Lakewood, NJ – Rabbi Accused Of Running Divorce Kidnap Team Heads To Trial

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    FILE - In a Thursday, Oct. 10, 2013 file photo, FBI agents remove evidence from the Brooklyn residence of Rabbi Mendel Epstein during an investigation, in New York.  (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)Lakewood, NJ – When a Jewish woman wanted a divorce from an unwilling husband, federal prosecutors say Mendel Epstein was the rabbi who — for the right price — could gather a kidnap team to make it happen.

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    Prosecutors allege Epstein’s team would use brutal methods, including martial arts beatings, handcuffs and electric cattle prods, to torture the man into granting the divorce.

    “If it can get a bull that weighs 5 tons to move, you put it in certain parts of his body and in one minute the guy will know,” prosecutors said the Orthodox rabbi told a pair of undercover FBI agents posing as a brother and sister trying to force the sister’s husband to grant the ritual Jewish divorce known as a “get.” Prosecutors say he was recorded telling the agents the operation would cost at least $50,000.

    The kidnap team brought surgical blades, a screwdriver and rope to a staged kidnapping in 2013, according to the indictment. Epstein, who was indicted last May along with his son and three other Orthodox rabbis, told the undercover agents he arranged similar kidnappings every year or year and a half, the indictment said.

    Epstein’s trial on attempted kidnapping charges starts Tuesday in federal court in Trenton. Several co-defendants have pleaded guilty in the case; others will go on trial with Epstein.

    The charges against Epstein reveal how far some Jewish women are forced to go to obtain a get, which Jewish law says the woman needs to remarry or even date another man.

    Defense lawyer Robert Stahl called Epstein a “champion of women’s rights.” Epstein wrote the 1989 book “A Woman’s Guide to the Get Process.”

    “I think that a lot of information will come out about the supposed victims, and the evidence will not be there that he was involved in certain incidents,” Stahl said. “Much more will come to light once the trial gets underway.”

    Epstein is free on bail. No one answered the door last week at his two-story house in Lakewood, a 25-square-mile community near the Jersey shore where more than 60,000 Orthodox Jews reside.

    The allegations against Epstein show the lengths to which an agunah — a Jewish woman whose husband will not give the get — will go for a divorce.

    “Without having the get … I have no prospects of getting remarried. I cannot date men. I have no future of having more children,” said Rivky Stein, a 25-year-old Brooklyn woman who says she is trying to obtain a get from her husband but isn’t involved in the Epstein case. “It just literally locks you in. You’re just entirely chained, and, in a sense, you’re controlled.”

    The problem of recalcitrant husbands in the Jewish faith is dealt with in a few ways but can be complicated in the U.S., said Rabbi Mark Dratch, executive vice president of the Rabbinical Council of America. In Israel, he said, husbands who refuse to grant divorces can be imprisoned. Because that can’t happen in the United States, communities sometimes exert social pressure on the husband.

    “It’s embarrassing to the individual and to the community,” he said, noting that he doesn’t condone the violence alleged in the Epstein case. “It’s not such a thing we’re proud of.”

    Stein said she doesn’t pardon any crimes Epstein may have committed but has called for the Jewish community to come up with a solution to what she said is a problem of men “distorting Judaism.”

    “Do I condone it? No. But I understand these women,” she said. “I understand their desperation. I understand their pain.”


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    44 Comments
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    yosher
    yosher
    9 years ago

    He is,was, simply a gun for hire. He represented men against their wives as well, so long as his fees were paid. We have a Rabbi in Queens who referred women to him as part of his rogue Bais Din process. It is this circle of Rabbis who never publicly admonish or throw these Mesariv Le-Din husbands out of Shuls. This is a new business replacing elected Batei Din of yesterday. Kal Harotzeh Litol, Notel.

