Eisenberg, Robert. Boychiks in the Hood: Travels in the Hasidic
Underground. Harper San Francisco; 1996. Paperback. ISBN 0-062512-23-4.
[Chapter 1 of this book is about a visit to Satmar in Williamsburg, giving
brief but vivid pictures of various individuals, including rebels, interspersed
with information which tends to emphasize the controversial but also shows
admiration. Satmarers appear here and there throughout this entertaining book,
which overall gives some context for their way of life. (Rabbi Justin Jaron
Lewis)]
[Fin94]
Finkel, Avraham Yaakov. Contemporary Sages: The Great Chasidic
Masters of the Twentieth Century. Jason Aronson; 1994. Hardcover. ISBN
1-568211-55-4. [This book presents brief biographical notes, selections of
teachings, and photographs of 37 Hasidic Rebbes of the twentieth century. The
brief chapter on "Rabbi Yoel Teitelbaum of Satmar -- Reb Yoilish, the Satmarer
Rebbe" includes a photograph of the late Rebbe's soulful face, information on
his lineage and early years, and a summary of the growth of Satmar Hasidism in
New York with its many educational and charitable institutions. Most
importantly, it includes the only selection of Satmar teachings available in
English, giving some sense of the forcefulness of the Rebbe's words and of the
religious underpinnings of Satmar's controversial opposition to Zionism. (Rabbi
Justin Jaron Lewis)]
[Kra95]
Kranzler, George. Hasidic Williamsburg: A Contemporary American
Hasidic Community. Jason Aronson; 1995. Hardcover. ISBN 1-568212-42-9.
[This book is a sequel to Williamsburg: A Jewish Community in Transition
(1961), which traced developments in Jewish Williamsburg from before the
postwar Hasidic immigration. In this book the emphasis is on the leading role
of Satmar and its Rebbes. It is based on written surveys and interviews, and
includes many quotations from, and descriptions of, ordinary Hasidim as well as
leaders of the community. This study includes much information on the Satmar
community, from the family (Chapter 4) to the broader social structure (Chapter
5) to interactions with the outside world through political and economic
activity (Chapters 2 and 8). A hagiographic biography of the late Rebbe is also
included (Appendix B). Kranzler writes with unrestricted admiration for Satmar;
he dismisses as unimportant the tensions around the succession of the new Rebbe
as well as other potentially controversial issues. (Rabbi Justin Jaron
Lewis)]
Roth, Aaron. Sefer Avodat ha-Bore. Jerusalem: M. Blum.
1989.
[Pol62]
Poll, Solomon. The Hasidic Community of Williamsburg, New
York. Free Press of Glencoe (division of Crowell-Collier); 1962. ISBN
0-805202-09-9. Out of Print. [This book gives a highly readable account of
Hasidic life in Williamsburg that is still largely applicable today. It
mentions Satmar by name only in passing, but most of what is said here in
general can be applied to Satmar specifically. The book focuses on the facets
of Hasidic life most likely to strike an outsider as strange, providing useful
context in terms of underlying values and historical background. It gives
little sense of individuals, but paints striking pictures of social types,
especially in Chapter 7, "The Social Stratification of the Hasidic Community".
It also conveys a sense of Hasidic voices through translations of newspaper
advertisements, circular letters from impoverished rabbis, and the like. The
mingling of religious concerns with daily life is described engagingly,
especially the multiple effects of strictness about kashrut (175-212). Only the
historical background (in Chapters 1-5) is a little narrowly focused, and could
give the impression that all Hasidim are from Hungary and live in Williamsburg.
(Rabbi Justin Jaron Lewis)]
[Rub97]
Rubin, Israel. Satmar: Two Generations of an Urban Island.
Peter Lang Publishing; 1997. Hardcover. 2nd edition. ISBN 0-820407-59-3.[This
book is an updated version of Satmar: An Island in the City (1972); each
of the original chapters is followed by a supplement taking stock of changes in
the intervening years. It is based on interviews and impressions from time
spent in the community. It presents pictures in broad strokes more than
detailed analysis. This book gives fuller treatment to historical background
and religion than Kranzler. The book evinces admiration for Satmar but has a
more critical eye than Kranzler; in particular, this book gives greater weight
to internal struggles in the community following the succession of the new
Rebbe, and to changes which may result from this (such as greater independence
from the Rebbe in individual decision-making). It also identifies indications
of slow and subtle Americanization. (Rabbi Justin Jaron Lewis)]
Teitelbaum, Joel. Hagadah shel Pesach: Otsar peninim.
Brooklyn, NY: Y.M. Grinfeld. 5746 [1986]. [Text of the Haggadah in Hebrew and
Yiddish; commentary in Yiddish.]
Credit: Some of the information in this section was provided by Justin
Jaron Lewis, Rabbi of Congregation Iyr HaMelech of Kingston, Ontario, from his
Readers Guide to Judaism [ed. Michael Terry], published in Chicago by Fitzroy
Dearborn in the year 2000.
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