A Desecration Of God's Name In London

"There are some sins one cannot be rehabilitated from. One who abuses one's religious office in order to gain sexual favors cannot repent and then continue to serve. Such people need to be permanently and completely removed from ever serving in a religious capacity. In corrupting their positions as spiritual leaders they are in essence making a mockery out of God. In terms of the sins allegedly committed, the case of [Rabbi Chaim] Halpern is not dissimilar to that of the sons of Eli the High Priest. In how it was dealt with, however, the two cases differ considerably."

Rabbi Levi Brackman

Rabbi Levi Brackman writes:

…There is the famous story, found in the Book of Samuel, where sons of Eli the High Priest used their priestly positions to gain sexual favors from women who came to the Temple to offer sacrifices. The venerable Eli the High Priest confronted his sons telling them, “No, my sons, for the rumor which I hear the Lord's people spreading is not good.”

Eli the High Priest did not need hard evidence in order to confront his sons. He relied upon and believed the rumors that were spreading. Eli then tried to convince his sons to repent. But, they didn’t listen to their father, nor does it say that they admitted their sins. The surprise, however, is the last part of this narrative, which explains that the sons of Eli would not repent because God wanted to kill them (Samuel 1, Chapter 2:22-25).
 
This is taken to mean that God hardened their heart to repentances and they were therefore killed. All the commentators are puzzled. Did God really want them to die as sinners rather than remaining alive and returning to a path of righteousness?

The answer is clear: There are some sins one cannot be rehabilitated from. One who abuses one's religious office in order to gain sexual favors cannot repent and then continue to serve. Such people need to be permanently and completely removed from ever serving in a religious capacity. In corrupting their positions as spiritual leaders they are in essence making a mockery out of God.

In terms of the sins allegedly committed, the case of Halpern is not dissimilar to that of the sons of Eli the High Priest. In how it was dealt with, however, the two cases differ considerably. In the Book of Samuel, Eli took the rumors seriously and confronted his sons. In the case of Halpern, his father, the venerable Chanoch Halpern, has dismissed the allegations and insists that his son is a Tzadik (righteous).

With regard to the sons of Eli, the entire Jewish community was united in their outrage. With Halpern, there are multiple religious leaders in the London Jewish community who have signed a letter defending him and his continued right to serve in a religious capacity.

The story of the sons of Eli teaches us that religious leaders are held to higher standards and must be completely and permanently removed from their religious positions based on rumors of sexual abuse alone.

It is clear that the allegations against Halpern are more than rumors, even if they have not been proven in a court of law. The fact that Halpern is still serving as a rabbi, and that his father and other rabbis are still defending him, is not only a disgrace to the community, it is a disgrace to the Torah and a huge desecration of God’s name.

Comments

[gezha]

a lubavitcher that talks sense ... i dont know how he made it on FM . scotty asleep at the wheel???

glad you made this smart voice public.

ps he is actually from england so he may know some of the players. not sure just speculation

[jancsibacsi]

Lets keep in mind that in their eyes they are god how on earth can you justify such behaviours as protecting molesters and punishing the victim,to define god they have to act the part so if they get away with horrendous behaviour and are not punished like in the past then they fell omnipotent in other words god like ,especially one cloaking himself in the garbs of holiness in short hes got it made no one dares to challenge a godlike figure.

[firth]

A native of London, Brackman studied at Yeshivot in Israel, America and Canada and has taught classes in Halacha, Talmud, prayer and Jewish mysticism at Yeshivat Hadar Hatorah in New York and at the Mayanot Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem. He received rabbinical ordination from Rabbi Zalman Nechemia Goldberg and Rabbi Mordechai Ashkenazi of the Tzemach Tzedek rabbinical college in the Old City of Jerusalem and has a graduate degree from University College London.
Levi Brackman comes from a family of seven boys and two girls. Four of his brothers are rabbis, including Rabbi Eli Brackman, director of Chabad Society and The David Slager Jewish Student Centre both at Oxford University, UK.

So he gets it all wrong. The name chanoch is wrong it is Chune Halpern.
As someone from the UK and a rabbi there, he ought to get that right at least.
The story in t'nach he also gets wrong. The gemoro says they didnt do the offerings on time and therefore their husbands couldnt sleep with them.
The reason his father doesnt admonish him is because he doesnt believe the stories
unlike Eli.
He should keep to his Jewish 'mysticism' together with all the other charlatans and not mix in to 'simple' things way above his level.

[ca]

B"H.

