Report: Monday–Tuesday, Parshas Beha'aloscha — 'B'tzeil HaKodesh' with the Satmar Rebbe shlit"a, Visit to Yuma, Arizona for the Wheat Harvest for the Mitzvah of Matzah, and to the Distinguished Slaughterhouse of Our Holy Kehilla in Postville, Iowa, for the Guests

On Monday at around 8:20 the Rebbe shlit"a entered the Beis Medrash HaGadol for Shacharis.
Before davening, the Rebbe put tefillin on the bar mitzvah bochur, the bochur Chaim Dovid Neustadt, and during krias haTorah the Rebbe went up for hagbah.

"And it was in the days of the wheat harvest"
At around 10:25 the Rebbe shlit"a left his holy residence in Kiryas Joel on the way to Teterboro Airport, accompanied by the Gaonim, rabbanim of our kehilla in Williamsburg and Monsey shlit"a, and a select few attendants. At 11:45, at an auspicious hour, the private plane took off for Yuma, Arizona. On the way, the Rebbe shlit"a engaged in the yeshiva shiurim on Maseches Bava Basra, and later learned the halachos of Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim in a chavrusa. On the flight there were also lengthy conversations on various halachic topics regarding the laws of ribis, and later regarding matters of the wheat harvest.

At around 2:00 in the afternoon in Yuma, Arizona (5:00 PM New York time), the plane landed at the nearby airport, close to the wheat fields, and the Rebbe and his companions immediately traveled to the field in a special Sprinter van.

Upon arriving at the field under a scorching sun of 115 degrees, already waiting were the dayanim of our holy kehilla: HaGaon Rabbi Hersh Leib Bernstein shlit"a, av beis din of our Beis Medrash Beis Menachem Tzvi, and HaGaon Rabbi Yoel Yitzchak Stern shlit"a, dayan of Dinov in Kiryas Joel, who head the distinguished wheat harvest, together with askanim and managers of our holy kehilla's bakery in Williamsburg and Kiryas Joel. Also present there were the dayanim of the holy community of Papa, sent by their Rebbe, the Papa Rebbe shlit"a: his grandson HaGaon Rabbi Yosef Grunwald shlit"a, son of the Gaon, dayan of Papa shlit"a, together with HaGaon Rabbi Moshe Yosef, son of the Gaon Rabbi Shmelka Friedman shlit"a, member of the kashrus committee of the holy community of Papa.

First, the Rebbe looked over the special water system, where its source has been sealed with a seal since the wheat began to ripen. The Rebbe inquired at length with the shomrim who have been in the field for the past weeks. Then the Rebbe shlit"a went over to the combine truck and made sure that all the places from which water could drip down were closed. He then climbed up onto the combine machine, with great personal effort, and with great emotion the Rebbe said "l'shem yichud" and "l'shem mitzvas matzah" and started the combine together with the Jewish driver, R' Kalman Eliezer Shalilof of Kiryas Joel, who is conducting the entire harvest, as the Rebbe shlit"a instituted the hiddur that it be done only by a Jew. The Rebbe checked the blade of the combine that cuts the wheat, and the Rebbe drove the combine in the field together with the driver, crossing the field several times back and forth for an extended period.

After the cutting, the Rebbe got down and went into a small shade tent that had been set up in the field, where the Rebbe and the group examined thousands of kernels and watched with amazement as the wheat was clean and pure, and not a single kernel was found sprouted or split, clean and beautiful, without any questions or doubts. The Rebbe explained the entire process of how the wheat grows, the power of growth, and how it becomes chametz, the problem of water once it is already in need of the ground, and the merits and hiddurim of the local wheat.

With holy emotion, they then sang the joyous melody "To keep Your statutes and to do Your will." The Rebbe thanked the entire gathering, and the harvest continued, as IY"H close to a million pounds will be harvested on an area of nearly 200 acres.

The Rebbe shlit"a traveled to a nearby hotel to rest for a few minutes from the great heat, and from there they immediately traveled to the airport. At 5:20 (local time) the plane took off on a two-and-a-half-hour flight to Postville, Iowa, to visit the distinguished slaughterhouse of our holy kehilla. On the plane the Rebbe shlit"a davened Mincha with a minyan, and then the Rebbe continued his shiurim in Maseches Bava Kama.

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