The Satmar Rebbe finally explained why he changed his mind about meeting with President Trump, and his reasoning said more about his priorities than anything else.
Speaking to yeshiva students in Kiryas Joel on Friday night at a tish, the Rebbe walked them through his deliberations. He'd received an official invitation last Sunday to meet with Trump this week alongside other rabbis and community leaders. His first instinct was no. "We're in the middle of Elul," he told the students. "We're studying, preparing for the High Holidays. Why leave all this?"
But then he pivoted to something more pointed. "We're talking about a non-Jew who's never performed a mitzvah, never shook a lulav, never ate matzah," the Rebbe said. "Every single Jew is worth more than him. What's the great honor in sitting with a non-Jew for a few minutes?"
It wasn't convincing himself. Then he remembered something from three decades ago, a meeting with a previous president that actually mattered. "There was a Jew in distress at that time," he recalled. "Thanks to that meeting, we were able to help him. I thought maybe I could do the same thing now."
So he said yes. But not for the photo op or the prestige. He had two things he wanted to push: an individual case of a Jew in trouble, and something bigger. "Right now tens of thousands of Jews in Israel are suffering over this decree to draft yeshiva students," he said. "Maybe I can advocate with the president to help."
He even shared a lesson from that old meeting. The next day, he'd told his yeshiva students: when you say the blessing "who has not made me a non-Jew," don't think about some random person. Think about the President of the United States, the most powerful non-Jew in the world. That's the weight of what you're saying.
Then he looked at his students and cut to what actually mattered.
"I'm asking all of you, these events can be distracting. Stay focused on your Torah study. Don't get swept up in all this 'Trumpism.' One lesson in yeshiva is worth more to me than this entire matter."
The room erupted in song, the traditional liturgical melody about being chosen from all peoples. The message landed.
