Hasidic NYC Synagogue Hosted Thousands in Secret for Rabbi’s Grandson’s Mask-Free Wedding

Shocking new video shows a Hasidic synagogue in New York City hosting thousands of people for the wedding of the head rabbi’s grandson in defiance of COVID-19 regulations. Plans for the Nov. 8 event were made completely in secret: Neither city officials, who nixed a 10,000-person Hasidic wedding last month, nor the firehouse next door knew of the event, according to the New York Post. Footage depicts a packed crowd in the temple, max capacity 7,000, cheering, singing, and dancing without masks to celebrate Yoel Teitelbaum, grandson of Satmar Grand Rabbi Aaron Teitelman. New York City has limited indoor religious services to 50 percent capacity and advises participants to wear masks and not to sing. Der Blatt, a Yiddish publication associated with the Satmar sect, reported on Nov. 13, “Due to the ongoing situation with government restrictions, preparations were made secretly and discreetly, so as not to draw attention from strangers...All notices about upcoming celebrations were passed along through word of mouth, with no notices in writing, no posters on the synagogue walls, no invitations sent through the mail, nor even a report in any publication, including this very newspaper.” The Ultra-Orthodox Jewish community has chafed against COVID-19 restrictions and clashed with the city over the rules for months.