In Wake Of Alleged Mikvah Voyeur Rabbi Arrest, Controversial RCA Rabbi Resigns From Conversion Court After RCA Puts Women On Committee To Revise Conversion Standards

"…[T]he RCA has just appointed a committee “that will review its current Geirus Protocol and Standards (GPS) conversion process and suggest safeguards against possible abuses.” The committee consists of six men and five women, bolstering the trend on the Orthodox left to create quasi-rabbinical functions for women. Is there a role for women to play in “suggest[ing] safeguards against possible abuse”? Probably, although it really is self-understood. But what role can they play in “review[ing]” the GPS conversion process? That is halacha, minhag, psak – a purely rabbinical role.…"

Above: Rabbi Steven Pruzansky

"…I serve on the RCA’s Executive Committee but know almost nothing about the inner workings or decision-making of the RCA. Questions have been raised – in the media, especially – as to what did they know, when did they know it, whom did they inform and what did they do about it? I have implicit trust in my colleagues but those questions deserve answers.…"

–– Rabbi Steven Pruzansky

Today, in the wake of the arrest of Rabbi Barry Freundel, who headed the Rabbinical Council of America's committee to set conversion to Judaism standards and practices, on charges of secretly videotaping nude women in the mikvah (ritual bath) next to his synagogue as they showered in preparation to immerse, Rabbi Steven Pruzansky writes:

After seven years as head of the Bet Din L’Giyur (the conversion court) in Bergen County, under the auspices of the Beth Din of America and the Gerus Protocol and Standards (GPS) adopted by the RCA in 2007, I have decided to resign from the Bet Din. I sent this missive to my supervisors:

“After much deliberation, I have decided to resign as Rosh Bet Din of the RCBC and step down from the Bet Din itself, effective immediately.

    It has been spiritually rewarding to serve in this capacity for the last seven years. I am extremely proud of the professionalism, sensitivity, integrity and fidelity to Halacha of the RCBC Bet Din that I and my colleagues established, and that successfully brought more than 100 gerei Tzedek tachat kanfei hashechina.

     In the current climate, with changes to GPS protocols contemplated, it is an appropriate time for new leadership.

    I wish you all continued hatzlacha.”

In the current cynical climate, I must append the following. Lest anyone gets the wrong impression, and at the risk of sounding silly and self-serving, suffice it to say that I am not resigning because of any scandal. There is no scandal, there was no scandal and (I hope!) there will be no scandal. There is no voyeurism, no embezzlement, no tomfoolery, no abuse, no drug use, no illegal gun possession, no pending arrest, no past arrest, no insensitivity or meanness of spirit, no unpaid parking tickets, and nothing untoward of any kind. It shouldn’t have to be said – no one is perfect, of course – but I try to lead a respectable life.

So why resign, especially as our Bet Din has been held to be a model of professionalism, efficiency, and faithfulness to Torah and derech eretz?

Well, it was and is. We adhered scrupulously to the protocols that were established, and I even served on the committee that established the standards that were then approved by the RCA Executive Committee. We never met any candidate (male or female) alone; indeed, I never did anything alone but always with at least two other colleagues. What happened in DC is simply unthinkable in our context: none of us had a key to the mikveh, we were always there with other women when a female convert was there. It never even dawned on us to meet a convert privately, put them to work in an office, charge them money for our services, meet them outside a formal session of Bet Din, and establish a social or financial relationship with them. Unthinkable – as were the other allegations pending in DC.

We always tried to treat each convert with the utmost sensitivity, sincerity and compassion. For sure, not every candidate became a convert. It is not easy to turn someone away, but fortunately, most of those who ultimately did not convert dropped out themselves. And that is quite understandable. It takes an enormous commitment – a transformation of one’s life – to become a religious Jew. They simply saw that it was not for them, or, on some occasions when there was (or was to be) a Jewish spouse, the Jewish spouse could not commit to living a Torah life.

Most converts – especially those who wish to marry a Jew – tend to exaggerate their readiness for conversion. (Only about 15% of our candidates were non-Jews in a relationship with a Jew.) Most of the other adults were simply non-Jews turned on to Torah. Occasionally they too would try to hasten the process but once they became aware of the breadth of knowledge required by a convert, they would accede. Many said, in one form or another, “I want to get this right. I want to be ready.”

