Satmar Rebbe wears inherited tefillin for first time, valued at $500,000

On Monday morning, the first day of Rosh Chodesh Tammuz, the Satmar Rebbe put on a set of antique tefillin from his family inheritance for the first time. The tefillin came from the estate of the Satmar Rebbe’s father, the author of the 'Birkas Moshe,' which was divided among his children only recently, 20 years after his death, with the help of businessman Lipa Friedman, son of the late Moshe Friedman, longtime attendant to Satmar rebbes.

Among the many sacred items in the inheritance room were rare Rabbeinu Tam tefillin that had belonged to the Rebbe’s great-grandfather, the Kedushas Yom Tov, and later passed down through the dynasty. According to antiques and Judaica experts, the pair was written by the noted scribe Rabbi Shmuel Sofer of Sziget and is worth about $500,000.

The Rebbe wore the tefillin during morning prayers in the large yeshiva hall of the Satmar community in Kiryas Joel, Monsey, while students watched. Afterward, he led the congregation in Hallel with special melody and deep devotion. Followers also noted that since his bar mitzvah, he has never spoken mundane conversation from the moment he puts on tefillin until he removes them, a practice he has kept for decades.

Right after the prayer service and a brief l'chaim gathering for Rosh Chodesh, the Rebbe hurried to the airport and boarded a private plane for a short visit to his community in Montreal, Canada. The report said further coverage of the trip would follow.