In an emotional address, Rav Aharon Teitelbaum of Satmar issued a call to his chassidim living in Williamsburg to leave the increasingly unaffordable neighborhood and move to Kiryas Yoel in Monroe, where housing is cheaper and the chareidi atmosphere is stronger.
Speaking during the inauguration of a new yeshiva ketanah building in Williamsburg, the Rebbe delivered what he described as daas Torah and plain common sense. “In the past, there weren’t enough housing options in Kiryas Yoel,” he acknowledged, “but today there are multiple new projects underway, with affordable prices. There is now room for the entire kehilla to relocate there.”
The Rebbe painted a stark picture of the cost of living in Williamsburg. He described a situation where homes cost millions of dollars to buy and rent for a typical apartment is around $6,000 a month. Even small apartments for newlyweds can go for $3,000. “The cries of the parents rise to the Heavens,” the Rebbe lamented. “My heart is torn apart. One shudders to hear these things, seeing parents crushed under the heavy burden of weddings and outrageous rental prices in such an expensive place.”
While expressing deep admiration for Williamsburg, the Rebbe said that the neighborhood’s reality has drastically changed. “Williamsburg was once an ihr v’eim b’Yisroel, a makom kadosh. It was home to great tzaddikim, a place of abundant gemilus chassadim, infused with Torah and sanctity. But today, it is no longer possible to remain living there.”
In a fiery continuation of his speech, the Rebbe invoked the legacy of the Divrei Yoel. He noted that the Divrei Yoel did not establish the city of Kiryas Yosel for strangers or outsiders, but specifically for Satmar chassidim of Williamsburg, foreseeing the challenges that would eventually make the neighborhood unlivable. “He built it so our people would have room to grow,” the Rebbe said.
“Indeed, the words ‘Kumu tze’u min hamakom hazeh’ [‘Arise, leave this place’ – Bereishis 19:14], were originally spoken about Sedom,” said the Rebbe. “But I am saying them now about the holy city of Williamsburg. Leave here!”
To reinforce his message, the Rebbe referenced how similar transitions happened in Eretz Yisroel, where neighborhoods like Ashdod, Beit Shemesh, Tzfas, and Teveriah became thriving chareidi centers, even though people once thought that only Yerushalayim and Bnei Brak were options. “Williamsburg may be filled with yirei Shomayim, but it cannot compare to the ruchniyus of Kiryas Yoel,” he declared. “The holiness and purity are felt in the very streets. You can let your children walk outside without worrying about shemiras einayim. Williamsburg has no future. The future is in Monroe.”
{Matzav.com}