Epstein Get by Torture Trial - Please show for closing arguments

Guest Post

Rabbosai....let's give it all we got...

The gangsters and their sympathizers plan on mustering and mobilizing all their representation for the closing arguments tomorrow. We cannot let the court and jury think that this is something insignificant to frum Jews. We want the court to do what it can to stop innocent people from being beaten up resulting in get me'useh and all that comes from it. Again, do what you can to, to be there and to get others to come.

May we soon witness Torah justice in triumph and Haromas Keren HaTorah.

Question: What should be the reaction to a Chumash produced by someone who beat a husband to give a Get?

Guest Post. I received the following letter and thought it raises an important issue. I got permission from the writer to publish it.

Hi. I'm not sure if this is of interest to you. I noticed several samplings of a new Chumash in my Shul over Yom Tov. Please see the pictures. I'm assuming that it was put out in in most Shuls as a promotion for the upcoming Chumash. (This needs to be verified). 

The only part that concerns me is that David Wax is making it clear to the world that he is behind this Chumash. This is right after he testified in federal court that he beat Bryskman and even lost it on Bryskman when Bryskman bled on his carpet, due to his beating. Interestingly, the haskama calls him from the "chashuvei vaykirei".... 

It's OK for Mr. Wax to notify the world about his son's Bar Mitzvah. 

It's OK to promote this new Chumash, without Wax pushing himself as the driving force. But for a person who never provided a halachik justification for his brutal beating, conniving and attempt to extort money, to call out to the world that he's publishing this Chumash seems wrong.

I'm also curious to know if Rabbi Belsky is still the editor of the Taryag Mitzvah project (which did not really make it) - and this Chumash as well.

Rabbi Dovid E. Eidensohn/Shalom Bayis Beth Din of Jewish Outreach Congregation

The General Idea of Shalom Bayis Beth Din

Shalom Bayis Beth Din is a program of education, guidance and Beth Din. Education means that preferably prior to marriage and even afterwards, Shalom Bayis Beth Din will teach people how to maintain a good marriage and avoid mistakes that destroy marriage.

Guidance means that when people are bogged down in disputes Shalom Bayis Beth Din will guide them on the proper path to find peace in their homes.

Beth Din means that when a couple accepts Shalom Bayis Beth Din as an authority on their marriage, Shalom Bayis Beth Din can demand that the family follows the right path in marriage and family. If the couple agrees, Shalom Bayis Beth Din can make demands about how the couple must behave, and Shalom Bayis Beth Din can fine those who violate their commands. Eventually, if a person violates regularly and is fined regularly, the fines will probably force an end to the process, which means that the violator will have to seek a divorce. This will lessen the process of making Agunose of broken families.

Gedolei HaDor have explained that there is no problem with coercing a GET because Shalom Bayis Beth Din never talks about a GET. It fines to force the marriage to survive. This is not a forced GET.

Learning Even Hoezer Rambam, Tur and Shulchan Aruch

Our project of learning Even Hoezer begins with Rambam Noshim, then Tur Even Hoezer, then Shulchan Aruch Even Hoezer. Learn through without getting distracted until you are grounded well in the basic laws. The more you learn the more you will be aware of the various commentaries on the basic texts of Rambam, Tur and Shulchan Aruch. Next comes the deeper level of looking into the sources for these basic halochose in gemoras, rishonim and acharonim, each according to his ability and schedule. For those who are fully committed to become a master of these halochose and who will try for semicha, they will have a full schedule. This Wednesday August 15 9:30 PM we begin a shiur for advanced study of the texts. We begin with the first words of the Shulchan Aruch Even Hoezer about the importance of marrying and having children. We will also delve into the Torah understanding of gender and the roles of men and women. We have extensive Kabbalistic material in this regard. I also have a book on the subject sold at Amazon Secret of the Scale. All are invited to this telephone class but it is a high level of learning. To join the freeconferencecall.com program dial first 605-562-3130 and then code 822322#.

Funding           

                                                       

Jewish Outreach Congregation accepts funds for this project. We have various blogspots and a website: torahhalacha.blogspot.com, our main project; torahmarriage.com.blogspot.com, videos; www.torahtimes.com, website with audio cassettes and regular text. Our book on gender is Secret of the Scale available at Amazon. We now need to establish more media and public programs to offset the enormous problem of invalid Gittin caused by forced divorces, such as in New York State where judges can jail a husband and take away custody for not giving a GET. Such a GET is invalid and the children born from it could be mamzerim. We have a lot of work to do, and need funding.

