Monsey, NY – When a group of young men slaughtered a brown and white spotted cow and strung its carcass from a tree in the yard of a house being used as a yeshiva, they did more than anger people who live nearby, residents and community leaders said.
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The act once again ignited some of the tensions that exist in Ramapo, a diverse community made up of people from all over the world with widely different cultural and religious beliefs.
“When these kinds of things happen, it makes coexisting very, very difficult,” said Willie Trotman, head of the local chapter of the NAACP. “It doesn’t give a positive message in terms of how people of diverse backgrounds get along.”
Many of the neighbors claim that the ritual slaughter performed at the Bobover Yeshiva – a large house illegally converted to a school more than two years ago in an upscale residential area – was another example of the many ways that Bobover officials show a lack of respect for people who live near them.
Bobover Yeshiva officials will appear Thursday before the Ramapo Zoning Board of Appeals as part of a dispute with the town over variances to allow the construction of a building on the property to serve 250 students. The 2-acre site also has a nursery school.
Many people in Ramapo feel the group’s disregard for zoning regulations is part of a larger lack of regard for the community as a whole.
“They go in and take over and do whatever they want – fait accompli – without going through the proper channels,” said John Lampkin, who lives several houses away from the school. “If they really had respect for the community, they would follow regulations.”
Rabbi Gershon Bornfreund, head of the yeshiva, has apologized to neighbors for the ritual slaughter, which he said was a result of a miscommunication and should never have been permitted in the school’s backyard.
In an interview, Bornfreund said the school is trying to be considerate of people who live nearby.
“It was the wrong thing that was done,” he said. “But we want to be good neighbors.”
He said that the school is planning to spend thousands of dollars on trees to buffer the school from neighboring homes.
He said the congregation moved the school to the location on Route 306 bordering the villages of Pomona and Wesley Hills because there was no land available closer to Monsey, where many of the students live.
Local Jewish leaders also criticized the school’s actions – saying that slaughtering a cow, hanging it from a tree where neighbors can see it, then storing its head and innards in a classroom used by young children, gave the Jewish community at large a bad image.
“When we go around hanging dead cows from trees, we profane God’s name,” said Rabbi David Eidensohn of Monsey, a frequent Orthodox Jewish commentator on family issues. “It’s an utter disgrace in every sense of the word.”
Eidensohn, who said he had no firsthand knowledge of the incident and only knew what he read about it, said there is an even bigger danger when such groups act with such a disregard for others.
“This was not a religious act, it was an act of a fool,” he said. “But now people will think that this is something that Jews do – and that will make people despise and hate Jews and threaten our very existence.”
Rabbi Moses David Tendler of Community Synagogue of Monsey, a professor of medical ethics and biology at Yeshiva University as well as an expert on Talmudic law, said the group’s slaughter of a cow showed a disregard for laws as well as the group’s failure to understand American society.
“They are ignorant of social mores,” he said. “They don’t know what is right and proper in an American community.”
There is a danger that people will think that all Jews behave that way even though they don’t, Tendler said.
“What they did has nothing to do with religion,” he said. “Their behavior should be viewed one way: bad social manners, nothing else.”
I think this was a wrong and terrible thing, BUT when the Muslims slaughter a goat for their yomim tovim we don’t hear any outcries. Just this week a cow ran away from the Muslim slaughterhouse in Queens through the streets of the city, and everybody was concerned that the cow should be allowed to live, but nobody criticized the Muslims for slaughtering cows in middle of New York City.
It is about time people start calling this what it is. STUPIDITY.
Kudos to Rav Tendler!
I & many other frum people from Monsey are totally fed up with the liberties taken by many who claim to be part of our community. The concept of being a good neighbor whether it is about illegal construction, kaporos or this latest stupidity has caused countless chillulei hashem. When will some people learn that there is no such idea of “Ish hayashar b’aynov yaaseh” when this affects others!!!
We have to give them a chance since its the first time such incident happend maybe they didn’t think that its gonna cause such fire next time they will think twice before giving premission for doing anything that might upset the neiegbors “havei dan es kol udom lkaf zchius” may hashem bless you all and let’s forget about this
We’ll all be better off if Tendler is kept out of the news.
