Updates Regarding the "Hetter Matayim Rabbanim"

 

Author’s note – This post is a clarification of the post I wrote on May 4 about the flawed Kol Koreh urging reporting abusers immediately to the civil authorities. It is helpful to review that post and it can be read HERE. In addition, this post refers to quotes from the January 2017 post – A Concise guide to theLaws of Mesira – Part 1. It is helpful to see that post as well.

 

It’s been almost 3 months since I signed off on my previous post about the flawed Kol Koreh. Personally, I was busy with other matters and, of course, there is all this craziness going on in the world including, yes, more elections here in Eretz Israel and “Prime Minister” Yair Lapid.

This is going to be some Tisha B’Av!

I wrote at the end of my previous post that I have more to discuss about this Kol Koreh. I was referring to what I will call the “Four Horsemen of the Kol Koreh Apocalypse”. Unfortunately, that, too, will have to wait for a future post. For now, I want to report a number of updates to my previous post that materialized over the past three months.

 

Update 1 – How many Rabbanim really signed?

 

In my previous post, I noted that two Rabbanim from the Kollel in Cincinnati had signed the first printing and then were missing at the second printing and mysteriously reappeared at the third printing. This begs the question of (a) did they retract and then reconsider? or (b) did they never retract? or (c) did they never reconsider? 

A mutual acquaintance who read my blog told me that he had the opportunity to speak with one of the two Rabbanim. From what I understood, this Rav had indeed retracted his signature after the initial publication and he has never reconsidered his retraction (choice “c”). It still stands. The appearance of these two names in the third printing is totally unauthorized.

We learn from this that there were unauthorized signatures and that the maximum number of current signatories does not pass 181. Even more, if we deduct those who passed away since the earlier publication, we are down to at most 177.

 

Update 2 – How many signatories read and approved the attached article?

 

As many of my readers know, I email my blog posts to a list of subscribers and, occasionally, to some non-subscribers when the post relates to them. One email recipient was my old yeshiva friend community Rabbi who signed the Kol Koreh and whom I contacted back in 2015 regarding this subject and reported about it.

I was recently in the US, so I took the opportunity to touch base with him. Aside from “How are the kids?”, some of our conversation gravitated to the recent reappearance of the Kol Koreh and my subsequent blog post. This Rabbi friend told me that he had no idea that the Kol Koreh was reprinted in Mishpacha magazine last Pesach until he got my post in his email. Along with that came the revelation that he never saw the newly added accompanying article that is consequently “endorsed” by all the attached “signatures”.

This clearly tells me that, in the main, none of the Rabbinic signatories were approached and presented with the accompanying article for their personal approval and that no personal approval was obtained. The attachment of this article to the signatures was fully unauthorized and is fraudulent.

 

Update 3 – Who isn’t signing this, and why?

 

Also, while in the US, I had the opportunity to speak with a very prominent community Rabbi from the Midwest who has been heavily involved in this sugya for more than 25 years. A true front-lines soldier. I will call him Rabbi G.

Due to his extensive involvement, Rabbi G. would make an ideal candidate to be a supporter of this Kol Koreh, but he isn’t. As such, I asked him point blank why he didn’t sign it. He told me he was probably asked at least seven times to sign this Kol Koreh and he consistently refused. I asked him why he refused and this is what he told me (paraphrased):

“I have been involved in these issues for more than 25 years. I can tell you that it’s a formidable task to get a young woman victim to even speak with an Orthodox and caring Rav, and I should push them to talk to the non-Jewish police?”

Then he added:

“Most of the people who are eager to go to the police are male victims who have had a hard time and are mostly OTD and just want to bury the guy.”

End of conversation.

I see both of these statements as confirmations of some of the points that I was pushing in Part 1 of my 2-part series, A Concise Guide to the Laws of Mesira(January 2017).  Part 1 was about the 3 Ps and the third of which was the extreme measure of contacting police for prosecution and punishment.

Rabbi G.’s first comment about the reluctance of the female victims confirms what I wrote there as follows:

Aside from enforcing a separation or restraining order...there is only one reason to involve law enforcement in a case of sexual abuse: to “solve” things once and for all by getting the predator locked up. 

