Rabbi Yoel Teitelbaum’s World Is Unimaginable

Although many Jewish renegades once fanned the flame of Zionism, imagining it to be opposed to their hated Judaism, and many nominally loyal Jews opposed Zionism in the same belief, those non-observant Jews who opposed Zionism were usually simply more clear-sighted, not less irreligious.

Today, it is hard to find many Jews of lapsed observance, who are, nonetheless, antizionist because of residual piety. And yet, Rabbi Yoel Teitelbaum thought the “Final” redemption would come solely to, and partially in the merit of, this rare bird, even rarer today than in his own time. He says so in several places.

Here from the Hebrew summary of his Shalosh Seudos talk on Parshas Balak, year 5727, p. 45:

והנה המלך המשיח יכניס התעוררות תשובה אפי’ לפשוטי העם, אותן שעכ”פ הלכו בדרך התוה”ק ובאמונה פשוטה ולא הן כרוכים אחרי המינים ואפיקורסים וכולם יזכו אז לתשובה שלימה והכל יהי’ בעבור שמו הגדול שיהא שמו שלם.

The quote sounds like it could be referring only to somewhat observant Jews, or to those denying various other heresies, but if you check within, you will find my summary accurate. I don’t have the energy to type it all up, especially the verbatim Yiddish.