    9 years ago

    There are many rabbonim and beis dins who would not accept gittin extracted through torture as having been offered voluntarily by the husband whose wife/agunah had him tortured. Rav Gavornlik and many other chashuve rabbonim have said that a get offered under such duress is not legitimate and the woman cannot remarry under those circumstances.i

    Boochie
    Boochie
    9 years ago

    I hope he gets off, some of these husbands ate reshoyim and its the only language they understood

    heyward
    heyward
    9 years ago

    Wow was waiting for that day. Prosecutors allege Epstein’s team would use brutal methods, including martial arts beatings, handcuffs and electric cattle prods, to torture the man into granting the divorce. I wonder if he ever tried this method on one of his family members.

    My second question is why is it all the time that the man are being blamed. I come from a divorce there is no words what a women can do to torcher there men such as taking him for every penny that he struggled all his life. (House) (Business) (Bank accounts) and taking away the children from visitation rights.

    Mr. Epstein It’s payback time. I just hope and pray that the Jury will find you guilty which you well deserve. And the judge should throw the key away.

    By By Mr. Epstein

    ModernLakewoodGuy
    ModernLakewoodGuy
    9 years ago

    Fantastic! It’s a waste of tax payer money to serve them kosher food in prison, but a small price to pay in keeping these animals off the street.

    SandmanNY
    SandmanNY
    9 years ago

    Back in the alterheim, a person could be ostracized socially through cherem. Harder – but not impossible – to do that in these times. Today it would be very easy to put these recalcitrant husbands on a public list that can be published (with photos) on the web, listed in local newspapers, posted in public Jewish places (mikveh notice boards, for example). We need to employ a 21st century equivalent of the old colonial stockades which were designed to shame a person into returning to decency.

    9 years ago

    Before you all throw your hats in saying how wicked the husband is and how thye all deserve it know that generally its at two way street.Very often the lady either refuses the get unless she gets a large pay out. Or she uses the children as extortion both directly and indirectly.Oh and then of course when her terms or wickdness is not meet oh she is an aguna we all have to feel bad for her.

    Its quite interesting that often, when its the husbands turn to have the kids oh they have a cold, cousins dog bar mitzva etc.. so they can’t come. So you may say why hold back the get because of the kids? Well often she puts unfair terms in the get arrangement. Even if not at the end of the day my kids are my life line and my limbs. If a terrorist enters to my house and starts toutring me wouldn’t I use any tactic in the world to stop him/ her.Had R epstein gone after the ladies that are vicous and beaten them too you would all have a point.
    Note this is not to say all women are evil There are wicked men acting out of pure vengence. But generally it takes two to tango. If you cruch the numbers its probably 50/50.

    9 years ago

    As far as i know an aguna in the literal gemara sense, is when ones husband travels overseas and we may never ever see him again. or he drowned in the ocean. Or the holocaust where R moshe was mater agunas. However to call an aguna any time two people are ina fight and a get is not given quick enough is not what the gemara meant. It is a bad thing not to withhold a get, but its just not an aguna

    yankel91
    yankel91
    9 years ago

    The real answer is sit down talk together and work out peace magic word ”shalom” bies which sounds like it’s forgotten today there is no family value

    9 years ago

    Don’t think women are better.I know very many women ,who do not want to take a divorce so they put the men in the same position in which the men put the women.
    EVEN STEVEN.

    wsbrgh
    wsbrgh
    9 years ago

    Bs’d. There’s no question that our Holy Torah is perfect. So what are the missing pieces to this aguna problem- and what are the refinements and midos that are eluding us? HaShem yeracheim!

    savtat
    savtat
    9 years ago

    If your spouse doesn’t want to be married to you anymore…. give the get. It’s that simple. You have issues, go to court or Beis Din, but you create an awful chillul Hashem when you tie your wife up and it becomes public. That is not the Jewish way. Set an example for your children that you can disagree, yet still be menchlich. Move on with your life and find happiness elsewhere.

    wsbrgh
    wsbrgh
    9 years ago

    Bs’d. Solution to problem!!: A universally required pre-nuptual addendum to all Kesubas: “If, after such and such, and this and that, the husband refuses, then increasing massive penalties.”

    Mark Levin
    Mark Levin
    9 years ago

    כופין אותו עד שאמר רוצה אני

    (Sorry if my spelling wasn’t 100%)

    ayoyo
    ayoyo
    9 years ago

    A bes din in new york can act only as an arbitrator between parties,to settle a dispute.They have no right to force anything on either side.If the rabbi had problems with this ,he should have sought another means of a livelihood.

