09 Jan MEET IDF CAPTAIN CHAIM MEISELS, THE SATMAR REBBE’S GREAT GRANDSON
Chaim Meisels, 29, is the great-grandson of
the Satmar Rebbe, R’ Beirach Moshe. About
eight years ago, Chaim chose to immigrate
to Israel and enlist in the IDF. Chaim left
everything behind, enlisted in the IDF combat
unit, and was sworn in at the Kotel. Chaim
served as a commanding officer in the Egoz
program, a special forces unit and then was
in Golani. Despite everything, Chaim did
not sever ties with his family and his father,
Rav Mordechai Aharon Meisels, a Rav with
a shul in Williamsburg. Rav Mordechai
Aharon is a son of Rav Dov Berish Meisels,
a son-in-law of R’ Beirach Moshe.
Last week Ari Hirsch/Jewish Vues
interviewed Chaim about his time serving
for Tzahal in Gaza & discussed how the
great grandson of the Satmar Rebbe
became a captain in the IDF.
Before we begin, I would like to thank you
for protecting Klal Yisrael and serving in
Tzahal right now. Our readers living in
Chutz La’aretz appreciate everything
you and all of the other chayalim are
doing right now.
Thank you, I appreciate it! I’ll tell you
firsthand that it means a lot here to the
guys in Israel when they see that they get
support from out of the country, especially
from someone in the news. It means a lot to
everyone here, so thank you!
Are you currently active in Gaza?
I’m not in Gaza. My unit left last week. We
are now finishing up what we did. Tomorrow,
we will go over everything that happened to
us over the last three months and then by
next Wednesday I will hopefully be done and
be able to go home. It depends on what the
army is going to need from me, but I should
have a little time off. I might have to come
back in a month or two, I might
not, it really depends on what
happens in the war. My team is
older and everyone has families.
Everyone put their life on hold
for the last three months, so now
we’re trying to get back. If they
need us they’ll call us back again
or if not I’ll be able to be with my
family a little bit. I’ll probably
have to come back within the year
for a month or two again, but I’m
not sure exactly when.
What is your title in the army?
Captain.
As captain, what does your job entail?
It all depends on the day. My units main job
is using armored vehicles to transport
soldiers and equipment. We evacuate injured
from the battlefield and quickly bring
emergency supplies to soldiers on the front
lines and we do whatever else has to get done
for our teams. We’re well-trained and drive
with night vision and we drive very fast. Our
job is dangerous and rewarding.
Can you please go back to October 7th
and tell everyone where you were that
day and what exactly happened?
My wife & I went for the second days of
Sukkos to my wife’s family. Everything
started off normal. I didn’t think anything
major had happened. I woke up and I went
to shul. I was in the middle of davening, it
was about 11:00 or 12:00, and a Hatzalah
member came to me and told me that the
goyim from Hatzalah said there was a
massive attack in Israel with about 100
dead. I told him he was probably mixed up
and it didn’t make sense. A few minutes
later he came back to me and told me that
something was really going on, could I tell
him what was going on? I went home,
turned on my phone, my wife was standing
next to me, and I had a bunch of messages
from my guys because I’m a lieutenant in
the reserves. I was in the reserves before
the war as well, a few times. All my guys
under me and my commander
above me texted me, “Hey
Chaim, why are you not
answering? We need you.
There’s something going
on, you have to come right
away.” So that’s basically
what I did. I asked my wife
if she was okay with it and
she said absolutely. By then
we started to understand
what was happening. I put
a uniform and my tallis and
tefillin in a bag and drove to JFK. When
I got there, the desk terminal was still
closed because it was Shabbos. We found
out there was a flight at 11:00 at night only
for soldiers or whoever got a call from
the army to come. When I came to Israel,
I went straight up North to my guys who
were in the North for the first two days.
I was there from Sunday afternoon until
Monday or Tuesday, and then we went
down South. We trained for about a week,
a week and a half, and we went into Gaza
within the first few hours of when we
started going in.
How long were you in Gaza?
