PRESERVING HERITAGE IN
A MODERN WORLD

Day 5: Unspeakable Tragedy, Remarkable Survival

“How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, ‘Your God reigns.’”  (Isaiah 52:7)

Who Are the Satmar? 
The Satmar are the largest Hasidic Jewish sect in the world. Their story is woven together from unspeakable tragedy and remarkable survival.

This community takes its name from the Hungarian city of Satu Mare (known in Yiddish as Satmar), located in what is today northwestern Romania. It was there, in the early twentieth century, that Rabbi Yoel Teitelbaum became the community’s rebbe and spiritual father. Under his leadership, the Satmar developed a devoted, religiously prescribed way of life, anchored in tradition and deeply resistant to the forces of secular modernity.

The Holocaust nearly erased this community entirely. In 1944, the Jewish community of Satu Mare was deported to Auschwitz, where the vast majority perished. Rabbi Teitelbaum, however, managed to survive. He arrived in New York in 1947, and what he built in Brooklyn’s Williamsburg neighborhood became one of the most remarkable stories of Jewish rebirth in modern history. From just a few hundred survivors, the Satmar community has grown to well over 100,000 members worldwide.

Today, their largest concentrations are in Williamsburg (Brooklyn, New York), Kiryas Joel, (a self-governing village in Orange County, New York), and communities in Montreal, London, Jerusalem, and Bnei Brak (Israel). They operate their own schools, synagogues, businesses, newspapers, ambulance corps, and social service organizations. 

Daily Life Among the Satmar
To walk through Williamsburg’s Satmar neighborhood is to step into a world that is simultaneously ancient and vibrantly alive. Men dress in the traditional Hasidic style: black coats, wide-brimmed black hats, and peyot (sidelocks) curling down in front of their ears. Married women shave their heads and keep them covered with wigs or scarves. The visual uniformity is deliberate. It signals belonging, separateness from the surrounding culture, and fidelity to the community’s way of life.

The rhythm of daily life is set by prayer. Observant Satmar men pray three times daily, gathering in synagogues for Shacharit (morning prayer), Mincha (afternoon prayer), and Maariv (evening prayer). The synagogue isn’t merely a place of worship; it’s the social heart of the community, where Torah is studied, news is shared, and multi-generational relationships are forged.

Kabbalah, the mystical tradition within Judaism that seeks to understand God’s nature, is not studied extensively by everyone in the community. However, its teachings have profoundly shaped Hasidic thought and spirituality, including that of the Satmar.

Yiddish remains the primary language spoken in Satmar homes and streets. Education is central and intensive. Boys begin their Torah studies at age three, and by early adolescence, many are spending the vast majority of their waking hours in yeshiva. Girls attend separate schools where they learn Jewish law and practical skills for managing a Jewish home. 

Satmar communities commonly have large families. Shabbat, which begins Friday at sundown and ends Saturday night, is the centerpiece of the week.

WAYS TO PRAY FOR THE SATMAR COMMUNITY

• Pray for the young people
  Many young people carry deep questions they feel they cannot ask aloud. Pray that those who are genuinely seeking truth will find answers. Pray that young people whose hearts are quietly restless would encounter the living God in a way that is real, personal, and undeniable. 

• Pray for healing from the generational wounds of the Holocaust
  The Satmar community carries one of the most concentrated memories of loss from the Holocaust. Pray for the generational wounds, grief, and trauma that still quietly shape Satmar identity. Ask God to bring deep healing and gently separate in their hearts the truth of God’s love from the historical violence carried out by those who misused the name of Christ.

• Pray for those seeking a different path
  A growing population of former Satmar have walked away from Orthodox life. Pray that they would not lose faith in God Himself, even as they have stepped away from the community. Pray that they would be found and cared for by a loving community of Jesus followers. Ask God to open doors to educational opportunities, vocational training, and practical life-skills resources. Pray that they would find meaningful employment and supportive relationships as they navigate major life transitions.

• Pray that the Scriptures they study daily would speak of Yeshua
  Satmar men and boys spend hours each day in the Torah and Talmud. Pray that the words of the Hebrew prophets would come alive in new ways, particularly passages like Isaiah 53, Micah 5:2, and Zechariah 12:10. Ask the Holy Spirit (Ruach HaKodesh) to uncover what has long been veiled. Pray they would encounter the person of Yeshua within the very texts they hold most sacred.

• Pray for Relationships with followers of Jesus
  Pray that God would bring loving, compassionate, and culturally sensitive believers into the lives of Satmar members and those who have left the community. Ask the Holy Spirit to open hearts to the truth of the gospel and draw them into a personal relationship with Him.