Joel Teitelbaum
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Grand Rabbi Joel Teitelbaum of Satmar |
Grand
Rabbi Joel (Yoel) Teitelbaum, (1887-1979), known variously as
Reb Yoelish and the
Satmar Rav (or Rebbe) (יואל טייטלבוים), was a prominent
Hungarian Hasidic rebbe and
Talmudic scholar. He was probably the best known
Haredi opponent of all forms of modern political
Zionism.
Teitelbaum was the youngest son of his father, Grand Rabbi
Chanayah Yom Tov Lipa Teitelbaum (d. 1904), who served as the rabbi of
Sighet in
Romania (at that time
Hungary). Teitelbaum was an impetuous child and was renowned from a young age for his sharp tongue and brilliant analytical skills. During the 1920s he served as the rabbi of Krole (Nagykaroly or
Carei) near Satmar (Satu-Mare). In 1928 he was invited to become the rabbi of Satmar but vigorous opposition to his appointment led to bitter fighting and he was unable to take up his position until 1934. Upon his departure from Krole the local community appointed Rabbi Abishel Horowitz, a son-in-law of the Spinka Rebbe
Spinka (Hasidic Dynasty). Teitelbaum was opposed to Horowitz's appointment - mainly because those who had appointed him were eager to change various decrees that Teitelbaum had imposed on the Krole Jewish community - and he nominated another successor in his place. As a result of Teitelbaum's interference in the affairs of the community after his departure a nasty feud developed between his devotees and the hasidim of Spinka - who supported Horowitz. The feud smoldered on right up until the community was destroyed during the Holocaust. Horowitz himself was murdered in
Auschwitz. After World War II Horowitz's son, Samuel Tzvi Horowitz (aka 'Reb Hershele Spinker'), became the Spinka Rebbe of Williamsburg, NY. He reconciled with Teitelbaum and they maintained cordial relations.
By the age of 17 he married the daughter of Rabbi Abraham Chaim Halberstam, the Plantcher Rav. She died in the 1920s and after a couple of years he remarried to Alte Faige nee Shapiro. He had three daughters from his first marriage: Esther, Rachel and Roysele. They all died in his lifetime: Esther died during childhood; Rachel died 6 months after she married her first cousin, R' Zalmen Leib Teitelbaum, the Rav of Sighet; and Roysele, who married R' Lipa Teitelbaum, the Semihaya Rav, (and the only of his children to survive the holocaust) died during pregnancy in 1953 in the USA. His second wife did not bear him any children; and it has been alleged that she was infertile and that the rift between her and Rabbi Moses Teitelbaum began when the latter tried to convey this fact to his uncle, who only remarried for want of a son who would succeed him. Whilst his second wife survived him, he was not survived by any living descendants.
Teitelbaum was rescued from death in
the Holocaust during 1944 in
Nazi-controlled
Transylvania as a result of a deal between a Hungarian Zionist official,
Rudolph Kastner, and a deputy of
Adolf Eichmann. Although Kastner intended to rescue only Hungarian Zionists on a special train bound for
Switzerland, Teitelbaum and a few other religious Jews were also given seats. (Some of Teitelbaum's followers believe it was the result of a dream in which Kastner's father-in-law was informed by his late mother that if Teitelbaum were not included on the train, none of the passengers would survive.)
En route, the train was re-routed by the Germans to
Bergen-Belsen, where the 1600 passengers languished for four months while awaiting further negotiations between rescue activists and the Nazi leadership. In the end the train was released and continued on to Switzerland.
Teitelbaum briefly lived in
Jerusalem after
World War II, but at the request of some of his followers who had emigrated to the
United States, he settled there instead. He attracted many new followers and established a large community in the densely
Orthodox neighborhood of
Williamsburg located in northern
Brooklyn in
New York City. Towards the end of his life, he searched for a location ouside of the city to establish a new self-contained community for his disciples and their families, eventually deciding upon
Monroe, New York where a new town known as
Kiryas Joel was launched. The name
Kiryas Joel means "Town of Joel" alluding to his name and extolling the awe in which he was held by his adherents. Upon his death, he was the first individual to be buried there in 1979. Reputedly over 100,000
Jews attended his funeral. He was succeeded by his nephew Rabbi
Moshe Teitelbaum who has divided the control of the Williamsburg and Monroe Satmar communities between two of his sons.
