Guest Posting: Kiryat Yoel and the Tish

B"H

A couple of weeks ago I took my forth trip to the Satmar village of Kiryas Yoel in upstate New York. I’m not sure why I keep torturing myself by going back. I think it has something to do with the Rabbi I stay with. This is a man, who when he’s not teaching in the yeshiva, is up and down the state of New York doing the type of chesed and kiruv work that almost no one would do. I don’t want to say what he does exactly and give away his identity, but let’s just say that he loves every Jew regardless of upbringing or background. When I say “torture myself” what I mean is that I’ve encountered something in Kiryas Yoel that I haven’t encountered in any other Chassidic community to this extent. The people stare, and boy do they stare. I guess I look yeshivish. Brim down on the hat, short beard, no peyos, and a tie. But it is obvious that there really aren’t many visitors to Kiryas Yoel, because it is not uncommon for a man, little boy, little girl on the street to turn his or her head a full 180 degrees as you pass them by. Guess they just can’t believe the site of it.

Out of four trips, despite the usual stares, this is the first time that I had a really bad experience. For starters, I was glad that Miriam posted a video of “the other side of Breslov” a couple of months ago on Shearim. The Rabbi I stay by was also hosting five Breslovers, four of whom were from Beit Shemesh. If you think the opposite of everything you know about Breslov, this was these people. Instigators, provocateurs, insolent, and downright rude to their host. Nothing in Kiryas Yoel seemed to live up to their standards. They questioned the local hechsher, which resulted in a heated argument. One guy went on the tirade about the mikvah in the main shul, because it’s not open 24 hours a day. “In Beit Shemesh you would never see such a thing!” he said, as he waved his arm in the air. Was he planning on going in the middle of the night to the mikvah? Probably not. He did, however, have controversy written all over his face from the second he walked in the door. In Beit Shemesh, he said, all mikvaos are open 24/7. Nothing really seemed to live up to his Beit Shemesh standards.

One of the Breslovers brought along his wilfe, and I was disgusted by the way he treated her. There were about 20 people present for each meal, and women sat at the other end of the room. I kept looking over at his wife. She obviously didn’t hit it off with the Satmar women, and sat for most of the five hours or so of meals with her head in her hands. The couple must have just been married, as they looked very young. But it didn’t occur even once over all of these hours for this man to check on his wife; to go over, and say hi; to give her a little wave. He was too wrapped up in starting trouble. All I could say is that I was happy that four out of five Breslovers davened at the Breslover shul. Kiryas Yoel does in fact have a Breslover shul, and a Neturai Karta shul, as well. In fact, there are 66 shuls and shtieblach there in all.

Just a quick story: a Lubavitcher cousin of mine used to go regularly to the village to visit a friend for shabbos. The last time they had a bumper sticker on their car in support of the people of Gush Katif. This was a number of years ago. They happened to be staying next door to the Neturai Karta shul. Friday night when they walked out the house, the car was surrounded by children. They were daring each other to touch the bumper sticker. By the end of shabbos the car was completely covered by table clothes, and the kids were still standing around the car inventing games. Who would lift the table cloth in the back of the car to look at the bumper sticker. Who was actually daring enough to touch the bumper sticker. Back to the Breslovers for a minute, there was one from Tzfas, who was quite easy-going and friendly, unlike the others.

There is no real Friday night tisch by Reb Aharon. The Rebbe talks informally with a couple of hundred bachurim. There isn’t much singing. The Rebbe mainly talks Torah. The shalous sheudos tisch is a different story. I’ve been to five or six of the big tischen around New York and in Eretz Yisroel, but never before have I seen so much disrespect for the idea of a tisch and for the Rebbe as in Kiryas Yoel. The singing is rushed and disorganized. There are special forenches (bleachers) set up for the ketanim, as in 5 or 6 years old, and by the time the sound from the other end of the large shul reaches them, and they are there trying to keep up with the niggun, the people at the other end of the big shul are already on the next phrase. The result is a big mish-mosh of sound. I know at least two of the niggunim that they sing weekly at the tisch, and I wasn’t even able to make them out. In addition, many people talk, and some even scream to be heard over the noise of the singing. But the big shock comes in the middle. When the Rebbe starts to speak, people start clearing out. Almost 75% of the people walk out, noisily.

At this tisch the Rebbe talks in very, very lofty tones. Friday night he speaks very informally, but at the shalous sheudos tisch it is an experience just to listen to him. His voice starts off very high at the beginning of each phrase, as if it’s about to crack, and with each few words his voice gets lower. I don’t understand much Yiddish, but I was taken enough with his lofty style of speaking that I decided to stay, unlike many. But that’s when the trouble started.

The shalous sheudos tisch in Satmar is in the dark, as in many other places, but never before have I seen what I later learned was the Vaad HaZnius patrolling the tisch with flashlights. Two men walk around, and shine the lights in random peoples’ faces. But not for a second or two. Sometimes they will keep the light in someone’s face for about 10 seconds or so, when the person is only trying to listen to the Rebbe. I asked my host, of course, later what this was all about, and he said that this was very, very important. It’s to make sure that nothing illegal goes on at the tisch in the dark.
Have they had problems in the past? What was going on? Drug use? Bochurim touching each other under the forenches? Obviously they’ve had problems in the past. When the flashlight came to my face something strange happened. It didn’t move! They guy with the flashlight didn’t move the flashlight out of my face. Did I look like a trouble maker? I couldn’t believe it. Just because I looked a little different? I had no choice but to climb over the bench, and leave the tisch. Very upsetting at the least.

Despite some bad incidents I will go back, but maybe not for about a year. What I like most about Satmar is the davening. I haven’t found any other Chassidic group that davens with such enthusiasm as Satmar. You could argue Stolin, but for some it’s a bit much, and could leave you with a headache if you’re not used to their style. Satmar for me is the most passionate davening, and as a ba’al teshuvah, it provides me with a good dose of chizuk each time I go.

The first Satmar Rebbe said that Kiryas Yoel has the same kedusha as Yerushalayim. I don’t know about that, but a feeling of kedusha is evident.