Please go to our main blogspot at torahhalacha.blogspot.com and click on the paypal button that will allow you to contribute to our Jewish Outreach Congregation and support this work. 

                                                 Thank you. 

                                              Dovid Eidensohn

ISIS-Besieged Yarmouk: What makes it a refugee camp?

Arutz 7     Attention is focused on the Islamic State (ISIS)-besieged Yarmouk "Palestinian refugee camp" in Syria – which is actually a normative neighborhood in Damascus.

ISIS jihadists and murderers have overrun the neighborhood in recent days, murdering civilians using firing squads or beheadings, and wantonly destroying apartment buildings. 

A Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) arrived in Damascus for talks on "helping residents" in Yarmouk. Hundreds of families have been evacuated from the neighborhood – the latest stage in the population depletion from 112,000 in 2002 to some 18,000 today.

The humanitarian crisis in Yarmouk has turned attention to what news reports around the world call a "Palestinian refugee camp" – when in fact it is not officially recognized as such in Syria, and is rather a city (madina) in the Damascus Governorate.

Yarmouk was established in 1957 on an area outside Damascus to accommodate refugees who were squatters, according to UNRWA, which largely administers the area. One is left to wonder what the Syrian authorities did with these "squatters" for nearly a decade, after they supposedly left Israel during the 1948 War of Independence.

The area later developed into a thriving neighborhood. Lina Sinjab reported for BBC in August 2010 that "although [Yarmouk] is identified as a [refugee] camp, there are no tents or slums in sight. It is a residential area with beauty salons and internet cafes. The Palestinians who live here are well integrated into society, some even hold government posts."

Residents of the camp number many professionals, including doctors, engineers and civil servants.

This of course raises the question: what is UNRWA – the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees – still doing there? [...]

The other side of the story: Halachic Advisory Board responds to Sima Yarmush's accusation that they cover up abuse

Crown Heights Info    A scathing indictment of the ‘Halachic Advisory Board’ during a speech by Mrs. Sima Yarmush, a survivor of sexual abuse at the hands of a Rabbi in her family’s Chabad House, has lead the board to release a statement explaining their policy regarding abuse.

This statement comes after a speech given by Mrs. Sima Yarmush before a crowd in Los Angeles, California in which she spoke about the abuse she suffered at the hands of a Rabbi in her family’s S. Monica Chabad House.

In her speech she accused the Halachic advisory board of what amounts to a “cover-up” which “allowed this predator to reestablish himself in another neighborhood and potentially prey on other victims.”

The board is made up of four rabbis including; Rabbi Avrohom Union, Dayan and Menahel of the Beth Din of the Rabbinical Council of California, Rabbi Gershon Bess, Rov of Congregation Kehilas Yaakov in Los Angeles, Rabbi Yosef Shusterman, Rov of Chabad of Beverly Hills, California, and Rabbi Berish Goldenberg, Chairman of Family Commission at Rabbinical Council of California and Principal at Yeshiva Rav Isacsohn Academy in Los Angeles.

The following is their statement:

=========================================================

We have reflected in recent days on the story of a brave and valiant young woman who has shared her story with the public.

What happened to her happens all too often. Sadly it will happen again. During the course of the dialogue surrounding her message, many questions have been raised. Because of legal restrictions and a code of conduct on disclosure practiced by the professionals involved in this area, we cannot discuss the particulars of this situation.

Nevertheless, as a community that cares deeply about taking action against sexual abuse and providing assistance and comfort to their victims, we believe it is useful to provide to the public an outline of our protocols and procedures that are now and have long been in place regarding this subject. We are in constant contact with local authorities and experts in the field and upgrade our protocols when necessary. A review of the attached flowchart will enlighten the public to the model we’ve developed and hopefully promote a thoughtful dialogue to improve the public’s awareness and assistance in tragic matters such as these.

Who is the Halachic Advisory Board?

In 2001, in response to three horrific instances of sexual abuse in our community, the Halachic Advisory Board (HAB), a group consisting of Rabbinic leaders representing the broader Orthodox Jewish community, made a groundbreaking decision. Since their inception, they have sensitively provided support, security and resources to victims of abuse. They have undergone numerous training sessions from experts in the field and have trained groups around the country. In situations where victims of abuse were unable to be protected by law enforcement, HAB continued its work to find ways to protect victims, families and communities.

