FailedMessiah.com

Lying In The Name Of God

Rabbi Yosef Mizrachi (sometimes spelled: "Mizrahi") explains that it is permitted to lie to non-Orthodox Jews in order to trick them into becoming Orthodox and cites the Chazon Ish as proof. But to his credit, Mizrachi says we don't do this because it isn't our way. But it is indisputedly the way of Aish HaTorah, many Chabad shluchim, Ohr Somayach and many other haredi kiruv (outreach/missionary) groups.

Israel’s New A-G Will Be A Ba’al Teshuva

Former cabinet secretary Avichai Mandelblit is Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s close friend. He is also a ba’al teshuva, a person who became Orthodox in adulthood. And now he's about to be Israel's new attorney general.

Aish HaTorah Rabbi Killed In Terror Attack

The rabbi – a married father of seven children – taught his morning classes at Aish HaTorah and was walking out of the Old City through the Jaffa Gate when he was killed.

Prime Minister Netanyahu’s Chabad Daughter Moves To Controversial Über-Haredi Neighborhood

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Chabad daughter, 36-year-old Noa Roth, and her family have moved to the über-haredi Jerusalem neighborhood of Mea Shearim.

Followers Of Kiruv Rabbi Assault Rival Kiruv Rabbi In Shul Brawl

A Sefardi haredi kiruv (missionary outreach) rabbi, Zamir Cohen, was assaulted by followers of rival outreach rabbi Amnon Yitzhak Tuesday night in a synagogue in Tel Aviv.

Chabad's Rabbi "Diamond Joe" Gutnick Claims To Be In Serious Financial Difficulty, Allegedly Won’t Be Able To Pay $55 Million Arbitration Award

Chabad's Rabbi Joseph "Diamond Joe" Gutnick, the Australian mining magnate with a history of questionable business behavior, is now claiming to be nearly destitute. But is that claim simply a ruse meant to help him avoid paying $55 million he owes to an Indian company?

IDF Soldiers May Have Lied About Facts in Shooting Of Haredi BT

Rabbi Menachem Goldstein of the Dvar Yerushalayim yeshiva, where [Simcha ] Hodadtov studied, gathered testimonies about the fatal confrontation. Based on these testimonies and his acquaintance with the deceased, he said, “I assume he was shot after being suspected of being not Jewish. Things unfolded in a crazy manner. I heard from someone who was there that all he had in his hand was a bag of bread.”

Elderly ‘Ba’al Teshuva’ Con Man Gets Reduced Sentence From Brooklyn Judge

Dickman was facing a maximum prison term of six years for stealing inactive attorney Stephen Dickerman’s identity and then using it to trick more than 50 people into hiring him. He faced as much as six years in prison but, despite the irate victims, Dickman – who in court was wearing a yarmulke and using a cane to walk – was sentenced to only 33 months in prison after pleading for mercy and insisting he had rediscovered the Judaism of his youth while in jail awaiting trial.

Official Haredi-Controlled State Rabbinical Court Blocks Mother From Seeing Her Children Because She Is Now Secular

The haredi-controlled official state Jerusalem Rabbinical Court ruled earlier this month that a haredi man does not have to pay his ex-wife child support for their two daughters because his ex-wife is no longer Orthodox and blocked her from seeing her sons.

Succession War Flares At Leading Haredi Kiruv Yeshiva And Outreach Org

"… From the beginning, when I entered into the arbitration regarding the dispute between Aish HaTorah and Rabbi Hillel Weinberg, my intention was just one thing – to strengthen, restore and stabilize the organization and to make a compromise between the parties so that Yeshivas Aish HaTorah could continue with its work like it had over the years. It had never crossed my mind at all to fire and remove the Rosh Yeshiva [Head of the Yeshiva]from his institution so that the leadership would remain vacant, and that the institution's management would be left as a free for all, G-d forbid. But my intention was clear and since I had been consulted on the matter, I saw fitting to give comprehensive advice including the appointment of a new Rosh Yeshiva so that the Yeshiva would be able run as it ought to and also to ensure that Rabbi Hillel should have an appropriate alternative position – other than that of Rosh Yeshiva – as befits the son of Rav Noach zt"l [may the memory of the righteous be a blessing], founder of Aish HaTorah.…"

Matisyahu Talks About His Religious Practice – And Lack Thereof

Matisyahu was once a Chabad-Lubavitch ba'al teshuva known worldwide as a hasidic reggae singer. Today, Matisyahu is no longer completely frum, as he explains in this new interview.