For a couple of months. From the beginning
of the war, almost until now. I was out a
few times. One time, I came to New York
for two days. On Shabbos Chanukah, I
surprised my wife at home. I left Gaza on
Wednesday, I flew home Thursday, and I
was back in Israel on Monday.
Have you lost any soldiers under your
command? How have you been dealing
with that?
I lost one soldier that was under my
command in the beginning, but when he
passed away he wasn’t anymore because
we had both switched jobs. So he was
not directly under my command when it
happened. It’s very sad. He left a wife and
four beautiful kids at home. In terms of
dealing with it, at the moment I’m still not
dealing with it to be honest. I think one day
I’ll have to figure out how I’m going to deal
with it, but at the moment it’s just knowing
and telling myself and everyone else that
we’re going to help this family in whatever
way we can, but I’m not exactly sure yet
how it’s going to happen. They’re still
sitting shiva, so the pain isn’t really healed
yet. We still have some injured guys that
we have to pray for. One of my guys is still
on a respirator. We daven for him a lot and
we have another six guys that are lightly
wounded, so we daven for them, as well.
Where do you live?
I currently live in Pomona, New York. I
go back to Israel all the time for milluim,
but I didn’t think it would happen with a
minute’s notice. I didn’t think it would ever
happen that way.
Is your wife still in Pomona?
Yes.
You are the grandson of the Satmar
Rebbe. Please tell everybody which
Satmar Rebbe we’re referring to, who
your father is, who your mother is etc.
My great grandfather was the old Satmar
Rebbe, Reb Moshe. He had two sons,
who are now the Satmar Rebbes. Reb
Aaron and Zalman Leib. They had a
sister, Chaya, who is my father’s mother.
When did you go to Israel for the first
time & when did you enlist in the
army?
I grew up as a Charedi child in Brooklyn.
I had the feeling that something was
missing, but I didn’t know what. My
first visit to Israel was at the age of 11.
I discovered the State of Israel, a Jewish
state. I did not yet know how it would
affect me, but I felt that I had come
home. When we returned to Brooklyn
a few days later, I felt like another
person. Suddenly there was something I
connected to, the State of Israel. Because
I am the grandson of the Satmar Rebbe,
and the community in which I grew up
does not support Israel, I had no one to
talk about it with.
I came to Israel again at the age of 15,
this time to study in a yeshiva in Bnei
Brak. The only language I spoke at
the time was Yiddish, and I could not
communicate with the outside world
like I wanted to. When I returned to
the United States a year later, I bought
a phone with the Internet (we were
not allowed to own one in a yeshiva),
decided to learn English, learn about
Israel and a little about the world.
At the age of 17, I realized that I wanted to
live a different lifestyle. In the beginning
of 2014, a few months before ‘Operation
Protective Edge,’ almost a year after I left
the community in which I grew up in, I
decided that I wanted to enlist. I bought
a plane ticket and went alone to Israel. At
first, a friend connected me to the ‘Soldier
to Soldier’ organization. In August 2014,
after three months of basic training, I was
accepted into the Egoz unit. I didn’t tell
anyone my story. I was afraid that they
would think I wasn’t suitable. I wanted
to grow and the opportunity didn’t come
in that unit. After consulting with Rav
Hoshea Friedman, the Admor of Pashkan,
I chose to leave the unit and join a battalion.
I became a commander in Golani, then I
went to officer school, which is another
year of schooling. I was a Lieutenant in
Golani and in a commander’s course. For
the last couple months of my service I was
in a pilot’s course and was the commander
of the trainees. And then I got out.
What was your family’s reaction when
you went to Israel?
It was a little difficult for them to
understand the reason why I was doing
it. It wasn’t that easy, but I always
made sure they knew that it was never
about being rebellious or anything
against them. I had an inner calling to
enlist. In the beginning, some people
thought that I was doing it as an act of
rebellion, but I always tried to explain
that it wasn’t a rebellious move. It was
something I believed that I had to do
and I had a calling for. In the beginning
it was difficult for them to understand
why I was doing it and that created a
lot of friction, but once time passed
and they saw that I was a good human
being, things cleared up. Now, it’s hard
for them, but not because they don’t
support the country; it’s hard for them
because they’re scared. Unfortunately,
not everyone comes back and they’re
scared for me.
