A dramatic and unprecedented development is stirring the Satmar chassidus, as after two decades of division, the yerushah of the previous Satmar Rebbe, the Beirach Moshe zt”l, is now moving toward an equal distribution among all the sons.

In a rare and historic move, both Satmar Rebbes—the Rebbe Rav Aharon and the Rebbe Rav Zalman Leib—together with all the sons and sons-in-law, signed a public letter calling for the return of all cheftzei kodesh and kisvei yad belonging to the Rebbe, ahead of dividing the inheritance equally. The letter includes a sharp warning: “the one who holds them is in violation of theft.” The development is creating major waves across all factions of Satmar.

The letter, published in the U.S. across both camps of Satmar—the Aharonim (Rav Aharon) and the Zalonim (Rav Zalman Leib)—was signed by all the descendants of the previous Rebbe, whose twentieth yahrtzeit will be marked next month.

Leading the signatories are the two Rebbes themselves, who state firmly that anyone holding items from their father’s estate must return them to the general yerushah. In an even stronger statement, they clarify that even if a chossid intended to return an item specifically to his own Rebbe, it will not be accepted that way. Instead, everything must be returned to the central estate so it can be divided properly and equally.

Behind the scenes, it has been learned that this public letter follows a long period of quiet negotiations and mediation between both sides of Satmar, aimed at finally resolving the division of both monetary assets and sacred items from the Beirach Moshe’s estate.

During his lifetime, the Beirach Moshe appointed his trusted mashbak, the well-known Reb Moshe Friedman (Reb Moshe Gabbai), to oversee the entire yerushah. However, following the Rebbe’s passing and the well-known split between the two Satmar brothers, tensions ran high, making any division impossible for years.

About two years ago, Reb Moshe Gabbai initiated a process to transfer all the items to a facility owned by Reb Meir Hirsch, a prominent supporter aligned with the Rav Aharon camp and a close associate of Reb Moshe. Over the past year, the items were carefully catalogued and evaluated for their full value.

The estate includes rare seforim, handwritten manuscripts, and cheftzei kodesh tracing back through the Satmar lineage—from the Yismach Moshe through the Vayoel Moshe, whose position was inherited by the Beirach Moshe after he left no descendants. The collection is estimated to be worth millions of dollars.

After prolonged behind-the-scenes efforts, the process has now entered a public stage with the release of this letter, which is being described within Satmar as the first official step toward completing the division of the yerushah among all the brothers.

Earlier, Reb Lipa Friedman, son of Reb Moshe Gabbai, visited the residence of the Satmar Rebbe Rav Aharon, where the Rebbe formally signed the letter.

This move is also being viewed as a significant step toward possible shalom between the two Satmar courts, something that has been quietly developing in recent times. Observers noted that during the recent visit of the Satmar Rebbe Rav Aharon to Eretz Yisroel, Reb Ephraim Stern, a noted baal chessed from the Rav Zalman Leib camp, came to greet him at the airport and even kissed his hand, an unusual and telling gesture.

The full text of the historic letter, titled “A Letter of Request and Strong Warning,” reads:

“We, the undersigned, descendants and heirs of our master, our father, the holy Gaon and Tzaddik ztvk”l, and of our righteous mother a”h, hereby turn to the anash, the students and chassidim of our master, our Rebbe, our father and shepherd zy”a. As we now stand, b’ezras Hashem, in the midst of dividing the inheritance from the estate of our father, our Rebbe zy”a, it has come to our attention, to our great pain, that a number of sacred books and valuable items that were in his possession are missing, and their whereabouts are unknown. Among them are also cheftzei kodesh and holy writings that were inherited from our grandfather, our holy Rebbe zy”a, and from our earlier holy ancestors zy”a. All of these items belong to us according to the Torah as an inheritance, and anyone holding them is obligated according to Torah to return them to us.

“And therefore we hereby declare that we do not forgo or forgive any item, book, or manuscript that was taken from the estate. As our father, the holy Rebbe zy”a, already expressed in writing in the year 5744 regarding the inheritance of his uncle, our holy Rebbe zy”a, where he wrote: ‘And it is hereby made known that all manuscripts and any object or vessel that were in his possession, and for whatever reason are now in the possession of others without my knowledge, it should be known that I have never waived or forgiven them, and they remain in the hands of the holder as theft,’ end quote.

“Likewise, we issue a strong warning to anyone holding any item from the estate, that it is considered theft in his possession, and he is obligated to return them immediately, by Lag BaOmer of this coming year, so that we can arrange the division of the inheritance. It should be noted that sacred items of tzaddikim carry no right of possession for one who holds them through theft; on the contrary, one transgresses the prohibition of theft each day, chas v’shalom. Certainly, this is against the will of the tzaddikim, whose belongings were taken from them and from their heirs, and as Chazal have said, ‘Be careful with their embers,’ etc.

“And if there is anyone who thinks to hold on to an item on behalf of one of us, we hereby make it clear that this is against our will, and none of us will accept any item belonging to the heirs unless it is first returned to all the heirs to be divided properly. Therefore, we have appointed agents who can receive any such item, and one may contact them privately without being asked any questions as to how the item came into his possession: the esteemed Reb Moshe Friedman n”y (mashbak), the esteemed Reb Shmuel HaKohen Friedman n”y (mashbak), and the esteemed Reb Chaim Shlomo Fisher n”y (mashbak). They will receive the items and will not publicize or reveal this to anyone, and if the items are returned within the specified time, it will be considered a full forgiveness on our part for the past.

“Similarly, if anyone has a question or doubt according to din Torah regarding any item—whether it belongs to him or whether he has any claim to it, including items that were originally given and later came back into his possession in some manner and he believes they are his—he should also contact the above, and they will connect him discreetly with one of the appointed rabbanim shlit”a, and everything will be clarified according to din Torah hakadosh.”

{Matzav.com}