I just received the following letter from a well known Lubavitcher posek who wishes to remain anonymous. It is obviously very significant.
I would suggest emailing this to Rabbi Biderman and other members of the Vienna Chabad community. Rabbi Jacob Bideman
BH
I am not getting involved in the details, but I think it would be appropriate to post the following, it's an answer from the Lubavitcher Rebbe, where the Rebbe writes that the benefit of the child is that the child should stay with the mother [...]
each situation is different. One cannot use a letter from the Lubavitcher Rebbe that was written for a specific case and apply it to all cases. Also what was the age of the child in this letter? What is appropriate for custody at age 2 is not necessarily appropriate at age9 etc.. Therefore these letters have no bearing on all custody cases.
ReplyDeleteThis is a really positive step from Chabad and the anonymous posek should be highly commended for what he has done.
ReplyDeletePlease can we ask this posek to now lobby the senior Chabad leadership in Crown Heights? Why isn't Biderman getting phone calls from Rabbi Yehuda Krinsky ordering him to give the children back to the mother or else lose his Chabad status? After all, Chabad in the UK have publicly thrown out an organisation called "Chabad UK" as we have seen earlier this week.
This case is now widely known in most Jewish communities around the world and every Chabad Shliach I have spoken to, no matter which country, has heard about it. Why then, has the case not appeared on Chabad news blogs? How can they still be in denial? Why is Chabad is allowing Biderman to seriously damage their reputation across Europe and the rest of the world?
the Chabad posek who sent it to me obviously disagrees with you
ReplyDelete@Tahini - since you know nothing about the case so why are you commenting? Contrary to your uninformed opinion there has been significant change in Beth's favor
ReplyDeletePlease can we ask this posek to now lobby the senior Chabad leadership in Crown Heights? Why isn't Biderman getting phone calls from Rabbi Yehuda Krinsky ordering him to give the children back to the mother or else lose his Chabad status?
ReplyDeleteYou really have no idea how Chabad works. There is no hierarchy like you are thinking. Chabad in the US cannot dictate policy to Chabad in Austria, they are completely separate organizations with different leadership.
As it stands Rabbi Biederman is the head of Chabad of Austria. There is no one that can tell him what to do.
The situation mention in the UK, first it appears from news reports that Chabd UK was never associated with Chabad-Lubavitch of the UK(Aguda Chasidei Chabad). However, even if that were not the case until very recently Rabbi Sudak was the head of Chabad in the UK, and it would have been his decision as to what happens there.
The most that any other Chabad Rabbi can do is speak to Rabbi Biederman and try to convince him to change his mind. As the blog owner has pointed out recently, big media campaigns are not always the best way to go about that.
@daas Torah You seem to be very passionate about Beth's plight, however no mention about Chabad's corruptive behavior in the Kin case. They have no halachic justification to eject him from their synagogues when Lonna is a moredet who has brought the situation upon herself. Chabad honors with Aliyas members who drive to shul on Shabbat. Chabad rabbis in Las Vegas have officiated in marriages where the couple live with each other prior to the women receiving a GET from the former husband? I dont think the Lubavitcher Rebbi would approve of this too? Now in Vienna you have a case where the man has custody of the children? So what you have today is a situation of "Selective Judaism" without consistency in Halacha. Its all about the CASH CASH CASH!!!!
ReplyDeleteCash Cash Cash is right! How come Chabad have so much of it? Perhaps those that fund should be brought into the equation!
ReplyDeleteRonald Lauder to start with
Is he aware of this case? Would he want his name associated with a scandal?
He gave money to extend the kindergarten, which the boys attend. I wonder what Ronald Lauder thinks about the righteous Rabbi Biderman who is a law unto himself?
Afterall, is Rabbi Biderman really following the ethos of Chabad by shunning an innocent young mother? He also made a false voluntary statement to the Austrian Court!
Bentzi Sudak was quick to disassociate from Chabad UK, but still allows one of the accused who he disassociated from to to teach in one of his schools.
