Kabbalist Rabbi Accused Of "Massive" Fraud Almost Killed By Alleged Victim

"The day my daughter died, I decided to bury him," said Menachem Ellowich, a haredi resident of Brooklyn, referrring to Rabbi Elazar Abuhatzeira. A few weeks ago, a man armed with a knife tried to do just that.

N.Y. Jews accuse Be'er Sheva Kabbalist of massive fraud
Natasha Mozgovaya • Ha'aretz

NEW YORK - "The day my daughter died, I decided to bury him," said Menachem Ellowich, an ultra-Orthodox resident of Brooklyn, referrring to Rabbi Elazar Abuhatzeira, a kabbalist from Be'er Sheva. A few weeks ago, a man armed with a knife tried to do just that.

Ellowich is trolling the Internet to find others hurt by Abuhatzeira - others who, like him, paid tens of thousands of dollars for broken promises. Meanwhile, his pile of papers is growing: printouts from charitable associations, taped conversations with the rabbi's representatives in the United States and with other victims.

Ellowich believes that his 24-year-old daughter died after Abuhatzeira cursed her. But if he cannot get the rabbi convicted of manslaughter, at least he wants to get back the $100,000 he paid for the blessing that would end his daughter's barrenness.

Ellowich first heard about Abuhatzeira in 2004 through a friend, Chezkel Roth. "I didn't know a thing about him except that his grandfather was the Baba Sali," Ellowich said.

The rabbi told Ellowich that to receive the desired blessing, he would have to bring him $100,000 within five days. "You have to believe in me," Ellowich quoted the rabbi as saying. "I'm a great righteous person and I promise you your daughter will have children and grandchildren. Her luck will change. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Don't tell anyone, just bring the money."

"I don't know how he does it, but I felt I had met an angel, or God Himself," Ellowich said. "I don't know how he hypnotized me. He probably makes a million dollars a day with that magic."

Ellowich said he borrowed money from friends, one of whom demanded $7,000 in interest. "Then I came to him with the check and he said: 'You're late, but I'll do it for you anyway.' With the check in his hand, he stood up with this hood over his face where you see only his lips, and said in a loud voice in Hebrew: 'I say to you, as you are standing here, that I, Rabbi Elazar Abuhatzeira, in the presence of Hezkel Roth and Menachem Ellowich and God, attest in the name of God that your daughter will be healed and will have children. You have nothing to worry about, it's in my hands now.'"

Shortly after the blessing, his daughter met a young ultra-Orthodox man. "When they got married, Rabbi Abuhatzeira sent a message through his sexton that the miracle would take six months," Ellowich said. But the months passed and nothing happened.

When the rabbi was next in New York, Ellowich went to see him to find out why the blessing had not been fulfilled. "He said to me, 'why didn't you invite me to the wedding? I told you then to come in five days and you were late. You brought the check at 3 P.M. Now you have to bring me another $100,000 in three days, and the promise will come true. You have a choice. Either bring me the money and you'll have a baby, or don't bring me the money and you won't. Her husband will leave her and she won't have children.' I didn't bring him the money. There were other people waiting in line, sick and depressed. He just takes control over you in a moment of despair, when you feel lost."

But eventually Ellowich gave in and decided to pay. "I took another loan and went with my brother to Israel, to Be'er Sheva. The rabbi told me, 'I promised your daughter she would have children and you have nothing to worry about.'" The rabbi gave Ellowich three bottles of wine and instructed him to drink one of them when his daughter gave birth to a son, as promised. "I'm keeping the bottle as evidence," Ellowich said.

Two years passed, and still no pregnancy. "When the rabbi came to New York, I went to his agent and asked to see him. He said, 'the rabbi doesn't want to hear from you any more.' I asked if my son-in-law could see him, and he answered, 'if your son-in-law wants to see the rabbi, he'll have to pay at least $500.'"

The son-in-law, Y., said the rabbi received him after a two-hour wait and took the check, which was made out to the "Avraham Avinu Association." He said the rabbi told him, "'If you want a son, go tell your wife's father to give me $100,000. If not, your wife will never have children.' He tore the check into three pieces, gave them to me and pushed me out the door."