“Rabbi” Tendler thinks metitzah bpeh is also against the social norm that’s how the reform movement starts first against metitzeh bpeh then against shechitah then he will say don’t wear shtreimlich then mixed dancing is ok
Hello,
There are no laws governing the slaughtering of privately owned cow in a privately owned place, just as there are no laws governing how many live lobsters I can stuff down my treifene throat.
When you are all done ekking out a reason for why this was so inappropriate, start thinking why you’re looking for that reason in the first place.
I dont get it, did the school shecht the cow? or did a stranger use the property without premition ? which BOBOV has a school in monsey
Everybody knows it was stupid, but tendler should keep to his community, and shut up about criticizing us, you never hear him say anything good about, we know he hates chasidim, and that’s the reason he critizises us.
yasher co’ach to rabbanim such as Rav Tendler who are able to elevate Judaism above selfish behavior. if the Jewish community exercises a disregard for our neighbors, we may give them valid reasons to dislike us – and anti-Semitism already has plenty of power without good reason.
this should remind every yid to conduct him/herself like a proper mentsch – not like a vilde chaya that disgraces Hashem’s chosen people
Why does it bother us when goyim or frie yiden hate us when we alone hate each other ?and if the goy hates all the jews because the act of one yid that shows us that we are one so why not be one ? And feel when a goy hates our brother that they hate us to ?
By having so many “leaders” comment on the issue only draws attention. The yeshiva has offered an apology. Let it go away. Instead, we have all these people opening their mouths. Keep quiet and stop and stop drawing attention.
charata is a very important inyon but often jewish ”leaders” mamosh trip over each other with the mea culpas.
Shame on you Tendler ! you are a disgrace to our community !
Eidensohn and Tendler are both right on! I would be thrilled if because of this incident the yeshiva was forced to shut down. That’s what these closed minded fools need to get the message clearly.
dear moses you’re not in a position to comment on mores or social behavior first empty your closets
Boy, you slaughter one cow publicly and they call you ignorant of social mores! Give a guy a break, huh..
When I learned Chulin we went to a slaughter house the animal was not brought to us.
I live in Yerushalayim , on a dead end street, every once in a while I would see an older man with a beard come and shecht a chicken outside my building and then throw out the innards in the building garbage and leave over feathers and blood on the floor. It was extremely disgusting and selfish thing to do, besides being oiver on the lav of “bal tshaksu”. Unfortunately some yidden are lacking consideration for other peoples feelings and therefore cause big chillulei Hashem.
to all quotes that say it is legal and because of one macheshefa calling police , I do not think you would appreciate a cow being slaughtered in open view in a residential area in front of your wife and kids
I don’t understand A) It is permissable to slaughter a calf in your backyard (as Milhouse says and he usually knows his facts)
B)They could of been teaching the boys Shechita, Chulin, etc….. and therefore this was part of the school curiculum and part of their religous studies
C) they had temporary permission from the town to use the house as a school
d) Bobov quickly apologized and took steps to make sure it is sensitive to its neighbors
So what did Bobov do wrong ? Why are frum people looking to put them down ?
I don’t understand
A) It is permissable to slaughter a calf in your backyard (as Milhouse says and he usually knows his facts)
B)They could of been teaching the boys Shechita, Chulin, etc….. and therefore this was part of the school curiculum and part of their religous studies
C) they had temporary permission from the town to use the house as a school
d) Bobov quickly apologized and took steps to make sure it is sensitive to its neighbors
So what did Bobov do wrong ? Why are frum people looking to put them down ?
Everyone bashing bobov is an antisemite no matter how frum you consider yourself. Fact is your reaction is exactly the same as the antisemetic neighbors. So the shected a cow in their backyard. Big whoopi! So what? Don’t be such hypocritical yutzes.
Rabbi Tendler himself is a mechalel shem shamaiyim, so he shouldn’t say musar to other people
They should have shecheted 20 animals and hung them from the trees. I would even kill a baboon and staple it to the lady’s front door.
Rabbi Tendler, with all due respect to you and your family, I think the fact that you went up on the Har HaBayis (temple mount) is enough to disqualify you from commenting on this or any Jewish matter.
