ard > yes you are obligated to listen to the satmar rebbe, you may have another gadol whom you follow but you still have to listen to the satmar rebbe, thats like saying i dont have to listen to r’ ovadia yosef since im not sefardi
Ard, what do you mean by “listen”? I personally think we should listen to a range of opinions from Satmar Rebbe to R Soloveitchik and in between, especially on issues of national importance. Think how Jews confronted modernity 200 years ago – with confusion and, as we see now, inadequate response (not to blame those who were confronted by the enormous challenge, of course). By now, we are better prepared, having several ways to respond. Which of these ways is the best and do they need further improvement? We might be able to answer that in another 200 years, or maybe the answer is that Satmar derech is right for some and Breuer derech for others. So, at minimum, we need to be seriously aware of that the options are.