Ellowich said his son emerged shocked and crying from the meeting and told him Abuhatzeira had cursed him.

The curse in action

When Y. got home, his wife urged him to tell her what had happened. When he finally did, she began to cry. "In March 2008, after I went to work, she died," Y. said.

"Ever since my daughter found out about the curse, she lost the will to live," Ellowich said. "She would cry all day. She started to hemorrhage, she was depressed. The day I found her on the floor in the bathroom, I called an ambulance, but they couldn't revive her. To the day she died, she carried the blessing around in her purse."

The doctors said her daughter had died of an aneurysm, but Ellowich disagrees: "Rabbi Abuhatzeira killed my daughter and stole the money."

Ellowich began a private war against Abuhatzeira, exploring and documenting the rabbi's modus operandi. "He tells people, 'I'm holy, I'm close to God.'" Ellowich said he has dozens of testimonies from people who say that within a few minutes, they were writing a check. He began taking a small tape recorder to his meetings with Abuhatzeira's agents. He also demanded his money back, to no avail.

He approached a Jewish newspaper, a local Jewish politician and finally, the police, who opened a case against Abuhatzeira.

Ellowich admitted he is afraid and believes he is being followed.

He even went to see the rabbi's brother, David Abuhatzeira, in Nahariya. "I don't speak to him, he's a rotten apple," Ellowich quoted the brother saying of the kabbalist. Ellowich said other Israeli rabbis also told him Abuhatzeira is a "bad man."

This year, for the first time, Abuhatzeira did not come on his annual December visit to Brooklyn.

Ellowich's story recalls the pattern of behavior by Abuhatzeira that Haaretz detailed in a series of articles in 1997: He tries to impress people, persuades them to write a check in exchange for a blessing, obtains more money and threatens a curse if necessary.

Another man said his father paid Abuhatzeira for a blessing, but the rabbi threatened that if he married the woman he loved, he would have defective children. "That man and his gangsters have to be stopped," the man said.

Meir G., from New Jersey, said he heard the rabbi could perform miracles. "When I met him for the first time, he described passionately how my life would change for the better. I was filled with joy and optimism. In summing up, the rabbi said these things would only come true if I paid him $100,000. At that point, it was impossible to refuse. That same day, I started sending him the money. At some point I couldn't go on, and Mr. Harman [Abuhatzeira's aide] threatened that if I stopped, 'your son will die.' I am a religious man and I took the threats very seriously. Since I met him, my life has been a disaster."

M.V., 38, from Brooklyn, never filed a police complaint. But he did supply an affidavit stating that he had given more than $500,000 to Abuhatzeira in exchange for the promise of a baby that was never born. M.V., who has since gone into bankruptcy, said his wife and father will not let him complain because they are afraid of a curse. "But I don't believe in the curse," he said. "If his blessings were a fraud, so are the curses."

M.V. said he met with the rabbi frequently in Be'er Sheva, and only slowly realized that his promises were hollow. "Abuhatzeira certainly has charisma. The way he says Kiddush, the way he preaches and sings, even the way he drinks whiskey and vodka with you."

M.V. said he approached the Israeli tax authorities but has received no response. "If the cases were closed [in Israel], apparently he knows who to bribe. But I believe that up there, he'll get what's coming to him."

[Hat Tip: CS.]

Comments

[danny]

I couldn't even read the whole thing, it was so depressing.

[Yochanan Lavie]

Abu-chutzpah is more like it.

[jake]

I have met both this Abuchatzerah and his borthe R. david Abuchatzerah of Nahariya.

R. David has peopel from all over Israel coming to him, and people from all over the world.You are not asked for money in advance nor does he ask for money.Nobody mentions money to you.If you want to make a contribution he does have a box off to the side where he will put aside the envelope or cash you give him.The Israeli before me gave him 50 shekels.