HAB would quite literally go beyond the letter of the law, to protect victims, families and communities.

Why would a victim not be protected by law enforcement?

In many circumstances including where mandated by law, cases brought to the HAB are directed to legal authorities as appropriate and/or required by law. In order for authorities to protect a victim or prosecute an offender – charges must be filed.

If a family chooses not to file a police report, there is nothing law enforcement can do to help them.

If an act is not legally deemed criminal, there is nothing law enforcement can do to keep someone from causing more harm.

Is anything done to protect a victim who cannot or will not make a report?

HAB offers assistance and support in situations to people when law enforcement cannot. In these situations:

• The Offender must agree to engage in a comprehensive sex offender evaluation from a credentialed agency.
• The Offender must sign a release so sex offender evaluation and treatment recommendations of the experts are provided to the HAB Team.
• Any recommendations provided by the experts involved are facilitated by HAB so that there is compliance and follow up with all treatment and other recommendations.

What are the legal issues involved?

In a nutshell, these cases involve various legal principles, some of which conflict:

Most States, and especially California, have detailed laws surrounding a privilege of confidentiality that arises out of the physician-patient, psychotherapist-patient, and rabbi-congregant relationship. In some situations, HIPAA rules apply. In addition, licensing Boards are very protective of patients. Interestingly, these protections not only obviously apply to abuse victims; they may also serve to protect abusers. Abusers may also insist on confidentiality as a condition to submitting to analysis and treatment.

In circumstances where the victim insists, for understandable reasons, on secrecy and identity protection, the Federal and State constitutions provide protection to Offenders (called the right of confrontation). This right effectively prevents the Police, Rabbonim and all others from accusing the alleged Offender. The Offender must have the right to face his/her accuser and the right to challenge the allegations.

• State slander and libel laws make an accuser liable for compensatory claims if they cannot prove the truth of the accusation. Such proof of truth becomes impossible where the identity of the abused must be protected and not be disclosed or where the accuser does not know the identity of the abused.

HAB has achieved extraordinary success over the decades in combating abuse. Those of us who are and have been involved everyday with these significant, heart wrenching issues have devoted our lives to helping people rebuild after abuse occurs. Working together with authorities and experts of all segments of the community, as well as using our contacts nationally and internationally, we can prevent abuse and create a safer environment for all of us.

Testimonial from Police

“As the supervisor in charge of the Los Angeles Police Department’s Operation West Bureau Sexual Assault Detail, I have interacted with the rabbinical council on a number of occasions regarding allegations of sexual abuse brought to their attention by those they serve. I always found them to be anxious to seek proper guidance and willing to follow through on a discussed and suggested course of action. They were always open and concerned with doing the right thing, never holding back information or shying away from difficult situations, even if moving beyond their comfort zone in order to provide the best resolution to a situation. It is rare to find this kind of ongoing relationship of mutual trust and respect between law enforcement and a religious hierarchy. I was both personally honored and professionally privileged to work with these fine individuals.”

Paul Bishop, Supervisor (currently retired) LAPD West Bureau Sexual Assault Detail

[signed] Halachic Advisory Board

HaRav Shmuel haLevi Wosner Zatzal - a brief eulogy

Guest post by Eddie

We are told that Moshe Rabbeinu was the most humble person that lived. This is the same Moshe Rabbeinu who was the greatest Navi, who received the Torah on Har Sinai, and spoke to Hashem “Face to Face” as the Torah describes in the language of men. The quality of Anava, humility should not be confused with lack of greatness.

HaRav Wosner perhaps was one of the greatest poskim, Gedolei Torah, from the previous generation, and yet avoided publicity, newspapers etc, and was not well known in the secular press or the political echelons of Israel. He showed true humility, and all the time had great Torah knowledge and engaged in complex piskei halacha. [The equation of Anava with avoidance of politics does not imply that other gedolim who are more involved in “politics” lack Anava].

Rav Wosner was born over a century ago in Vienna, and studied in yeshivot before moving to Eretz Yisroel before the war. On the advice of gedolim in Israel, including the Chazon Ish, R' Isser Zalman Meltzer and Rav Herzog, he set up Yeshiva Chochmei Lublin – named after the Yeshiva he studied at in Lublin. He was a member of the Eda haCharedit, but was a leader for all sectors of Klal Yisrael, and was respected across the frum spectrum.

