"A Life of Nachas, Peace of mind, and Great Success in all your Endeavors"
Letter with Blessing for the New Year with Words of Encouragement and Inspiration in the Holy Handwriting of Rabbi Yoel Teitelbaum of Satmar
Erev Yom Kippur 1951
A lengthy letter written on both sides of the page in the holy handwriting of the saintly Admor Rabbi Yoel Teitelbaum of Satmar to his kehilla in Jerusalem.
Besides warm blessings for the new year, most of the letter consists of words of encouragement to his chassidim in Jerusalem urging them not to fall into the net of the State of Israel, which was then in its infancy.
Among his words, the Rebbe calls on his followers to stand firm in the face of the immense trials of the tumultuous era of the "birth pangs of Mashiach" and not to deviate even slightly from their traditions. He urges them not to be drawn to the defiled ways of the times, and not to be ensnared in the goal of the State to uproot emunah, which was given to us as an inheritance from our holy fathers and rabbis.
Further, he writes that although according to his estimation, he does not suspect his students have been caught up in Zionism, he still finds it necessary to caution them due to "the immense and growing storm”.
In the sefer ‘Divrei Yoel’, Letters p. 103, his trusted assistant Rabbi Yosef Ashkenazi wrote about this letter: "Even on the eve of the holiest day of the year, he did not forget his followers in the holy city of Jerusalem and took the time to encourage and strengthen them."
The first 7 lines in the beginning of the letter, are written in rhyming prose! (See Hebrew text.)
Rabbi Yoel of Satmar (1887-1979), author of ‘Divrei Yoel’, was a leading Rebbe following the Holocaust. A brilliant and pious scholar, he was fluent in all areas of Torah and was renowned for his firm stance against the Zionist movement and the secular government and its various factions. Following the Holocaust, he re-established the majestic chassidic court of Satmar in both the United States and Eretz Yisrael and served as president of the Eidah Chareidis in Jerusalem.
Brooklyn New York, 1951
Page Size: 21 x 28 cm. Personal stationery, all in the Rebbe’s holy handwriting, 27 lines, without signature.
Condition: Good; fold marks.
In the body of this letter there is no date. The date provided is according to Divrei Yoel Letters, letter 76.
