ShalomNewYork.com

KIRYAS JOEL — Hundreds of boys and young men in dark coats and hats stood in the blazing sun at the cemetery gate, awaiting a Brooklyn rabbi they either adored or — didn’t adore. Rabbi Zalmen Teitelbaum, leader of one of two warring factions in the Satmar Hasidic movement, was coming to pray Wednesday afternoon at the grave of Satmar founder Joel Teitelbaum on the latest anniversary of his death — a sacred occasion that draws tens of thousands of visitors to Kiryas Joel each year.Cars and busloads of worshippers began showing up on Tuesday. Most came from Orthodox communities in New York and New Jersey, but some traveled from as far away as Toronto and Montreal. Village officials estimate a crowd of 40,000 by the time the event peters out Thursday. In past years, Rabbi Zalmen’s arrival on the old rebbe’s yertzheit — as it’s known in Yiddish — had stoked tensions, since Kiryas Joel is the home base of his older brother and rival, Rabbi Aaron Teitelbaum. RecordOnline.com