April 28, 2006--Fanaticisms XXXII--Cain and Abel Teitelbaum
Can’t the Satmar Hasidim of Williamsburg, Brooklyn just get along?
Last week, Moses (Moshe) Teitelbaum, their Grand Rabbi died at 91. What should have been a mournful and peaceful time erupted into bitter battles in the streets (two dozen arrested for violence) and the secular and rabbinical courts. What is at issue is who will succeed him. This is often a simple matter among Hassids—if the Grand Rebbe has at least one son, the oldest inherits the position. If there are no sons, a favored nephew is acceptable—in fact that is how Rabbi Moshe got his job. Just like the royalty they are.
The trouble here is that Rabbi Moses named his third son, Zalmen to take over, bypassing his first born, Aaron. So Aaron went to court, claiming he is the legitimate heir (see NY Times story linked below).
For those of you not familiar with Hassidism, allow me to fill in some background. In spite of the way they appear, with their ancient garb and customs, they are a relatively next Jewish sect, having come into existence in only the 18th century. They are a millennialist people, waiting for the Jewish Messiah to appear and all the good things that will result—the rebuilding of the Temple, the resumption of animal sacrifices, and ultimately Armageddon. Though many Hassids live in Israel, they oppose both religious and secular Zionism, claiming that it is up to God to return Jews to Israel, not the State of Israel. Though they are not reluctant to in fact participate in Israeli politics and even serve in the Knesset (but not the army). Go figure.
Back to Brooklyn—so what might really be at stake? A number of things, perhaps, most significant, control of the Satmar’s considerable worldly assets—their global network of private schools and social service agencies, their vast real estate holdings worth hundreds of millions of dollars, and even a Matzo factory.
But there is more—the split among the Satmars, some favoring Aaron and others Zalmen, has put all matchmaking on hold. The Grand Rebbe controls this action as well, and thus those families backing Aaron do not want their sons or daughters to marry someone from the other faction. Things could get complicated for these marriages made in heaven after the courts sort things out.
Rabbi Moshe always compared himself to the biblical Jacob—he who considered himself the custodian of the work begun by the founders of Judaism, Isaac and Abraham. The Grand Rabbi often quoted Jacob who is supposed to have said, “I’m not digging any new wells; I’m just watching the wells that the father and grandfather dug.”
It looks, though, that while he was watching those wells and thinking about himself as Jacob, Zalmen and Aaron were thinking Cain and Abel.
Last week, Moses (Moshe) Teitelbaum, their Grand Rabbi died at 91. What should have been a mournful and peaceful time erupted into bitter battles in the streets (two dozen arrested for violence) and the secular and rabbinical courts. What is at issue is who will succeed him. This is often a simple matter among Hassids—if the Grand Rebbe has at least one son, the oldest inherits the position. If there are no sons, a favored nephew is acceptable—in fact that is how Rabbi Moshe got his job. Just like the royalty they are.
The trouble here is that Rabbi Moses named his third son, Zalmen to take over, bypassing his first born, Aaron. So Aaron went to court, claiming he is the legitimate heir (see NY Times story linked below).
For those of you not familiar with Hassidism, allow me to fill in some background. In spite of the way they appear, with their ancient garb and customs, they are a relatively next Jewish sect, having come into existence in only the 18th century. They are a millennialist people, waiting for the Jewish Messiah to appear and all the good things that will result—the rebuilding of the Temple, the resumption of animal sacrifices, and ultimately Armageddon. Though many Hassids live in Israel, they oppose both religious and secular Zionism, claiming that it is up to God to return Jews to Israel, not the State of Israel. Though they are not reluctant to in fact participate in Israeli politics and even serve in the Knesset (but not the army). Go figure.
Back to Brooklyn—so what might really be at stake? A number of things, perhaps, most significant, control of the Satmar’s considerable worldly assets—their global network of private schools and social service agencies, their vast real estate holdings worth hundreds of millions of dollars, and even a Matzo factory.
But there is more—the split among the Satmars, some favoring Aaron and others Zalmen, has put all matchmaking on hold. The Grand Rebbe controls this action as well, and thus those families backing Aaron do not want their sons or daughters to marry someone from the other faction. Things could get complicated for these marriages made in heaven after the courts sort things out.
Rabbi Moshe always compared himself to the biblical Jacob—he who considered himself the custodian of the work begun by the founders of Judaism, Isaac and Abraham. The Grand Rabbi often quoted Jacob who is supposed to have said, “I’m not digging any new wells; I’m just watching the wells that the father and grandfather dug.”
It looks, though, that while he was watching those wells and thinking about himself as Jacob, Zalmen and Aaron were thinking Cain and Abel.
posted by Steven Zwerling at
11:05 AM
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