Montreal's Hasidic community welcomes spiritual leader for week of festivities

Members of Montreal's Hasidic community have launched a week of festivities to celebrate the arrival of their spiritual leader.

Rabbi Yissachar Dov Rokeach, the leader of the Belz ultra-Orthodox Jewish community, landed in Montreal Tuesday.

It's the rabbi's first visit to the city in more than 20 years, the community said.

"The Belz community in Montreal is very much connected to his guidance," said Hudy Herzog, a member of the Belz community who spoke on behalf of the event's organizers.

In videos posted on Twitter, hundreds of people can be seen lining a street in the borough of Outremont to welcome the rabbi to town.

Members of the ultra-Orthodox community waved, sang songs and clapped as Rokeach entered a home in the neighbourhood.

Thousands of people expected

Earlier in the day, they had set up a large tent on Parc Avenue, near the corner of Saint-Zotique Street, which will host several of the week's events.

The community said it expected thousands of people from all over the world to come to see the rabbi.

He visited Montreal in 1973 and 1989, the community said on Twitter. 

Belz are one of the world's largest ultra-Orthodox sects. They trace their origins to a town of the same name near the Ukraine-Poland border.

In addition to Montreal, Belz communities exist in Jerusalem, New York, Antwerp, London and Zurich, according to the Yivo Institute for Jewish Research. 

In 2015, Belz leaders in London were criticized after they said women in their community should not be allowed to drive. They later reversed their position after a public backlash in the U.K.

Large crowds, street closures in Outremont

Officials in Outremont advised residents to expect larger-than-usual crowds and street closures in and around the neighbourhood during the rabbi's visit, which is expected to last until next Tuesday.

On Saturday, people will walk with Rokeach along Parc and Querbes avenues, and on St-Viateur Street, organizers said.

By placing the main tent on Parc, organizers said they hoped to keep the festivities away from residential neighbourhoods.

"We are working with local authorities and law enforcement agencies to minimize the inconveniences to local life," the community said in a letter handed out to residents in the Outremont and Mile End neighbourhoods.

"But there will inevitably be street closures, increased traffic, parking challenges and higher noise levels than usual."

Outremont's mayor, Philipe Tomlinson, said Montreal police would be there to deal with any noise complaints and ensure that people are safe.

"We're working hard to make sure things go as smoothly as possible," Tomlinson told CBC News.

Tensions mounted between members of the Hasidic community and other residents of Outremont in March, when a handful of residents wore yellow badges to a borough council meeting to protest the Hasidic community's use of school buses in the area.

People were shocked and angered by the yellow squares, which evoked memories of the Holocaust.

However, local resident Cheskie Weise, a member of the ultra-Orthodox community who runs a blog called Outremont Hassid, said at the time that Hasidic-municipal relations were improving, despite the yellow-badge controversy.

On Tuesday, the Committee for Pluralism within Outremont Schools, a collective of local parents, welcomed the rabbi to the neighbourhood.

"The community of Outremont wishes to extend a warm welcome to the Rabbi of Belz and happy celebrations in the days to come!" the group said on Twitter.