 

I think that in most cases, little to nothing is accomplished because the predator does not wind up getting locked up or it’s not for a significant amount of time. In so many cases of sexual abuse, the nature of the abuse did not reach true sexual contact and was merely “inappropriate touching” which, in the US, is usually 2nd degree sexual abuse – a mere misdemeanor. Though the victims in cases like this are genuinely devastated, the offense is not overly jailable. Lastly, jail is not likely to happen unless the victim is prepared to press charges (and actually does so), which opens the door to emotional and Halachic issues (לא יקום עד אחד) that go beyond simple day-to-day mesira.

 

Hence, resorting to this extreme measure does not offer much in terms of protection.

What both of us are saying is that involving law enforcement is not a matter of simply lifting the phone and calling 911 and going back to bed and leaving the rest up to the authorities.

Many folks do not realize that 911 is not the Police. 911 is a general dispatch service for first responders for all kinds of emergencies based on the nature of the emergency. The dispatcher decides if this is a crime in progress which calls for police, a medical emergency which calls for paramedics, or a structural emergency which calls for the fire department.

911 is only interested in an emergency in progress or a newly discovered crime (robbery or homicide) that requires a crime scene investigation. They are not interested in a past event that happened years ago, yesterday, or even ten minutes ago so long as there is no current need for intervention. If you call 911 for a past crime, they will refer you to your local police precinct where you will need to show up personally and file a complaint. And don’t expect it to take less than a total of three hours. 

Once one files a complaint, their name and personal information is attached to that file forever and they will need to be very proactive in any further actions against the alleged perpetrator, such as making a positive identification, submitting signed affidavits and testifying in court.

Trust me, this is going to take a lot more than three hours. A lot more! And, as I wrote, this will invariably involve much emotional turmoil and plenty of Halachic dilemmas. The lives of the accusers will be deeply entrenched in that of the accused all throughout the prosecution period and beyond. At some level there will never be a total disconnect even though this is exactly what the victims need the most. It goes against their personal best interests.

Just ask any of the Sapper sisters.

And all this for what purpose? To get the guy three years in the cooler plus five years’ probation? Is all this really worth the price?

Well, I don’t think so and Rabbi G. doesn’t think so, and as we’ll later see, Rabbi Ratzon Arussi doesn’t think so, either. I tend to think that many of those who refused to sign the Kol Koreh can likewise see the reality of all this and understand that they may be sending an injured and vulnerable young woman into a hornet’s nest.

I am astounded that social worker Dovid J. Nyer, Harav Shmuel Feurst, Shlita, Harav Shraga Feivel Zimmerman, 170 some odd other Rabbanim, and many others who actually deal in this field are so detached from this reality.

Now, let’s look at Rabbi G.’s second comment about the eagerness of the male victims. This corresponds perfectly to what I wrote a few paragraphs later in the 3 Ps post as follows:

The real reason people want to resort to this measure is to punish the predator and see that he pays for his actions. They use the need to protect victims as the justification for taking this step. If it is truly necessary to resort to this measure for protection – i.e., the previous two measures are not sufficient – then, and only then, can we explore the stipulations of mesira. If it is not necessary, then it is merely nekama couched as “bringing the predator to justice”.

This paragraph is claiming that in many, or even most, of the actual cases of police intervention, the main intent is not protection but rather nekama and punishment, regardless of whether it is Halachically sanctioned or of what needless collateral damage this may cause.

As Rabbi G. confirmed, this is all too often carried out by people who no longer feel bound by Halachic dictates and, as such, what do they need a Kol Koreh from Rabbanim for?

Once again, just ask any of the Sapper sisters.

To summarize, these three updates – obtained from other people - tell me that this Kol Koreh is being deceptively presented, fraudulent, and misguided.

Supporters may want to claim that it was never meant for past offenders, only currently active ones and that the Meshi-Zahav and Walder debacles clearly justify the need for such a Kol Koreh; and that the good that we expect to come from it far outweighs any drawbacks.

I can’t agree with this. In fact, I agree with HRHG Dovid Cohen, Shlita, who said in his interview that for a real rodef and ongoing threat-in-progress, why should we even need a Kol Koreh? It’s somewhat obvious that we may call law enforcement for protection from imminent danger. Consequently, people will read into this proclamation precisely that it is intended to expand this natural hetter to situations where there is no rodef or imminent danger (מתוך שהותרה, הותרה). And, R”L, they may act accordingly.