Yidden let’s love eachother let’s not stigmatize that is what Goyim do. FYI I live down the street from the yeshiva Not a nurserymy husband ocassionally davenes Shacharis there. He says that there are aprox 45 bachrim that learn there they do not sleep there. it is a very high caliber one. And as you can all see the adinastrator Apologized right away that shold say somthing. & FYI Bobov did not shecht it for the boys to see it was an outsider that did it and the cow was on a flabed truck being taken away when the neighbor saw it. As for that neighbor they case trouble for every one on the block. You Be The Judge
Teldler should shut up !!!!!! He’s a man that allways has to say about chasidishe yiden. Doesn’t matter right or wrong. He is the person who make a great chilul hashem by telling the world that we are wrong. TENDLER SHUT UP
Yidden let’s love eachother let’s not stigmatize that is what Goyim do. FYI I live down the street from the yeshiva Not a nurserymy husband ocassionally davenes Shacharis there. He says that there are aprox 45 bachrim that learn there they do not sleep there. it is a very high caliber one. And as you can all see the adinastrator Apologized right away that shold say somthing. & FYI Bobov did not shecht it for the boys to see it was an outsider that did it and the cow was on a flabed truck being taken away when the neighbor saw it. As for that neighbor they case trouble for every one on the block. You Be The Judge
I guess this rabbi is out of touch, just last week our beloved president scared the guts out of thousands of new yorkers for a photo op, so which American society is this rabbi referring too? I don’t get it what’s the big deal I bet every one in the area has seen a dead dear on the side of the road and never thought about calling the health dep. or the police so give me a break
Allow me to preface my remark iwth the statement that I have nothing against Shtreimlach. My great great grandfather probably wore one, and most people who wear them today, do not insist that I wear one.
There was no Polish nobility in the 1800’s. Poland was dismembered in 1796, and simply did not exist between that date and the close of WW1.
The shtreimel does resemble the headgear worn by the Russian aristocracy of the 1700’s, which they in turn copied from the Tartar rulers of Russia. Portraits of Ivan the 4th (the Terrible) show him wearing, what appears to be a shreimel. There are no portraits of Temujin (Genghis khan), but it is likely that he wore similar headgear. That garb was adopted by the early Chasidim, as a form of Shabbat and holiday dress. It is generally assumed that these items were worn (and are worn) so that , at least on Shabbat, every Jew can look like, and feel like a king.
I personally, don’t want to wear one, and I don’t attach any “kedusha” to them, but it is certainly a harmless “minhag”.
If we Jews can tolerate Moslems, Sikhs and Hindus weraing their distinct headgear, we certainly ought to tolerate other Jews who have chosen, what is certainly a today’s times, their own unique headgear
When I was a bochur in Yeshiva (one of the most “yeshivishe ones in America) it was very chic to make fun of people like Rabbi Tendler. But now that I’m not there anymore for many years, I can think with a clear head, and it’s very simple to see how right he is in this case, and quite scary to see people disagreeing with him. And chances are he probably makes sense in everything he says, and we probably just disagreed with him since it was “yeshivish” to do so.
Personally if I lived in Monsey, I’d be at the zoning board meeting AGAINST this illegal yeshiva, as all frum people should be . For a yeshiva to park themselves illegally goes against everything a yeshiva should stand for, and that is Kvod Shomayim. Settling illegally and pissing off law-abiding gentiles does just the opposite, any moron can see that. Add this fiasco to that and it just compounds their stupidity. Why doesn’t their Rebbe lead them in the proper derech if they can’t figure out this blatant and simple error on their own? Isn’t that what a Rebbe is for? Silly me!
Heaven knows Monsey does indeed need a lesson on how to consume kosher meat, but to do it in a backyard of an illegal yeshiva (while they’re trying to go in front of a zoning board noch) is beyond moronic.
Regarding the levush: all you have to do is google Clothing of Polish nobility and you will see clothes that resemble the Chassidish garb of today.
How come the fact that a deer was shot at and killed in someone’s backyard in Wesley Hills, by a Mexican (illegal immigrant probably), illegally and dangerously wasn’t in the news?
