The Holy Journey of the Satmar Rebbe shlit"a to Eretz Yisroel - Shabbos Kodesh in the Holy Meron

Sunday, Parshas Vayeitzei - Meron - Or HaGanuz - Bnei Brak 'B'tzeil HaKodesh' with the Satmar Rebbe shlit"a

The Rebbe davened Shacharis at the guest residence at around 9:15, baal tefillah: R' Shlomo Zalman Stein, a member of the Shabbos Kodesh group.

After davening, a bris for a newborn son took place at the guest residence, for R' Yoel Yitzchak Weiss (Bnei Brak), at which the Rebbe served as sandek.
After the bris, a lechayim celebration was held.

At around 12:45 the Rebbe left the guest residence in Meron. On the way out, students of the Mosad Chesed L'Avraham Meron branch, which is under the auspices of the Skulen Rebbe shlit"a, stood waiting in lines. The Rebbe warmly greeted the students, and the students sang several nigunim and accompanied the Rebbe shlit"a with song and music.
From there the Rebbe went to visit the Admor HaGaon HaTzaddik R' Refael Abuchatzeira shlit"a, head of the Meir Einei Yisroel institutions, in his beis medrash "Meor Eliezer" in Meron. A pleasant conversation took place about the sanctity of the place and the sanctity of the Divine Tanna Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai. He honored the Rebbe shlit"a with a lechayim, and the Rebbe bestowed upon him from his holy blessings. He gave the Rebbe shlit"a the seforim of his grandfather z"l which he had published, and he accompanied the Rebbe shlit"a out with great warmth.

At around 1:45 the Rebbe arrived at the nearby community of Or HaGanuz, where the exalted event of "separating terumos and maasros" took place together with the leading Torah scholars, members of the Beis Din Tzedek and members of the Vaad HaKashrus of the Eidah HaChareidis of the holy city of Yerushalayim, at the winery owned by Or HaGanuz, which is under the mehudar supervision of the Vaad HaKashrus of the Eidah HaChareidis.
The Rebbe greeted the assembled rabbis, HaGaon HaTzaddik R' Mordechai Scheinberger shlit"a, the rav of the community, and the members of the Beis Din of the Eidah HaChareidis, HaGaon HaGadol R' Avrohom Yitzchak Ullman shlit"a and HaGaon HaGadol R' Yehuda Fischer shlit"a, and the rabbis of the Vaad HaKashrus, HaGaon R' Chaim Yehuda Cohen shlit"a and HaGaon R' Gavriel Neufeld shlit"a.
A pleasant halachic discussion took place about the details and halachos of separating terumos and maasros, and the Rebbe arranged the kinyanim to merit participating in the mission.
The Rebbe went into a side room and put on a new kaftan for the blessing of Shehecheyanu. Afterwards the Rebbe approached the barrels of wine and separated, with the accepted text, a small pot of wine for terumah, and with holy emotion recited the blessing "asher kidshanu b'mitzvosav" on the separation of terumos and maasros, and recited Shehecheyanu with Hashem's name and kingship in a voice choked with tears.
Then the Rebbe went back up onto the platform and recited the accepted texts, and in doing so opened the spigot to pour out the wine to waste for maaser rishon and terumas maaser according to halacha, and broke out into a fiery dance, in tears, to the tune of "V'harikosi lachem bracha ad b'li dai" for an extended time.
HaGaon Rabbi Yitzchak Shlomo Blau shlit"a, the sofer of the dayan, spoke, and honored HaGaon HaTzaddik Rabbi Mordechai Scheinberger shlit"a, the rav of the community, to speak. The rav shlit"a welcomed the Rebbe shlit"a and expressed the joy of the entire town at the visit of the Rebbe shlit"a and the holy influences that the mitzvah will leave for all the residents. Afterwards HaGaon HaGadol Rabbi Avrohom Yitzchak Ullman shlit"a, member of the Beis Din, spoke about the importance of the mitzvah being performed during this week's parsha, "Aser a'asrenu lach," which brings holy influences, and wished the Rebbe shlit"a abundant blessings.
The Rebbe drank lechayim on the wine of the winery and wished the entire assembly well, and delivered words of Torah with great emotion about the importance of the mitzvah and the merit of being able to fulfill the mitzvah of separating terumah for the first time, and said, "The entire trip was worth it just to fulfill this one mitzvah!" "I envy the owner of the winery who has the merit to fulfill such a mitzvah. Once people thought that writing a Sefer Torah is the most costly mitzvah, but today, after seeing how much wine is poured out, one sees that this is much more costly, and this is not a one-time thing, but every single year, even though according to most opinions nowadays it is only miderabanan." He concluded with abundant blessings to the rabbis, the residents of the town and the entire assembly, and wished that we should soon merit to be able to fulfill all the mitzvos dependent on the Land.

