Historic Conciliation between Satmar-Aaron and Belz
After more than three decades of zealous animosity, the Satmar Belz rift is finally winding down.
The Belzer Rebbe, Rabbi Yissachar Ber Rokeach, had been exhibiting peace overtures for years but was consistently rebuffed. Last month, his brother-in-law Rabbi Aaron Teitelbaum, leader of the KJ Satmar faction, finally agreed to terms of appeasement: The Belzer Rebbe must first send a delegation to the Sepulcher of the Great Satmar Rebbe Joel Teitelbaum and request forgiveness.
Sure enough, a delegation of ten eminent judges from Belz arrived in KJ last month under the leadership of the Belzer Rebbe's personal assistant Rabbi Shimon Wolf Klein. They brought with them a conciliation lletter from their Rebbe which they deposited at the gravesite. They then recited several chapters of Psalms, as customary at grave sites, and then formally asked forgiveness from Rabbi Joel Teitelbaum ZYE on behalf of the Belzer Rebbe in the presence of two officers from the KJ Free Burial Society representing Satmar. The supplicants said "We are emissaries of Rabbi Yissachar Dov ben Miryam, who has sent us to ask appeasement and forgiveness over his affront in your honor". Satmar KJ reps then responded with "you are forgiven! you are forgiven! you are forgiven!" as required formally by halakha in the case of an excommunicated individual due to affront to a Torah scholar.
Last month's formal reconciliation paved the way for this yesterday's historic visit by Rabbi Teitelbaum at Rabbi Rokeach's residence in a resort in Israel. The visit was executed after midnight, apparently in an attempt to keep it low-key, despite the presence of ample security there on the part of both the Israeli police and community officials determined to avert any embarrassing incident by a rouge individual in Samar or Belz opposed to the conciliation.
The two Rebbes discussed the customs of Belz and Sighet (sighet being the rabbinical ancestry of Rabbi Teitelbaum), each Rebbe recounting a devar torah (homiletic scriptural interpretation) from their respective ancestral rabbinical lineage, the Sar Shalom and the Yetev Lev.
The Hasidic world is raving with joy over this historical accomplishment. Some feel that the Messiah can now come that there is peace among Jews.
Rabbi Zalman, Rabbi Teitelbaum's brother and rival Satmar Rebbe, is not a party to this pact for two reasons. For Zalman, the familial motive is absent. For Rabbi Aaron, after all, it is his brother in law that he's been unable to meet for decades, whereas Rabbi Rokeach is a stranger to Rabbi Zalman. Additionally, Rabbi Zalman is seen as carrying the hard-line banner of no compromise with the Zionists and their collaborators, as urged by the Grand old Satmar Rebbe, Joel Teitelbaum.
This compromise of Belz sending an appeasement delegation first and Aaron making the first visit, seems reasonable for an opening chapter. Subsequently, complete normalization of "diplomatic" relations between the courts are expected, with each Rebbe now paying visits to each other on regular occasions, such as family celebrations and holiday excursions.
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