ברוך דיין אמת!!!!!!!!!!!!!

By Brendan Scott
Times Herald-Record
[email protected]

Kiryas Joel - Southern Orange County braced for the arrival of tens of thousands of mourners this morning as word of the death of revered religious leader Moses Teitelbaum spread throughout the far-flung Satmar Hasidic community.

A traffic crush is expected to begin shortly, as followers of the ultra-Orthodox Jewish sect's settlements in Brooklyn, Montreal and beyond converge on the Village of Kiryas Joel, where Teitelbaum would be interred. Estimates of the number of mourners expected in Kiryas Joel have reached as high as 125,000.

Under Jewish law, the dead must be buried as quickly as possible. Immediately after his death, the remains of the grand rabbi, or rebbe, were rushed from Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan to the congregation's main synagogue in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn for an extended funeral ceremony.

"I felt like I lost a father," said Leo Steinberg, one of those gathered inside the synagogue.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who was among numerous political leaders expected to attend the funeral, called Teitelbaum "a gentle soul who carried himself with poise and distinction."

"From the fires of the Holocaust, the grand rebbe and his uncle performed a miracle here in New York by rebuilding their community to match its glory days in Europe," Bloomberg said in a statement.

At the synagogue, thousands of mourners - most dressed in the sect's traditional black hats and jackets - flooded the streets. Police sent hundreds of officers to control the crowds.

Meanwhile, 45 miles up the New York State Thruway, emergency services officials prepared for the imminent arrival of the rebbe and his followers in Kiryas Joel. Teitelbaum was to be interred in a crypt next to his late uncle, Joel Teitelbaum, for whom the village is named.

As of 11 p.m., police officials were estimating that the burial would take place no sooner than 5 a.m., which suggests any traffic tie-ups could lag into the morning commute. In anticipation of that, Monroe-Woodbury schools will be closed today. Orange-Ulster BOCES had also cancelled classes at its Harriman location.

"Without a doubt, it's going to affect the morning commute," Orange County Sheriff Carl DuBois said. "Find alternate routes."

State police, the sheriff, the county executive and other top officials had begun to gather in the county's Emergency Operations Center by 9 p.m. Monday to coordinate the response.

Firefighters and emergency medical technicians had mustered at firehouse and ambulance garages near Kiryas Joel. State police called back into work off-duty troopers and plan to stage at more than a dozen areas in and around the village before fanning out to direct traffic and provide security.

The Satmar sect is deeply divided between supporters of Teitelbaum's two rival sons. Although the brothers had reportedly worked out a truce in anticipation of their father's passing, police were monitoring signs of mischief or conflict.

Traffic tie ups are anticipated and could possibly extend into the morning commute. Kiryas Joel officials have declared a state of emergency until 7 p.m. today, Village Administrator Gedalye Szegedin said.

By late last night, state Department of Transportation trucks had set up road signs along Route 17 reading "KJ buses use exit 130."

In the Wal-Mart in Harriman, workers had prepared for the event as if a blizzard. They stocked up pallets of water, blankets and groceries.

Meanwhile, security guards stood in the parking lot outside, keeping it clear in case authorities needed it to store cars abandoned on the highways. One of the security guards, who would only give the name of Jerry, said he recalled Joel Teitelbaum's passing in 1979. Back then, the throngs of mourners seemed to catch law enforcement off guard.

"Nobody was prepared; it was so chaotic," Jerry said. "They learned their lessons."

By STEVE LIEBERMAN
[email protected]
THE JOURNAL NEWS

MONROE — State police tonight braced for thousands of people planning to attend the funeral of Satmar Grand Rabbi Moses Teitelbaum.

Teitelbaum, 91, the leader of the worldwide Hasidic Jewish sect, died this afternoon at Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan.

He will be buried in Kiryas Joel, a community in Orange County settled by and named for the sect's founder, Joel Teitelbaum, Moses Teitelbaum's uncle.

State Police Sgt. Bruce Furbeck in Monroe said tonight that the community planned to bury the grand rabbi overnight between midnight and dawn. He said 125,000 people originally were expected at the funeral.

But Furbeck estimated the crowd would be 50,000 to 125,000 because of the short notice and quickness of the burial.

State police will have traffic control coming up the New York state Thruway into Kiryas Joel, where some streets will be closed.

Rockland has a large Hasidic Jewish community, with hundreds of Satmar followers of the grand rabbi.

Most Satmars are clustered in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn and Kiryas Joel, It is likely the grand rabbis of New Square and Viznitz will attend the funeral of Teitelbaum.

Teitelbaum had been in Mount Sinai since March 30 when he entered for treatment of spinal cancer and other illnesses, and became gravely ill.

Satmar community leader Isaac Abraham said a funeral was scheduled late tonight and that followers were already traveling to Brooklyn from as far away as Canada.

The death of the Brooklyn-based spiritual leader of tens of thousands of Satmar Hasidim worldwide may touch off anew the battle over which of his two ambitious sons will succeed him.

His sons, Zalman and Aaron, are both seeking to succeed their father as leader of the group, which some scholars have estimated has about 120,000 members worldwide.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.