Brooklyn, NY – The first snow flutters hesitantly in Brooklyn. Men wearing fur streimel hats and women wearing sheitls walk briskly past the corner of 15th Avenue and 58th Street in Boro Park as if nothing extraordinary has happened here.
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And why not? The kosher shops of this self-contained ultra-Orthodox neighborhood — practically a city onto itself — are still a few blocks down, and here on this bleak corner, there are only three orange school buses parked in front of a four-story, dark-red brick building, which sits on a residential street, where tall, narrow houses nearly overlap. The structure is rather nondescript and unimposing — garbage bags are piled haphazardly by a front gate, bars protect the windows, young boys can be heard chanting from behind the locked door and a white sign with sky blue Hebrew lettering reads: “Yeshiva Imrei Yosef Spinka.”
A buzzer sounds. The door opens. No one asks who rang the bell. Up the four steps, a reception window sits empty. Hazy yellow fluorescent lights illuminate the narrow hallways adorned with graying yellow paint and frayed industrial carpeting. If there are millions — or even thousands — of dollars going to the Spinka yeshiva, it certainly doesn’t seem like it’s coming here.
This despite the fact that on Dec. 19, 2007, the U.S. Attorney General’s Office filed an indictment in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California naming the Chasidic yeshiva and four other Spinka organizations, as well as eight people, in a multimillion dollar tax fraud and money-laundering ring that stretched from Brooklyn to Los Angeles to Israel and elsewhere. [jewishjournal]
By the way, the moser who turned in the Spinka Rebbe and several other frum yidden in Los Angeles is a guy in LA named Robert Kassirer. His father Yankel was a mentch, and is undoubtedly turning in his grave now.
Not going into judgments in this case guilty until proven innocent, or innocent until proven guilty, for Geneive, Mesirah, one thing is for sure… The nasty venomous sarcasm written by a Jew and printed in a Jewish Journal is inexcusable they are definitely guilty of defaming a Jewish community as a whole, for sensationalism. Shame on them, and may HaShem pay them back in kind that the hand that wrote that article should be incapacitated. HaShem has his ways either by Stroke, Cancer, Amputation etc. Lekayaim Uvuarto Harah Mikirbechu Lemaan Yeidu…
The author writes “Men wearing fur streimel hats and women wearing sheitls walk briskly past”, and then refers to the buzzer used to open the door at the Spinks yeshiva. I assume it was a weekday, so I don’t think the author saw streimlach. But maybe they think a black hat is a streimal.
Milhouse, you are either an idiot or terribly misguided and in need of a good Rebbe. Tax evasion is clearly stealing!! If you’re guilty of it yourself you might want to consider to whom you will need to provide a Din V’Chesbon after 120.
And even if it would not be Ganeiva – it’s a horrible Chillul Hashem to get caught since the law of the land makes it stealing in everyone else’s eyes. Is it worth saving a few buck and risking causing a Chillul Hashem?
As other commenters pointed out on previous stories regarding this topic, the informant may indeed not be guilty of Mesirah. So Milhouse, you might want to think before talking about how someone’s “Neshama will be cut off.”
I think most of us are hoping that they will be proven innocent via the trial. And until then, don’t we have the obligation to rely on a Yid’s Chezkas Kashrus?
i think the biggest message we should take from that article is… this blog s being watched by all these anti-orthodox media hounds and we should def. watch wat we post because it will be taken out of the yiddishe environment and may be used against us. if u wanna discuss this in the mikvah i dont think the polish janitor will understand wat u r talking about…but VIN and ne blog for that matter can get into the wrong hands and may be used as ammo against us.
The fact that the Spinka rebbe was brought down by an informant is a fact. There is no trial to determine that. So the name of the informant is a fact. If thats his picture, then he’s guilty of messira. and should cut his payos off as his neshama is cut off. He probably would also work for the SS if it saved his fat t##$s.
As for the putz that thinks tax evasion isnt genaiva. You probably had the same rebbeim as the moiser did. youre a yoyo
Dope! Of course tax evasion isn’t genevah, you’ll just sit in jail! Don’t forget the money laundering. There are some big bosses sitting right now just for that.
G’neva is g’neva, but tax evasion is not g’neva. And regardless of that, mesira is definitely mesira. RK is a moser, and we have laws about that.
If they’re guilty they’d better vote for Hillary so she can pardon them.
Mr. 11:08 – why does someone who hates the concept of “frum” yidden committing crimes and causing chilul hashem mean sinaas chinum?
to anon 11:11
guess you think oj simpson never commited murder of 2 people because he wasnt convicted.
In this country you are innocent until proven guilty. If there is enough evidence that the people involved were actually doing what they were accused of doing even if it was the Rebbe than they deserve to sit in jail as if it was anyone else. This would be enough of a lesson to anyone else attempting this shtick.
and you mr. anon.-10:19
are the epitomy of sinas chinam.
where does the shtreimel and sheitel come into this story?
he hasen’t had a trial yet. and you already found him guilty of all the charges. you’re a self hating jew, and you should go back to the sewer you came from.
You can hide behind all of your streimels and sheitels, but g’neva is g’neva. This is a huge chillul Hashem.
Criminals have perverted our great religion. You cannot steal in the name of G-d.