Posted on 05/06/22
Kerestir, Hungary…More than 30,000 Jews from around the world gathered for 3 days, May 2-4, to mark the 97th yahrzeit of the legendary saint, Reb Shayele Kerestir, ZT'L. In the spirit of the tzaddik’s well known warm hospitality for every Jew, an elaborate network of tents and catering facilities successfully served the throngs, thanks to the Reb Shayale Kerstirer Guesthouse organization.
“I felt as if Reb Shayele was personally serving me,” said Avrohom from Brooklyn, who is a regular at the yahrzeits. His sentiment was shared by many who came to the town of Bodrogkeresztúr, known by most Jews as Kerestir.
Entrance to the town was a challenge as it is undergoing major infrastructure work. Only emergency vehicles and VIP cars were allowed into the town. A large parking area at the fringe of town was set up as the thousands of visitors were shuttled to the Guesthouse and then up the mountain to the tzion of Reb Shayele. The Guesthouse prepared tens of thousands of exceptional meals with the help of a team of professional chefs and mashgichim. The Guesthouse set up four huge tents, for men and women, meat, and dairy. Alongside the tents were refrigerator/freezer caravans storing the huge quantities of food that were prepared and served during the yahrzeit events, all under the direction of Moshe Yosef Friedlander who heads the Guesthouse organization.
The foodservice team had been working around the clock from the day after Pesach and continuing well past the Yahrzeit. The team was headed by Yitzchak Daniel Weiss (Lakewood), Eliezer Igel (Boro Park), who were assisted by a group of volunteers from Israel, including Berish Einhorn, Aaron Yehoshua Perl, Berish Gottleib, Dovid Samet, Shauli Ben Ephraim, and Yehuda Binet. In one of the tents a group of women were hard at work baking challahs, rolls and pastries. They also prepared tens of thousands of sandwiches for food to go while traveling to the holy sites. Pallets of beverages were distributed to the guests with a broad array of hot and cold beverage choices.
Hatzalah volunteers responded to twelve emergency calls during the yahrzeit events. Other volunteers functioned as ushers, information agents, and even helped the visitors find guest rooms for the time they would be spending in Kersetir.
On the third day of Iyar, the day of the yahrzeit of Reb Shayale, a huge crowd participated in the seuda headed by dayanim, Roshei Yeshiva, Rabbonim and Chasidic Rabbeyim. The event was chaired by Harav Meir Hersh Berger of Monsey, a descendant of Reb Shayele. Opening remarks were delivered by Mr. Yehuda Deutsch, the head of Khal Adas Yereim in Budapest. Other speakers included Harav Yakov Leifer, Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivas Pittsburgh in Ashdod, who spoke about the extraordinary chesed of Reb Shayele which is being continued almost a century later by Reb Moshe Yosef Friedlander. Harav Baruch Oberlander, the Av Beis Din of Budapest, shared with the large audience some of the incredible stories he had heard from his father about the many yeshuos (miracles) from Reb Shayele while he was alive and miraculously continues to this day. “Reb Shayele was the address for every pained Jew who came to pour out their hearts about health, shidduchim, and parnasah,” he said. Greetings were also heard from Harav Eliezer Schneebalg Av Beis Din of the Machzikei Hadas Kehillah of Edgware in London, as well as from Rabbi Friedlander.
Many of the people arrived in the town the Shabbos before the yahrzeit while others remained for the Shabbos following with all arrangements being handled by the Guesthouse organization.
It is the only glatt kosher hospitality center in Europe that is open year-round free of charge to all visitors.
Some of the latest projects of the Guesthouse is a new mikveh and a planned hotel as Rabbi Friedlander continues to expand one of the most visited holy sites in Europe. The Guesthouse facilities of late have also absorbed thousands of Ukrainian Jews fleeing the war zone. Rabbi Friedlander and his devoted team not only provided hot meals to the arriving refugees but provided them with temporary housing until they decide where to settle. The Guesthouse also shipped thousands of tons of food for Pesach to Ukraine itself, including fourteen tons of Matzoh
