An open letter to Reb Elya Ber, shlita

The below was just confirmed by a letter from Reb Elya Ber just published on Matzav

I have it on excellent authority that Reb Elya Ber Wachtfogel never accepted any responsibility, oversight, or position of any kind for EJF!

If anything at all - he was duped by a phone call from an individual in Eretz Yisroel (a beneficiary of Tropper/EJF money) that Rav Shteinman and Rav Y.S. Eliashiv had "requested" he assume the position at EJF, But he never accepted!

In the interim it has now been determined that Rav Y.S. Eliashiv had no idea at all about ANY of these goings on - let alone he never asked for R' E.B.W. to accept any position or achrayus for EJF!

The time has come for Reb Elya Ber to speak up and put this to bed!

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Below is the hierarchy of rabbis from the EJF webpage - you will note that HaRav Elya Ber, shita - one of the major gedolim of America and perhaps its leading rosh yeshiva - is not accorded to same title as Rav Reuven Feinstein, Rav Shmuel Stern, and Rav Ehrentreu. Hopefully it is just a mistake but if not it does not bode well for Reb Elya.
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EJF Leadership
Harav Reuven Feinstein, Shlit"a

President of Halachic Committee
Harav Shmuel Eliezer Stern, Shlit"a

Chairman of Halachic Committee, Israel
Harav Chanoch Ehrentreu, Shlit"a

Chairman of Halachic Committee, Europe
International Rabbinical Board
Rav Ela Ber Wachtfogel

Chairman of Rabbinic Committee
Harav Doniel Neustadt

...

R' Farber's eulogy for R' Tropper

JC.com

The founder of a powerful American group that seeks to enforce a tough stance on conversions has abruptly resigned.

Leib Tropper, a strictly Orthodox rabbi who founded the New York-based Eternal Jewish Family, said he was stepping down last weekend to "pursue a variety of other interests".

In the past week, images appeared on several Jewish blogs showing posters on display in Orthodox neighbourhoods of Jerusalem accusing him of indiscretions.[...]

Sex offender extradited to U.S.

YNET

Samuel Arthur Silverman, also known as Abraham Cohen, was extradited Thursday from Israel to the United States. Silverman was convicted in Oregon for sexual abuse of minors in the late 1990s, but before a hearing on his sentence commenced he escaped to Israel.

His extradition was made possible following an amendment to the extradition treaty between Israel and the US.

Silverman, a former social worker and psychologist mainly treating children and teenagers, was charged and convicted of sexually  abusing two minors who were friends of his son during the years
1995-1996. [...]

The Sin of Adam - inaccurate self-assessment

Rav Tzadok (Machshovos Charutz #1):.. The sin of Adam was in thought rather than deed…These are the thoughts that the Serpent gave him when he told him, “You will be like G‑d.” The source of all vain and empty thoughts is that a person errs in self‑assessment. He mistakenly thinks that he is on a higher level than he is actually is or is even capable of reaching. Adam who had reached the pinnacle of perfection as a man, mistakenly started thinking that he was in fact on the level of G‑d. Therefore the Torah warns that while a person should be holy he can never reach G‑d's level of holiness (Vayikra Rabbah 24:9). When he had in fact reached the level of the angels, his evil inclination did not leave him alone and deceived him into thinking that he could be as holy as G‑d. A person can thus achieve the pinnacle of greatness and yet fall to the deepest depths – as we see what happened to Yeshu and Shabtsai Tzvi. Their great asceticism and separation from the material world distorted their perception of their true spiritual level until they thought that they were the source of holiness…" This is the way of the seduction of the Serpent (evil inclination). He begins with something small and progresses. He begins with thoughts and imaginations which seem external and superficial but in fact touch all levels of thought in an essential manner.

Eternal Jewish Family video - looks different now

Eternal Jewish Family Web Brochure

Shannon | MySpace Video

Chofetz Chaim:Why people speak lashon harah

Chofetz Chaim(Introduction): …Why has the prohibition against lashon harah become so widely ignored? I think it is the result of a number of different reasons. The masses ignore it for a different reason than the scholars. The masses simply don’t know that there is a prohibition against speaking lashon harah – even if the facts are correct. The talmidei chachomim – even those who have in fact verified that there is a clear prohibition against lashon harah even if it is true – the yetzer harah is able to mislead them in other ways. 1) The yetzer harah convinces the talmid chachom that the other person is wicked and tells him that it is a mitzva to publicize derogatory information about wicked people. 2) There are times that it says that the other person is a troublemaker and it is permitted to say lashon harah about troublemakers. 3) There are times when it seduces the talmid chachom with the leniency of something said before three people. 4) Or the leniency of saying it in the person’s presence and he convinces himself that he would in fact say it even if the person was in front of him. The yetzer harah succeeds in making the talmid chachom aware of the appropriate text – even though they are inappropriately applied. 5) Sometimes the yetzer harah seduces by simply saying that what he is telling others is not really lashon harah since everyone is saying it - such as saying that someone is not really a scholarly. All of this is explained in Clall 5.