Tell me a little bit about your wife,
when you got married, how did that
work out?
My wife is Chassidishe Skver. We got
married approximately six months ago.
Her family is very nice and supportive
of what I do. Obviously, they’re worried
right now, but they’re also very proud.
When we met I told her that I didn’t
think any war was going to happen or
that I’m going to have to go to Israel,
but we both had a plan to
eventually move there. My
plan always was, and still
is, that one day I’m going to
live in Israel full time. It’s
just a matter of figuring it
out financially. I don’t want
to move to Israel until I’m
settled financially, but she
always knew that I belong
here and I like it here and I
come to the reserve. I came
to the reserve before we got
engaged and once after the
wedding, so it’s something
that I always did and I will
probably do for a while. Of course, we
didn’t think a war was going to happen
and I’d be away for almost three months,
but the reserve was always a big part of
me, so it was a natural thing for me to do.
It’s not a nice thing to go to war, but she
understood right away that that’s what
was going to have to happen.
Your grandfather was known to be
against the medina of Eretz Yisrael. If
you could go and speak to your great
grandfather Reb Moshe Teitelbaum,
right now, the Satmar Rebbe, what
would you say to him?
There’s not a lot to say. I’d probably ask
for a bracha and I know that wherever he
is now they know what the truth is. Maybe
they disagreed with Israel becoming
a country, but now it’s a fact. As Israel
is a state already, we have to support it
because there’s millions of Jews there
who need to be safe. It really doesn’t
matter if they initially disagreed about
how the State of Israel came about and if
it was supposed to be or not, but now it’s
established. Once it’s established, you
have to support it because there’s a lot of
Jewish blood on the line if not. That’s the
way I look at it.
What do you think he would say back
to you?
I think he would agree.
When are you planning to go back to
New York?
If everything goes as planned, I should be
home by next week. Then I’ll probably
take a week or two vacation to be with
my wife a little and then hopefully we’ll
start doing something.
On a more positive note, please explain
the Achdut that’s going on right now
in Eretz Yisroel.
It’s B”H insane! It’s way beyond
anything that I can explain. For example,
I went out a few times since the war
started and maybe a quarter of the time,
I had to pay for my coffee.
Almost always someone else
paid for my coffee. Heshy
Reiss, a good friend from the
Five Towns, left his family
so that he could go around
bases visiting soldiers. He
sent money for my team
quite a bit. It’s amazing! The
support is fantastic! Even
the Chareidi community!
I didn’t believe that I was
going to see Chareidi guys
calling me that they want
to make barbecues on my
base. It was very surprising.
I didn’t actually bring them, but the idea
that they wanted to come and that they are
showing support and that they’re doing, it’s
beyond anything I expected. I knew they
would support us, but I didn’t know that it
was going to be as much. It’s really heart
warming and it shows that we’re in it as a
Klal Yisrael. It’s not like me or you or the
people who live next to the border, it’s the
Jewish people as a nation from wherever
in the world you are. We get letters from
literally all over the world.
Do you think soldiers appreciate the
letters from the different yeshivas?
Yes, especially when they say where they are
writing from. Twenty letters from the same
school is one thing, but then when you get
a letter from a school in the Five Towns and
then a letter from a school in New Jersey
and then a letter from a school in Canada…
When you see that all around the world Jews
are still supporting us… We’re paying a very
tough price for it, nothing is going to pay for
the price we pay like losing friends or their
family losing them, nothing is going to ever
make it right, but seeing that people around
the world understand how important that is,
it makes you feel a little better.
Are there any specific names that you
would like to give us for tehillim purposes
just their names so that people that are
reading the article can have them in
mind?
