Monday, February 09, 2015

The Lubavitcher Rebbe and the Satmar Rebbe

Every year during Chol Hamo'ed Pesach, Rav Yalles of Philadelphia would have a private audience with the Rebbe in 770 Eastern Parkway, Lubavitch World Headquarters.  One year his grandson, Rav Geldtzeiler, who was then learning in Yeshiva in Lakewood, joined him.  (Later, he would become the son-in-law of the "Shomer Emunim" of Yerushalayim, and would later become an Admo"r himself.) 

Rav Yalles told me:
This young man, who was learning in the Yeshiva in Lakewood, showed the Rebbe a small book he had composed containing his novel Torah insights, and he said to the Rebbe that the Satmar Rebbe, R' Yoel, had seen it and gone over it.

When my grandson finished speaking, the Rebbe said to him: "When you said "Satmar", I felt that you said this softly, "swallowing" your words.  What do you think--that here one can't mention him?  You should know that he is a good friend of mine and I am a good friend of his, and all of the [unpleasant] matters were done by Dosan and Aviram"
As told by R' Yekusiel Menachem Rapp, mashpia in Yeshivas Tomchei Temimim 770, shliach of the Rebbe to Kennedy Airport.  Originally published in his "Tikvas Menachem", #383.