Observing Satmar Williamsburg

Our school organizes chessed trips, for us to get inspired. So this year, my whole class was taken to the center of chesed, to the senter of chassidus, to the center of satmar. The weather today was rainy, humid and utterly gross. As each girl in my class steeped off the yellow school bus, onto the Brooklyn ground, with our long, black skirts trailing behind, we were led to the center of the satmar bikur cholim kitchen. The place smelled like a heilege Friday afternoon. Cholent, kugel, cakes, chicken, soups, maemesh delicious! I testify that this organization (founded by the Satmerr Rebbe) is absolutely excellent. Two years ago, when my grandfather, alav hashalom, was very sick, he was hospitalized in Cleveland Clinic. My mother, aunt, cousin and i shlepped eight hours to Cleveland to visit him. There was a special bikur cholim room in the hospital with a code of gematria, open to any Jew. The walls and fridge were filled with tons of food. The bikur cholim house was also like a heimeshe 5 star hotel. Every need was taken care of, and it definitely made our stay much much easier. Today, we had a Satmar lady talk to us a little about the chessed in Williamsburg. It was easy for me to say this community is bad because of this issue they have, and that issue they have... But after lots of observing today, my judgments on the chassidish community became less cler cut, and much more complicated. What these chessed organizations in Williamsburg have to offer... is simple Kiddush Hashem. There are issues in their community (as there are everywhere else), but the amount of expected ahavas yisrael the chassidishe people have to offer is truly awesome. So much volunteering, chessed drivers (regular men who offer rides to people to and from hospitals, where the driver never looks at the passengers for privacy reasons,) hilpf (health is yiddish, that covers medical expenses), food that is made every night for dinner in families where a mother is busy with a sick child. (these dinners are offered for months at a time.) i was astounded at the amount of chessed i saw today. One girl asked the lady today, "how do you treat children who feel resentful growing up in this community?" This satmar lady replied, "it happens, as in many other places. Some parents accept their children for who they become and some don't. My friend's son, Avruymi, joined a rock band, has a long pony tail and lives with a girlfriend. His mother is just glad that thanks to his ponytail he never cut off his payos. She accepted him for who he is, he comes back home and his family loves him and his girlfriend. But then, my other friend whose daughter has gone off, and her mother did not let her daughter come back unless she became more tzniustig." I lump all chassidim into a kugel pan, all charedim into a cholent pot, and all Modern Orthodox into a sesame chicken pan, and all "modern" yeshivish into a fake pot. but the truth is, when you meet someone individually from any part of the "yiddishe kitchen", you have more things in common than you thought. And after reading "Unorthodox" and "Hush" and articles from "Failed Messiah" i almost started really looking down on the whole chassidishe, hareidi and whatnot community. I dont want to become Satmar, or any other chassid. Ha! I can hardly handle my own "modern" bais yaakov rules, but after what i saw today i was inspired. How much a person can give. There is no end. After the trip, i stopped in 7/11 and got a free Slurpee, as i was leaving the place, i saw a girl who was expelled from my school last year. She was wearing tight pants, and smoking a cigarette. I judged her immediately, wow, the girl is ruined! But after what i saw today, it's not fair to judge and label so effortlessly and confidently, so now i am taking my judgement back.