Last night marked Kuf Alef Kislev, the 81st anniversary of the Satmar Rebbe Joel Teitelbaum’s escape from Nazi-occupied Europe. His rescue and later founding of the Williamsburg Hasidic community helped shape the future of our city. These celebrations recognize that history and the remarkable rebirth that followed. I was so grateful to join and greet the rebbes. | Zohran Kwame Mamdani

Major Satmar Hasidic leader critically ill with COVID-19

Yesterday night, December 9, the Satmar Hasidic community, one of the largest Hasidic communities in the world, will be celebrating the 73rd anniversary of the rescue of their founder, Rabbi Joel Teitelbaum, from the clutches of the Nazis. Rabbi Teitelbaum was a major rabbinic leader in pre-WWII Hungary, and when he stepped onto Swiss soil on December 6, 1944 it gave his followers new hope of rebuilding their lives and their all-but-destroyed world. The rabbi was one of 1,684 Jews who were spare

Herodotus: On The Customs of the Persians