By COLlive reporter
Jewish prisoners at the Federal Correctional Institution in Otisville, New York, enjoyed an uplifting encounter before the start of the holiday of Chanukah, last week.
The Satmar Rebbe of Kiryas Joel, R’ Aaron Teitelbaum visited the medium-security federal prison for male inmates on Monday, December 15, and spoke about the power of spiritual freedom.
About 20 Jewish inmates met him in the prison chapel and prayed Mincha service together. For a total of one hour, the Satmar Rebbe spoke with each person present, encouraging them to stay strong and hopeful.
Serving as his translator and ad hoc gabbai was Sholom Mordechai Rubashkin, the Lubavitcher chossid sentenced to 27 years in prison for running the now-bankrupt Agriprocessors kosher meat packing plant in Postville, Iowa.
“Sholom Mordechai welcomed him in English,” a Satmar source told COLlive.com. “The Rebbe said Divrei Torah in Yiddish and Sholom Mordechai translated it into English. And when they came to give ‘kvitlach’ he helped as well.”
In his most recent email to his family, Rubashkin discussed the “contradictions and opposites” that can be found in “the place called prison.”
“Starting with the opposites used to ‘bring’ the prisoner to the ‘correctional’ facility which in truth is a punitive facility, where a person’s soul is constantly being destroyed, where the body is hardly fed enough food, and “served’ in a ‘Dining Hall’ under flowery names that hide more than reveal.”
He continued to describe prison as a place “where prisoner’s clothes is called a ‘uniform’, and a prison cell is referred to ‘home’; Where the claim is to promote family ties, yet the phones time with a child is limited to an impossible 9 minutes a day; Where torture of ‘Solitary Confinement’ is called ‘Special Housing’ and is for the person’s ‘Safety’.”
The Satmar Rebbe raised a L’chaim with the prisoners – only it was said on grape juice. Prisoners told him they plan to light the Menorah with olive oil over the course of Chanukah.
In shul we give tzeduka and say a kapitl every morning in shul for Sholom Mordechai
V’YEHI HASHEM ES YOSEF V’HEE ISH MATZLIACH!
We are with you
Very kind of the Satmar Rebbe to visit and be mechazek the prisoners, I don’t believe I’ve ever read of any other rebbe making such a visit in person.
As for Sholom Mordechai, obviously Hashem has a reason why he has to be there, just like Yosef haTzaddik also had to be in prison. I know he is bringing Yiddishkeit to the other Jewish prisoners. Having to be imprisoned himself in order to do this is an incredible nisayon — may Hashem help him to stay strong to fulfill his mission of releasing the sparks trapped there.
BSD just wanted to add the context in which the quoted lines from reb sm email were written “Take a Minute To Wake up and See the Same is to be said for Living in a time of Golus, And If a Person Imagines that Needs to Reach the Happiness of “Living The Dream”, what He Really needs to do is “WAKE UP” 🙂 and Then His Sechel will show that Its a ‘DREAM’ and Its NOT REAL And The Dream is NOT LIVING And NOT LIFE! The Toirah Teaches us that the Start of Golus Began with Paroi Dreaming!… Read more »
To sholom mordechai, don’t give up! Don’t lose your simcha and positive outlook!I know it’s hard and don’t wish your situation on anyone but you’re a constant inspiration to me and many others.I daven for you constantly, every Friday night when I light candles, you’re in my prayers at other special times and just constantly in my thoughts and I continuously donate money for you. May we see you go free with Moshiach coming right now! Keep strong! And your family too….anytime I see them, usually around 770 or down the street,I just admire their emunah, bitachon and courage! You… Read more »