This is indicated by the very callous, non-discriminatory language it was written in and, even more so, by the scary, unauthorized, newly added article which explicitly says exactly that. (See previous post.)

To illustrate how utterly damaging this Kol Koreh can be as written, I want to present the Four Horsemen of the Kol Koreh Apocalypse. These are four common scenarios where I believe most reasonable people will understand that calling in law enforcement or civil authorities is more than likely to cause more harm than good.

The Four Horsemen are:

1. The case of Amudim’s PSA video, “Shattered”.
   
   
2. The case of Harav Ratzon Arussi’s media ambush
   
   
3. The case of Malka Leifer
   
   
4. The case of the Mother in Pain (Jewish Press - Feb. 20, 2017)
   
   

The first two cases are what can be called realistic or graphic fiction. They didn’t really happen, but they do, frequently. The second two cases are real-life true occurrences. I am confident that anybody who is familiar with some or all of these cases and who is familiar with the “complexities and nuances” of this topic, will inevitably conclude on their own that the dictates of this Kol Koreh are truly hazardous and have no place. For these readers, there is no need to read the upcoming post.

For those who need a bit of convincing, there is a lot to discuss. It will require another post.

 

Stay tuned for the Four Horsemen…

Magen-Israel.Org – Our Protector and Holy Gatekeeper of the Holy Land

 

I would like to discuss a fellow we’ll call “Bernie”. But, before we do, we need to have a few preludes based on writings from the past.

Prelude 1 – It is a mitzva to live in Eretz Israel

I made Aliya back in 1997 because I considered it a big zechus and a big mitzva. I wrote about it in my book and made a special blog post about it back in 2009 and an update in 2020.

In the course of inquiring whether to make Aliyah, my first stop was not the Jewish Agency. I was not interested in their opinion. I went to Rav Chaim Kanievsky, ZTL, Rav Chaim Pinchas Scheinberg, ZTL, and to the Gerrer Rebbe, Shlita.

Here is how I wrote about it in my book (slightly edited):

In August of that year, I undertook another business trip and, this time, I truly did come with more than one order of business. Through the assistance of my Bnei Brak brother-in-law, I merited an audience with Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky, Shlit”a. I told him that I am an American businessman with a growing family and my wife has been on my case to settle in Eretz Israel me’az hayita l’frau.

 

He responded by quoting a Mishna in tractate Ketubot: “All [spouses] can demand immigration to Eretz Israel but not all [spouses] can demand emigration. This applies equally to the husbands and to the wives.” (This Mishna is brought down in Halacha in Even HaEzer 75.)

 

I thought it would be wise to get a second opinion from one whom I could converse with at length, and in my native tongue. I approached Rabbi Chaim Pinchas Scheinberg, Shlit”a and presented the issue. He didn’t seem to be too interested in particulars either; he merely said that “I am pro Eretz Israel.” To make one final stab at a dissenting vote, I approached the Rebbe of Gur, Shlit”a. No dice. He did nothing more than wish me Hatzlacha (success).

 

All told, it came down to a unanimous 3-0 decision. It’s a zechus to be able to come live in Eretz Israel; and once one has this zechus, it is certainly at least a mitzva kiyumis.

This essentially applies to any authentic Jewish person. It shouldn’t matter if they are not everyone’s favorite type of person. It shouldn’t matter who they are, and more so, who they were.

One thing is more than certain, any Jew that is already here has every right to stay, no matter what.

 

Prelude 2 – A Jew is always a Jew

Before I embarked into the murky waters of the Malka Leifer episode, I wrote a preamble post to “lay down the law” titled, Mesira XIII: Thinking Like a Jew. The purpose was to present the Halachic definition of the relevant concepts such as: “Giluy arayos”, “Rape”, “Child”, “Rodef”, “Mesira”, etc. At the end of that post, I threw in one closing topic:   

אף על פי שחטא, ישראל הוא – A Jew, even though he sins, is still a Jew (Sanhedrin 44a)

 

This concept goes together with: “The soul of a human lusts for illicit wealth – gezel - and forbidden relations – arayos” (Makkos 23b) and “The majority stumbles in gezel and a minority stumble in arayos and all people stumble in [avak] lashon hara” (Baba Basra 165a).