Teitelbaum's works include collections of
responsa and
novelae (scholarly contributions to
Talmudic debates) entitled
Divrei Yoel and
Al HaGeulah V'Al HaTemurah this was written with the help of the late Rabbi N.Y. Meisels. He also authored a brief introduction to the Talmudic tractate
Shabbos for a Holocaust-era printing in Romania. His exposition of his belief that
Zionism is prohibited by
Halakha ("Jewish law") is entitled
VaYoel Moshe. There are also collections of his speeches entitled,
Hidushei Torah MHR"I Teitelbaum.
He loved scholars and sharp people, and visionaries like the great Reb Michoel Ber Weismandel, Reb Shraga Feivel Mendelovitz, and so on.
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Rabbi Joel Teitelbaum (center) with his nephew and successor Rabbi Moshe Teitelbaum (right) |
Teitelbaum was renowned for his vocal religiously motivated opposition to all modern forms Zionism in all arenas. This approach was a continuation of his father's views and of other prominent
Hasidic rabbis. His father and predecessor was Rabbi
Chananyah Yom Tov Lipa Teitelbaum. He encouraged his followers to form self-sufficient communities without the help of the
State of Israel and forbade "official" engagement with it.
Before
World War II most Hasidic rabbis, as well as many other prominent
Orthodox leaders, believed that
God had promised to return the
Jewish people to the
land of Israel by means of the actions of the
Jewish Messiah who would be sent if the Jewish people merited his arrival. During the current exile, The Jewish people are expected to perform the
mitzvot. In addition, they are advised not to antagonize or rebel against the
gentile nations of the world in the course of their long exile in the
diaspora. In the years following the Holocaust Teitelbaum undertook to maintain and strengthen this position, as did many Torah Jews and communities.
Thus, in the view of Teitelbaum's followers, the current State of Israel, that was
founded by people that included some anti-religious personalities and in seeming violation of the traditional notion that Jews should wait for the Jewish Messiah, is seen as contrary to
Judaism as Satmar Hasidism understands it to be.
The three oaths
The core citations from classical Judaic sources cited and utilized by Teitelbaum in his
ideological war of words against modern Zionism are based on an important teaching from the
Talmud in tractate Kethuboth 111a: Based on a passage from the
Song of Songs in the
Tanakh (
Hebrew Bible) wherein God made the Israelites promise "to wait for Him before arousing his love."
King Solomon in Song of Songs thrice adjured the "daughters of Jerusalem" not to arouse or bestir the love until it is ready." The Talmud explains that we have been foresworn, by three strong oaths not to ascend to the Holy Land as a group using force, not to rebel against the governments of countries in which we live, and not by our sins, to prolong the coming of moshiach; as is written in Tractate Kesubos 111a . [
1]
The Zionist State of Israel then, is seen by Satmar Hasidim as a form of "impatience" and in keeping with the Talmud's warnings that being impatient for God's love leads to "grave danger" so that the constant
wars in Israel are seen as "fulfilment" of that prophecy.
Thus Teitelbaum saw his opposition to Zionism as a way of protecting Jewish lives and preventing bloodshed. Although some
Haredi rabbis may agree with this idea, the general view of
Agudath Israel is that for all practical purposes, through participating in the Israeli government, efforts can be made to prevent Israel from becoming even more anti-religious. Rabbi Teitelbaum however, felt that any participation in the Israeli government, even voting in elections, was a grave sin, because it contributes to the spiritual and physical destruction of innocent people. He was officially opposed to the views of Agudath Israel, and until the present time, the official Satmar movement refuses to become a member of the Agudath Israel organization or party. The Satmar view is that only the Jewish Messiah can bring about a new Jewish government in the
Holy Land, and even if a government declaring itself religious would be formed before the Messiah, it would be illegitimate due to its improper arrogation of power.
While the Satmar Hasidim are opposed to the present secular government of Israel, many of them live in and visit Israel. Teitelbaum himself lived for about a year in
Jerusalem after his escape from
Europe but before the establishment of the State of Israel, and visited Israel after moving to the United States.
*
Haredi Judaism*
Satmar*
Hasidic Judaism*
Neturei Karta*
Extensive biography*
Biography at OU.org*
jewsagainstzionism.com Three Strong Oaths*
jewsagainstzionism.com Satmar Grand Rebbe Joel Teitelbaum*
"My Neighbor, My Father, The Rebbe"