And firth, whats the "Gemoro"? Jerk.

[firth]

Ca If you dont gemoro you shouldnt be posting here on a Jewish blog.
I stated what the gemoro says so whats your stupid question.

[firth]

http://www.marbitz.com/royal/royal_accusing.pdf

The Talmud
6
relates: “Anyone who says that the sons of Eli sinned
7
is surely mistaken...so how, then, does one understand the words ‘that they consorted with the women...’ (I Shmuel 2; 22)? Since they (the sons of Eli) delayed processing the women’s offerings such that they (the women) couldn’t (immediately) return to their husbands, it is considered by the Tanach as though they had
consorted with the women.”
So they weren’t so quick in their work. But how does that explain the text’s harsh language? Is it
reasonable to compare these administrative delays to adultery?
It’s reasonable. If nothing else, such a comparison highlights the sanctity of a Jewish marriage and
how inappropriate it is for anyone to come between a man and his wife...even inadvertently and even
briefly. The privacy and independence of a Jewish family are considered of prime importance in Jewish
thought. Compromising the private nature of a marriage is therefore tantamount to stepping between a
man and his wife.
The Ralbag
8
further explains that Eli’s sons’ laziness, besides causing inconvenience and
disruption for Jews visiting Shilo (the site of the tabernacle), also demonstrated a profound lack of respect
for, and understanding of, the Divine service with which the two had been entrusted. A priest who lacks
sensitivity for the significance of his job is a very poor priest indeed. What kind of an image does he
present to the many Jews looking to him for guidance?
9
5
See Tosafos (הלכה מורה :לא ברכות) where we see that Eli was the generation’s pre-eminent scholar and the natural choice
as mentor for the young Shmuel.
6
TB Shabbos 55b

[Peri Gee]

Actually, firth, you are wrong. R Chaim Halpern's father is R Elchonon, usually abbreviated to R Chune. As it happens the Av Beis Din who was the one of the driving forces in exposing R Chaim's aveiros is Dayan Chanoch Ehrentreu.

Of course, the names and even the people involved are insignificant when compared with a) the gravity of Halpern's crimes and b) the coverup that the Charedi community in London perpetuated for more than 10 years. Sadly, the unworldly rabbonim seem to think that sweeping the dirt under the carpet will conceal the truth. It never does and as history has shown, when the coverup is itself exposed, all that happens is that more people get dragged down with the original offender.

[Shmarya]

Posted by: firth | December 23, 2012 at 05:28 PM

What a disingenuous piece of crap you are.

You cited Baruch Clinton's recent book and his understanding of the passage in Tanach, his understanding of the "gemoro."

In doing so you negate the other understandings of Tanach and the Gemara, treating them as if they don't exist.

You're scum, firth. And I doubt this is the first time someone has pointed that out to you.

[Isidore]

Actually, the Targum on Samuel 1 (2:22) understands the verse at face value and says: "And Eli was very old and heard all that his sons had done unto Israel, that they had lain with women who came to pray at the gate of the Tabernacle of Meeting".
So there you have it: Not all the sages held of the "Eino Ela To'eh" maxim of the Gemara.

[Moishe Kaptzan]

well for what it is worth levi brackman is a rogue. His influence extends as far as getting posted on failedmessiah. Sad really. He never quite made it to where he thought he would. Out from UK and now languishing as some wannabe in the backwaters of Colorado he resorts to stupid distortions which only someone like Shmarya would buy into. Fools find company in each other.

[Moishe Kaptzan]

One more thing: Until you deal with your Daddy issues, Shmarya, and your evasive circumcision, these things are always going to haunt you. Start there and you'll sort out your demons. Good luck.

[Ahah!]

Is that why Shmarya has this obsession with Ethiopians and penis-sucking rituals?

[ca]

and the influence of Moshe Kapstan extends as far as typing a post on a blog. You sound like a real loser.

[dh]

Moishe and your trusty side-kick Ahah!, each of your brains weighs one pound. Try to use it more wisely. BTW, the average human brain weighs three pounds.

[Yosef ben Matitya]

gezha
sure he is happy to put down non chabad. let's see him saying the same on his acolytes in australia!

[Brackman's influence]

Actually Brackman's article has been published in other places as well.