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חפץ חיים (הלכות אסורי לשון הרע – הקדמה): ואחשבה לדעת זאת, מאין נעשה הלאו הזה הפקר כל כך לעיני הרבה בני אדם. והתבוננתי שזה הוא מכמה סבות, להמון מצד אחד ולהלומדים מצד אחר. ההמון אינם יודעים כלל שאסור לשון הרע הוא אפלו על אמת, ולהבעלי תורה אף אותם שנתברר להם ונתאמת להם שאסור לשון הרע אפלו על אמת, יש מהם כמה שיצר הרע מטעה אותם בפנים אחרים. אחד, שתכף מחשיב היצר הרע ברעיוניו את האיש שהוא מספר עליו לחונף, ואומר לו מצוה לפרסם את החנפים והרשעים. ופעמים אומר לו, הלא פלוני הוא בעל מחלקת ומתר לספר לשון הרע עליו. ולפעמים הוא מפתהו בהתרא דאפי תלתא (בפני שלשה), ופעמים בהתרא דאפי מרא (בפני המדבר), שמסכים בעצמו בעת הספור שהיה אומר לו אף בפניו, ומגלה לו היצר הרע את המאמרים השיכים לזה, ועין לקמן בכלל ב' ג' ח'. ופעמים הוא מפתהו באיכות הדבר, לומר שאין זה נכנס בכלל לשון הרע כגון מה שרגילין הרבה אנשים, בעונותינו הרבים, לפרסם על אחד שאינו חכם, ובארנו זה לקמן בכלל ה':

Chareidi websites respond to ban

YNET

In public statements, haredi website managers attempt to avoid confrontation with religious leaders, align themselves with traditional views. Off record they say campaign against them led by hypocritical lobbyists concerned with threat to newspaper

The ultra-Orthodox websites have not given up their fight in the face of the senior rabbis' campaign against them. Following the first harsh condemnation document published by the rabbis, all website managers declared their devotion to the "great ones" on Sunday.

However, despite the desperate attempts to align themselves, the websites have had a particularly rough weekend. One of the managers of the "Behadrei Haredim" website resigned his post immediately after the publication, whereas other reporters and editors are also reconsidering their future in the internet.

UK Court:Jewish school policy illegal

JPOST

Britain's Supreme Court said on Wednesday that a Jewish school discriminated against a child when it denied him admission because it did not recognize his mother as Jewish.

The ruling came in a case of a child identified as "M." His father is Jewish by birth, but his mother converted at a progressive synagogue.

But the conversion ceremony was conducted by a Progressive rather than an Orthodox synagogue which is not recognized by the Office of the Chief Rabbi.

The court said that the policy amounted to race discrimination. [...]

Sincere condolences for Tom Kaplan

There is one major player in this whole scandal who probably suffered the most and is getting the least sympathy and support - that is EFJ backer Tom Kaplan. EFJ was not a power trip or  desire to play moshiach on the part of Tom Kaplan - it was a genuine idealistic attempt to do good. He wants to help preserve and save Judaism for the same noble reason that he wants to preserve nature. He is not an Orthodox Jew and yet he intuitively felt that the cause of Jewish identity is necessary and the energy and spirit he vicariously felt was invigorating and pure.

He has been badly betrayed by Tropper. Eternal Jewish Family was a massive project that he not only invested millions of dollars in it but personally attended the conventions, went to meet gedolim and he took genuine pride in being part of this movement. He also made decisions which showed that he understood the reality of the Jewish people better than his rabbinic adivsors.

What does he have now? Tropper schemed to be his sole connection to the Orthodox world as a teacher, guide and friend. He really has no alternative interface with the Orthodox world. It is likely that he will be bowing out of the picture financially and with his personal involvement. That is really a shame. His instincts were right about the need for preserving Judaism - but the vehicle he chose was deeply flawed.

Hopefully - he will find a way to continue his commitment to the Jewish people as he has in the past and he won't walk away in disgust with the garbage  that has been thrown on him. I just would like to personally thank him for what he tried doing.

Ezekiel 8: Our case against R Tropper

We are Ezekiel 8:Groups 12/13.

Question: Given the paucity of evidence - how would you defend Rabbi Tropper

Answer: Alleged paucity of publicly exposed evidence, that should be.

Tropper was advised to immediately retain an attorney for his defence-from/attack-against the allegedly 'vile' and 'defamatory' statements.