The singing of joyous nigunim continued, and the Rebbe presented HaGaon HaGadol Rabbi Avrohom Yitzchak Ullman shlit"a, member of the Beis Din Tzedek, with a check for an enormous sum of one million dollars for a special distribution of Kerem Hatzalah that will take place during the days of Chanukah, b'ezras Hashem. The fantastic donation was brought to the Rebbe shlit"a by the distinguished philanthropists, leaders of our kehilla in the U.S., R' Menachem Gershon Lebovits, R' Avrohom Brach, R' Yechezkel Dovid Berkowitz, R' Yoel Epstein, R' Shalom Yitzchak Jacobowitz and others. HaGaon HaGadol Rabbi Avrohom Yitzchak shlit"a thanked them profusely and warmly wished abundant blessings upon the Rebbe shlit"a and the distinguished philanthropists. Before the event ended, HaGaon R' Avrohom Yitzchak shlit"a thanked the Rebbe shlit"a for his bold steps to restore the chuppah ceremony at the simchas of our community members to the old-time traditional way, and the Rebbe told the Rav that the problem has recently also arisen in the U.S., and through the Rav's step the influence will be felt in Eretz Yisroel as well. The event ended at around 3:00 and the Rebbe continued the journey to Bnei Brak.

The Rebbe arrived in Bnei Brak at around 5:00 and immediately traveled to the magnificent new building of the girls' school, Beis Faiga, belonging to our holy institutions.
The Rebbe went in and looked around the splendid girls' school building with visible admiration, and went up to the second floor where the Rebbe davened Mincha, baal tefillah: R' Zalman Leib Kapel (Kiryas Joel). After Mincha the Rebbe affixed a mezuzah on the main entrance and then walked around to view all the floors.
Afterwards a lechayim celebration took place together with the generous donors who built the building. R' Shlomo Shabsai Kestenbaum shlit"a, one of the rabbis of our kehilla in Williamsburg, spoke, along with R' Yedidya Klagsbrun in honor of his father R' Shlomo Moshe, the donor for whom the building is named.
The Rebbe drank lechayim and wished the entire assembly well, and delivered words of Torah with emotion about the joy of renewing the building after nearly twelve years of ruin. He spoke about the aspiration of the Holy Rebbe, the Divrei Yoel zy"a, to build a building for the girls' school in Bnei Brak, and how greatly the Holy Rebbe zy"a worried about this, to the point that on Erev Yom Kippur he gathered money for it. It is certain that the Holy Rebbe zy"a is grateful to all the donors and will bestow all good upon each one in all matters.
After the words of Torah, all the donors and builders of the building went over one by one to receive a personal holy blessing from the Satmar Rebbe shlit"a. The event ended at around 6:45.

Creator of the world, with complete acquisition, this building

At around 7:20 the Rebbe shlit"a arrived at the chanukas habayis event for the magnificent new building, together with the completion of the writing of the letters, in the gigantic tent of our great beis medrash in the Shikun Kiryat Yoel neighborhood of Bnei Brak.
Many Rebbes and rabbis of Bnei Brak participated, among them:
- The Rebbes of Machnovka-Belz, Deez, Nadvorna, Bohush, Slonim, Shevet HaLevi, Chug Chasam Sofer, Zlatchov, Zutchka, Zutchka Amsna, Bitchkov, Spinka Bnei Brak, Zanz-Zmigrod, Seredna, and Hosakov.
- HaGaon Rabbi Chaim Yitzchak Eizik Landau shlit"a, Av Beis Din of Bnei Brak.
- HaGaon Rabbi Shmuel Eliezer Stern shlit"a, rav of western Bnei Brak.
- HaGaon Rabbi Moshe Shaul Klein shlit"a, rav of the Or HaChaim neighborhood.
- HaGaon Rabbi Yaakov Meir Stern shlit"a, rav of the Kehillas Yaakov neighborhood.
- HaGaon HaTzaddik Rabbi Mordechai Gelber shlit"a, dayan of Munkatch, and HaGaon HaTzaddik the mashpia Rabbi Elimelech Biderman shlit"a.

