Wednesday, Rosh Chodesh Av – 'B'tzeil HaKodesh' with the Satmar Rebbe shlit"a

The Rebbe entered for Shacharis at around 8:45.
- Baal Tefillah: R' Hillel Fogel (Kiryas Joel).
The Rebbe approached Hallel with great hisorerus.
- Baal Korei: HaRav R' Shlomo Rubinstein (Kiryas Joel).
- Kohen: HaRav R' Yisroel HaKohen Landau (Williamsburg).
- Levi: HaRav R' Simcha Yisroel Apfel (Kiryas Joel).
- Shlishi: HaRav R' Aharon Hersh Weber (Williamsburg).
- Revi'i: the Rebbe shlit"a; it was purchased by HaRav R' Raphael Weingarten (Boro Park), and the Rebbe thanked him.
- Hagbah: the Rebbe's son-in-law, HaGaon Rabbi, Rav of the Beis Medrash Beirach Moshe shlit"a.
- Gelilah: HaRav R' Shalom Moshe Eckstein (Kiryas Joel).

After davening, at around 10:50, the Rebbe entered the beis medrash for the Rosh Chodesh seudah together with the talmidim of Yeshiva Gedolah Esek HaTorah.
The Rebbe washed for the seudah. Before the fish course, the bochur Meir Pinchas Chaim, son of R' Moshe Yosef Ashkenazi shlit"a (Monsey), made a siyum on Maseches Bava Kamma, and before the meat course, the bochur Yudel, son of Nachum Weltz (Boro Park), made a siyum on Maseches Kiddushin.
A meat seudah was served. At the lechayim, the Rebbe blessed the bochurim who had completed the masechtos.
During the seudah, songs of galus and geulah were sung. For Borchi Nafshi, the Rebbe honored R' Yosef Wiesenfeld shlit"a, a rebbi in the yeshiva.
The Rebbe delivered words of Torah on the statement of Chazal, "Yerushalayim was destroyed only because of the disgrace of talmidei chachamim," and explained that at a mikvah we see that when water is placed into a vessel, it becomes drawn water and is invalid, but when it is connected to a kosher mikvah, the water becomes kosher again. The same applies to a Jew: every Jew is inherently pure and attached to Hashem, but when one sins, Heaven forbid, he becomes impure. But when he attaches himself to a tzaddik, to a talmid chacham who has remained pure, that Jew too becomes pure and Hashem forgives him for his sins. At the time of the destruction of the Beis HaMikdash, since talmidei chachamim were not honored, the people were not connected to Hashem, and therefore Hashem did not forgive them for all the grave sins they had committed. The Rebbe continued with guidance for the bochurim, that they must keep this before their eyes, have yiras shamayim and honor talmidei chachamim. He concluded with abundant blessings and wished good shidduchim for all the bochurim.

For Birkas HaMazon, the Rebbe honored the yeshiva's menahel, HaRav R' Yisroel Mordechai Seidenfeld shlit"a.
Afterward, the Rebbe distributed blessed coins to all the bochurim. The seudah ended at around 12:20.
Afterward, the Rebbe walked home, and on the way a conversation developed about various halachos and minhagim of Rosh Chodesh.

The Rebbe entered for Mincha at around 9:00.
- Baal Tefillah: R' Yaakov Yitzchak Horowitz.
Between Mincha and Maariv, the Rebbe was engaged in his learning. At the time of Rabbeinu Tam, Maariv was davened.
- Baal Tefillah: the bochur Lipa, son of Yoel Brach (Kiryas Joel).

In the evening, HaRav R' Yoel Yitzchak Stern shlit"a, one of the rabbonim hamachshirim at our kehilla's holy bakery, who was in a small town in the distant state of Utah, connected by phone with the Rebbe shlit"a, together with Rabbi Yitzchak Yaakov Kayem shlit"a, Rabbi Yisroel, son of HaGaon Rabbi Binyon Strasser shlit"a, and HaRav R' Hersh Yosef Levy, regarding a second wheat harvest for the matzah production of our holy kehilla for Pesach 5787, b'ezras Hashem.
The administrators gave a report on the mehudar rain-free wheat harvest, where, Baruch Hashem, thousands more pounds of wheat were harvested to meet the demand of the thousands of meticulous Jews. Since the demand at both of our kehilla's bakeries grows greater every year, the first wheat harvest was not enough to meet it, so they looked around at other fields, and Baruch Hashem found a field in Utah in accordance with all the hiddurim that the Rebbe requires. The Rebbe asked about all the details of the wheat harvest with great nachas ruach and bestowed his holy blessing.

▫️ Satmara Niyes 🌴 ▫️