Obsessive-Compulsive, And Orthodox

"Alone in my living room, I took three steps backward, then three steps forward in preparation for the Shmoneh Esrei, part of the afternoon prayer service. As I began to recite the first blessing, an image came to mind, unbidden: a Renaissance-era depiction of Jesus.…"

Ba'al Teshuva Hasidic Lesbian Dreams

One day I boarded an airplane and found myself sitting next to a nun. …Did her skin also ache for touch in a way nothing in her world could satisfy? Did she also set aside dreams, like the erotic lesbian dreams that used to pepper my fitful nights?

Chabad And Breslov Missionize IDF Combat Soldiers As Former IDF Chief Rabbi Visits Troops And Tells Them This Is a Religious War Against Hamas

Breslover hasidim are a common sight along the Gaza border, as are their Chabad-Lubavitch competitors. Military police have been blocking access to vehicles that do not belong to local residents, but somehow the hasidim are getting through anyway. So have other various religious types, with and without any authority, with and without any permission from the IDF. Chabad and Breslov use this often unapproved access to soldiers to do missionary activities with them when they are at their most vulnerable – something the IDF officially opposes.

Zionist Orthodox Former IDF Chief Rabbi Encourages Collective Punishment Against Palestinians

The Zionist Orthodox former Chief Rabbi of the IDF, Avihai Ronsky, wrote on his Facebook page that there is only one way to find and rescue the three Zionist Orthodox teen boys kidnapped while hitchhiking in the West Bank late Thursday night, June 12 – use collective punishment against all Palestinians in the area where the IDF believes the three teens are being held.

Baruch Dayan HaEmet: Rabbi Meir Michel Abehsera

Rabbi Meir Michel Abehsera, internationally known both as a hasid of the late Chabad-Lubavitch Rebbe Menachem Mendel Schneerson and as an herbalist, naturopath and author, has passed away.

Koltun Gets 2 Life Terms In Prison For Double Murder For Hire

Rabbi Victor “Naftali” Koltun – who was convicted in February of first-degree murder, second-degree murder, conspiracy and gun possession –was sentenced this morning to two consecutive life terms in prison without the possibility of parole along with two consecutive sentences of 8 1/3 to 25 years

Baruch Dayan HaEmet: Rabbi Meir Schuster

Rabbi Meir Schuster, who spent decades searching out young non-Orthodox (or, sometimes, Modern Orthodox) Jews at places like the Kotel (Western Wall) and trying to get them to sit in on classes at Ohr Somayach, Aish HaTorah, Neve Yerushalayim or other smaller ba'al teshuva (missionary outreach) yeshivas and seminaries passed away today.

Despite Strong Opposition, Ohr Somayach Given Permission To Build New 103,495 Square Foot 12-Story Haredi Ba’al Teshuva Yeshiva In East Jerusalem

The City of Jerusalem rammed through a plan to build a 103,495 square foot 12-story building for Ohr Somayach, an iconic ba’al teshuva yeshiva, on a vacant plot of land in Sheikh Jarrah in East Jerusalem – even the city’s own professional planning staff strongly opposed the project.

Ohr Somayach To Build New 103,495 Square Foot 12 Story Ba’al Teshuva Yeshiva In East Jerusalem

Ohr Somayach, an Ashkenazi haredi ba’al teshuva yeshiva founded in the 1960s and with has close ties to the iconic nearby Ashkenazi haredi Mirrer Yeshiva, reportedly wants to build the behemoth structure on an empty lot, most of which is currently owned by the Israel Lands Authority. The lot, reportedly located adjacent to a gas station, will have nine above ground stories and three more stories underground if the project is approved and built.

Haredi Man Who Allegedly Tried To Spy For Iran May Get Plea Deal

Yitzhak Bergel, the Neturei-Karta-linked man who allegedly tried to spy against Israel for Iran may be about to get a plea deal that reportedly could see him serve four years or less in prison.

Nature Or Nurture: How DNA May Guide Our Vote – And, By Extension, Our Religious Choices

A new book explores the impact of genetics on how people vote and on their political views. Can that information also explain susceptibility to fundamentalism, religious extremism – and haredi kiruv?

Ex-Orthodox Transsexual Woman Standing For Australian Federal Parliament

Melissa Starr is running for Australia's parliament on the the Sex Party ticket. She's Jewish, a former BT – and a transsexual.

Video: Former Haredi Yeshiva Head, Now Secular, Explains His Journey To – And From – Religion

Rabbi Yaron Yadan explains how and why he became haredi, why he stayed haredi for 17 years and headed an advanced yeshiva for married men, and why and how he finally left the haredi fold – with his entire family intact.

