Donations: The brothers are considered Satmar’s biggest donors. It would be difficult to list all of their contributions, but among them are the talmud Torah building in Jerusalem, Heichal Tzvi Rosenberg, a beis medrash in Kiryas Joel named after their father, and the Satmar beis medrash in Williamsburg built in 1996. One of their crowning achievements was the new expanded Satmar beis medrash in Williamsburg, built in 2006. This building was featured all over the American media because of its construction feat: It was built in just two weeks.

Reb Avraham Yehuda is one of the founders of the organization Rav Tuv, which worked to smuggle Jewish children out of Iran in the 1980s, and then expanded to other hostile countries. It is said in Satmar that since the time of the Beirach Moshe, there has not been a Satmar project that hasn’t gone through the two brothers.

LIFE SUPPORT

The Lev Family of London

Business: Reb Yeshaya Wolf Lev owns properties throughout the world, and his fortune has been assessed at over a billion pounds sterling. His children also deal in real estate, and the wealth of each of them has been assessed at a quarter of a billion pounds.

Communal standing: The Lev family may be considered the ultimate example of Satmar nobility. Reb Yeshaya is the head of the Satmar community in London, and each of his sons and sons-in-law has his own place in the chassidus: Rav Shmaya Lev is a posek and dayan in London, Reb Avraham Yechiel, Reb Eliezer, and Reb Asher Zelig (who “won” the bid for the Rebbe’s accommodations in Jerusalem) are pillars of the community, and his son-in-law is the Biale Rebbe of London.

Donations: In England, money is not solicited for the institutions. Instead, Lev pays all the expenses of the kehillah from his personal bank account. In addition to donating a number of buildings for Satmar’s institutions in England, Lev has also funded Satmar institutions in other cities. A third of building cost of Satmar’s talmud Torah in Williamsburg — with a construction tab of $15 million — was funded by Reb Yeshaya Lev.

PERSONAL ACCOUNTING

Reb Meir Zelig Rispler and his son, Reb Fishel

Business: The elder Rispler, a highly sought-after accountant, made much of his fortune through his firm.

Communal standing: Reb Meir Zelig is the accountant for Satmar’s institutions in Williamsburg, which has earned him prominent standing among Satmar’s senior chassidim.

Donations: Rispler donated close to $20 million for the Bais Rochel complex in Williamsburg and founded Satmar’s summer camps in Monticello in the Catskill Mountains. He established “Kiryas Vayoel Moshe,” better known as “Ichud Country,” in the mountains, and also funded the construction of the largest batei medrash and shtieblach in the Catskill Mountains, naming them “Heichal Yechiel Michel” after his father.

Rispler is also funding the renovation of the mikveh in Jerusalem’s Batei Ungarin neighborhood, which the Rebbe inaugurated on his trip. Reb Meir Zelig is also one of the largest donors to Bonei Olam, an organization that helps couples struggling with infertility.

THE LINEUP

Reb Avrohom Weider

Business: Weider makes his living selling cables and technical supplies to the United States military. Winning the Defense Department tender has made Weider a very wealthy man, and his government contract is considered particularly secure.

Communal standing: Avrohom Weider serves today as the mayor of Kiryas Joel, the largest chareidi city in the United States, which is home to about 5,000 families. His extensive connections and significant investments have pushed the city to its current dimensions.

Donations: Weider is considered the largest US supporter of institutions that don’t receive government funding. But he’s as much a supporter of individuals as institutions. His home is open every day for about two hours to anyone in need — his daily distribution is between $15,000 and $20,000. Satmar chassidim say that the scope of Weider’s generosity to those in need is unmatched by any other philanthropist in the world.

MATERIAL GAINS

Reb Meir Hirsch

Business: Rabbi Hirsch made his fortune in the textile business, and is one of the largest suppliers of textiles to factories across the United States.

Communal standing: Reb Meir is the chairman of the Kiryas Joel town council and the director-general of the city’s institutions, including its slaughterhouse for chickens, which shechts about 50,000 chickens daily and provides poultry for many communities around the US. In his capacity as chairman, Reb Meir has purchased dozens of empty lots around Kiryas Joel for the town’s communal buildings and institutions, nearly doubling the land available for such use.

Donations: Reb Meir Hirsch personally makes the rounds of the homes of other philanthropists in order to solicit donations for Satmar’s Yetev Lev Institutes in Eretz Yisrael. In addition to his personal contributions, Hirsch brings in another $1.5 million annually.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

Reb Aharon and Reb Menachem Mendel Weinstock

Business: The Weinstock brothers own Alle Processing cattle slaughterhouse, which was founded at the behest of the Divrei Yoel in the 1950s. Today the slaughterhouse is run by Reb Mendel’s sons, Reb Yisrael and Reb Yitzchak Zev Weinstock, along with their partner, Reb Yehoshua Hollander. Alle is the parent company of Meal Mart, a food-service chain scattered throughout the religious Jewish enclaves of the United States.

