I am crying while listening to this and I am a Christian woman who has never been abused. I see that in communities in which the leaders are seen as the ultimate and unquestionable authority (Christian, Jewish, others), there is a strong tendency to deny that those authorities can be abusers, or have any serious flaws. But no matter how wise, how esteemed, how learned, these are human beings who have shameful thoughts and do shameful deeds. No human being belongs on a pedestal. There needs to be due process, and the secular authorities are far from perfect, but the abused must not become the accused, and the abusers need to be brought to criminal justice. Greatest respect for the victims, survivors, and leaders who are fighting for justice.
I left the Orthodox community (Hassidic) nine years ago, after I found out that my sister has suffered severe abuse from a family member. When I turned to my Mashgiach ruchani in a very important yeshiva, in Bnei Brak, he told me not to broach the subject in any forum ever. I left because I was not able to be part of a community that allows such murderer to Be Shaliach Tzibur. Thank you, on behalf of my little sister, and lots of other little sisters
We need to do what we can to heal our brothers and sisters, and stop the abuse to begin with. We have a responsibility to each other. Lets be the good, holy people that we are meant to be, Shana Tovah
Shvarim is the broken sound of blowing the shofar. The root of that Hebrew word is lishbor, to break. I think the Rabbi is referring to hiw broken a person can be when they're abused. It's great to hear a respected & well known rabbi discussing this in clear terms.
I am not Jewish, I am a Human being created by Hashem and I know about those abuses in Jewish communities and I have been praying to Elohim to stop innocent girls and boys from being abused. I also pray that Elohim shows both of them that they matter because I am a mother and I don't see kids as Countries or colors or ethnicities or religions or levels of status. I see them as blessings that Hashem has given for our lives.
Shalom, more people need to speak with such love for abused people. But Elohim does not choose anyone to be abused in anyway, He hates such things which are against His Word. He doesn't take away the freedom of choice from mankind, but He has never chosen such destruction of life and He never would
And the King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you did for Me.’ Then He will say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.'
9:50 Amazing that this unfortunate young man can't bring himself to think of G-d as being merciless. That gives me (at least) no ability to think of G-d as merciless. Thank G-d I didn't have such a situation. But if only someone had understood to teach him when he was little to speak up for himself. OMG we really don't know how many children (& adults) suffer.
This was hard to listen to because he gets all excited about US (whoever that is) failure to prevent any of these things. So long as it's shameful (and it always is) the victim will do what he's been told...not tell the police, not tell a rebbe, and certainly not tell his parents. You can deny that this goes on. It probably does. But you're doing nothing to prevent it. Chag Samach.
Have we known enough pain to admit that since our galut in Babylon there has been avodah zarah woven into the very fabric of the Judaism that we practice to the extent that most of us can no longer determine what is Torat Moshe and what is Babylonian baloney and that that affects every aspect of who we are - most especially our most intimate levels because we are not really connecting with HaShem? Have we matured enough to be able to admit that endemic pedophilia that has been going on for a very long time does not square with the belief that Rebbes are perfect Tzaddikim who are Ein Sof B'Guf, all knowing and who can see who a person is in one glance? Do you love your Children enough to admit that saying: "Every child is more precious than gold" doesn't begin to cut it. Are we prepared for the sake of our Jewish Children to admit that the grooming starts long before the pedophile comes into the Children's lives? It starts in the maternity ward after a baby is born and a mohel comes in and says: Mazel Tov! Did you have a boy? and you answer joyfully: No! I had a girl - and the mohel answers: אין דבר. That it starts with metzitzah at the brit. That it starts with saying שלא עשני אשה. The "brakhah" is as destructive to the boys that learn to say it as it is to the girls. The grooming starts with teaching girls to dress under blankets. The grooming starts with the artificial separation of boys and girls. We are learning a "Judaism" that encourages us to be nuts about sexuality. You make a mishigas out of sexuality from day one - and you think that's normal, that it's holy - which is the sickest part. Can we admit that we really don't know the level of holiness of Jewish females and the fact that Rabbis teach them about their being is a presumption? You have no idea the level of holiness of the Jewish Female in real Torah. Admit it. You don't. Can we admit that men do not have to go to the mikveh every day and that the unnecessary practice is an invitation to all kinds of problems? Are we willing, for the sake of our Children, to admit that the Judaism we practice is highly tainted with Babylonian avodah zarah that is a fertile ground for unwholesomeness - the worst of which is pedophilia and the sexual abuse of wives? We *have to* unravel the fabric of the Judaism we know today and go through it thread by thread - keeping what is kosher and throwing away that which is not. And we need to be honest about it.