Israel's First Orthodox Drag Queen

Just shy of midnight, Shahar Hadar trades his knitted white yarmulke for a wavy blond wig and a pink velvet dress. Cheers greet him in a packed gay bar as he starts to swivel to a Hebrew pop song, his shiny red lips mouthing lyrics that mean more to him than the audience knows: “With God’s help you’ll have the strength / To overcome and give your all.”

Chabad's Do Nothing, Feel Good Judaism

"…On the other hand, the personal approach of Chabad to Jewish outreach—often combined with glitzy, high-profile, one-time events—has a major negative: It is built on absolutely minimal expectations. Its message seems to be: We will love you, but we won’t require anything of you. On this point, somewhat bizarrely, the Orthodox and the non-Orthodox critics seem to agree. The Orthodox critics ask Chabad rabbis: Why don’t you expect Jews to become Orthodox? The non-Orthodox ask: Why don’t you expect anything at all?…"

Don't Worry, Jews May Be Bad But Goyyim Are Worse, Ohr Somayach Rabbi Says

Rabbi Yitzchak Breitowitz also says you should ask a rabbi before reporting suspected child sexual abuse to police or your city's child protection services and invokes the No True Scotsman Fallacy – any Orthodox Jew who commits heinous crimes like child sexual abuse is not really an Orthodox Jew, Breitowitz claims, insisting that God and Judaism are not at fault for what its most visible adherent s may do wrong.

French Haredi BT Banned From Seeing Son Because Of "Extremist" Religious Views

A haredi ba’al teshuva has been barred by French social services in Toulouse from seeing his son. Social Services recorded  45-year-old Richard Dray telling his 12-year-old son over the telephone that he should not worry because “everything that happens to us is a trial by God for us to pass.” Social Services allegedly told Dray that he was radicalizing the boy with “dangerous” messages and complained about his religious lifestyle and appearance.

Haredi Man In Bag On Plane Says Rabbi Told Him To Do It

"I have known him for 25 years now. He is a retired lieutenant colonel who served in senior and classified positions in the Israel Air Force. Before Passover he flew to Israel, and because of a change in the flight he found out that he would be flying over a cemetery. He consulted a rabbi, who ruled that although the plane was a closed place, there was impurity over the cemetery and in order to deal with it – he must reach a situation of a 'container with a lid fastened on it.'"

Young BT Haredi Billionaire Allegedly Makes His Money Looting A Poor African Country

“Dan Gertler is essentially looting Congo at the expense of its people,” says Jean Pierre Muteba, the head of a group of nongovernmental organizations that monitor the mining sector in Katanga province, where most of Congo’s copper is located.

Breslov Hasidim Start Na Nach Political Party

A new political party called Na Nach - Kulanu Chaverim (We are All Friends) is running in the upcoming Knesset elections. The party promotes the power of prayer and the study of the teachings of Rabbi Nachman of Breslov.

Matisyahu Talks About Crown Heights, Cutting His Beard, And How Being Hasidic Helped sell His Music

"I had moved out of Crown Heights (neighborhood of Brooklyn). I didn't want to confront the people over there. I think that most Hasidic people that I know, that I am actually friends with or that are acquaintances, all say that they think I seem like a happier person now than I was then, and they respect my decision. There were times, late at night or whatever, where I would go online and I was interested or I would check it out, but it always came back to bite me in the ass because you read those comments that are just mean and it hurts."

The Homophobic Chairman Of The Zionist Orthodox Habayit Hayehudi Political Party

Naftali Bennett is clearly homophobic – and he wants the Israel he hopes to lead to be homophobic, too.

Crown Heights: A 'Love' Story Complete With Coerced Abortions

The son of a powerful Crown Heights man is an alleged drug dealer who has impregnated two young Chabad women out of wedlock in past few months. How this situation has been handled by Chabad rabbis will shock you.

More Than 100 Boys Allegedly Blocked From Attending Haredi Schools In Lakewood

"The phone call tonight from Rav Shmuel [Kamenetsky] was heart rending.  Nechamas Yisroel wants you to help rescue a Jewish child from being lost to public school. The message tells us what an important mitzva it is to give a child a Jewish education, especially before YOM HADIN [Yom Kippur]. The irony that  this message was being played on the phones of homes in Lakewood [where more than 100 boys are being excluded from haredi schools] did not escape many."

Matisyahu To Perform During Tisha B'Av Fast

Matisyahu has a scheduled performance in New York City Sunday, during the Tisha B'Av fast commemorating the destruction of the 1st and 2nd Jerusalem Temples.

Guma Aguiar Believed Lost At Sea, Boat Washes Up Empty

Aguiar is a businessman who made a fortune in oil and gas interests. He is also a philanthropist who has contributed millions to Jewish and Israeli charities and in 2009, co-sponsored a soccer team there called Beitar Jerusalem. Aguiar was linked to Rabbi Leib Tropper, the conversion rabbi and rosh yeshiva who was brought down in a sex-scandal first reported here.