That is what made the moment of giyur so special, so inspiring and so memorable. There were not a few times when the candidate (especially a woman) came to receive her name and our blessing after the immersion, and broke down in tears. Tears of joy and thanksgiving, not tears of abuse and maltreatment. I would share only with my colleagues letters, cards (some people actually put pen to paper) and emails of gratitude from many of our converts for the process, the way they were treated, for the immense spiritual pleasure they now enjoy. Those notes would be a welcome contrast to the open season against rabbis now in full force. I would share them, even anonymously, but for their self-serving nature.

So why resign?

The GPS system that has worked so well for us is about to change. No matter that the system worked quite well, making the conversion process difficult but eminently attainable to the committed, protecting rabbis against abuse by powerful layman (“Convert my future daughter-in-law or you’ll be out of a job!”), and standardizing the requirements for conversion. The latter is the most important consideration, because conversion is not a rabbinical contrivance to decrease the intermarriage rate or facilitate marriages but it is an entrée into the Jewish nation, G-d’s chosen people. It is not a personal, private act of the converter and the convert, but a formal and heartfelt welcome to the Jewish people. It is an act with profound consequences for our nation, and for the convert who now shares our destiny and fate.

We have our rules for citizenship like any nation does, and ours requires, first and foremost, Kabbalat hamitzvot (acceptance of the commandments). Living a full Jewish life requires study, and the policy was always that, aside from rare cases that required special consideration, the minimum period of study was one year. This immediately deflected from the rabbi pressure to perform a quickie conversion. The candidate was tested, informally but regularly, and was expected to be an observant Jew before immersion, the final stage. That always was a sticking point – in the past not every rabbi insisted on a full acceptance of mitzvot, preferring to turn a blind eye or deaf ear. Most candidates accepted the one-year period (the US requires a five-year residency requirement for citizenship!) and most understood that it was because conversion was a momentous act. One recent candidate explained that she first went to a non-Orthodox conversion school, and realized there were no expectations for her at all. Finish the class, and you’re in the club. She intuitively knew that could not be right, and came to our Bet Din.

Beyond that, candidates were always told that the pace of conversion was up to them, and it depended on two factors: knowledge and commitment. The more they grew in knowledge and the deeper in commitment, the closer they were to conversion. It was and is a reasonable approach.

On the other hand, once or twice candidates came and said that they are getting married in six weeks, and one party needed to convert. They were not observant, did not wish to be, and they were not accommodated. The serious among them, of course, postponed their weddings, waited, went through the system, and established Torah homes. Beautiful. As it should be.

The GPS system did not fail in DC; a person failed. That person allegedly breached every norm in our protocols. There is an impulse – quite common on one side of the political divide in America – that if someone breaks the law, what is needed is a restatement of the law, or another law. But if laws stopped criminals, there would be no criminals. We have plenty of laws.

The GPS system has always had its detractors, inside and outside the RCA, and those detractors are exploiting this crisis to change the system. (Those who have obsessively focused on the Rabbanut angle always missed the point, and Israel is now dealing with its own conversion crisis with issues regarding standards that are not dissimilar to ours.) Thus, the RCA has just appointed a committee “that will review its current Geirus Protocol and Standards (GPS) conversion process and suggest safeguards against possible abuses.” The committee consists of six men and five women, bolstering the trend on the Orthodox left to create quasi-rabbinical functions for women. Is there a role for women to play in “suggest[ing] safeguards against possible abuse”? Probably, although it really is self-understood. But what role can they play in “review[ing]” the GPS conversion process? That is halacha, minhag, psak – a purely rabbinical role.

There are members of the committee who have never liked the GPS guidelines, and do not follow them. There are very few members of the committee who were part of the original committee, which entirely consisted of Rabbis. Of course, they will have to water down the standards – they’ll call it a “revision” and an “improvement” – but I fear we will not be far from the old days of quickie conversions with little true commitment. That, by the way, still happens, and a few RCA rabbis acting outside the GPS system still perform those.

I will be delighted to be proven wrong. But I don’t think I will be, and therefore it is time to get out. I do not wish to be coerced to apply standards and guidelines that, to my thinking, may not comport with the requirements of Torah, and the makeup of the committee will almost ensure that outcome, however it is presented.

