Rabbi Yoel of Satmar – Overflowing Spring of Damaging Counsel

From a book review of “The Rebbe – The Extraordinary Life & Worldview of Rabbeinu Yoel Teitelbaum” on the Seforim blog:

There is a famous story told, that Reb Moshe Bick, a prominent chassidishe posek in the Bronx, decided that boys and girls should meet at least ten times before getting married. He felt that America was different than Europe, and too many divorces were happening because of improper matches. The Rebbe was strongly opposed to this. Reb Moshe Bick explained that the difference of opinion stemmed from the fact that he was a mesader gittin, while the Rebbe was a mesader kiddushin!

Actually, Rabbi Bick recommended meeting eight times, not ten, to which Rabbi Yoel Teitelbaum responded “קצתי בחיי מפני בנות חת”, ‘חת’ being a play on the Hebrew letter for the number 8 (חי”ת).

I won’t mention my personal opinion, for whom and for when, but the Satmar Rebbe was continually wrong on everything.

I don’t just mean his poor prognostication skills or Halachos, but even his personal advice (e.g., instructing others to remain as ignorant as possible of Lashon Hakodesh, shaving married women’s heads, Zionism, etc., against studying Iyun, against visiting Kivrei Tzaddikim, encouraging Machlokes, acting as though moving from America to Israel would lead to religious deterioration and physical danger, etc.), partially due to his uncaring callousness (such as his opposition to the Teshuvah Revolution). His advice was usually unusually awful, so it’s safe to assume he is wrong here yet again.

Read the rest of the article on Seforim here.

Meeting Obstacles? Maybe It’s Hashem’s Rachmanus…

Bamidbar 22:22:

ויחר אף אלהים כי הולך הוא ויתיצב מלאך השם בדרך לשטן לו והוא רכב על אתנו ושני נעריו עמו.

Translation: God’s wrath flared because he was going, and an angel of the Lord stationed himself on the road to thwart him, and he was riding on his she-donkey, and his two servants were with him.

Rashi:

לשטן לו, מלאך של רחמים היה והיה רוצה למנעו מלחטוא שלא יחטא ויאבד.

“To thwart him”, This was an angel of mercy seeking to prevent [Bil’am] from sinning and being destroyed because of it.

Note: I think the hermeneutic is from the word “Lo”, which implies “to his benefit”.