Language:
English
Year of publication:
2014
Titel der Quelle:
Dapim; Studies on the Shoah
Angaben zur Quelle:
28,2 (2014) 97-120
Keywords:
Teitelbaum, Joel
;
Holocaust (Jewish theology)
Abstract:
Rabbi Yoel Teitelbaum (1887-1979) was born in Sighet, and in 1934 became the rabbi of Satmar (Satu-Mare) in Romania, building up a large hasidic following. He did not protest against the anti-Jewish laws of the late 1930s, feeling that such attempts would only exacerbate the situation. In 1940 northern Transylvania was annexed to Hungary, where anti-Jewish measures were even harsher. As a fervent anti-Zionist, the Rebbe refused to work with Zionist organizations to help Jewish refugees, or to join in rescue efforts of the Hungarian Jewish Council. Although he advised his hasidim not to flee, in March 1944 he and his wife fled to Cluj. Soon after, when Kasztner negotiated with the Nazis to save his relatives and others in Cluj, Teitelbaum and his wife accepted the offer to join his list, even though Kasztner worked for the Jewish Council. The Jews saved by Kasztner were sent first to Bergen-Belsen, and then to Switzerland. After the war, Teitelbaum lived briefly in Eretz Israel, and then left for the U.S. Criticizes Rabbi Teitelbaum for convincing his followers to stay behind while he himself fled, and for lack of gratitude toward his saviors, particularly Kasztner. The Rebbe excused his actions mainly by insisting that the Holocaust was God's punishment of the Zionists (many of whom were secular), who actively promoted redemption of the people of Israel in their land instead of waiting for God to send the messiah to redeem them. His hasidic biographers make various excuses, e.g. that he left Hungary in order to continue his rescue efforts, that hasidic leaders insisted that he leave, that cooperation with irreligious Zionists is forbidden, and that the Zionists actually collaborated with the Nazis.
Note:
In Hebrew:
,
"דפים לחקר השואה" כח (תשעה) 81-106
URL:
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