Some people are fortunate to know Gedolei Torah personally, but not everyone has this zchus. However, sometimes there are other routes to appreciating Torah leaders, for example in seeing the weight of their Haskomos on sefarim, or their piskei halacha. This was how I came to know of R' Wosner z'tl. His Beit Din Tzedek was – as far as I am aware – one of the most reliable and respected Batei Din. A story is told where a dispute between a Chatan and Kallah was brought to this BD. The Kallah asked R' Wosner for a blessing, whereupon he turned around and asked her to bless him!

Yeshayahu Hanavi (ch.65) speaks of the day when there will be no more weeping heard in Jerusalem, and that even ordinary men will live to 100 years. Although those days have not yet come, we see that Gedolei Torah are more frequently living to more than 100 years. Sadly we have to weep for the loss of great men, and also for the tragedy that occurred at that Levaya. May the Torah and the memory of the righteous guide us and all of Israel.

More of Lopin's lies and distortions regarding the seminaries

Yerachmiel Lopin's flights of fantasy and outright lies are getting worse. Having pinned his hopes on the CBD to destroy the seminaries and the IBD - he has been had a tough time of it since the CBD joined the IBD and issued a joint psak that was similar to what the IBD has been saying all along. Due to the odious task of having to read through Lopin's posting, I am going to start this post and add more material to it later.

 Lopin's lies: "...Daniel Eidensohn’s Daas Torah Blog, which has always been the voice of Meisels and guilty seminary staff as argued by Rabbi Chaim Malinowitz. Their agenda has always been to minimize acknowledging Meisels’ sexual abuse (even though he faces civil court charges of rape and attempted rape by two of his alumni)."

Lopin's strategy has always been to present conjecture with wildly exaggerated claims presented as facts. I have simply stated that evidence is needed before accepting allegations as true. Contrary to Lopin, conjecture is not the same as evidence. Lopin seems to believe that insisting on evidence is to "minimize acknowledging Meisels sexual abuse" and is therefore wrong. What has become clear to mostly everyone except for Lopin and his peanut gallery - the case does not involve the rape of 40 girls, nor does it involved the cover up of sexual abuse by the staff nor is there any evidence to support the absurd RICO claims that the seminaries were constituted as houses of prostitution for Meisels pleasure and to defraud the parents. What is clear is that Meisles is unfit to be in chinuch and he has been removed. Lopin is not a prophet and his visions and his reckless allegations are not the same as truth. Lopin's filthy claims and attempt to paint me as a supporter of Meisles should be beneath response - but there seem to be some naive people who forget that guilt is established by evidence not by the rantings of  demagogues.
 
Lopin's lies:"The enlarged beis din’s majority was guided by a Haredi “sixth Shulchan Aruch” that no scandal can ever be allowed to close up institutions that provides jobs to people from choshuv (important) families. Under this perversion of commonsense and halacha (Jewish law), the reputations and jobs of important families overrode the safety and well-being of students...."

There is no such rule. Rav Sternbuch told me explicitly that the concern for viability of a yeshiva never takes precedent over the welfare of a child. There was never a time that the IBD or the CBD felt it was permissible to endanger a student for the sake of the existence of the seminaries. Here is a clear example of Lopin making up a lie rather than accept the fact that the seminaries are in fact not a danger to their students.

Lopin's lies: "How in the world did a yeshiva get so entangled with a cell phone company. The lawsuit by Yarmish/Zap Cellular alleges RICO violations. Eidensohn screamed “blood libel” when Yarmish, Meisels and Rabbi Gartner were sued by parents unable to get refunds after they withdrew their daughters per the psak of the CBD. One Jew’s heter arcaos (permission to sue a Jew in secular courts) is another man’s blood libel."

Lopin is lying when he indicates that I am against RICO suits. If Lopin bothered reading what I wrote I objected to the RICO suit which alleged a conspiracy of Meisels creating the seminaries solely as houses of prostitution for his pleasure and to defraud parents. Such a claim is not only absurd, it is a tremendous slander for all the girls who have attended the seminaries as well as the staff. It is an incredible chilul hashem. That criticism has absolutely nothing to do with the appropriateness of RICO suites in general. Lopin cares nothing for the collateral damage he causes as long as he can slander chareidim.