    SouthernBubbie
    SouthernBubbie
    9 years ago

    Rabbi Epstein deserves a medal – not prison.

    Insider
    Insider
    9 years ago

    He ain’t no Reb Moshe or Rav Elyahuv, but, Yiftach B’Doro K’Shmuel B’Doro. Rb Epstein ain’t no tzaddik, but if one is in the difficult situation of a mean husband determined not to give a ghet, then Mendel Prodfather Epstein, for a few bucks, is your only answer. Mendel’s daughter is aother cute number, but that’s the breaks, firends.

    Yaakov2
    Yaakov2
    9 years ago

    Epstein was no Rabbi at all but allegedly a Mafia style Torture for Hire.

    How can anyone think he acted in good faith, when in this sting operation, where he was caught now, he arranged to torture a GOY who was never even married to any women and never bothered to investigate if the Goyishe women (FBI Sting Lady) who requested a “Get” was even Jewish or ever married to anyone at all.

    Epstein’s operation was a most extreme example to show how corrupt so called “Batei Dinim” are today.

    Today you can go to almost any Beis Din and BRIBE them with a few hundred thousadn dollars and “purchase” any Psak din you want in an instant without even the blink of an eye.

    Not only did he violate secular law, but violated ever Halacha in Shulchan Aruch which a requires Rabbonim to investigate if what they are told is true and his “business” resulted in countless fake and invalid Gittin and which in turn resulted in countless Mamzerim being born.

    Make sure that your child does not marry a Mamzer born as a result of his fake Gittin. This Mamzer could be “the best bucher” in Yeshiva and you would never know!

    Yaakov2
    Yaakov2
    9 years ago

    Proof that Most Batei Dinim are corrupt:

    Since we now know, that in this sting operation he arranged for a forced Get for an FBI agent, a Goy, obviously he did not follow Halacha to investigate anything and all his Gittin are invalid.

    If so, why don’t we hear criticism against him from All Batei Dinim and warnings from all Batei Dinim that all his Gittin are invalid, risking Aishes Ish and Mamzerim?

    Aishes Ish and Mamzerim are the most serious allegations for any legitimate Beis Din, so why are they all so silent?

    Unless they are all corrupt together and non are no bigger “Tzadikim”, than him and are all equally available “for hire” for any “fake psak din”.

    smartjew
    smartjew
    9 years ago

    if it was leshem mitzvah how do you justify charging 50,000 surely the prods don’t cost that much

    smartjew
    smartjew
    9 years ago

    reply to 20. epstein did engage in binding arbitration but he took it literally by binding the husband

    DrGee
    DrGee
    9 years ago

    Now that these defendants have been indicted the Feds will put the entire weight of the federal government to convict them.It is almost impossible to defend oneself as the government has infinite resources.Before one passes judgement realize that this is the same federal system that put Rubashkin and Pollard away.Yes they need to be punished but do they need to be separated from their families?Do they need to not see their children grow up and get married.This is not the Jewish way.

    Eagle
    Eagle
    9 years ago

    He was a mafia style rabbi. It’s unbelievable that he was able to get away with it for so long, quite frankly I’m surprised none of those tortured husbands returned with a gun and shot him. I hope the law catches up to him.

    hershel
    hershel
    9 years ago

    What time tomorrow?

    harryivan
    harryivan
    9 years ago

    Does anyone know in these kind of situations, if someone asks and extort money for a Get, Divorce. to whom to report a name and Number? is their a Possibility to get back the $$$$$$ Money or is it Deep in the Ocean?? the שו”ת באר משה states that if a person will ask for money from this Poor Women who asks for a Get from her Husband, he Curses him out, and the Debritziner Rav ZTL, states והי, לדראון עולם וכו, WE AREN’T YISHMAEL, You dont OWN your WIFE, she is not an OBJECT,

    qazxc
    qazxc
    9 years ago

    Exactly where did I claim that women are never to blame?