A dramatic directive was issued Wednesday from the home of the Gerer Rebbe warning thousands of Gerer chassidim against listening to, discussing or retaining recordings that have circulated in recent days, with the Rebbe instructing that anyone possessing the material must delete it immediately.

The message was delivered in an audio recording by Rav Yitzchok Broida, secretary to the Gerer Rebbe, who said he was speaking explicitly on the Rebbe’s instructions.

The recordings in question have reportedly spread through social media and messaging groups in recent days and have become a major topic of conversation within Ger. Discussion surrounding the material reportedly moved well beyond online groups and into conversations at Yom Tov seudos and in the homes of chassidim, prompting the unusual public directive.

In the message sent to the phones of tens of thousands of Gerer chassidim, Rav Broida said in the name of the Rebbe:

“I was instructed to inform the members of our community, in his name and on his behalf, that in recent days, matters have been improperly publicized which, aside from involving prohibitions established by earlier authorities, also constitute defamation, machlokes and the spreading of discord. Speaking and writing about these matters, and involving oneself in them, causes tremendous pain, and regarding such matters the poskim have written that even one who does so inadvertently requires atonement.”

Rav Broida then addressed the recordings themselves and issued an unequivocal instruction regarding anyone who has received or retained them.

“Therefore, it is necessary to awaken and warn the public not to believe any of these matters whatsoever, and never to involve oneself in or discuss this matter at all. Everyone must understand that this is extremely serious and dangerous, and anyone who possesses any of these materials in any form is obligated to delete them and destroy them from the world immediately, without relying on any purported permission whatsoever.”

The message concluded with an appeal for unity during Yom Tov.

“Let us strengthen ourselves in unity and in looking favorably upon one another, particularly during these holy days of Yom Tov. Let us all rejoice as one person with one heart, with love and brotherhood, and may Hashem spread His sukkah of peace over us and bestow upon us only goodness and kindness all our days.”

The unusually forceful message comes as the Gerer Rebbe has not been attending tefillos publicly during Chol Hamoed and has not been receiving visitors due to weakness.

Within Ger, there is hope that, b’ezras Hashem, the Rebbe will be able to emerge publicly for Simchas Torah and participate in the Yom Tov proceedings as in previous years.

{Matzav.com}