Lopin's lies: "Yes, Malinowitz and Eidensohn’s nephew are the two most important political figures in Haredi Bet Shemesh. They partner on all sorts of projects including schools, and are now talking about a hareidi initiative on sex abuse to undercut Magen which does support reporting sex crimes to the police."

My nephew  is not "now talking about a hareidi initiative on sex abuse to undercut Magen  which does support reporting sex crimes to the police." 1)His program has been in operation for a long time. 2) Furthermore his program is not undercutting Magen nor was it created to undermine Magen - as can be seen from my recent post about his program which includes a letter from one of Magen's staff. 3) Furthermore my nephew's program in fact works with the police and reports sex crimes to the police. Not all parents want to go to the police and that is true of Magen's clients also. Lopin tries to create hatred and divisiveness rather than taking the trouble of understanding the facts.


Lopin's lies:  "Now we are again assured by Eidensohn that the seminaries are sold to Rabbi Gedaliah Weinberger “a prominent member of Agudas Yisroel.” For the record, he is “prominent” because he is wealthy, not because he has any educational credentials. He was Chair of Agudah’s lay board until 2013. He did Agudah’s dirty work of maintaining connections with mayoral candidate Anthony Weiner after an ugly sexting scandal, because Jews owed him “hakkaros hatov” (gratitude) and “the other candidates are not much better then him in terms of behaviors.” He sounds like is the perfect man to replace Elimelech Meisels. "

Here Lopin see fit to smear Rabbi Weinberger by equating his role in dealing with Anthony Weiner as a community leader with the immoral activity of Meisels.  Yes Jewish community leaders need to deal with a variety of immoral characters who hold views and conduct themselves in disgusting ways. Whether there was a need to give aid and comfort to Anthony Weiner is a legitimate question that good men can strongly disagree. However that provides no justification for equating Rabbi Weinberger to Meisels and basically saying that the new owner of the seminaries is no different than the former one.

Lopin's lies: "Eidensohn’s “leak” is once again, highly selective, and actually undermines his arguments. Remember, the dispute initially pitted 3 rabbis of the CBD against 3 rabbis of the IBD. Rabbi Gartner refused to join the dissent of the IBD leaving only Rabbis Shafran and Malinowitz. All we see of the two-rabbi dissent is that they don’t think any seminary staff are culpable, meaning five rabbis including Brudny felt there was some staff culpability. But then we have Malinowitz dissenting from his dissent partner, Shafran, and going solo to declare:...So we now know that 6 out of seven dayanim thought there were red flags. In my opinion the administrators should be in trouble for either willfully ignoring the red flags, or being too color blind or stupid to notice them.

Lopin obvously has not read the full minority opinion and is so obsessed with seeing disputes amongst the dayanim that aren't there that  he grossly misunderstands the last page of the minority pask that I published -  as a dispute between Rav Shafran and Rav Malinowitz. More importantly he falsely characterizes the nature of the joint psak and the nature of the minority dissent. A commentator - Ish - to Lopin's post states:

BTW R’ Malinowitz’s dissent is from the joint psak which finds a need to sanction one of the staff members. After a very long hebrew explanation by R’ Shafran why he finds no need to sanction the person in question — or anyone else — R’ Malinowitz, who in his signature to the main psak [which you posted} writes that he agrees with every word written by R’ Shafran, adds an English summary of what was written in Hebrew by Rav Shafran — it was unquestionably not a dissent[...]

 In response to a ridiculous response by Lopin to the above Ish continues:

I think you are being disingenuous. The whole purpose of a joint beis din was to find some way to get back accreditation for the seminaries. Otherwise, the IBD was ready to clear the seminaries in accordance with the takonos they implemented. The architecht of the joint beit din was Rabbi Gartner. Rabbi Shafran made it clear that only a perversion of halachah allows censure of that staff member (the acrimony to which you refer in an earlier post). Rabbi Gartner made sure that the IBD would allow a vague censure on which everyone could sign. Then CBD dissented with a stronger censure OF ONE PERSON, and the remainder of the IBD dissented on that vague censure, but accepted it as necessary in the real world. You didn’t read the nineteen pages before R’ Malinowitz’s signature. There was nothing substantive added by R’ Malinowitz.

If you want to go with what your eyes see, why does R’ Malinowitz write in his signature to the main ” דעתי במלא המובן כהרר שפרן ואני גם כן כדעת המיעוט והנני חותם בהצטרפות לדעת הרוב “להלכה ולמעשה I’ll allow you to translate that. That’s explicit enough to obviate any need for pilpul about dissent from dissent.