While I was there the Chief Rabbi of Nahariya came to meet with him , and two members of knesset one of whom was not Orthodox as well as several senior army officers.

There was a waiting room with about 50 people in it waiting to meet with him when I arrived.

[steve]

Tameem Tihye Im Hashem Eloikecha. Nobody needs to use these charlatans.

[chabadnik attorney]

Not asking for money when you come to see him doesn't disprove the allegations. He could be targeting wealthy people or scouting out people who will pay sell their kidney for a child and approaching those people privately.

The story is very weird though. They don't believe in the blessing but they believe there is a curse. Am I missing something here?

[effie]

Throw him in prison! Part of the fraud was committed in the US. Has he gone to the US authorities?

[effie]

Wow. He was written up as a crook in a major Israeli paper? Well, 1997 is a long time ago technologically speaking. Now there is the internet. Probably one of the many reasons they want to ban or censor the internet. One crook protects the other crook.

[chabadnik attorney]

Effie, I agree.

[harold]

The rabbi told Ellowich that to receive the desired blessing, he would have to bring him $100,000 within five days. "You have to believe in me," Ellowich quoted the rabbi as saying. "I'm a great righteous person and I promise you your daughter will have children and grandchildren. Her luck will change. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Don't tell anyone, just bring the money."

"Don't tell anyone" and he bought this to the tune of 100 grand - brother.

[kabalacrook]

ABUChazer !

[zach]

Scammers have no lack of stupid people to rely upon.

[effie]

Even intelligent people will fall victim to scammers when they are desperate. When a loved one is sick and/or dying - you will do crazy things.

[yudel]

The tragedy is a horror story and different scam than the usual frum ponzi scheme. For the gentleman mention the other mkubal you create a chillul Hashem for mentioning that 'hey there are good guys in the same breath as this horror.'

We don't give a damn about your good guy in this context. We all know good people. Stop being an apologist. I assume you did this in honesty but buck up buddy and check your heart.

That is like going into shiva room with parents who lost their little ones and exclaiming 'don't worry your kids are in shamayim and they are better off.

This was not the place to start defending. it is completely inappropriate and degrading even though the victims are not sitting and reading this blog.

[ted]

What foolishness to believe in the
rantings of a fool proclaiming to be
G-d's mouthpiece. Read the the books of
the prophets, none ever asked for money
in exchange for a good prophecy.
The bigger fools are those giving
money to this putz. These actions illustate
the expression of Phineas T Barneiuim
" A Sucker Is Born Every Minute!"
What ever happened to G-d's unwritten
eleventh commandment " Thou Shall Not Be
A Fool" . G-d wroughts miracles,healing,
not the words of a man,be he a rabbi,mystic,
or monk.

[soso]

"The doctors said her daughter had died of an aneurysm, but Ellowich disagrees: "Rabbi Abuhatzeira killed my daughter and stole the money.""

Well, in Nigeria you could perhaps condemned a "sorcerer" for a curse.

In democratic countries, this is not possible, fortunately.

In this case, I think that the accuser is worse than the accused.

Just accuse him of ripping off 200'000$.

[chaim]

this is the most retarded story i have ever read. a woman who knows that the rabiis belssing did f all dies of depression because the same rabbi curses her. how bizarre.

[Yakira]

WELL PUT TED!! This con man needs to be placed under the jail. The bottom line is that this so-called kabbalist took advantage of these people's desperation and vulnerability.

[Shelomo Alfassá]

Abuhatzeira MURDERED in Israel

http://www.vosizneias.com/88255/2011/07/28/jerusalem-isareli-kabalist-rabbi-stabbed-to-death-rl

[nobody]

One needs to understand that when one gives money to a Tsadik after he has blessed him is a seal that one does up in the Heavens....by all means one needs to speak to Hashem directly but we all know that every blessing that one gets is a blessing and we are not to undermine a blessing from a simple person.....
Of course a blessing from a Tsadik is on a higher level.
What we should do is stop this Lashon Hara that has destryed our nation...we were not there and we do not know .....zip our mouth...no need for slander and Chilul Hashem