A Thief Who Calls Himself RABBI
Last week a person whose title is rabbi,confessed to stealing twenty million dollars of insurance premiums.
Now this abomination needed alot of time and planning to create this scam.
This was not a one shot deal.This was a hundred bucks here and two hundred bucks there.
At some point before he got caught, you would think he had plenty of time to do think about what he was doing and do teshuva.
Not this miserable human being.Why am I so upset?There are plenty of thieves walking around.
This creep woke up every day for possibly twenty years or more,went to shul,put on tefillin,wrapping himself in G-D's words and then goes off to a full time job in thievery.
He is 79 years old!Did he not believe he was shortly going to meet his Maker?Did he believe in a Creator that he was going to have to answer to?
Here is where I lose it!
He could not have believed in G-D!
All these clergymen who are in violation of the Ten Commandments,do not believe in G-D!
Therefore,any clergyman found guilty of any violation of the Aseres Hadibros,no matter how trivial they feel it may be,should be banned for life from any position in the clergy.
They can do teshuva,but they should NEVER be permitted to any position in the rabbinate.
This includes all the thieves(stealing from the government is stealing)woman molesters,child molesters,or any abuse of their positions in any way,shape or form.
Communal leaders who are writing to the judge for leniency,should be ashamed of themselves.
This" rabbi" spent millions on homes,yachts,nightclubs and gambling in Las Vegas.
He deserves to rot in jail for disgracing the rabbinate and Judaism.
Now this abomination needed alot of time and planning to create this scam.
This was not a one shot deal.This was a hundred bucks here and two hundred bucks there.
At some point before he got caught, you would think he had plenty of time to do think about what he was doing and do teshuva.
Not this miserable human being.Why am I so upset?There are plenty of thieves walking around.
This creep woke up every day for possibly twenty years or more,went to shul,put on tefillin,wrapping himself in G-D's words and then goes off to a full time job in thievery.
He is 79 years old!Did he not believe he was shortly going to meet his Maker?Did he believe in a Creator that he was going to have to answer to?
Here is where I lose it!
He could not have believed in G-D!
All these clergymen who are in violation of the Ten Commandments,do not believe in G-D!
Therefore,any clergyman found guilty of any violation of the Aseres Hadibros,no matter how trivial they feel it may be,should be banned for life from any position in the clergy.
They can do teshuva,but they should NEVER be permitted to any position in the rabbinate.
This includes all the thieves(stealing from the government is stealing)woman molesters,child molesters,or any abuse of their positions in any way,shape or form.
Communal leaders who are writing to the judge for leniency,should be ashamed of themselves.
This" rabbi" spent millions on homes,yachts,nightclubs and gambling in Las Vegas.
He deserves to rot in jail for disgracing the rabbinate and Judaism.
posted by Paul Mendlowitz | 6:55 PM
20 Comments:
What about the guy who writes columns in a prominent ortho newspaper about the haredi world, calls himself director of a Rabbinic organization, who has a record going back to 1972, SEC record in recent years, been caught in lies in his newspaper, among other accomplishments ? See google, the NY Times, and back issues of his newspaper. That man should be defrocked. That con-man is the director of a Rabbinic organization ? Maybe they didn't know this when they hired him, but it's time to relieve him of positions he doesn't deserve.
Write cetified letters to The Jewish Press and The Rabbinical Alliance Attn:Rabbi Hecht.
If he was a rabbi at the time of his crime,he should NEVER be able to be a rabbi,ever.
I do not know G.T. at all,provide documentation to the above parties.
People who do this sort of defame God's name so much...it really bothers me, because as an Orthodox Jew (albeit a young one), I feel like we all represent one another. Therefore, those who do things like this or those who attempt to force religion down other people's throats simply leave a negative impression and do not accomplish anything.
My grandfather, may he rest in peace, worked for the IRS. One of the things that really disturbed him about those who claimed they were Orthodox was how hypocritical they were- he found so many of them who were willing to cheat on their taxes.
R' Soloveitchik wrote that the triumph of the Orthodox Jew must come in morality and piety. Not just the kipah on the head- but the true morality that comes with it. The operative word here being true. Genuine, really felt, really there. Surely if this Rabbi truly believed God was watching him he would never have done this...
I wish people would not do this. They forget, perhaps, that it does not merely hurt them if they get caught- it lowers the standards people have for the entire sect.
One day, please God, we should merit to see those who would keep to the truth- the true fear and love of God, whether religious or irreligious, spiritual or scientific or some amalgamation. Simply a knowledge of God.
Many of the ideas you espouse are ones that I believe as well...
There is an article that I found particulary meaningful; it was published a while ago. I think that you will perhaps agree with it.
Here is the link: http://www.chicagojewishnews.com/archives_articles.jsp?id=94723
I am certain this particular rabbi never served in the rabbinate, but had received smicha many years ago and then went into business.
On the other hand, he may be taking the fall for others as he was the CEO of his company.
He was on the board at YU,he called himself rabbi and permitted others to call him rabbi.
Anyone that is not a practicing rabbi should never use that title.
As chairman of the Board of Trustees of Yeshiva University he was listed by name only, no title of rabbi ever appeared. In fact, unless you knew him personally you would not know that he had smicha.
He never represented himself as a rabbi, but rather as a businessman.
He was one of hundreds of YU musmachim who acheived smicha as a level in their learning, not as a means of parnasa or even to pasken halacha, and went on into business.
You can find them everywhere today, on Wall St., in law, in different areas of business.
I think it was the press that decided to call him rabbi, because he never represented himself as such.