You go with what your eyes see, but don’t force what you see to meet your agenda. This includes R’ Kahane, of whom the JBD writes [and you posted]”ויותר אין להרהר ולפקפק חס ושלום בחזקת כשרותו וצדקתו לחנך בנות ישראל לתורה ולתעודה ” This was bolded in the original and signed by all seven dayanim — and I tell you from what I have indeed seen with my own eyes there is no dissent on that point. If you choose to dissent, then the burden of proof is on you to show proof that people can see with their own eyes that there is any dissent on that point. Even with what is available to the public it is clear that R’ Gartner — at least – is not disgusted by R’ Kahane’s abilities to educate seminary girls.

 [to be continued]

Chareidi therapist accused of abusing clients

YNET

המטפל החרדי חשוד בבעילת מטופלת ובביצוע מעשים מגונים במטופלות נוספות. החשוד, תושב נווה יעקב בן 44, נעצר השבוע בידי ימ"ר ירושלים בחשד שביצע מעשים מגונים במטופלות שלו ואף שכב עם אחת מהן. על פי החשדות, הוא שכר חדרי טיפול בעמותה חרדית שנמצאת בגבעת שאול ושם ככל הנראה ביצע את זממו.

תחילת הפרשה לפני מספר שבועות, אז התקבלה בימ"ר ירושלים תלונה של אישה חרדית שטוענת כי במסגרת טיפול שעברה אצל החשוד הוא ביצע בה מעשים מגונים. בין השאר סיפרה האישה כי הוא נהג להושיב אותה עליו וללטף אותה מתחת לבגדים. מיד לאחר קבלת התלונה התחילה המשטרה בחקירה. החוקרים בראשותו של ראש מחלק נוער חשיפה, רפ"ק גולן מאירי, הגיעו לאישה נוספת שטענה כי הוא נגע באיבר מינה.

בחקירתו טען החשוד כי כל מה שביצע היה כחלק מטיפול וללא כל קונוטציה מינית. במשטרה ממשיכים בחקירה, ובין השאר מנסים להגיע למתלוננות נוספות ובודקים את האישורים הנדרשים לביצוע טיפולים כמו אלה שביצע החשוד. 

Rav Dovid Eidensohn: Shalom Bayis Beis Din - Chol HaMoed Shiurim

Rabbi Dovid Eidensohn will give free conference call shiurim three times Chol HaMoed at 2 PM, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday bli neder. The topic will be how to deal with difficulties in marriage and how to avoid them. Difficulties are always available but unfortunately what people often do to solve their problems make bigger problems. To join the class by telephone dial 605-562-3130 and then enter the code 411161# . The class will be recorded and some of it will be muted but some of it will be open to questions and comments.

The programs discussed in these classes will be the basic ideas of Shalom Bayis Beth Din. We mention also that our program of everyone learning Even Hoezer, beginning with Rambam Noshim and then the Tur on marriage and family and then the Shulchan Aruch began with a few people who are very interested in this. First read through the Rambam Noshim, then the Tur on Even Hoezer, then the Shulchan Aruch Even Hoezer.

If you learn the Rambam it is easy to learn the Tur and if you learn the Tur and the Rambam it is easy to learn the Shulchan Aruch. From that one can go into the gemoras and the poskim and get Semicha on Even Hoezer. It is our hope that those who study Rambam, etc., will be candidates for our Shalom Bayis Beth Dins. But everyone who skims the Rambam, Tur and Shulchan Aruch even without going further has a basic knowledge of the laws of marriage and family which is our main goal.

Memories are readily implanted by psychotherapy and leading questions- Dr. Loftus

This book is highly recommended and brought about a major change in attitutde towards the understanding of recall and witness idenitification in criminal cases. It is also a stinging indictment against psychotherapists who help clients "discover" or "recover" memories which are then used to make criminal charges against others.

