Things You Don't Want to Know About Lubavitch...

Today I received an email from CHABAD.ORG to my recent post. 

They wrote:

Dear Peter, I was reading your blog and I thought that you may like to read this-to shed some light your way. May the wisdom of the Rebbe of righteous memory open up your heart to the truth and may this year be a year of personal growth and closeness to HaShem-and a Happy and Healthy year- be well, Ahavah

Ahavah

Apparently, Chabad.Org has its’ own social media folks who search the internet for negative publicity. The best response that they have to criticism of cronyism, deception and fraud is; “May the wisdom of the Rebbe of righteous memory open up your heart to the truth”.

Christian evangelists use similar language when criticized for offering false hope and the promise of miracles. “May the faith of Christ free you of your cynicism.” As someone who has spent his life examining humanities relationship with God, I feel confident stating  that faith in God and Torah should lead us to behavior that reflects upstanding moral integrity.

Let me catch you up on the latest antics of our friends at Lubavitch Chabad. MJI (Michigan Jewish Institute) the Lubavitch College which has failed the test of accreditation and is now threatened with losing its ability to register students for Federal Aid was back on the front pages of “The Forward”.

This past week ‘The Forward’ reported that when they “interviewed MJI’s Director of Academic Administration, Dov Stein… he offered contradictory information about MJI’s student enrollment. Initially, Stein said MJI had about 3,000 students. Later, he revised that figure down to about 2,000 students.”

In addition, investigations by ‘The Forward’ revealed that 99% of the students at MJI receive Federal funding which is only available to US citizens. All of the students were secured while in Israel at orthodox Seminaries. The United States Department of Education has now invested $25 million in MJI since 2008 but few if any students have graduated from the school.

This year the school has received $8.6 million dollars. This is not free money. If MJI fails to obtain accreditation from the "Appalachian Regional Commission" student may be obligated to refund the money to the Government.

So what did Lubavitch do with the $33 million they pocketed? They built “The Shul” which houses MJI and they are about to build “a new 16,000 square foot headquarters — even though almost no students ever set foot on campus” according to ‘The Forward’.

As I see it, this conduct is not consistent with Torah values. Nor, do I believe, are these actions consistent with ‘The Rebbe’s’ values as professed during his life time. This is stealing. It is comparable to  physicians who take  Medicare money for procedures billed but not performed. These are educators billing for student education and classes that have not been provided. Shame on you Lubavitch and shame on the Jewish Community for not having acted sooner to stop these abuses.

Read more: http://forward.com/articles/170106/chabad-college-in-michigan-gets-building-go-ahead/?p=all#ixzz2gM87eMZW

Should Mom be hungry while living in upscale assisted living facility?

Tonight, Barbie and I enjoyed dinner with Bernice Rosenthal, grandmother to our four children and great-grandmother to our four grandchildren. Bernice lives in a relatively posh assisted living facility. Laurel Oaks is every seniors dream about the golden years. A beautiful apartment, friends who share the facility and meals prepared and served to her in a restaurant like dinning hall. However, today, Mom reports that she hasn't eaten for two days because the food is just inedible. Steak, chicken, rice, salad, mushrooms and zucchini; Mom ate and was happy. What the hell is wrong with the World when 92 year old women who live in posh facilities are fed crap that’s inedible. 

Mom, "what did you do when there wasn't anything for you to eat?" Bernice said; "I went home hungry, what should I have done?" Call us and we will bring you food. Call a takeout restaurant and order a meal delivered. As we drove back to her apartment, she said; "I am not motivated enough to do anything." How much more money would it take to provide her with a good, nutritious, meal. At least, how much more than the $7.50 they now charge her per meal. This story is repeated over and over again by the elderly living in senior facilities. 

Mom has lost at least 25 pounds since her move to Laurel Oaks. If you are considering moving to Laurel Oaks you better have at least 30 lbs of fat on you to survive 5 years; or as an alternative, family who cares about you.

Rabbi & Community: Succoth and my gentile friend Mary Bloch...