It is double standsrds. The only consistency in the Chabad movement is cover up. At least that is what we are seeing.
What is missing here are comments from Chabad. They obviously think silence will make the problem disappear!
"Tahini"? Who here is this person? Whoever you are, your opinions are quite confused. If you are the poster who believes nothing has changed for Beth, then you can not be aware of the fact that the boys are now permitted by the court to spend every 2nd Sun overnight with their mum. This is enormous progress! And you can see from the photos she posts just how happy they are to share her company. She's a great mother! If they spent more nights with her, they'd be speaking fluently in no time. Something must be radically wrong with their dad and/or the carers he provides if they can't speak properly at nearly 5 1/2!
ReplyDelete"They have no halachic justification to eject him from their synagogues" - Please provide evidence that they have ejected him. You can't just say "it is common knowledge". Why don't you share an email that you have written to the Rabbi?
ReplyDeleteRichard, I think you may have hit the nail on the head. Vienna Chabad appears to be an evil institution which without Ronald Lauder's cash might be hard pressed to survive.
ReplyDeleteOn www.chabad.at it says the following:
"Yom Kippur is the highest holiday of the year because on this day we not only regretfully confess all our misdeeds but also have full confidence that G-d will forgive us our sins and grant us another year full of life, health and good luck." B
But who in Chabad Vienna is going to confess the misdeeds that are taking place with the twins? Do Rabbi Biderman and the father both have confidence that G-d will forgive their sins and grant them another wonderful year? For giving false evidence in court (Rabbi B) and for preventing their so important mother from finding out about their progress in the kindergarten and from speaking - like any other mother - to the staff about her boys (the father)? I don't believe these two men will be treated so well by G-d. They do not deserve it - for destroying the lives of Sammy and Benji. Anywhere but in a Chabad community they would be called criminals.
How can Ronald Lauder as financier, Rabbi Biderman as the person responsible for the Vienna Chabad kindergarten, the father, and the IKG face G-d this Yom Kippur, knowing as they must about the suffering of two little children who have done no wrong in the Vienna community?
I'd like to raise a few questions about this case:
ReplyDelete1. Is the father in this case a Chabad Chassid? If not, why does the Rebbe's ruling apply?
2. Why should custody of the children be decided by a letter from the deceased Lubavitcher Rebbe who is not alive to rule on this case?
3. Even if Rabbi Bideman holds by the Rebbe, what right does he have to impose his rebbe's viewpoint on the father?
4. Evan HaEzer 82 seems to rule that fathers may have custody of boys around age six. Because this blog may hold by another standard, ie the "best interests of the child standard", why does the father have to comply with this blog's standard?
5. Many, many Jewish women have obtained custody of children in archaos and there has been hardly the slightest protest from the Jewish community. In the Schlesinger case a father obtained custody and now people are raising a hue and cry? Sounds like a blatant double standard to me.
@TruthJew - you obviously have not been following this case and don't understand what the issues are. This is not a preference for women over men. It it is not a bias in favor of Chabad.
ReplyDeleteRabbi Biderman who is a Chabad Chasid has been supporting the father even to the point of concealing information about the twins that Beth is entitled to know according to the law. The letter as a minimum would indicate that Rabbi Biderman should at least be neutral in this custody battle.
3) Rabbi Biderman has an obligation from the Torah to be concerned for the welfare of the children. He is supporting the father even when it is not in the best interest of the children.He doesn't have to impose the Rebbe's view but he does have to do more for their welfare.
4) Again we are not dealing with a case where both parents are capable of providing a decent and healthy home. The father doesn't have to comply with my personal preferences - but he does have to follow the Torah. And the community should be focused on the children's welfare - and they aren't.
5) Your understanding of this is absurd. As I have stated the issue is not whether the father or mother obtains custody - it is removing the twins from the unhealthy evironment of their father and returning them to the healthy home provided by their mother mother
I am rather curious as to:
ReplyDeleteWhy no one seems to be demanding that both the father and mother submit the custody issue to a kosher Beis Din?
