speaking about apartment prices, which have, baruch Hashem, dropped considerably, both for buying and for renting an apartment, and he strengthened people to hold firm and not pay more than the established price, and nobody should say "I am an exception." In this way we will succeed in keeping prices low, both in Kiryas Joel and in Kiryas Joel Expanded.
The Rebbe concluded by recounting that he merited to hear personally from the holy Rebbe, the Divrei Yoel zy"a, at the derashah in the year 5726 (1966), that just as the holy Shinover Rav zy"a said in 5706 that it is a time of pekidah, and as the holy Yismach Moshe zy"a said that every sixty years is again a time of pekidah, and he was moved that we should merit the coming of Moshiach in 5726, the Rebbe said that we now stand in 5786, sixty years later, and we hope and pray that this year should be the year when we merit the coming of Moshiach. The Rebbe concluded with his holy blessing to the entire gathering.

The derashah concluded at around 7:50, and the Rebbe said Kaddish D'Rabbanan, and Maariv was davened. Baal Tefillah: R' Shmuel Leibush Weinberger.

▫️ Satmara Niyes 🌴 ▫️