As first reported here on Matzav.com, several admorim from New York have received official invitations from the White House to attend a special meeting with President Donald Trump in Washington, D.C., this coming Thursday, with the gathering expected to focus on matters of importance to Klal Yisroel and the Jewish community.

Invitations were extended to the Satmar Rebbe of Kiryas Yoel, the Satmar Rebbe of Williamsburg, the Skverer Rebbe, the Bobover Rebbe and the Vizhnitzer Rebbe of Monsey. The meeting is also expected to provide an opportunity for the Admorim to express hakaras hatov to President Trump for his efforts on behalf of the Jewish community in a range of areas.

The Satmar Rebbe of Kiryas Yoel, Rav Aharon Teitelbaum, addressed the invitation during his tish on Leil Shabbos Kodesh with talmidim of the mesivta in Kiryas Yoel, explaining that he ultimately decided to accept the invitation in the hope that the meeting could be used to help Jews facing difficult circumstances.

Preparations for the gathering are now underway, with askanim representing the various Chassidishe courts coordinating with political officials. Consultations are also being held in the homes of the Admorim as the details are finalized for what could become an unusual and historic gathering of prominent Admorim at the White House.

Speaking at his tish on Leil Shabbos, the Satmar Rebbe began by citing the posuk of “Dirshu es shlom ha’ir,” speaking of the obligation to seek the welfare of the government. He noted that Jews in the United States are privileged to live under a malchus shel chesed, with the government maintaining good relations with the Jewish community and providing conditions far better than those Jews experienced in Europe in earlier generations.

“I received an invitation from the White House last Sunday to meet with the president this coming Thursday, together with other rabbis and community activists. At first, I thought not to accept the invitation, since we are now in the month of Elul, we are very busy, and in the yeshiva we are in the middle of the sugya of chatzi shiur, and we need to prepare for the Yomim Noraim. After all, this is a non-Jew who has never performed a single mitzvah in his life, and has never merited to shake a lulav or eat matzah. Every single Jew is worth more than him! What is so significant about this?! You go in, sit on a chair for a few minutes and talk to a non-Jew…”

The Rebbe then recalled a similar experience approximately three decades ago, when he participated in a meeting with the president serving at the time. That encounter, he said, ultimately provided an opportunity to help a Jew who was facing serious difficulties.

“But then I remembered that about 30 years ago, something similar happened to me, when we had a meeting with the president at the time, and there was a Jew who was in distress and it was possible to help him, and thank God it was worthwhile.”

The Rebbe related that on the day after that earlier White House meeting, he spoke to the bochurim in yeshiva and sought to place the significance of meeting an American president in its proper perspective.

“The day after that meeting 30 years ago, I spoke at the yeshiva before the boys and said that every Jew is worth more than him. One must know that when reciting the blessing ‘Who has not made me a non-Jew,’ the intention is not referring to a non-Jew who cleans the streets, but to the most important non-Jew, who is the president of the United States, and that is what one should have in mind when reciting the blessing ‘Who has not made me a non-Jew.'”

The Rebbe then cautioned the bochurim against allowing the attention surrounding his prospective White House visit to distract them from their limudim, telling them that their continued immersion in the sugya being learned in yeshiva was far more important.

“I want to ask all the boys, when there is such a matter, it is possible that the boys will get involved in it and become immersed in it, so I ask that everyone diligently continue studying the sugya of ‘chatzi shiur,’ so as not to neglect Torah study and not to become immersed in all the ‘Trumpism,’ as they call it… I tell you: One shiur in the sugya in the yeshiva is worth more in my eyes than this entire matter! Hakadosh Boruch Hu should help that we be able to act on behalf of Jews who are in distress.”

Following the Rebbe’s remarks, those gathered sang with great emotion, “Atah vechartanu mikol ha’amim, veromamtanu mikol haleshonos, vekidashtanu bemitzvosecha, vekeiravtanu Malkeinu la’avodasecha.”

The court of the Satmar Rebbe of Williamsburg, Rav Zalman Leib Teitelbaum, also confirmed that an invitation had been received. Following the news, an archival photograph was circulated showing the Rebbe during a White House visit with President Ronald Reagan in 5747/1987.

The latest development comes nearly a year after plans were made for a meeting between the Satmar Rebbe and Rav Shaul Alter, Rosh Yeshiva of Ger, and President Trump. That planned meeting ultimately did not take place.

{Matzav.com}