 

How many times have we been sitting at a Shabbos table or at a simcha discussing the latest scandal (avak lashon hara) and somebody mutters: “How can frum people do such a thing?” Whereupon some self-righteous person always exclaims: “I’ll tell you how, they are simply not frum!”

 

This is very wrong. People have lusts which they cannot always control and the gemara tells us that these two infractions, gezel and arayos, stand out at the top of the list. Yet, even if one stumbles in some of the 365 lo taasehs, this does not mitigate his Jewishness one iota. Anybody who believes in the 13 Ikarei Emunah and keeps Shabbos, wears tallis and tefillin and keeps all of the positive mitzvos is as “frum” as anybody else. He (or she) must obviously deal with their demons and make restitution to the people they hurt or be segregated from the community, but it cannot be said that their service to HKBH in unrelated areas is at all defective. There are "frum" ganavim and "frum" molesters and their infractions do not inhibit their rights and responsibilities to daven and learn and keep Shabbos and Yom tov and kosher, etc.

 

(Note – I once had it out with a Rav after his shul sent a letter to a member who had been suspected of past abuse. The letter said that he can only daven there if this and that and he stays in his seat and…he is not entitled to get any kibudim or aliyos. I asked this Rav, “What are you going to do when he has yahrtzeit?” And this Rav just looked at me with a puzzled look on his face as if to say “It didn’t occur to me that he still has to be Jewish.”)

 

Thus, if a community must take measures to deal with a confirmed miscreant and certainly with one who is only suspected, there is no justification whatsoever to employ a method that will inhibit him from continuing to keep Torah and mitzvos faithfully as long as it can be avoided. I can assure you that anybody who participates in an action that impedes another Jew from continuing his (or her) observance of Torah and mitzvos will have to answer for it under a very, very hot lamp.

 

 

Prelude 3 – Yes, people can change

In my earlier analysis of the very flawed Kol koreh, I wrote a 2-part guide on how to deal with Jewish sexual offenders based on a long list of facts that many of us do not know or do not want to acknowledge. Some of these facts came from a frum psychologist/social worker who I know quite well.

Here are some that are relevant to our discussion (this post):

Fact #8 - Most offenders are not psychopaths and have no malicious intent. They are driven by urges that they cannot control. 

Fact #9 - As such, most offenders will continue doing their deeds even after being exposed as long as they are not thwarted from doing so. 

Fact #10 - However, upon being exposed, most offenders from the Orthodox community are exceedingly cooperative to preventative and/or rehabilitative measures.

When I analyzed these facts later in the post, I wrote:

Fact #10 tells us the most important and most unacknowledged chiddush of all.

 

It tells us that – in most cases - once a molester is exposed and confronted, he can be “managed”. This is most often true for the 90% family molesters because, after all, they usually care about their family status. For the 10% Class B (communal) molesters, such as a rebbe or the shul candy man, once he is exposed, it is quite easy to create a barrier between him and potential victims and avoid coming into contact with him in compromising circumstances.

 

What this says to us is that every molester has two phases to his “career”:

 

Phase A – Before his nefarious activities become known to anybody beside the victim(s).

 

Phase B – After he has been caught.

 

In other words, a Phase B molester is not the same kind of threat as a Phase A molester.

 

That was what I wrote then. I wish to add now that another two facts on the list are very important:

Fact #11 - Most offenders are victims of sexual abuse themselves.

Fact #12 - Of the above, many never received any professional help or offers of professional help and in some cases, they were even thwarted when they sought out help.

 

Regarding these two facts, it’s important to know that even if one was not previously abused, many of these people were initially suffering from personality disorders (anger, control, low self-esteem, narcissism, etc.) that, until they were exposed, went undiagnosed and untreated. Many of these conditions or disorders are highly treatable through therapy and/or medications.

If this is the case and the offender underwent treatment subsequent to being exposed, it is another reason to justify that we cannot compare his current status to his previous one. Especially if there have been no additional charges against him once he entered Phase B.

Sometimes all it takes is some TLC, a few years in the pen, and some mind-altering meds to straighten someone out.