“Taliban Mother” To Be Released From Prison Today

One of Israel’s most notorious child abusers will be released from prison today. The woman – who lived in Beit Shemesh with her husband and family and who became known as the “Taliban Mother” because she covered herself and her female children in black wool burkas and veils and refused to expose her face to any male, even to her own male children – used low voltage electrocution, burning with cigarettes, whipping, starvation, and other physical and emotional abuse to discipline her children.

Ba’al Teshuva Wants His Sperm Back

A newly Orthodox man wants the sperm he donated to an Israeli sperm bank years ago to be returned to him before its new owner uses it – again.

Video: Matisyahu Talks About Beard Removal On WNYC

Matisyahu explains why he shvaed his beard, and talks about his current feelings about Judaism and about hasidism.

2 pm Today: Matisyahu To Talk Beard On WNYC Radio Show

Yesterday Matisyahu posted a picture of his newly clean-shaven face on Twitter. At 2pm today, the formerly hasidic rapper will explain why he shaved his beard.

Matisyahu Shaves Beard – No More Hasidic Superstar

At a certain point I felt the need to submit to a higher level of religiosity…to move away from my intuition and to accept an ultimate truth.  I felt that in order to become a good person I needed rules—lots of them—or else I would somehow fall apart.  I am reclaiming myself.  Trusting my goodness and my divine mission.

Ex-Pro Wrestler Rabbi Passes Away

Rabbi Rafael Halperin died at his home in the central city of Bnei Brak on Saturday afternoon, following a serious illness. Halperin was a former professional wrestler.

In Messy Divorce, Orthodox Rabbinic Court Orders Child Be Enrolled In Orthodox School

The Tel Aviv Rabbinical Court ruled recently that the son of a divorced ultra-Orthodox father and secular mother would study in a state-religious kindergarten and school.

As Chefs Become More Observant, Kosher Menus Go Gourmet

Duck leg confit served with white bean cassoulet. House-made lamb bacon. Mexican-inflected California cuisine. Not the offerings you would have expected at a kosher restaurant 20 years ago, perhaps not even a decade ago. But a handful of high end, innovative kosher restaurants, primarily in the gastronomic capitals of New York and California, have sprouted in the past decade, immutably changing the kosher dining landscape. And that change is driven by ba'alei teshuva.

Levi Aron Not Insane, First Wife Says

"His soul is doomed forever. He will have Yom Kippur forever in his life! Trust me, this man is sane!" Raised by overly strict parents who became religious later in life, Aron "was very lonely because he was rejected by his own community." He was ostracized because he wasn't born into religious life, and "because he was slow, low-income," he was not considered a "prospective future son-in-law." The community was "prejudiced to people like Levi and all others with mental problems, without trying to help them."

Haredi BT Has One Of The Largest Porn Collections In The World

He has one of the largest collections of pornography and erotica in the world, but don't call Clifford Scheiner a dirty old man. The former Brooklyn emergency room doctor with a Ph.D. in sexuality has amassed an enormous hoard of 350,000 books, films and photos - from 13th century manuscripts to every issue of Playboy and Screw magazine ever printed.

Don't Send Meshaloch Manot Purim Food To Non-Orthodox Jews, Haredi Rabbi Says

Rabbi Dovid Feinstein says don't send meshaloch manot to non-Orthodox Jews, because it is helping sinners.

As Haredi Burka Cult Grows, Some Rabbis Finally Move To Stop It

Newly-religious women walking around covered head-to-toe in black clothes are growing in numbers. Even six-year-old girls are made to hide their faces. Some haredi rabbis are finally condemning the growing trend that was enthusiastically supported by  Rabbi Yitzchok Tuvia Weiss of Badatz Yerushalayim. Weiss also supported the haredi mother who starved her own child, leading to months of haredi riots against Hadassah Hospital. He supported Yisroel Valis who murdered his own handicapped child. And now he currently supports convcited child rapist Rabbi Israel Weingarten.

Religion Focus Of Custody Fight Involving Former Exotic Dancer Turned Hasidic Jew

She was an exotic dancer at the Admiral Theatre, and he was the club’s manager, when Nelson Derbigny said he met Elina Margolina in 1995. The two got married, changed careers and had a child — but divorced in 2007. On Wednesday — after both since remarried and Margolina became a devout Hasidic Jew — the two sat on opposite sides of a Cook County courtroom for the start of a bitter trial to determine custody of their now 8-year-old son.