Multiple Satmar organizations joined with Hatzolah of Williamsburg to host a health conference in Williamsburg Monday night. The event, attended by a standing-room-only, entirely male crowd, featured many rabbis and a panel of six health professionals, who spoke about education, prevention, and dispelling of misinformation and stigmas.

“There is a stigma in the community against speaking about health problems,” Dr. Rabin Rahmani, a founding physician of Gastroenterology Associates of Brooklyn, said to the audience. “There’s nothing to be embarrassed about.”

The event was spearheaded by Yetev Lev D'Satmar, the main synagogue for followers of Satmar Rebbe Zalman Teitelbaum, in partnership with the ODA Primary Health Care Network and Hatzolah of Williamsburg.

Yiddish-language posters promoting the event were hung across Williamsburg; some had the Hatzolah emblem, and others had the palm tree logo of Yetev Lev. The Hatzolah poster aimed for an air of mystery in stating, “if we could share more details, not one person would stay home and miss this event.”

During the first half of the event, various community rabbis spoke in Yiddish about the importance of preventative measures.

The panel of health professionals included those who have served the local Hasidic community for many years. They addressed many questions and concerns posed by the moderator, from the seemingly simple, such as explaining the role of a primary care physician, to more complex and sensitive matters, like colonoscopies and vaccines.

The moderator, Dov Landa, PA-C, called the event “a monumental occasion.”

The audience was urged to receive preventative screenings to find out what genetic predispositions they may have, or identify any health issues that have already cropped up.

Speakers frequently addressed the stigma against speaking openly about health issues with family, which the speakers mentioned is particularly prevalent in Williamsburg.

As the crowd was all men, colonoscopies were a major topic. The panelists noted that recommendations for colon cancer screenings are trending younger than they have in the past. 

The moderator noted the audience might have concerns about the seemingly “invasive” nature of colonoscopies. The medical professionals spent significant of time trying to dispel any fears men in the crowd might have had about the process

Rahmani noted the popularity in the community of certain approaches to health screenings, in which the primary recommended approach, such as a colonoscopy, is disregarded in favor of less-effective approaches.

“I’m not going to find one person here tonight who will accept the second or third best shidduch (wedding match) for their child,” Dr. Rahmani said, “but when it comes to our health we are willing to give up these amazing tools Hashem provides for us.”

While the conference focused heavily on physical health, the subject of mental health was briefly touched upon. Dr. Afshin Shahkoohi, who practices family medicine, noted the need for more discussion of the topic: “Unfortunately, there was a part missing to the discussion: the mental health of the community; we need to address these things because mental health causes physical health.”

After further conversations about preventions for cancers and other genetic issues, Landa closed the night with a compassionate, but stern, warning regarding what he said are the community’s misconceptions about vaccines. He emphasized the testing and research that has been done that proves that vaccines work and that they are safe.

His voice became a bit more elevated, exclaiming about vaccine refusal and reluctance, “Rabbosai (gentlemen), we have to wake up!”