Yes. His name is לאה אורה בן צבי יובל. He’s
still alive and hopefully he’s going to have
a good recovery, but he still needs a lot of
tefillah.
Have you been able to visit him in the
hospital since you’re out?
No, the family asked not to go visit since
they’re with him and he’s not awake and will
appreciate the visit. Hopefully when he gets
better, we’ll go.
What do you do for your parnassah,
outside of the army, when you’re in New
York?
I can tell you what I did before the war.
Before the war, I had a training business.
I was training Krav Maga and personal
training. I had a few trainers that I was
working with. I was mainly focused between
real estate and construction, but the war
stopped that and once I come back I’ll figure
myself out again. I want to do something a
little more on my own.
Are you planning to go back to Israel?
For sure. If the military needs me, I’ll be
back in a heartbeat. If not, I’ll do as much
as I can.
Is there anything else you would like to
add?
Thank you and all the readers of The Jewish
Vues for all the support. People should be
proud of being Jewish. I don’t know if it’s
in your community or not, but I hear from
some friends that they don’t feel comfortable
to go around with an Israeli flag or a kippah
or a necklace with Israel. I think the more
people that show their Jewish pride, the
better. We should be proud of who we are
as a country and as a nation. If someone
approaches you, you’re allowed to give
them a piece of your mind and say what’s
really going on, not whatever they spread.
We should not be embarrassed of anything.
I know that I’m not embarrassed of anything
that the military does or anything we did. It’s
good and we’re doing a great job, so no one
should be embarrassed or scared that they’re
Jewish. I know and they should know that
we’re doing the right thing and whatever
they did to us was very bad and we should
stand up for ourselves.
FUN QUESTIONS WITH CAPTAIN CHAIM MEISELS
What is your favorite thing that
someone from Chutz La’aretz gave
you when you were in the army?
For me, it was two things and
they’re both almost equally
important. One was shoes and one
was a helmet because the army
gives you shoes and the army
gives you a helmet, but the one I
received from someone as a gift
is a lot better than what the army
could give. I really appreciated
both of them!
If people are coming to get and
give chizzuk to Eretz Yisrael right
now and want to bring something
to the chayalim, what would you
tell them to bring?
Every soldier has a different need,
not even every soldier, every
unit. For example, for my unit
now I’m trying to arrange to get
shoes for everyone on my team.
I’m not sure that I’ll be able to
get for everyone, but that’s what
I’m trying to do. So if someone
would ask me today what I need,
I’d tell them that my team could
use better shoes. We could use
approximately one hudred pairs. If
you ask me next week, hopefully,
I’ll say I don’t need that anymore,
so it really depends on the unit.
Some guys needed good thermal
clothing, more expensive ones
than the army could afford to
give. My team got that already,
but other teams and other soldiers
might still need that. So it really
depends on the team and the
individual soldier what they would
appreciate most.
Were you a part of a lot of these
barbecues that people were
making?
Unfortunately, not too many.
Maybe two or three. Surprisingly,
they didn’t make them in Gaza. The
guys on the border got them a little
more than my unit did.
What’s your favorite food on the
grill?
Steak
Name someone alive that you
would call a leader?
Rav Hoshea Friedman, the Admor
of Pashkan. He’s the old Vizhnitz
Rebbe’s great grandson. He was in
the army and in charge of everyone
in the reserve until 2014. He got
out of the army in 2015 or 2016. He
was one of the most high-ranking
rabbanim for sure. He has a nice shul
and a yeshiva in Yerushalayim. He’s
a very interesting rav and a real
leader. In the army, he was never a
rabbi. He was full on combat.
Name someone that you met in
your lifetime that you would say
has true Ahavas Yisrael.
I will say again, Rav Hoshea
Friedman, the Admor of Pashkan
again.
If you could have three dinner
guests for your Friday night
Shabbos dinner, anybody from
the beginning of time, it could be
anybody. Who would you want
sitting there at your Shabbos table?
1.The Baal Shem Tov
2. Avraham Avinu
3. Shlomo Hamelech