The chairman, R' Shlomo Shabsai Kestenbaum shlit"a, one of the rabbis of our kehilla in Williamsburg, opened the event and called upon R' Meir Hirsch of the holy city in Kiryas Joel, who laid out the history of the founding and construction of the girls' school building "Beis Faiga". Afterwards R' Meir Yaakov Indig, one of the donors of the building, who also sponsored this chanukas habayis event in memory of his father z"l, spoke, and expressed his feelings on behalf of the donors and builders of the building. Afterwards R' Mordechai Dovid Oestreicher sang special rhymes in honor of the occasion.
Afterwards HaGaon HaGadol R' Shmuel Eliezer Stern shlit"a, rav of western Bnei Brak, spoke and welcomed the Satmar Rebbe shlit"a on behalf of the holy communities in Bnei Brak, and spoke at length in praise of our holy kehilla in Bnei Brak.

Afterwards a siyum for the writing of a Sefer Torah took place, for the Sefer Torah written by members of our holy kehilla. Nigunim of inspiration and attachment to the Torah were sung for an extended time. The Rebbe washed his hands and wrote the final letters in the Sefer Torah.
The Rebbe drank lechayim and wished the assembled rabbis shlit"a and the entire public well, and delivered words of Torah, and after words of aggadah and mussar on the weekly parsha, he spoke out about matters of tznius among women, and spoke at length in praise of our holy kehilla in Bnei Brak, which has grown in quantity and quality, especially with the new building for the chinuch of girls, and mentioned in praise the distinguished donors, led by R' Shlomo Moshe Klagsbrun.
Afterwards the Rebbe spoke about the bitter decree of drafting yeshiva bochurim and cried out in pain that there are those who say that here in Bnei Brak plans are being woven to make compromises in this matter, Rachmana litzlan. Heaven forbid, heaven forbid, to abandon Jewish souls to the army, "all who come to it do not return." He spoke about the klipah of Zionism and urged that we speak only in the Yiddish language.
The Rebbe conveyed the good news that is heard constantly from our holy kehilla, and urged us to ascend in holiness and to increase strength in all matters, and continued with longer words of guidance. At the end the Rebbe mentioned the distinguished guests from abroad who visited our holy institutions, that we should continue to support the institutions with a generous spirit so they can sustain the great expenses, and mentioned in praise R' Meir Hirsch, who took upon himself the burden of paying the staff of the institutions for Yom Tov Pesach and for Yom Tov Sukkos, and concluded with abundant blessings to the entire assembly.

After the words of Torah the Rebbe went for Hagbah and danced with the open Sefer Torah. R' Yitzchak Eizik Weiss, one of the major donors of the Sefer Torah, was honored with Gelilah. Afterwards the Rebbe stood up and broke out into a fiery dance for an extended time.
The event ended at around 10:30 and the Rebbe went into our great beis medrash in the Shikun for Maariv, baal tefillah: R' Yosef Leib Yazshef.

After Maariv the Rebbe went into a classroom in the Talmud Torah building where a gathering with philanthropists took place for the benefit of the building of our great beis medrash and Talmud Torah in Bnei Brak. R' Meir Hirsch spoke, along with the driving force of the building fund, R' Yoel the son of R' Shimshon Schwartz of Williamsburg, and R' Yitzchak Eizik Weiss, member of the building fund committee of Bnei Brak.
The Rebbe drank lechayim and delivered words of Torah about the necessity of rebuilding and completing our great beis medrash, and asked the distinguished philanthropists to ensure that money should not be a hindrance, and concluded with his holy blessing.

Afterwards the Rebbe returned to the guest residence at the home of R' Moshe Chaim Weiss, director of the institutions.

Late at night at the guest residence the Rebbe went over the lists of all the staff and those who sit in learning from our holy kehilla and institutions in the holy city of Yerushalayim, Bnei Brak, Beit Shemesh, including melamdim, principals, maggidei shiur, female teachers and the hundreds of kollel avreichim, and arranged the tzedakah for the poor of Eretz Yisroel which the Rebbe brought along, compiled by the Rebbe's emissaries, the students of the Mesivta, which was distributed over the following two days, Tuesday and Wednesday, amounting to an enormous sum of nearly half a million dollars.

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