Mar 9, 2026
Satmar and the Iran War
The Satmar Rebbe (one of them), Rav Aharon Teitelbaum, spoke about the war with Iran at his seudat shlishit this past Shabbos.
According to a report on Behadrei, the Rebbe related a story from his youth having been "tested" by his uncle Rav Yoel Teitelbaum on the very same parsha, Ki Tisa, about the story of the Golden Calf. He relates that his uncle, Rav Yoel, asked him how could it be possible for the nation to have worshipped the Golden Calf? He went on to explain that the Calf was not just a golden statue of a calf, but according to the medrash it had some sort of life force to it and the golden calf danced and did miracles and acted a live, which caused people to believe in it as some sort of deity and worship it. According to Rav Yoel there were three types of people worshipping the golden calf:
- those who saw the miracles and actually worshipped it as a deity like real avoda zara.
- those who did not actually worship it but hugged and kissed it and admired it
- this third category was most of the people, they were happy internally seeing the calf do amazing and wondrous things
Rav Aharon then took the lesson to today saying that we are standing on the side watching this war with Iran and we are watching the golden calf of today doing amazing and wondrous things - dancing, jumping...some are watching and worshiping the Zionist calf and others are not worrshiping it but are happy or even kissing the Zionist calf. Most of the people, like then, are happy internally about the successes of the Zionist calf and about the great wondrous successes it is having. Even just being happy internally is prohibited. Even those happy about the wonders and successes are following all day and checking the news to see this all and be happy about it. For this they all need a kapara.
Hashem should give us the wisdom, Rav Aharon prayed, to understand that avoda zara is prohibited even when it does wondrous things. It might dance and make us wonder, but it is still idol worship and is prohibited to kiss it, to worship it and be happy about it.
------
I always was, and still am, amazed at how, as religious people, and they might be considered super religious people, they can refuse to see God's hand in the formation and continued success of the State of Israel. I truly do not even understand it. EVen if God is behind it that does not mean you have to celebrate and say hallel and wave the blue and white flag and all that. You can still see it as needing improvement. To continue to see it as the work of Satan and not the hand of God behind it though is bewildering.
------------------------------------------------------
Reach thousands of readers with your ad by advertising on Life in Israel
Reach thousands of readers with your ad by advertising on Life in Israel
------------------------------------------------------
Labels:
Iran,
Israel,
Satmar Rebbe,
war
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Related Posts
if he is right, all Dati Leumi condemned to Hell. if he's wrong , Satmar may be there....
ReplyDeleteWhat a nasty man!
ReplyDeleteAccording to Satmar theology, Hashgacha Pratis stopped in 1948. Everything before that, including the Holocaust? The Retzon Hashem, which we can not question. The obvious miracles of the creation and thriving of the State of Israel? Ma'aseh Satan. Apparently, according to their belief system, the Satan is an indwpendent force that God does not control - something more akin to Christian theology than normative Judaism.
ReplyDelete"they can refuse to see God's hand in the formation and continued success of the State of Israel."
ReplyDeleteI am no Satmerer, but I never understood this argument that if the state is successful and accomplished a great deal then Hashem must be happy about it.
Achav too was very successful in his battles (until he wasn't), so was Christianity successful in spreading and Islam too.
The Nazis were pretty successful in eradicating Jews from Europe.
Does this mean that Hashem is happy about it?
We don't understand the ways of Hashem. Sometimes things happen which are impossible to understand and we'll only get the answer when Moshiach comes