Donations: The Weinstock family’s donations to Satmar institutions dates back to the days of Reb Yoelish. They were the pioneers in building Satmar’s empire, and their generosity continues to this day. The brothers don’t have receiving hours at home, but instead give out their donations in shul to anyone who comes collecting money.

THE INVESTOR

Reb Menachem Gershon Leibowitz

Business: Leibowitz’s business ventures cover a number of areas, but most of his wealth is concentrated in real estate investments and in retail paint.

Communal standing: Leibowitz opened the first yeshivah ketanah in Williamsburg. He’s closely connected to the Rebbe, consulting with him daily.

Donations: Most of Reb Menachem Gershon’s funds are targeted to Williamsburg, where he established Satmar yeshivos.

CURE-ALL

Reb Yechezkel Dovid Berkowitz

Business: Berkowitz made his fortune in wholesale medical equipment, and his accounts include major hospitals all over the United States.

Donations: Reb Yechezkel Dovid, considered a pillar of the chassidus, heads many communal institutions and is considered Satmar’s most heavily involved philanthropist. In nearly every Satmar institution around the world, not a step is taken without his knowledge.

NONDISPOSABLE

Reb Shmuel Chaim Brach and his son, Reb Avrohom

Business: The Brach family is in the disposable products business, which — with a consumer revolution in this market — has turned them into very wealthy men.

Communal standing: Reb Shmuel Chaim’s father, Reb Yechezkel z”l, was the principal of the Satmar schools in Jerusalem, and Reb Shmuel Chaim too is a talmid chacham and Torah educator, in addition to his business accomplishments. He delivers daily shiurim in the Satmar beis medrash of Boro Park, finishing a number of masechtos every year.

Donations: Reb Shmuel Chaim and his son Reb Avrohom are the exclusive funders of the Yesodei HaTorah chaburah, established by the Rebbe for the study of a daily amud of Shas, with tests and stipends given monthly to over 2,000 people. Reb Avraham is the founder of Yeshiva L’Tzeirim in Williamsburg, and today he serves as a member of the community’s executive committee.

HAPPY CAMPER

Reb Yekusiel Aharon Dovid Weiss

Business: Reb Yekusiel’s fortune sprang from the profits of a popular grocery store in New York. His friends relate that his business dealings have been Divinely blessed, and that “everything he touches turns to gold.”

Communal standing: Weiss is the head of Satmar’s summer camps. The areas he purchased for the camps are equal in size to the entire area of the city of Kiryas Joel.

Donations: Weiss is known for his quick response to any tzedakah appeal. As soon as he is approached for a donation, he will immediately withdraw the sum from his pocket and hand it to the recipient.

THE COMPANION

Reb Shlomo Moshe HaLevi Klagsbrun and his son, Reb Yedidyah

Business: Father and son both became wealthy by selling printer ink and toner. This somewhat trivial field became a blessed source of income when they became the suppliers to large chain stores throughout the US.

Communal standing: Rabbi Klagsbrun is a descendant of the Ropschitz chassidic dynasty. He was responsible for printing the new edition of Zera Kodesh, a sefer containing the teachings of Rav Naftali of Ropshitz. The Rebbe is a great admirer of Rabbi Klagsbrun, and invites him for company on his vacations — to Palm Springs in the winter and New Hampshire in the summer. He’s the Rebbe’s daily walking partner on those occasions.

Donations: One of Rabbi Klagsbrun’s main projects is Avnei Chesed, the Rebbe’s personal tzedakah fund, which helps needy avreichim from the community marry off their children respectably. Rabbi Klagsbrun also makes large donations to the Satmar and Williamsburg institutions in Bnei Brak.

UNDER CONTRACT

Reb Yaakov Zussman Sofer

Business: Sofer is a well-known building contractor in Kiryas Joel.

Communal standing: He is one of the supporters of the Mesivta Gedolah in Kiryas Joel, where the Rebbe serves as rosh yeshivah.

Donations: Reb Sofer is responsible for the construction of the yeshivah’s new buildings. He also built the large mikveh in Kiryas Joel, and is a supporter of Satmar’s institutions in Montreal and Bnei Brak.

GRACIOUS HOST

Reb Aharon Moshe Shlager

Business: Reb Shlager is a wholesale food distributor to major grocery chains throughout the United States.

Donations: One of Satmar’s most prominent philanthropists, one of Reb Shlager’s pet projects is the donation of child-friendly supplies such as sweets, toys, and educational materials. Shlager doesn’t keep his wealth in Satmar, though. Every chassidic rebbe who comes to New York finds Shlager’s door open to him. Every few weeks, Shlager hosts a parlor meeting in his home with the help of his wife, who is also known for her generous tzedakah contributions.