He could not and would not do so, because he knows only the tip of the iceburg is out there, he knows that the only reason we have refrained from splashing the whole fetid mess out into the 'velt' is reasons of tzniut and avoidance of chillul Hashem.

The only reason this much is exposed is due to the disgusting, filth-enabling erevRav misLeaders y"sh, who were approached and begged to merely demand the removal of Tropper and his wretched 'organisations' from our midst, and instead chose to follow their wallets, positions and 'glory' in most dispicable ways and means.

All of the uncensored evidence is admissible.

Every mitnaged to Troppers ouster, every defender and enabler of the abomination, has a clear motive which we have documented admissible proof of.

A logical one with common sense knows where this will lead, to whom and with what results. B'Ezrat Hashem Yitbarach:

We are not posting exagerations, defamations, slanders or falsehoods.

We are Ezekiel 8:Groups 12/13.

A fuller release will be posted in the comments sections of all serious blogs within 24 hours.

bobX@anonymousspeech.com

The case for Rabbi Tropper's defense

I would like to remind everyone that the established facts in this case are few and no way validate the wild accusations - as of yet. While there seems to be alot of creative negative thinking regarding this matter. I would like to turn your collect imaginations, talents and energies to understand the defense of Rabbi Tropper. This is not a pious exercise but rather one that any prosecuting attorney needs to engage in to understand his case.

Let me state the bare bone facts. A series of audio tapes and a fuzzy grainy video of some unidentifiable people have been circulating the Internet. THE RECORDINGS HAVE NOT BEEN VERIFIED AS BEING RABBI TROPPER. No matter how much people want to believe it is - the evidence would not hold up in a court of law - as it stands now. Perhaps there is a way of verifying it electronically but that has not been done. The only other unquestionable fact is at the time these recordings appeared - Rabbi Tropper resigned form EJF. This resignation was publicized on his own website as simply a career change - not a disgraceful firing. His distinguished colleagues expressed regret over his departure. The other fact of importance is that Rabbi Tropper has an opponent - the billionaire Guma Aguiar - whom he claims has threatened his life and he feels is out to destroy him. In fact there is a Florida court order against Guma not to come physically close to Rabbi Tropper.

Given the paucity of evidence - how would you defend Rabbi Tropper from the vile accusations which are circulating the Internet? Or put in a more practical manner, how would a decent attorney hired by Rabbi Tropper word a lawsuit against those who are saying these defamatory accusations?

I would like to remind everyone that the established facts in this case are few and no way validate the wild accusations - as of yet. While there seems to be alot of creative negative thinking regarding this matter. I would like to turn your collect imaginations, talents and energies to understand the defense of Rabbi Tropper. This is not a pious exercise but rather one that any prosecutoring attorney needs to engage in to understand his case.

Let me state the bare bone facts. A series of audio tapes and a fuzzy grainy video of some unidentifiable people have been circulating the Internet. THE RECORDINGS HAVE NOT BEEN VERIFIED AS BEING RABBI TROPPER. No matter how much people want to believe it is - the evidence would not hold up in a court of law - as it stands now. Perhaps there is a way of verifying it electronically but that has not been done. The only other unquestionable fact is at the time these recordings appeared - Rabbi Tropper resigned form EJF. This resignation was publicized on his own website as simply a career change - not a disgraceful firing. His distinguished colleagues expressed regret over his departure. The other fact of importance is that Rabbi Tropper has an opponent -the billionair Guma Aguiar - whom he claims has threatened his life and he feels is out to destroy him. In fact there is a Florida court order against Guma to come physically close to Rabbi Tropper.

Given the paucity of evidence - how would you defend Rabbi Tropper from the vile accusations which are circulating the Internet? Or put in a more practical manner, how would a decent attorney hired by Rabbi Tropper word a lawsuit against those who are saying these defamatory accusations?

Radioactive Disclosure

NYTimes

I must undergo radioactive-iodine therapy to treat thyroid cancer. Because I have children at home, I am considering staying at a hotel for several days after the treatment to avoid having to sanitize the bathrooms, kitchen, etc., in my home every day at a time when I will not be feeling well. My plan would be to refuse housekeeping services, stay in my room for the entire stay and follow the guidelines for limiting contamination. Must I disclose my radioactive status to the hotel? C.M., NEW JERSEY [...]

Tropper scandal reaches the media

Jewish Week

An influential ultra-Orthodox rabbi who supervises conversions has stepped down abruptly from the organization he has led for about five years.

Rabbi Leib Tropper resigned this week as head of Eternal Jewish Family, the Monsey-based conversion group he founded. In an official EJF press release issued late Monday, two days after Rabbi Tropper's resignation took effect, the rabbi cited a desire to pursue "a variety of other interests.[...]