She also records the outrage of "victims" and "abuse advocates" against her. They can not accept that an authority on memory can challenge the validity of memories recovered through therapy and hypnosis which have no independent verification. The "victim" is supposed to be always right because they claim to be the victim. While she fully agrees that much abuse occurs - but she also demands solid evidence before convicting some of being the abuser.

http://faculty.washington.edu/eloftus/Articles/lof93.htm

One therapist, who has treated more than 1,500 incest victims, openly discussed her method of approaching clients ( Forward and Buck, 1988 ). "You know, in my experience, a lot of people who are struggling with many of the same problems you are, have often had some kind of really painful things happen to them as kids–maybe they were beaten or molested. And I wonder if anything like that ever happened to you?" (p. 161). Other clinicians claim to know of therapists who say "Your symptoms sound like you've been abused when you were a child. What can you tell me about that?" ( Trott, 1991a, p. 18 ); or worse, "You sound to me like the sort of person who must have been sexually abused. Tell me what that bastard did to you" ( Davis, 1991, p. 82 ).

At least one clinician advocated "It is crucial...that clinicians ask about sexual abuse during every intake" ( Frawley, 1990 ). The rationale for this prescription is that a clinician who asks conveys to the client that the client will be believed and that the clinician will join with the client in working through the memories and emotions linked with childhood sexual abuse. Asking about sexual abuse along with a list of other past life events makes sense given the high instance of actual abuse, but the concern is how the issue is raised and what therapists do when clients initially deny an abusive past.

Evidence exists that some therapists do not take no for an answer. One therapist (who otherwise seemed sensitive to problems of memory tampering) still recommended "When the client does not remember what happened to her, the therapist's encouragement to `guess' or `tell a story' will help the survivor regain access to the lost material" ( Olio, 1989, p. 6 ). She went on to provide the example of a client who suspected sexual abuse but had no memories. The client had become extremely anxious at a social gathering in the presence of a three-year-old girl. She had no idea why she was upset except that she wanted the little girl to keep her dress down. When encouraged in therapy to tell a story about what was going to happen to the little girl, the client ultimately related with tears and trembling one of the first memories of her own abuse. She used the story to "bypass her cognitive inhibitions and express the content of the memory" (p. 6). Later she "integrated the awareness that she was indeed the little girl in the story" (p. 6). One cannot help but wonder about these mental fantasy exercises in light of known research showing that the simple act of imagination makes an event subjectively more likely (e.g., Sherman, Cialdini, Schwartzman,

Even if the therapist does not encourage the client to guess or tell a story, stories sometimes get told in the form of client dreams. If discussions of incest go on during the day, and day residue gets into the dreams at night, it would not be surprising to see that dreams of incest might result. Poston and Lison (1990) described a woman with "repressed memories" of incest who reported a dream about watching a little girl ice skate on a frozen river. In her dream, the woman tried desperately to warn the child that monsters and snakes were making their way through the ice to devour her. Although frightened, the woman was powerless and could not warn the innocent child. A few days later, the client began remembering incest from her childhood. Knowing she had "a trusted relationship with a therapist and a survivor's group that would understand and accept her" (p. 197), the memories began to flow.

Examples of therapists interpreting dreams as signs of memory of abuse can be found throughout the literature. One clinician described with pride how she communicated to her male patient the basis for her suspicions that he had been abused: "On many occasions, I explained that these dreams had preserved experiences and impressions of an indelible nature" ( M. Williams, 1987, p. 152 ).

Frederickson (1992), who has worked with many incest survivors, has also described in detail her methods of getting patients to remember. She recommended that the therapist guide the patient "to expand on or explore images that have broken through to the conscious mind, allowing related images of the abuse to surface. The process lets the survivor complete the picture of what happened, using a current image or flash as a jumping-off point" (p. 97). She also suggested that the therapist help the patient expand on the images and sensations evoked by dreams "to shed light on or recover our repressed memories" (p. 98). She extolled the virtues of hypnosis to "retrieve buried memories" (p. 98) and recommended that patients "jot down suspected memories of abuse you would like to explore. Include your own felt sense of how you think you were abused" (p. 102).

Even if clinicians are not the first to bring up sexual abuse, they will often reinforce what begins as a mere suspicion. One client developed the idea that she might have been sexually abused, tried hypnosis to help her recover memories, and obsessed for years. Only after her therapist stated that she believed sexual assault was "indeed possible" and cited nightmares, phobia of men, and other symptoms as evidence did the client come up with some specific memories ( Schuker, 1979, p. 569 ). [...]

Why Would Therapists Suggest Things to Their Patients?