THE GROCERS

Reb Gershon Mendel Neiman and Reb Eliezer Weiss began their foray into the world of big business with a small grocery store in Kiryas Joel. From those humble beginnings, their personal wealth ultimately reached massive dimensions. The two share a story from the lean years:

Many years back, the two partners were looking for a refrigeration system, which they were told by several distributors would run about $25,000. They decided on one company, and the rep came to take measurements. “We signed a contract, and paid a deposit of $8,000. But we hadn’t asked the Beirach Moshe’s advice — after all, it was just a refrigerator.”

But when they did mention it to the Rebbe, the Beirach Moshe was concerned about the price, and didn’t believe the two young businessmen would be able to meet the payments. The partners then tried to get out of the deal, but the refrigerator company wouldn’t hear of it. A contract is a contract, they stated. Ten minutes later, a man came into the store holding a check had found in the street. “It was our check, the one we’d given to the sales agent as an advance, for $8,000! The salesman must have dropped it,” the brothers remember.

Half an hour later, the telephone rang in the store. The sales agent, shamefaced, was on the line, asking the brothers to stop payment on the check, since he had lost it. He came back the next day to rip up the contract. “You had Someone up in Heaven keeping you from going through with the deal,” he said.

“For months, the Rebbe was evasive when we asked if we could renew the deal, until one day another sales agent was on the line from one of the competing companies, calling to find out if we were still potentially interested in a refrigeration system. The agent told us that they were getting in new inventory, and they had a used refrigerator they were willing to sell us for $8,000. Of course, we consulted with the Rebbe again, and this time he gave his blessing. ‘Do you think I know how much a refrigerator costs?’ the Rebbe said. ‘I just knew you shouldn’t spend so much on one.’”

The Beirach Moshe’s intervention in those early years, for something as technical as a refrigerator, was an almost magical catalyst for blessing. Today, the two are wealthy philanthropists who donate millions of dollars to Satmar’s institutions.

THREE-DOLLAR BLESSING

Reb Shmuel Oberlander made his fortune running nursing homes, and today his personal wealth is assessed at hundreds of millions of dollars. But Reb Shmuel’s path to fortune didn’t begin in the business world.

“Although I didn’t learn in the Satmar yeshivah, I was always a chassid of the Divrei Yoel. Whenever he demanded anything of the chassidim, I was there,” Reb Shmuel says.

“It’s a well-known piece of Satmar history that the Rebbe ztz”l told the yeshivah bochurim to go around collecting for tzedakah, but he never revealed to them what they were collecting for. All he would say was that it was for tzedakah. Everyone, of course, obeyed his commands and fulfilled his requests. There were even a few years when I didn’t have a chance to eat the Purim seudah, since I spent the entire day running around to different homes to collect. Before shkiyah I would quickly wash and have a k’zayis of bread. After Purim, we used to go into the Rebbe’s chamber and leave the money we had collected on his table.

“During that time, there were very few young bochurim in Satmar, and there was little distinction between the balabatim and the bochurim. Some of the bochurim were already working for a living, and even those who spent their days learning had to meet their own obligations to the community, just like any balabos.

“When the Rebbe built the mikveh in 1952, he asked the chassidim to contribute. Once, the Rebbe gave a drashah in which he asked everyone to make a minimum donation of six dollars. That was a sizable amount for then, but since I was a bochur at the time and I lived in my parents’ house, I didn’t have a penny to my name. But the Rebbe had given an order, and I felt obligated to carry it out. Still, with all my resources, all I could come up with was three dollars. I’ll never forget how the Rebbe looked at me with those shining eyes of his as he beamed at me and said — ‘You will have, you will have…’”

THE REBBE’S BANK

One of the most well-known philanthropists in Satmar was Reb Getzel Berger z”l of London, patriarch of the Berger family and father-in-law of noted philanthropists Reb Elisha Englander and Reb Chaim Moshe Feldman.

The Divrei Yoel of Satmar once asked Reb Getzel to donate a fairly large sum to a particular tzedakah cause, but upon hearing the Rebbe’s demand, Reb Getzel shifted uncomfortably. He felt the amount he was being asked to contribute was excessive, and he tried negotiating a lower rate.

“I can make a donation,” he told the Rebbe, “but I would like to ask the Rebbe to please lower the amount.”

Reb Getzel did not try to shirk his responsibilities; he always tried to accommodate every one of the Rebbe’s requests. This time, however, he felt that the task was too daunting.

But the Rebbe did not give in. “You should know, Reb Getzel, that money does not last forever. It is like the world — it is round and it turns. Sometimes it is up, and sometimes it is down.”

Reb Getzel was quick to grasp the point and responded, frightened for his own wealth, “Rebbe, Rebbe, no! I am prepared to give however much the Rebbe says.”

This is how the chassidim explain the unusual generosity of the wealthy members of their chassidus. They understand that every wealthy man knows his success stems from the Rebbe’s brachos. The affluent of Satmar are grateful for what they’ve been bestowed and don’t want to “turn the wheel back,” in the Divrei Yoel’s words.

(Originally featured in Mishpacha, Issue 501)