 

Summary of Preludes

Let’s review these three preludes and see what they are telling us:

• It’s a big mitzva to live in Eretz Yisrael
  
  
• All Jews, regardless of whether they are nice folks or not such nice folks, are both entitled and obligated to keep mitzvos.
  
  
• Just because someone wasn’t very nice twenty years ago doesn’t mean he or she hasn’t gotten nicer since then
  
  

Save that thought.

 

Déjà vu all over again

Now, let’s talk about “Bernie”. Who is Bernie?

Bernie is a Jewish fellow who allegedly has an unsavory past that nobody should be proud of. According to the reports, it involved crossing many lines in terms of keeping his distance from females as well as numerous instances of bullying and physical violence to males and females alike. Plus, lots of abuse of authority and breach of trust.

After what is claimed as three decades of overindulgence, Bernie’s luck finally ran out and he was called to task for his multiple sins. It seems like these iniquities were investigated and confirmed (possibly never even denied) and Bernie went as far as three years in the slammer.

The relevant timeline seems as follows:

Bernie was born in 1949, started his mischief circa 1970, was first publicly exposed in 2000, initial conviction in 2002 but there were appeals, jailed in 2005 and released in 2008.

As such, his transition from Phase A offender to Phase B offender took place in the year 2000 or, at the very latest, 2008.

Now that last date was 14 years ago and Bernie hasn’t made it to the headlines since until very, very recently.  

American rabbi convicted of sex abuse, is given residency status in Israel | Israel National News - Arutz Sheva

In the meanwhile, it looks like he’s been behaving himself. Moreover, he is currently 72 years old which is way past retirement age. I’m sure he is currently collecting Social Security for all those action-packed years at NCSY.

And now, it appears that Bernie wants to make Aliyah to Eretz Yisrael.

Is he entitled to do so?

Well, nobody disputes that he is Jewish and that it’s a big mitzva for any Jew to make Aliya and he is getting on in years and hasn’t bothered anybody for at least 14 if not 22 years. So, the answer is a resounding: YES.

Absolutely.

And this is the position that any G-d fearing Jew has to take despite how they feel about it. Truth is, taking any measures that are harmful to another Jewish person, and more so if they infringe on their fulfillment of Torah mitzvos, be it extraditing them out of Eretz Yisrael, blocking them from entering Eretz Yisrael, signing petitions or participating in rallies supporting these measures, and certainly reporting one to non-Jewish authorities, and even just taking their lunch money, are all issues in the realm of Choshen Mishpat which requires nothing less than a Beis Din acting in the presence of the person being judged.

And yet, we see people from the “Orthodox” community vocally and actively interfering with this G-d given right without any support from a Beis Din.

Who is at the forefront of this debacle?

The usual suspects.

The bi-line of the aforementioned Arutz 7 article reads as follows:

Orthodox activist group pushing Israel to deny citizenship to an American rabbi, citing his conviction for sexual assault.

 

Can you guess who this “Orthodox activist group” is?

There is no need. It says so clearly in the article. Yes, the “Orthodox” activist group is Magen-Israel.org led by our “Orthodox” activist do-gooder, Shana Aaronson.

Now, Shana Aaronson looks “Orthodox” and maybe even talks “Orthodox” and presents her organization as an “Orthodox” activist group. But we know it is not really “Orthodox” because, as I wrote previously, an Orthodox group is overseen by Orthodox Rabbanim and an Orthodox Beis Din when it is necessary.

This group is nothing of the kind.

And if the group isn’t Orthodox, neither is Shana Aaronson. An Orthodox Jew would not “push” or take measures to block a Jew from making Aliyah or doing anything against the interests of another Jew without the sanction of a Beis Din.

The only time a Jew is empowered to take a situation into his or her own hands is a case of rodef or Chillul Hashem in progress, as with our hero, Pinchas. As long as there is no calamity in progress, there is no excuse not to consult a Beis Din. Rambam says so in Hilchos Rotzeach 1:12 along with many others.

But Shana Aaronson has no need for these formalities. They just slow things down and interfere in her agenda to make the world a safer place. And she certainly does not respect the Rambam or the gemara in Sanhedrin 73 where it comes from.