The core of treatment, it is widely believed, is to help clients reclaim their "traumatic past" ( Rieker and Carmen, 1986, p. 369 ). Therapists routinely dig deliberately into the ugly underbelly of mental life. They dig for memories purposefully because they believe that in order to get well, to become survivors rather than victims, their clients must overcome the protective denial that was used to tolerate the abuse during childhood ( Sgroi, 1989, p. 112 ). Memory blocks can be protective in many ways, but they come at a cost; they cut off the survivors from a significant part of their past histories and leave them without good explanations for their negative self-image, low self-esteem, and other mental problems. These memories must be brought into consciousness, not as an end in itself but only insofar as it helps the survivors acknowledge reality and overcome denial processes that are now dysfunctional (p. 115).

Another reason therapists may be unwittingly suggesting ideas to their clients is that they have fallen prey to a bias that affects all of us, known as the "confirmatory bias" ( Baron, Beattie, and  Hershey, 1988 ). People in general, therapists included, have a tendency to search for evidence that confirms their hunches rather than search for evidence that disconfirms. It is not easy to discard long-held or cherished beliefs, in part because we are eager to verify those beliefs and are not inclined to seek evidence that might disprove them [...]

Psak saying the seminaries staff acted properly and they are a good place for Torah education

Hopefully this psak will settle the issue of the seminaries. This is the final page of the 18 page psak presenting the view of Rav Shafran and Rav Malinowitz. I debated with myself whether to post all 18 pages where the testimony of the witnesses was presented and analyzed, where questions were raised and different ways were discussed of viewing the case.

However I decided that this together with the final psak of the joint beis din that the seminaries are safe and are good places for Torah education and that none of the staff need be fired should be sufficient and clear. In addition the joint beis din called for a restoration of college grants. My understanding is that in fact the college funding has been restored and that contrary to dire predictions [or rather nasty hopes] of some outsiders - all the seminaries are doing well with healthy enrollments and the excellent staff continues as before - without anyone being fire, suspended or even censured. It is time to stop the negative conjecture and accept that the seminaries - after a through investigation - have been cleared. In addition they have taken very strong positive steps to ensure the well being of all the students - a significant advancement beyond other seminaries.

Finally I have been informed that the seminaries have recently been sold to Rabbi Gedalya Weinberger, prominent member of Agudas Yisroel. All the seminaries have quality groups and nice quantity groups as well and Excelsior college is back for all seminaries. Finally  Binas is opening a Shana Bais seminary on top of its existing upcoming Shana Alef. New program is called " Havineini,  - unto more Binah"

שיעור הלכות גיטין #2 TONIGHT 5 PM instructions below‎

Shiur tonight [Wednesday March 31 5 p.m. New York time] with Rabbi Dovid E. Eidensohn about coerced Gittin and the various opinions.


To participate in Shiur on Laws of Gittin especially forced Gittin call 605-562-3130 then type in code 822322#.

If  you are typing or making any noise be sure to mute your phone. We hope to record it. We will make breaks for questions. Tonight we study about a woman who claims that her husband disgusts her. May she coerce a GET from her husband? What circumstances are involved and what opinions? 

What is the halacha in the Shulchan Aruch?

For questions and comments call Rabbi Dovid Eidensohn at 845-578-1917.

Thank you and a Good Yom Tov.

Rav Zeff Lev - How to Fulfill One's Obligation to Feel YOU Left Mitzrayim:

Click to play audio recording

President of World Jewish Congress, Ronald Lauder, visits Vienna

President of the World Jewish Congress, Ronald Lauder addressed the Viennese Jewish community at an event held Sunday evening, an informal dialogue with former President of the community, Ariel Muzicant.

Mr Lauder, son of Estee Lauder, founder of the Estee Lauder Companies, spoke about his time in Vienna as US ambassador from 1986 to 1987. Other topics included anti-semitism in Europe as well as Lauder's peace negotiations with Syrian leader Hafez al-Asad in 1998.

Mr Lauder spoke proudly about his philanthropic work to revive Jewish life in Europe and the 17 schools and institutions he has founded, including the Lauder Business School in Vienna. The only problem, he admitted, was that students were leaving for the US after their studies.

'We have enough people in the States,' he said. 'Young people are needed here to build up the community.'

Mr Muzicant spoke about the Viennese approach to integrating outsiders.

'Our community, more than any other European city does the most to welcome in new immigrants and integrate them into our community. We are a community who really care about everyone,' he said.

At the end of the discussion, the tragic plight of UK mother, Beth Alexander was raised with Mr Lauder. The President acknowledged that he was aware of the situation and told Beth personally he would 'look into it further.'