Much of the impetus for these changes is media-driven, as the RCA is trying to overcome the bad publicity of the DC scandal. I, for one, refused to be tarred with that brush. Let one person stand trial for his crimes. Jews have always opposed the notion of collective guilt. Why does every Bet Din in the country have to change their successful practices just because one person in one Bet Din allegedly violated every guideline in our handbook?

Additionally, it would be far better for the RCA leadership now to focus on its own potential mishandling of this matter, as the media has highlighted. I serve on the RCA’s Executive Committee but know almost nothing about the inner workings or decision-making of the RCA. Questions have been raised – in the media, especially – as to what did they know, when did they know it, whom did they inform and what did they do about it? I have implicit trust in my colleagues but those questions deserve answers.

Thus, I have no interest in serving in a system in which I have no input in the policies of that system, am not consulted on them, and might not agree with them. Why resign in a huff after the policies and changes are announced?! Be not a martyr after the fact, but a ro’eh at hanolad – anticipate what will happen. That is what I have done.

There is a second reason as well. Earlier I described the sheer majesty of the moment of conversion –the birth of a Jewish soul. For me and I’m sure my colleagues, that made all our efforts worthwhile – all the time we invested on a volunteer basis (we never earned a nickel from conversions), the nights and weekends that were devoted to helping people realize their spiritual dreams.

Now, the recent, voluminous and tendentious writings on conversion, the media testimonies of converts and the agenda of feminists would have us believe that conversion is all about sex, power and money. It is about evil men looking to dominate women and lusting after lucre. That is a vulgar distortion of reality. They have taken a sublime and pure moment and made it prurient and ugly. For sure, I blame my DC colleague for this situation, but also those who have exaggerated the problem and impute guilt and suspicion to every rabbi and Bet Din.

It needs to be said that the most uncomfortable situation I encountered in gerut was not the woman in the mikveh; she is concealed such that only the top of her head was visible. My most uncomfortable moments were when an adult male had to lie on a table with his private parts exposed so the Bet Din could witness the hatafat dam brit (a quasi-circumcision). And yet, no man – not a single one – ever complained about the process because each knew that it was a small price he had to pay (a requirement) for membership in an eternal people. A little perspective is in order. Not everything in life has to be vulgarized.

It is as if every rabbi is now a suspect, every rabbi needs a chaperone, and no rabbi can be trusted.

I have no interest in living as a suspect. I refuse to have my integrity and character impugned, nor to be defined in the public eye because of one miscreant.

Note that I have no illusions that this is some major moment in my life or anyone else’s. There is no earth-shattering news here. The heavens will not shed tears. I subscribe to de Gaulle’s adage that “the graveyards are full of indispensable men.” I too will be replaced. Don’t cry for me, Evita Peron.

But we are living in a toxic environment for rabbis (generally; not locally where I live, thank G-d). The distrust is embarrassing and unbecoming. If I cannot be trusted to behave like a normal, decent human being, then I am unworthy of serving on a Bet Din. Let someone else do it. If people wish to presume that rabbis are corrupt and suspect, so in the words of our Sages (Masechet Sanhedrin 37b), “Mah lanu v’la’tzara ha’zot?” – that is to say, why do we need this headache?

Frankly, I am hard-pressed to understand why any non-Jew would convert to a religion whose spiritual leaders are so distrusted.

There is much to do, much that needs to be done, in the world of Torah and for the Jewish people. My days are full, thank G-d. I’m lucky to be able to make a contribution in other ways, foremost in the kehilla where I am privileged to serve, and look forward to doing so.

I leave conversion to others – others that I know serve the Jewish people with great devotion, distinction and honor, and do deserve the trust of those they serve.

Eight days ago, Pruzansky – who has a long history of extreme statements yet who still serves on the RCA's executive committee – lashed out at Jewish feminists, the media and 'weak' Orthodox Jews over their behavior after Freundel's arrest.

Related:

Senior RCA Rabbi Lashes Out At Jewish Feminists, Media, 'Weak' Orthodox Jews In Wake Of Alleged Voyeur Rabbi Arrest.

All Rabbi Steven Pruzansky Posts.

All Rabbi Barry Freundel Alleged Mikvah Peeping Scandal Posts.

Comments

[Brian from Brookline]

Good riddance to Pruzansky, another RCA "Haredi-wannabee".

Perhaps, hopefully, he will also give up his shteller in Teaneck.

[Jonah]

I don't understand, is he quitting because they can't film nude women anymore?