I am not defending his actions, whatever they were, but don't impose a higher standard of expectation on him simply because he learned Yoreh Deah at YU and took a bechina. There are many more corrupt Jewish businessmen out there who know a lot more of Shas and poskim than this person and act like real mamzeirim in business and in their communities.
Is he still on the YU board?
Would you agree that unless someone is going to dedicate their lives to rabbanus or harbatzos Torah,they should never get into a smicha program?
They can learn Yora Deah or anything else they want,but should never be crowned with a title.
There is no shortage of mamzeirim in the Jewish world,revoking smichas officially,and not handing them out to anyone who wants a degree to put on their wall, would be a good start.
YU(and other yeshivas) should officially revoke his smicha and anyone else guilty of any crime.
I think your rant is ridiculous. If a person gets a heter ho'ra'ah and then chooses to do something else, what should you do? Take back the heter ho'ra'ah? Tell him he is no longer qualified to pasken since he isn't a "rabbi" by profession? Since when did a heter ho'ra'ah become a "degree"? And what about if the person, such as the person in question, received his Smicha from the Rov himself, back when YU actually had A Rosh yeshiva instead of a dozen of them?
If this person made some mistakes, he has to pay for them, certainly-but do you have more facts as to what occurred than appeared in the New York Post?Give the guy and his family a break. He has done more good for people in his life, and then, perhaps he screwed up in business and will pay.
You act like people with Smicha should be immune to emotions like greed. I would LOVE to see a rabbi immune to greed.
And as for the dedication to rabbanus-what happens if a guy finds that he can't support a family in rabbanus or harbotzas Torah? Should he tear up his Smicha and replace it in the frame with an MBA?
Your points are obviously well meant.
Here are my points.
1-Yeshivas should never allow anyone into a smicha program unless he dedicates his life to rabbannus.If he subsequently changes his mind,fine no problem.
But if this individual commits a crime,THE YESHIVA SHOULD REVOKE HIS SMICHA!This individual admitted to a felony,it is not an accusation.
2-There are more guys walking around with smicha than there should be.They use the title when it is convenient.
Why give a guy smicha if he is going to be an attorney?
It debases the smicha.All lawyers lie for a living.
Their code of ethics are in direct contradiction to the Torah.
Truth is meaningless.....It is winning ,regardless of the consequences,and whose life they ruin.
3-There are businesses that are inherently questionable regarding their business practices(nursing homes),so many rebbes and rabbis have been convicted of crimes and spent time in jail,yet we permit them to use their titles etc.
Let us hold the yeshivas accountable for whom they give smicha to,and certainly the individuals who violate the tenets of Judaism.
You wrote:
Why give a guy smicha if he is going to be an attorney?
It debases the smicha.All lawyers lie for a living.
Their code of ethics are in direct contradiction to the Torah.
Truth is meaningless.....It is winning ,regardless of the consequences,and whose life they ruin.
What about attorneys involved in say, patent law or retirement benefits? As I pointed out and you ignored, a heter ho'ra'ah indicates a level of mastery of material and the science of psak. If a person attains such a level and possesses proper character traits, why not give him smicha?
I know musmachim who are
a. commodity brokers
b. Dentists
c. Physicians
d. Exterminators
e. Appliance repair
d. Home repair and maintenance
f. Dry Cleaners
g. Computer experts
h. Accountants
i. the usual teachers and rabbinical leaders
What do they have in common? They mastered the science of psak, had impeccable midos and apply Torah to all aspects of their lives and businesses.
None of them are trial lawyers for the reasons you mentioned.
Your view on smicha and rabbanus is very narrow and your perspective on law and other professionals seems narrower still, based on your comments.
I say to attack this guy based on his deeds, not on the fact that he passed the YU bechina.
Why would your guys NEED a certificate of knowledge?
What happenned to Torah lishma?
They certainly can learn whatever they want to,who is going to stop them?Gezunteheit!
Rabbi Weinberg of Ner Israel ,when asked for advice by his talmidim if they should become attorneys,he counseled them against it.
I think you are not getting the nuance of my "rant".
I am not picking on lawyers per se,I am of the firm belief that there needs to be a filtering out process in all smicha programs.
Level of learning,or mastering of a particular sugya alone should NOT qualify a person for the rabbinate(or title).
If you are qualified to pasken based on knowledge and character, why not have a heter ho'rah'ah?
I agree wholeheartedly that just mastering material should never be the criteria for semicha. Unfortunately, for the larger institutions like Yeshiva University, with so many Roshei Yeshiva, who can really attest to the fitness of a particular talmid as to whether he should receive semicha or not?
All the people I know didn't NEED semicha-but it was a natural step in their learning-you now have qualified poskim who are intensely involved in learning on a day to day basis also involved in the working world. Were the tannaim and amoraim so different?
I'm not sticking up for the guy in question, especially since I do not know the "back story" of what really happened. I do know that his right hand man, who was not Jewish, was neck deep in the scandal.
I respect our difference of opinion.FYI the Tanaaim and Amoraaim did not have smicha.
Thankyou for the stimulating dialogue.
And FYI, Smicha today isn't anything more than a heter ho'ra'ah. However, the Tannaim and Amoraim certainly had that talmid m'rabo- and yet they had jobs.
Not comparing this guy to them. But you clearly get the point. Besides, I KNOW this guy and his family. Can you say the same or are you basing your opinion on the press? Please tell me you know more than the rag known as the Post printed.
I do not read the Post,and have friends in high places who tell me the worst is yet to come.
The gentleman in question did identify as a Rabbi. He loved to give mussar against the right who cheat. Interesting when various people get into trouble how many advertise themselves as a Rabbi. There are rarities who don't.
Of course he did.How pathetic!
whatever happened to the gentleman in question-did he get sentenced-get off?
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