How can you pre-decide the case in favor of the mother without the case being submitted to a kosher Beis Din?
Don't know much on the Biderman angle but this case is all over the news. From news reports it appears clear that RDE's assessment of the situation is correct.
ReplyDeleteWe know the mother has done everything possible to resolve this outside of the courts, either via Beis Din, Mediation or Rabbinic intervention. All these attempts have either been blocked by Schlesinger himself or by the Jewish community (Rabbis) in Vienna.
ReplyDeleteIt was the father who initiated the Arkoyos in utter contempt of Torah and Halacha.
TruthJew, why don't you email Biderman or anyone else in Vienna (contact details are easy to find on the internet). If you can produce a genuine document showing Schlesinger genuinely wants to resolve this custody case through a neutral Beis Din, then we have a starting point. Until then, this blog will continue to bring Schlesinger to full account for his actions.
Which beis din did she use that he rejected? It would be helpful to know.
ReplyDeleteThere is no Beth Din in Austria, only a European Beth Din, which Austria would not adhere to, in the same way that they don't obey European Law, giving the non custodial parent information about the health, education and welfare of the children!
ReplyDeleteAustria is a law unto themselves!
They pick and chose to suit themselves. They are in rhe process of trying to sue England for something that they don't like, through the European Court, but they wouldn't listen themselves! Double standards?
He rejected the concept of a Beis Din! The fact that the Manchester Beis Din have expressed their full support show that it is him who is not cooperating with this approach.
ReplyDeleteTruth Jew as you will no doubt be aware there was no need for Beth to loose custody of her little boys in the first place. In case you havent noticed BETH's boys are only 5 1/2 and were ripped from her arms at the age of 2 years. No gadol would sanction giving any child to such a nasty and abusive man as Schlesinger. It is interesting to note you talk so disrespecively about the Rebbe if he was alive he would no doubt be horrified at the behaviour of Rabbi Biderman, Chabad Vienna and the Jewish community of Vienna. He would be horrified at the lies and deceit that has obviously taken place and at the terrible state these children aer nnow in. The Rebbe was full of love and purity - Dr S is full of hate.
ReplyDeleteIts meaningless to say that a Beis Din expressed "full support" if the parties never appeared before that Beis Din.
ReplyDeleteIf either party had refused to respond to Beis Din hazmanos sent by the other party, a "seruv" would have been issued against the recalcitrant party. Where's the seruv?
I am not supporting either side here, but I have to conclude there is missing information in this case.
Here is the letter of support from the Manchester Beis Din:
ReplyDeletehttp://helpbeth.org/open-letter-from-the-manchester-beis-din/
There have been many public letters of support for the mother, and criticisms of the father's behavior both in Halachic terms (see this very blog post above!) and ethical/moral grounds. We have yet to see a single endorsement on behalf of the father from any reliable source other than anonymous comments like yours.
You can continue looking for meaningless halachic loopholes to make you feel better if you wish, but the facts to the rest of us are laid bare for all to see. If you really want to live up to your name, "TruthSeekerJew", why don't you send some emails to Rabbis/leaders in Vienna and share them here? In the meantime, your time is probably not best spent commenting on this blog.
How I wish the Lubavitcher Rebbe were alive today to talk to the elusive Rabbi Biderman. If he were, he'd coax him into talking to Michael Schlesinger and pointing out the ways in which this vindictive father is not living according to his precepts. He would also convince him that Samuel's and Benjamin's dire needs for their mother must be met immediately. He would not be pleased with a father who is treating his kids so cruelly.
ReplyDeleteWhy does the "well-known Lubavitcher Posek" wish to remain anonymous? What is he scared of, that he can't openlt quote the words of his Rebbe? Wouldn't it be braver, and simply the right thing to do, to add his name to those calling for justice for these boys?
ReplyDelete