[WoolSilkCotton; I must be seen to be believed]

Considering what a big mouth bible-thumper he is, and a rabid far-right tea party fan, it's only a matter of time before his dirt gets discovered.

[Bas Melech]

Why do they go in nude? Not practiced all over.

Voyeur, pervert rabbis!

[Allan]

Translation of rabbinical gibberish into English.

I’m resigning because it’s obvious that there’s tsunami of lawsuits headed for the RCA due to our massive incompetence and negligence in letting this rogue rabbi run wild. Maybe I can protect myself by getting off this conversion court and telling people with a straight face that

"…I serve on the RCA’s Executive Committee but know almost nothing about the inner workings or decision-making of the RCA.”

It's an embarrassing admission but who cares? The RCA has hit an iceberg and I for one am not going down with the ship – I’m heading for the lifeboats!

[Lo K'darkah]

I read very carefully through his self-confessed list of aveirahs that he does not do; he must have a very short nusach for 'al cheit. However, I did notice that avodah zarah was missing...

[Rodin]

Just another example of his penchant for long winded bombastic drivel. People of teaneck, nj, get rid of this self absorbed fool.
You deserve better.

[Nachum]

This makes no sense. He has no evidence they're going to water anything down, as he admits. So why is he resigning now? Wouldn't it make a better "show" for him to resign when some change he actually objects to is proposed? There's something else going on here...

[dh]

This was so stupid, I thought it was a sarcastic joke. Is he asleep?

[PulpitRabbi]

You are mistaken, @Shmarya, it isn't the women he opposes on the committee, but rather Haskel Lookstein and Adam Starr, who are both opponents of the GPS. There may also be another rabbi there who doesn't belong.

[FrummiefromWhere]

I guess the 7th century is actually coming to an end in the Modern Orthodox movement.

[jewishwhistleblower]

Rabbi Pruzansky served as President of the Vaad Harabonim (Rabbinical Board) of Queens and I believe he still is a member. He was listed as a member during the period Rabbi Ephraim Bryks an alleged sexual predator was a member on the Vaad Harabonim (Bryks resigned in 2010 under public pressure).

http://web.archive.org/web/20040408113845/http://www.queensvaad.org/about_vaad/members.cfm

The Vaad Rabbanim of Queens is the same group that promotes on their website a mikvah owned and run by alleged sexual predator Rabbi Bryks out of his home, Congregation Kew Gardens Mikvah Inc.

I would note that many other Rabbis on the Vaad Harabonim of Queens are also members of the RCA.

(see comments in this thread)
http://failedmessiah.typepad.com/failed_messiahcom/2010/06/synagogue-criticized-for-having-pioneering-orthodox-female-rabbi-speak-456.html

http://www.queensvaad.org/

http://www.queensvaad.org/mikvah_list.php

Here's a current list of RCA executives/officers:

http://www.rabbis.org/about_us.cfm

Here's a 2004 membership list of the Queen's Vaad (they no longer have a current list up):
http://web.archive.org/web/20040408113845/http://www.queensvaad.org/about_vaad/members.cfm

(Alleged sexual predator Bryks had not been shown on the Vaad's website as a member for many years in order to mislead the public). http://www.thejewishweek.com/news/new-york/accused-pedophile-resign-queens-rabbinical-board

[saddened by the news]

I agree with Allan. Getting out of the ship before the tsunami of lawsuit arrives seems to be the most rational approach. Also, as another post mentioned, he may be afraid of be just a matter of time for his own dirt be discovered.

Everything is possible.

[roly]

he rambles an awful lot. Nah, He is Teaneck, he's not going anywhere. He's an awful rep for MO Rabbi's.

[jblogreviewer]

Nachum, you are spot on. He knows they are not going to water anything down. He wants to quit because of who is on the committee. If he waits and they don't do anything wrong (which they won't most likely), then he can no longer make a stink!!

[jj]

Running away now will not stop him from a civil law suit. Also he sounds very bitter about rabbinate ship in general. Why does he not simply give up rabbinateship? Honestly, something does not smell right with his timing of rca resignation. Waiting to see what the fans will be blowing out.