Rabbi & Community: Succoth and my gentile friend Mary Bloch...: We are fast approaching the last days of Succoth and then the close of the High Holy Days. Our rabbis taught that the numerical value of th...

Succoth and my gentile friend Mary Bloch...

We are fast approaching the last days of Succoth and then the close of the High Holy Days. Our rabbis taught that the numerical value of the word Succah is the same as the numerical value of the word Amen. 

Amen means truth and Succah a flimsy dwelling. All dwellings are flimsy when faced with the power of God's nature. Boulder, Colorado is before us and we see what a deluge from the heavens can do. Two hundred people are still missing and every day bodies are being pulled from washed out homes and cars are pulled from washed out roads with bodies still inside.

Many years ago I did therapy with a 38 year old woman who was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer. Mary Bloch had severe surgeries and bone disease with little available to offer her hope and so she slowly slipped from the world leaving a young child and husband behind. At the time, I was still going with Barbie and little Zechariah to Sheboygan. It was Succoth and I was out of my Milwaukee office.

Mary came to Sheboygan to visit our Succah and we sat in the Succah for a therapy session. Mary was gentile and curious about this little hut that we lived in for Succoth. I explained to her that the Succah represented the body surrounded by family and God's spirit. But like all dwelling places they are fragile and easily destroyed. But the spirit of our homes cannot be destroyed. While the physical body may be blown down or washed away, the spiritual home always remains intact. I told her of my visits to Jerusalem and the Kotel and how the grandeur of the Holy Temple was still apparent even though only one support wall remained of the entire facility which once occupied a vast part of Mount Zion. I explained how the spirit of God's presence was palpable in that place. While trying to comfort Mary, I told her that while the time may come when her body will no longer be present, surely, the essence of her spirit would be here and that she would remain in life with those she loved. I believe that Succoth day my gentile friend, Mary, was comforted by the story of the Succah. 

Twenty five years have passed since that day but every Succoth, no matter where we have been, Mary dwells with me in my Succah. Soon after Succoth Mary passed on and took her place in the ‘world to come’. Mary left Barbie and me a gift, as a memento of our friendship, it was a painting of musicians rejoicing at a wedding and it continues to hang on the wall of our home.

The rabbis ask; why do we not observe Succoth around Passover?  In Parshas Emor the Torah states very clearly that in Succoth (temporary dwellings) we lived as we made our journey from Egypt to Israel. If that is how the Succah came into being, then surely we should dwell in Succoth between Passover and Shavuoth as did the generation who stood at Sinai, the rabbis theorized?  But for us to say Amen (it's the truth) we need to dwell in the Succah when the winds of change are upon us. The fall is the right time. The cold winds blow, the rain falls from the sky, it soon after we confront our mortality on Yom Kippur. “On Rosh HaShanah it is written and on Yom Kippur it is sealed who shall live and who shall die.” While our bodies may see their mortality, the spirit of our lives cannot be taken from us. Our essence, love, affection, generosity, kindness cannot be erased.

As post script and for the record, when I was a young child my brother Barry and I would build the Succah at the side of our parents’ home in Hicksville, New York. We used one wall from the house and one from the fence that enclosed our back yard. The other two walls were very crude built with chicken wire wrapped around polls we sunk in the ground. There was a very meager bulb that hung from an extension cord to provide us with a small amount of light. There was no floor, just the cold wet grass. A folding table and metal folding chairs served as the altar for meals and study. The Succah was worthy of the blessing Layshev BaSuccah (dwelling in the Succah according to God's command). Barry and I observed Succoth together in that Succah for many years and he was fond of telling a story about two gentile boys walking by our home, seeing the Succah and asking; what is that?  The second boy answered; "stupid it's a barn!" No, it was not a barn, not in suburbia Long Island. It was a Succah the body that gives our spirit life. The home in which our spirit rests. It would take more than fifty years before I would realize that my Succah is fragile and I must treasure every blessed moment given by God.

Finally, here's to you Mary Bloch to whom I owe so much for the lessons you taught about courage and the preciousness of the life force. Thank you for sharing your life with me. May your rest be in serenity and may God’s presence be your reward!