This is not “Orthodox” to me.

Actually, I think it is a chillul Hashem for a medium like Arutz 7 to even refer to the organization as “Orthodox” if they are printing that it is in violation with our Halachos.

According to the article, Mrs. Aaronson is going to great lengths to find reasons to justify her active measures. Firstly, she openly and audaciously calls a decision to allow this Jewish person to immigrate to Israel, which is at least a mitzva kiyumis for all Jews a “morally bankrupt decision”:

“It’s more than disheartening, it’s infuriating that despite efforts by organizations like mine and by various government agencies, the government would make such a morally bankrupt decision like this,” Aaronson said.

 

Next, to justify her position (which apparently couldn't be morally bankrupt) she needs to build a case. First, she refers to a civil lawsuit that is currently being brought against Bernie:

A pending case like that should be reason enough to reconsider the rabbi's request for residency, said Shana Aaronson, director of Magen, an Israeli organization that advocates for sexual abuse victims, especially in the haredi Orthodox community.

 

Alas, civil lawsuits do not involve bail and flight risk injunctions. The man is free to travel. Besides, in today’s day and age, civil lawsuits can be carried out across oceans, can’t they, Shana? This need not stand in anyone’s way.

So, she needs more "schmutz":

If granted citizenship, “he could tomorrow walk into any school and apply for a job and be given a certificate of good standing from Israel law enforcement and get a job working with kids,” she said.

Let's see. This fellow is now 72 years old, probably cannot speak conversational Hebrew, has stayed clean for 14-22 years, carries the mark of Cain, and is constantly being watched by hawks like Shana Aaronson. Short of death (ch”v) can a “potential” threat get any more diminished? Do you really think any school would give him a job? At his age and language level I don’t think he could even volunteer for a job!

One thing Shana Aaronson knows how to do very well is to “build a case”.

Still, who on earth does Shana Aaronson think she is that she can determine who has a right to live in Eretz Yisrael and who doesn’t? Ayelet Shaked?

Yes.  Ayelet Shaked.

It looks like Shana’s efforts have born forbidden fruit. In a more recent article published by Times of Israel (in the wake of the July 7 Haaretz article and the July 8 statements by Shana Aaronson), it was announced that the pro-extradition, grand protector of all Jews, Ayelet Shaked, Minister of the Interior, “clarified this morning that in light of his grave actions, she has no intention of approving his request to receive citizenship after the temporary residency visa he has expires.”

I personally suspect that Mrs. Aaronson has a great influence upon Ms. Shaked. I will go out on a limb and make an assumption that Shana Aaronson is personally acquainted with Ayelet Shaked from her old Ministry of Justice days and is in regular contact with her. They can correct me if I am wrong.

But it certainly isn’t only Shana Aaronson. There are a number of additional “Orthodox” Rabbis who seem are likewise pushing this un-orthodox agenda and leaning on Ayelet Shaked. The same Times of Israel article displays a letter addressed to Ayelet Shaked signed by American “Orthodox” Rabbis Binyamin Blau and Mark Dratch and written on official on RCA stationary with a zillion other names and proudly distributed by Rabbi Ken Brodkin explicitly imploring her to deny Bernie his rights to live in Eretz Israel.

When our leadership paskens based on their feelings and not on Toras Moshe we know we have reached the level of  פני הדור כפני הכלב and can look forward to the geula shleima very soon.

I am ready to sign off, but I know what many of my more cynical readers are thinking:

Would I protest if Bernie moved into my building in Har Nof?

The answer is, that it goes without saying that I prefer neighbors with clean records. However, we don’t all get neighbors that we prefer. Aside from the fact that I think he is anyway a tzeklopte hoshana (has-been) and not a genuine threat, once he is identified for who he is (or was), I know how to be מקרב בימין and  דוחה בשמאל. I am more concerned about other offenders who (a) are not retired and (b) I cannot identify.

So, the answer is: No, I would not protest it, nor do I think I, or anybody, has a right to.

Besides, it wouldn’t be the first time. And I didn’t protest it then either.

However, we can ask another similar question:

Would I protest if Shana Aaronson moved into my building in Har Nof?

And the answer is…

… It goes without saying that I prefer all of my neighbors to be Orthodox.