[hia5]

It’s instructive to see that our current Orthodox rabbis have much higher standards for conversion than those of the Rambam. For him, all that was necessary is the following:

… and we inform him of the principles of the religion which are the oneness of god and the prohibition of idolatry, and we expand upon this. and we inform him of some easy commandments and of some hard commandments and we do not expand upon this, and we inform him of the sin of leket, shikheha, peah and maaser sheni [agricultural commandments], and we inform him the punishment of the commandments. (Hilkhot Issure Biah 14.2).

And what if the convert is not sincere? Again, the Rambam:

… a convert whose intentions were not checked nor who was informed about the commandments and their punishment, but was circumcised and immersed in front of three laymen: he is a convert. even if we know that he is converting for an ulterior motive, if he was circumcised and immersed he is no longer considered a gentile, although we are suspicious of him until his righteousness becomes apparent. and even if he returns and worships an idol he is considered as a sinning israelite. (Mishneh Torah, Hilkhot Issure Biah 13.17)

Do you think that there would be 1,000,000 Israelis prohibited from marrying “pure” Jews if we still followed the Rambam?

[Abracadabra]

For anyone not interested in reading that very wordy, rambling essay, following is a summary.

He is stepping down from being the Head of the Teaneck Beit Din for Geirus, as well as stepping down from all membership and involvement in the Teaneck Beit Din for Geirus.

He claims to NOT be stepping down because of any scandal in the Teaneck Beit Din for Geirus. He claims to rather be stepping down for two reasons.

Reason #1 is because with the RCA reviewing it's "Geirus Protocol & Standards" (GPS), he believes that the changes will result in more halachically lax standards. Even though he doesn't know what the changes will be, he believes they are not going to be Frum enough for him. He believes he is being "Roeh es ha'nolad" by stepping down now, instead of waiting to see what the changes will actually be.

Reason #2 for his stepping down is because he believes that Orthodox Rabbis are currently seen in a bad light, and he doesn't like that.

His delivery of these 2 reasons is long winded in the extreme.

[adams]

he actually says roeh ed ha nolad?

[adams]

yeah way too long of a sermon. is it funny anywhere?

[Yosef]

Rabbi P is a great and a serious intellectual. Its sad to see him put down by those who don't think about what he is saying and what he stands for. He is a politically conservative man who speaks plainly. (He does not view corrupt Arab terrorists wearing suits who support murdering Jews are serious about peace. Dah!) His sermons excel in depth and breath of halacha and discussion of contemporary issues. His shul in Teaneck is packed. I don't agree with what he says, particularly about his discomfort with where he thinks the Yoetzet Halacha movement may be expanding into. Given the needs of his large congregation, family and self, I think he has stated he doesn't want the tzuris and stress of the positions he is resigning from.

When I am in Teaneck for Shobbos I walk a long way to catch his sermons, even though he is far more "religious" than I am. Modern orthodoxy and Chabad are the greatest serious movements in Judaism keeping Jews Jewish and helping Jews discover their morasha. Without them Jews in the USA would not only assimilate nearly completely in another 2 generations but continue to degenerate from confusing the leftist, progressive paganist fad of the year as Judaism

[jewishwhistleblower]

More articles:

1) http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/the-sinister-hijacking-of-the-dc-mikvah-scandal/

2) http://www.joshyuter.com/2014/10/27/judaism/rca-squandered-credibility-can-earn-back/

[jewishwhistleblower]

The Rabbinical cover-up squad in action:

http://washingtonjewishweek.com/17052/women-need-to-speak-up-about-mikvah/
...
After we volunteered to speak to the media, our video and story appeared on television and in print. This brought us more fame than ever before. But, according to our local Orthodox rabbi, speaking to the media was not the right thing to do.

Because we publicly spoke out against Rabbi Freundel, and supported the allegations against him, we have been made to feel unwelcome in our Orthodox synagogue. The rabbi specifically told us not to speak about the allegations against Freundel, which he considered to be lashon hara. On Simchat Torah, the synagogue’s founder came over to me and silenced a discussion I was having with my husband, Jeffrey, and the rabbi of a retirement home about the violation.

An October 20 statement by the Vaad Hakashrus of Greater Washington illustrates the hostility we feel directed at us. The statement essentially sides with the accused by invalidating testimony made by only one witness. However, my testimony was in addition to six other witnesses documented anonymously by the court. Despite the Vaad’s claim to reach out to potential victims, we have not heard one word of support or assistance from our affiliated synagogue’s rabbi who worked closely with Rabbi Freundel on halakhic matters.
...