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4323081,00.html

http://blogs.denverpost.com/hark/

[disillusioned]

What does it matter how far Brackman's influence extends to?
What he says just makes common sense. The story of Eli and his sons is a good analogy however it is interpreted because it is clear that God is disgusted with the behavior of leaders who abuse their power and take advantage of those who are vulnerable. If you want to interpret that the sons of Eli did not abuse the women sexually but rather just took advantage of them in a non-sexual manner, you still see that God felt that their abuse of power was so corrupt that there was no room for forgiveness. How much more so when the abuse of power does involve sexual abuse!
Additionally, Eli himself is punnished severely for not intervening and stopping his son's corrupt behavior. Similarly,the leadership which allows sexual abuse to go on in the Orthodox community with cover ups and denial is surely deserving of serious punishment.

[Lo K'darkah]

Whatever the merit of Rabbi Brackman's argument, his conclusion regarding teshuvah does not appear correct (and therefore has no source). King David abused his political and spiritual authority for sexual purposes, and his genuine repentance was accepted. There is no sin which genuine teshuvah cannot redeem.

[R]

Lo K'darkah, if u are refering to king david and bat sheva, then it is not the same at all. K.David did not sleep with her while she was married and he actually called her husband back from the army to be with her. Her husband refused claiming he couldn't be with his wife while others were fighting. Which actually was treason, punishable by death. So really K.David could have had him killed. Instead he sent him to the front line and figured that if he is really meant to die, G-d would kill him. He did die and then K.David saught out bat sheva. So how is that similar? The fact he saw her bathing on the roof and fancied her, didn't mean he acted on impulse.

[steven k]

Peri Gee,
Actually, R'Elchonon Halpern is known as R'Chune, which is the hasidic nick name for Elchanan

[firth]

To R
Sorry King David slept with her while her husband was still alive. He only had him killed later which made his previous get retroactive.

[Abracadabra]

disillusioned | December 23, 2012 at 10:09 PM

Excellent!!

[Seraphya]

He has a regular column on ynetnews.com . I could never tell how much he was being honest about and how much he was being an apologist. A bit like Sacks, clearly very smart but afraid of saying what he really thought and sometimes happy to sugar coat things. I am so glad to see the moral clarity in this piece.

And to all the trolls, can you finally see that Shmarya actually cares about the issues he says he does and not about tarballing ?AND that he is happy to point to the good as well as the bad in the dealings with these issues!

[Londoner]

What the hell are you all talking about, Gemora, Torah, T’nach
Most of our so called esteemed leaders don’t seem to follow the laws they preach so what’s it all about

His hands went walkies were they shouldn’t have gone, and he still has a shul, a minyan and followers

A mother told me her son came home from Yeshiva talking all about this story, he said all yeshiva’s are talking and even the Rosh Hyeshiva’s don’t know how to approach it or what to say.

So as usual we leave it for our children to work out for them self’s and were do you think that will lead them

This man CH has brought shame on us, on g’d, on torah and on all rabbis it’s a disgrace that other rabbis have not succeeded in showing the right derech for our children and for our self’s

As long as we tell our children to learn be frum and to follow ???? yes to follow who????????

[Yosef ben Matitya]

influence/shminfluence, he has a column here, he has a column there.
the point is that he is a chabadnik. he sees all the bad in the world, including particularly that of other jews.
that he points out and hilites to show that chabad is free from faults.
typical to chabad, he is conveniently totally blind to their own wrong doings and faults.

[yaakkov ben shlomo]

Yossef ben Matiya, sources within chabad say that brackman left chabad years ago and no longer considers himself a chabadnik.

[KrinskyRules]

@ Yosef ben Matitya

You hit it on the head. I would like to see this loi yutloch Brackman take a position regarding this matter

http://www.chabadinfo.com/?url=article_en&id=29614

Ya and also read the comments on that Article.

Hey Brackman I know you're reading this because you seem desperate for the attention from anywhere --- Why not an article on Krinsky the low life taxi driver for a change. C'mon give us your opinion ...... Oh but you think the Shluchim will give it to you???

You do know you have no respect between them you are a nothing so you really got nothing to loose right ??? you loooozzzzeeer.

[Yosef ben Matitya]

yaakkov ben shlomo | December 24, 2012 at 10:07 AM

sorry, yaakov. nothing personal. but the guy is still sporting the beard of those who collect his lost beard's hairs strands in his copy of chita's. so he may have left chabad east and switched to the chabad of the north west. doesn't make a difference.

[Better than you]

Moshe Kaptzan:
I couldn't say it better myself.
The fact that it p's off the FM community is a good sign!

[Ahavah]

funny, they seem to have made an exception in R. Tropper's case. so much for halachah.