Satmar Rebbe took off to Arizona and harvest began • view
Satmar Rebbe took off to Arizona, to harvest wheat for Pesach matzos תשע"ד • Watch the gallery: arrival to Arizona, wandering in the field, wheat and harvest test
- Photography: Yosef Rappaport
- כ"ג תמוז התשע"ג
Photography: Yosef Rappaport
At the beginning of this week the Satmar Rebbe and his followers took off on a flight from New York to Arizona, harvesting wheat used to bake matzos for Pesach תשע"ד. The Rebbe was joined by Rabbi Yisrael Zvi Broda, Ab"d Shaarei Ora, Rabbi Ben Zion Strasa'r, Nitra Dayan, Rabbi Avraham Shpitzer, Dayan Skyvara - Lakewood, Satmar dayanim and supervisors from the bakeries in New York.
The reason for the exhausting trip in the heat that prevails now in Arizona is due to problems in the rain in New York, with excess rain which ruins the wheat and makes cracked and improper for the preparation of matzos. However, in Arizona it does not rain in the summer and due to the heat that prevails there (120 degrees Fahrenheit) it is an ideal place for good wheat. Indeed, for seven years the Satmar Rebbe has been traveling to Arizona during wheat harvest. Satmar also make sure to close the irrigation pipes to not ruin selected wheat.
The plane landed in Phoenix, where the Jewish community leader and local Rosh Kollel waited for the Rebbe with his children. From there they left to the fields. Bakery owners and supervisors meanwhile cleaned the machines, warehouses and trucks. Initially the Rabbi's approached the farmers and questioned him to make sure everything goes properly, then checked the supervisors logs to make sure what was every day. They also conducted a seals test and took samples from the field.
Then the Rebbe rose and harvest began. Meanwhile, the rabbis milled in the wheat field and harvested by hand. After six hours of work the Rabbi's went into a special tent, where they brought wheat samples for testing. As every year the wheat were all proper and had no problems.
Supervisors supervised the warehouse wheat packing, signed all the bags with special stamps and the trucks will lead the wheat to New York. Finally, the trucks went on their way for the long journey while in each truck sits a 'guard', who will oversee the wheat all the way, until they were safely in New York.
Rabbis prayed mincha in the field and returned to the airport.
The reason for the exhausting trip in the heat that prevails now in Arizona is due to problems in the rain in New York, with excess rain which ruins the wheat and makes cracked and improper for the preparation of matzos. However, in Arizona it does not rain in the summer and due to the heat that prevails there (120 degrees Fahrenheit) it is an ideal place for good wheat. Indeed, for seven years the Satmar Rebbe has been traveling to Arizona during wheat harvest. Satmar also make sure to close the irrigation pipes to not ruin selected wheat.
The plane landed in Phoenix, where the Jewish community leader and local Rosh Kollel waited for the Rebbe with his children. From there they left to the fields. Bakery owners and supervisors meanwhile cleaned the machines, warehouses and trucks. Initially the Rabbi's approached the farmers and questioned him to make sure everything goes properly, then checked the supervisors logs to make sure what was every day. They also conducted a seals test and took samples from the field.
Then the Rebbe rose and harvest began. Meanwhile, the rabbis milled in the wheat field and harvested by hand. After six hours of work the Rabbi's went into a special tent, where they brought wheat samples for testing. As every year the wheat were all proper and had no problems.
Supervisors supervised the warehouse wheat packing, signed all the bags with special stamps and the trucks will lead the wheat to New York. Finally, the trucks went on their way for the long journey while in each truck sits a 'guard', who will oversee the wheat all the way, until they were safely in New York.
Rabbis prayed mincha in the field and returned to the airport.