Satmar (; ) is a group in Hasidic Judaism founded in 1905 by Grand Rebbe Joel Teitelbaum (1887–1979), in the city of Szatmárnémeti (also called Szatmár in the 1890s), Hungary (now Satu Mare in Romania). The group is a branch of the Sighet Hasidic dynasty. Following World War II, it was re-established in New York and has since grown to become one of the largest Hasidic dynasties in the world, comprising around 26,000 households making up a population of nearly 300,000.

Satmar is characterized by extreme conservatism, complete rejection of modern culture, and strong religious anti-Zionism. The community sponsors a comprehensive education and media network in Yiddish, which is also the primary language used by its members. Satmar also sponsors and leads the Central Rabbinical Congress, which serves as an umbrella organization for other highly conservative, anti-Zionist, and mostly Hungarian-descended ultra-Orthodox communities.

Following the death of Joel Teitelbaum in 1979, he was succeeded by his nephew, Moshe Teitelbaum. Since Moshe's death in 2006, the dynasty has been divided between his two sons, Aaron and Zalman Leib, each leading separate communities and institutions.

According to the research of Marcin Wodziński, around 2016, the group consisted of 26,078 households, making up 20.2% of the world Hasidic population and being the largest Hasidic group in the world.

History

right|thumb|225px|[[Joel Teitelbaum bowing before King Carol II of Romania, 1936]]

Transylvania

Chananya Yom Tov Lipa Teitelbaum was the Grand Rebbe of the Sighet Hasidic dynasty. He died in 1904, and was succeeded by his oldest son, Chaim Tzvi Teitelbaum.

A few Sighet Hasidim preferred his second son, Joel, as their leader. Joel Teitelbaum left the town of Máramarossziget, and, on 8 September 1905, he settled in Szatmárnémeti (in Yiddish: Satmar). His Sighet supporters followed him, and he began to attract a following. Hungarian journalist Dezső Schön, who researched the Teitelbaum rabbis in the 1930s, wrote that Teitelbaum started referring to himself as the "Rebbe of Satmar" at that time.

In America

A year after his daughter's death in Jerusalem, A similar figure of 120,000 was cited by sociologist Samuel Heilman. There is a small community of Satmar gerim (converts) living in Guatemala, having rejected the Lev Tahor cult which initially converted the group before being expelled from the country. The community of about 40 families has the full backing of the Satmar community in Williamsburg.

In addition to the Grand Rabbis' two main congregations, Chaim Yehoshua Halberstam, chief rabbi of the Satmar community in Monsey, became its local leader. Unlike the two brothers, Halberstam does not lay claim to the entire sect, though he conducts himself in the manner of a Hasidic Rebbe, accepting kvitel and holding tish. Another son, Lipa Teitelbaum, established his own congregation and calls himself Zenter Rav, in homage to the town of Senta, Serbia, where his father served as rabbi before World War II.

Ideology

The principles of Satmar reflect Joel Teitelbaum's adherence to the Hungarian ultra-Orthodox school of thought, a particularly extreme variety,

Women's role

Satmar women are required to cover their necklines fully, and to wear long sleeves, long, conservative skirts, and full stockings. Whereas married Orthodox Jewish women do not show their hair in public, in Satmar, this is taken a step further: Satmar women shave their heads after their weddings, and wear a wig or other covering over their heads, while some cover the wig with a small hat or scarf. The Grand Rebbe also insisted that the stockings of women and girls be fully opaque, a norm accepted by other Hungarian Hasidic groups which revered him.

Institutions

The sect operates numerous community foundations. Bikur Cholim ("Visiting the sick"), established in 1957 by Teitelbaum's wife Alte Feiga, concerns itself with helping hospitalized Jews, regardless of affiliation. Rav Tuv, founded in the 1950s to help Jews in the Soviet Union, aids Jewish refugees. Today, the organization mostly helps Jews from Iran and Yemen. Keren Hatzolah is a charitable fund to support yeshivas and the poor in Israel, providing for those who shun government benefits.

Teitelbaum founded a network of large educational institutions, both yeshivas and girls' schools. If its schools in New York were a public school system, it would be the fourth-largest system in the state, after those of New York City, Buffalo, and Rochester. Satmar also operates its own rabbinical courts, which settle various issues within the community by the principles of Jewish Law.

The sect has a Yiddish newspaper called Der Yid, now privatized, and various other Yiddish publications. It is currently identified with Zalman's Hasidim; whereas Der Blatt, established in 2000, is owned and run by a follower of Aaron's.

In 1994, the U.S. Supreme Court held, in Board of Education of Kiryas Joel Village School District v. Grumet, that a school district whose boundaries had been drawn to include only Satmar children violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.

In February 2025, the New York State Education Department cut funding to two Satmar yeshivas for failing to meet secular education standards in core subjects such as English and math. As of May 2025, legislation was pending which would delay consequences for Hasidic and other religious schools that failed to meet secular standards and make it significantly easier for such schools to demonstrate compliance with the law.

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Image:Satmer Yeshiva.jpg|Entrance of the Satmar Yeshiva in Brooklyn, New York

File:PS 71K Beth Rachel Satmar school 2010 jeh.jpg|Beis Rochel, Brooklyn

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In media

The Satmar community of Williamsburg was portrayed in the Netflix miniseries Unorthodox in 2020, with consultation from Eli Rosen, a former Hasidic community member. A majority of the show's dialogue is in Yiddish.

Notable people

thumb|right|[[Moshe Teitelbaum (Satmar)|Moshe Teitelbaum]]

  • Deborah Feldman, vocal critic of Satmar
  • Moshe Aryeh Freund (1894–1996), chief rabbi of the Edah HaChareidis
  • Yossi Green (born 1955), American composer
  • Chaim Yehoshua Halberstam, Satmar rabbi in Monsey, New York
  • Moshe Indig, rabbi and political influencer
  • Louis Kestenbaum (born 1952), American real estate developer
  • Meilech Kohn (born 1969), American singer
  • Aaron Teitelbaum (born 1947), rebbe of Satmar in Kiryas Yoel, New York
  • Joel Teitelbaum (1887–1979), founding rebbe of Satmar
  • Moshe Teitelbaum (1914–2006), rebbe
  • Zalman Teitelbaum (born 1951), rebbe of Satmar in Williamsburg, Brooklyn
  • Shmueli Ungar, singer
  • Frieda Vizel (born 1985), American YouTuber

See also

  • History of the Jews in Hungary

References

Further reading

  • Feldman, Deborah (2012). Unorthodox: The Scandalous Rejection of My Hasidic Roots. New York: Simon & Schuster. .
  • Roberts, Sam, "Embracing a Race and Rejecting a Sect". Bookshelf. The New York Times, February 12, 2012.
  • The New York Times "Bestseller: Non-fiction", October 21, 2012.
  • Weisshaus, Yechezkel Yossef (2008). The Rebbe: A Glimpse into the Daily Life of the Satmar Rebbe Rabbeinu Yoel Teitelbaum. Translated by Mechon Lev Avos from Sefer Eidis B'Yosef by Rabbi Yechezkel Yosef Weisshaus. Machon Lev Avos. Lakewood, New Jersey: Distributed by Israel Book Shop. .
  • "Satmar Dispute Over Many Millions To Be Decided by a Secular Court", New York Sun (March 22, 2006). Retrieved April 30, 2020.
  • "One Rebbe or Two?", The Forward (05/05/06).
  • Satmar Hasidic Williamsburg, newyorkerlife.com. Accessed December 18, 2022.
  • "Hats On, Gloves Off" from New York magazine (05/08/06). Accessed December 18, 2022.