My favorite topic "Lubavitch"!

While sitting in a Succah this past week and enjoying dinner with friends the conversation turned to Lubavitch. Whenever this happen my hair stands up on end and I immediately tell people exactly what I think (not good if you want to keep your friends). 

Most people know Lubavitch from the outside looking in, however, few know what has happened since the passing of Rabbi Schneerson. The beloved Lubavitcher Rebbe failed to appoint a successor and since he had no children there was no apparent successor. His body was not cold in the ground when the feuding began. There was a huge financial estate at stake. Lots of real estate, donations, prestige and it was suddenly up for grabs. Those who were closest to the Rebbe began jockeying for position but ultimately they agreed, let's be friends and share the pot of gold. Then there was the question of the dead Rebbe's spiritual circumstances. Was he really dead or was he immune from death? Was the Rebbe like Elijah ascending heavenward on a chariot of fire? Many began to see him as the Messiah and as a result a new word was born "Meshichasts" a breed of Lubavitch that believe the Rebbe is the Messiah and will return to rid the world of the mess humans have made. This did not go over well with those Lubavitch who are traditional Chassidim and so the divide was created.

It is the greed that deserves the attention of the Jewish Community. Lubavitch have been called a 'pariah' on the Community because they are insular taking much financially from the Jewish Communities they serve but giving nothing financial back. They are not donors to the local Jewish Federations, they generally don't hire from the general community even when all they need are basic day camp counselors or bus drivers.

They are nepotists appointing the most powerful families to the best positions within the organization regardless of acumen. Recently they have taken to naming their community Synagogue's "The Shul" as if they are the only Shul in town. Some communities have the “The Shul North" or  "The Shul South",  "The Shul" is simply buzz words for Lubavitch. 

Now they have lost their moral compass. This past summer the Forward reported the story of the Lubavitch in Detroit who created a College offering  Jewish courses and teaching degrees over the internet. The College had enrolled American students living in Israel at seminaries, to take courses over the internet. The students were provided with Pell Grants and loans but reporters found that few if any were graduating and the appropriation of the grants paid to the college were under investigation. The Forward seem to suggest that the students in Israel were unaware of their obligations after signing the financial aid documents. Another words, they didn't know that they had to pay the loans back. Lubavitch Detroit appears to have funded their programs in Detroit and put young students at financial risk.

To paraphrase the late Senator Lloyd Bensen, the Lubavitcher Rebbe was my friend not because I knew him personally but he was someone I greatly admired and who inspired me. Unfortunately, his spirit was not enough to keep the Lubavitch community from "falling off the derech" (buzz words for people who have lost their religious way). I believe he would have cringed at hearing his community refer to him as "Melech HaMashiach" (our king the Messiah).

Although I did not know the Rebbe personally, I spent many a Shabbat at 770 headquarters, I went to many Lubavitch celebrations were the Rebbe was the featured speaker and I feel confident reporting that the Rebbe would have chastised anyone who would have suggested that he was the messiah. Our religious leaders must “talk the talk” but they must also “walk the walk”.

Chag Samayach

They don't get the message!

Justifiably, John Boehner's Congress has been called a "do nothing Congress" with the highest disapproval ratings (about 75% disapprove)  since the 70's. These folks are deaf. When 90% of the Country calls for gun control legislation they fail to create law and they invent reasons to vote on healthcare legislation when no action is required.  Can't they find something constructive to do with their time.

I propose the following: if we furlough Federal employees because the "debt limit" fails to get approval, then lets just furlough Congress.  The Speaker earns $223,000. a year and each Congress person earns a minimum of $174,000. that would save Americans about $93 million dollars and that does not include their staffs. These folks should be subject to the same scrutiny every working person faces. They should be paid for their productivity. This 112 Congress acted on 193 pieces of legislation including the naming Federal facilities.

When will they get the message? Detroit realized that the american automobile industry was in trouble when Japan had captured 25% of the market share and look what happened in Detroit. Washington has been told that the average american has no faith in there congressional leadership but even with 75% disapproving they still don't get the message. HELP!!!!!!!