Yidden let’s love eachother let’s not stigmatize that is what Goyim do. FYI I live down the street from the yeshiva Not a nurserymy husband ocassionally davenes Shacharis there. He says that there are aprox 45 bachrim that learn there they do not sleep there. it is a very high caliber one. And as you can all see the adinastrator Apologized right away that shold say somthing. & FYI Bobov did not shecht it for the boys to see it was an outsider that did it and the cow was on a flabed truck being taken away when the neighbor saw it. As for that neighbor they case trouble for every one on the block. You Be The Judge
Herr Milhouse’s mistake, and Bobov’s for that matter as well, is this myopic societal entitelment attitude. There are probably hundreds of acts we can all name and agree on that if someone did them on their private property in a residential neighborhood for other people to see, such acts would be offensive – and slaughtering livestock openly is such an act. But even that’s not the point.
The real issue here is that this is a yeshiva – meaning a Jewish religious organization representing Jewish ideals that are supposed translate into a higher moral code. And their first introduction to this community is that they bought a house – a residence – and they are going to ignore the laws and the zoning, and force the entire area to accept them whether they like it or not. As a yeshiva, people should expect MORE, not LESS. But this yeshiva, like some others, but not all others, made a statement going into this – we don’t have to follow your zoning. All you neighbors want quiet acre lots, we don’t care. We are going to come in here and do what we want. We won’t be like Darchei Noam, Ohr Reuven YSV, Vizhnitz, Satmer, Chabad, Ashar, Gittelman, who spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to be legal. We’ll buy the house and then force the yeshiva down your throat.
So right off the bat this yeshiva is saying, you are wrong to hold us to a higher standard. Our agenda is more important than yours. You don’t like it? Too bad.
And at the same time they are politicking for variances, they go ahead and traipse a cow on their property and are stupid enough to do it so the same neighbors they thumb their noses at JUST BY BEING THERE can see. This is the definition of Arrogant Chillul Hashem. A yid is chayiv to understand how his actions are being perceived, and if they are being perceived negatively, or make a bad impression, then it’s ossur to do such an act.
Would anyone here think it was funny if Mr. Millhouse walked around Monsey on erev Pesach with a box of matzah in one hand and a container in the other labelled “Gentile Blood?” Of course not. This is the same thing. It doesn’t matter if the house is private property. In view of the community is in view of the community.
How is this chillul Hashem any different than Madoff? Maybe its worse. I know one thing – I wouldn’t want my children to be taught by a yeshiva that is so inept. Yiddin can’t lay claim to being the am hanivchar and then walk around being selfish and arrogant.
The point is you can dance on legal lines all you want. Its not the issue. Only your neighbors can judge what kind of neighbor you are. On so many levels this incident is a microcosm of precisely why there is still anti-semitism. The picture of that white house on 306 should go in the dictionary under Chillul Hashem.
Just because its LEGAL, as many posters said, doesn’t make it right. This is not about a crime but an act of gross stupidity and a tremendous chilul hashem. This issue will come up every time a yeshiva wants to get a zoning variance and will provide plenty of ammunition to those who dont want yeshivas in their neighborhoods for the wrong reasons.
“Gentile Blood?”
Shaul, you just hit another low. I think I’ll send Khalid Muhammad to you. He can sure learn from you a thing or two.
There once was a Jew
Who studied in YU
There he got a chip on his shoulder
And from Yiddishkeit, got by the day colder
He settled in the Ir Hatoirah, and of Kedusha, in Monsey
There instead of embracing them, instead he grew a Duntzie
Hitler, Goebbels, and Khalid Muhammad’s opinion of Jews
He gleefully on VIN, let with venom loose
A day will come, my friend nevertheless
Where – you will wallow, in you own self made morass.
I pity you sorrowfully, when your ugliness will show
I will hate to tell you – but I told you so.
Shaul it ain’t too late, you can still change your ugly ways. It is time to recognize that the Chassidim are not your enemies; those, who you think, that they like you, they are your real enemies. The Mah Yofis Yiden like you in Germany a century ago lost it all, NIsht Kei Yid, Nisht Kein Goy, Nisht Kein Oilom Habah and also no Oilom Hazeh. Come back my friend.
when I was in Tendlers class inYU he once told us that G-D had two chochmos to give the world , torah & science, but no human was great enough to transmit both so he gave only the torah to Moshe Rabbeinu. now you decide for yourself if his opinion is worth reckoning with. btw that was the last class of his I ever attended, I’m not ultra anything but even I realized he had crossed the line