The EJF Scandal Heats Up Again

Luke Ford writes of a new possible twist to this scandal.

Jewish Israel wrote that Rabbi Rafi Ostroff was an officiating Rabbi at the conversion. A little research showed that he cannot legally do so. Indeed, he got an email from Jewish Israel requesting that he remove Rabbi Ostroff's name from the post strictly for reason of "modesty". He writes that this modesty is earned. :)

Read Luke's post for further conjecture. Such as it might be that this is a payoff for the role she played in bringing T down.

How unusual is it to take a conversion in Houston where the person has an open file with the local Beit Din and fly her to Israel and an ad hoc Beit Din performs a quickie conversion? I’ve never heard of this being done. Somebody is pushing this through without regard of Jewish conversion norms.

Now read HaMekubal, who seems to write that he apologizes to Rav T since this Beis Din converted her. This implicitly exonerates T, since if the story was true, they wouldn't have approved the conversion. This is all, after the purported videos and audio was authenticated. Read Luke post again for more reasons this doesn't ring true.

In any case, read the comments on the post where he again says that he does believe T to be guilty, but its Daat Torah (of the giyur Rabbis) that prevents him from believing it.

However, I am Jew, a halachic Jew. Therefore I am required to give the benefit of the doubt to another Jew upon whom there are no accusations of impropriety. The three Rabbanim that constituted this Beit Din, two of whom are Chief Rabbis of cities here in Israel, and outspoken critics of T, said that they investigated the matter fully, and "found no halachic reason" to stop or postpone Ms. Orand's conversion. 

Halachically speaking it is impossible to have Eidut on only half a matter. You cannot find that Ms Orand wasn't involved by Rav T was. Thus in exonerating her, they exonerate him. 

I must give them the benefit of the doubt that they truly have looked into the matter far more than I have, and that they found that there was no basis to the various accusations, despite what seems to be concrete evidence to the contrary.

and...

Sorry that doesn't hold water. I am sure that the Rabbis involved are in shock over what the outcome of their hasty action was. That is why R' Ostroff no longer wants his name revealed, he is embarassed by his hasty decision and actions. I know this from his own father, and from others that know him. He himself realizes that they inadvertently gave T credibility, and has sinced tried to distance himself from the situation by requesting that his name be withheld in the papers. In original stories that broke, such was not the case, he wanted his name out there, and even made statements.

You are right the B"D never intended for their actions to be taken this way. However, at least one of the Rabbis who sat that B"D has since realized that their actions would be taken this way and has come to regret his involvement and feel embarrassment over it.

and..

The hasty decision of Beit Din to go forward with this conversion and their hasty statements that there, "was no halachic reason" to hold up her conversion as well as their statement of certainty that she never had physical relations with R' T, have done incalculable damage to any case against T. 

See the problem is that R' T's defenders have been stating from the very beginning that it was all made up by a very wealthy enemy. Now there were two aspects of the evidence. The audios which were splashed everywhere on the internet, and the videos which for whatever reason no one has yet posted. That was the "leaked" evidence.

The evidence that major Rabbanim received were audios in addition to those that found their way onto the net, as well as videos, that quite clearly showed her having physical relations with T and his wife. There were other videos but the contents of those will remain undisclosed for now as, it has no immediate bearing on T. 

So once you say that you have investigated the matter and are certain that she never had physical relations with him, despite video evidence to the contrary you have essentially said that the videos are forgeries. If you insist that the videos are products of technical wizardry, in most people's minds, especially those that count, it is very easy to see that the audios are as well. After all it is much harder to forge a video than an audio. 

You may see this as stupid. You may see it as short-sighted and ignorant. However these honorable Rabbis, despite a host of experts in this field saying otherwise, have told us that they are certain that the video evidence is false, that she never had physical relations and that, "there is no halachic reason"(which there is plenty on those videos) to hold up her conversion. Thus, inadvertently they have vindicated T. 

We are told that if the Rabbanim tell us night is day, no matter how much we may think they are wrong, they are right. Well these Rabbanim have told us that evidence of a physical relationship, contrary to the existence of verified videos, does not exist. Therefore the only thing left is that, despite our senses, and experts telling us differently, is that these Rabbanim who sat this Beit Din, who did this excellent investigation must have some sort of Daat Torah to know that they videos were faked. 

Thus by Kol V'Homer it is certain that if the videos were faked, the audios were faked as well. After all we have established that the hardest bit of technical wizardry has already been accomplished. Second the evidence all came from the same source. If that source had the resources, ability, and will to forge the videos, how can we possibly trust the audios?

I know you will say that it is clearly R' T's voice. I will agree. You will say that he definitely sounds to be talking inappropriately, I will say you are right. But see anyone with the resources to forge the videos, quite obviously has the ability as well to tap R' T's phone. You see all R' T has to say is that someone recorded him giving marital advice on Shalom Bayit and sexual relation issues to his Talmidim, as well as a couple of other innocuous conversations and spliced it together in a very devious way to make him sound like he was saying something he never truly said.

 And it gets even more interesting...

As I said above word that I have gotten from R' Rafi Ostroff's own uncle is that they didn't have a good halachic reason, and that is why R' Rafi is now trying to distance himself from this.

Quite honestly there are three violations of halacha here. 

1) The B"D in Israel went against the direct ruling of another B"D who was currently handling the case. In numerous places in Choshen Mishpat siman 19 being one such place.

2) They converted a person who had recently transgressed one of the three major aveirot, and who continues to deny her actions. See Rambam's hilchot Teshuva, and the revelant places in the B"Y and Sh"A.

3) One of the Dayyanim has now, seperated himself as being against the decision of the other two. Whether this was only retroactively or not, is as yet undetermined, but this is also a violation of the Sh"A, see Choshen Mishpat siman 19.

In truth this whole thing is turning out to be a comedy of errors. Unfortunately it is not very funny.

 And...

I will lay my cards on the Table.

I think that the ruling of this B"D was a tragic mistake. No I don't consider her a valid Giyoret, nor do I consider T innocent. [size mine.] However, what I think does not really matter. What this B"D has done is give him the help he needed to make his comeback. 

Anybody who attacks him now will be taken down in very short order as someone simply bearing him malevolent ill will, as the words of this B"D can so easily be used to clear him.

and..

Because ultimately it does not matter what I think. The truth of the matter is that I worked as an askan for a couple of Gedolim for months helping them to verify this evidence, pushing them and other Rabbanim that something needed to be done, that something needed to be said. Then, on the eve of that actually happening, this "conversion" takes place. 

All the work, disintegrates. No Gadol will go anywhere near this now. Every major Rav I speak with about this, considers the actions of this B"D to have possuled the evidence. Even people like R' Shternbuch are backing off of it, on account of this. So if every major Gadol, every Rabbi that I know that actually had a chance to do something considers this action to have possuled the evidence, it does not matter what I think, it does not matter what I know. Rav Tropper has been handed a get out of jail free card.

In case you haven't noticed I am a halachic Jew, and part of that means that we follow our Rabbanim. If the Rabbanim, perhaps even against their own personal feelings, think that the evidence is now possul, what can I do but to apologize.

 Go there for more....