The Satmar Fighter
That’s how the ancient Jew felt. You know the old Satmar Rav, he fought for everything like it was his own business. And people said to him, “Why are you doing this? Why are you mixing in? Why are you starting up with the Zionists? Don’t you know how much power they have? And you're losing because of it.”
In those days it was very unpopular, even today it is, but then especially. And they told him that he’s losing out because there were a lot of old Hungarian Jews who were in America a long time already who would have showered the Satmar Rav with money. A rebbe that came over from Europe, a man with authority, an elderly man, was very much respected with his old landsleit, and they would have showered him with money.
So people said to him, “What are you doing, protesting so much?! Is that your business, what's taking place in Eretz Yisroel? Let them fight it out over there.” But this old man was spending day after day, a lot of time, and he was spending big money too, fighting for the Torah attitudes.
He was being attacked for it and vilified but he didn’t stop. He put his heart into it. And now you know why. Because it was his business. He was fighting for himself.
Combative People
And so, not so long ago when the Maskilim first came to Russia from Germany to try to persuade Jews to yield their ancient Torah ways and walk instead in the ways of the Haskalah and Reform, you know who opposed them? Not the rabbanim. The people in the street! The plain people arose like one man and they pursued them in the streets. Little children pursued them and tried to chase them out of town. Because the entire Jewish nation felt that the Torah is אֶת רִיבָם רַבְתָּ, that it was their business.
That's why when you come into a shul sometimes you find that people speak up and give an argument to the rav. Every Jew feels like a rabbi. That's the truth. Walk into a synagogue, you find that simple Jews are arguing with their rabbis about customs. Not because he has disrespect; it’s because he’s concerned. He can’t overlook it, it’s his business.
The Chasam Sofer said that once. He said the greatness of the Am Yisroel is that even a great man, a great Torah authority has to be afraid of public opinion because the people will not stand for any deviation from the Torah tradition. Among Jews, if somebody would get up and try to change even a small minhag there would be a revolution, a revolution of the balebatim.
Non-Combative People
Lehavdil in the church, whose business is it? If the galach would say today the opposite of what he said last week – and they do; they’re changing all the time – but who cares? “It’s not our business,” the people think. “You want to add Mary to the trinity, so do it.” Because what’s the difference to them if it’s a three-in-one shoe polish – they have in the stores a three-in-one polish; it has the black color and the oil and the grease, trinity shoe polish. So what does matter if it’s three-in-one or they add a fourth ingredient and now it’s four-in-one polish? Who cares? It’s the business of the priests, that’s all.
But try something like that among the mamleches kohanim and you’ll find yourself with a lot of enemies. Because you’re playing with their Torah.
Of course, even among the Jews, in the ignorant places where the people are mamash like gentiles, the rabbis can do things like that. They can change whatever they wish – and they do. But wherever Jews are Jews, wherever they’re still a Mamleches Kohanim, you'll find a very big resistance. Because it's not the rabbi's business. It’s not the business of
