Monsey, NY – Neighbors were shocked when they looked out their window to see boys circling a calf in the backyard of a stately home now used by Yeshiva Bobover. The rest of us were appalled by photos released by Ramapo Police that showed blood-spattered walls in a preschool classroom, and by descriptions of a cow’s head, entrails and bloody knives found in boxes in the room for young children.
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The yeshiva apologized. But the mea culpa really comes too late and sounds inadequate. “The unfortunate incident that took place on Monday evening on our school property was totally not within parameters of our school charter or mission purpose,” stated the letter signed by Rabbi Gershon Bornfreund, administrator of the yeshiva.
This action, and the yeshiva’s track record in related areas, should not be ignored next week, when Yeshiva Bobover goes before the Ramapo Zoning Board of Appeals to seek special permission from the town to build a bigger building than would be allowed on its 2-acre plot. The yeshiva has been operating in a home on the property; it is an illegal use that the town has passively allowed.
Relatedly, the yeshiva was fined $2,000 in February by the Rockland Board of Health for operating the school without getting a permit for a public water supply. That fine has not been paid.
On May 14, the Ramapo Zoning Board of Appeals should not give an inch on Yeshiva Bobover’s continuing dispute with the town over variances to allow the construction of a building on the property to serve 250 students.
In recent years, Ramapo has allowed organizations, often private schools, to continue to operate even if they are out of compliance with codes. Sometimes, this has resulted in good compliance with local codes and general cooperation. Other times, the violations pile up as town regulations are repeatedly ignored. Guess which pattern fits here?
Since its inception, the yeshiva has proved to be a poor neighbor to residents of unincorporated Ramapo, and the bordering villages of Pomona and Wesley Hills. The yeshiva’s administrator, Rabbi Gershon Bornfreund, told staff writer Jane Lerner this week that the school has tried to be a good neighbor. “We want to get along with the community,” he said.
Good neighbors follow zoning, building and health codes. Yeshiva Bobover has not. Good neighbors use their property in a way that fits the neighborhood and are aware of activities on their land. Yeshiva Bobover’s administrator claims school officials didn’t know about the cow slaughtering, although a member of the yeshiva’s board of directors told police he had granted permission for the slaughtering lesson.
Against that backdrop, Yeshiva Bobover deserves no further flexibility from Ramapo officials.
A Journal News editorial
I don’t agree with it, but they seem to have hit the nail on the head.
This whole scandal is all a result of a pr firm hired by the neighbors to stop them from building a yeshiva its sad that bobov(?) Fell into the trap if the yeshiva would listen to me sell the property & get out of there cause the neighbors are going to make your life living hell
Just one visit to the Journal News website will tell us all what they stand for. They are a vehicle of expression for all the Jew haters living in the Rockland area. Yes, our heimishe Yidden sometimes do things that can evoke anger, but the racist, outward anti-semitic remarks and posts are matching with the infamous Der Sturmer a nazi propeganda newspaper.
If such hatefull posts were written against blacks or hispanics, I can be sure that the staff at Journal News would act against it and remove such messages. But, not when it comes against Hassidim or Orthodox Jews, and they can claim that many Jews work at Journal News, or many Jews post negative comments on Chasiddim. Well, that in itself is a shame, “Michravayich Mimcha Yotzi” Your destroyers will come forth from within you.
We have to remember what Yaakov Avinu told his children when they went to Egypt “Al Tisrai” Don’t show yourself, which basically means don’t make waves… We as a community have to look within ourselves, are we behaving like we are supposed to? Are we above-the-law citizens? We have to constantly be on the lookout and make a Kiddush Hashem with whatever we do and wherever we go.
A Monsey Resident
I am frum with yeshiva background,. I live in Pomona. I do not want the Bobov yeshiva in my neighborhood, just I do not want any school there. It RUINS the neighborhood, rabbosai. For those who want a quite residential area which is why we moved there. But I figured it out a while ago: Bobov and much of Monsey does not care one bit what the neighbors want. We don’t count for anything, do we, except what can be taken from us. Yes, I am bitter as I have been watching this for years.
We all need to start learning how to deal with the outside world. there is something called manners,respect for others, ect. yes you need to mow your lawn,hold doors for another person (even if that person is a feemale) say please and thank you. i know not all chasideshe yidden are like that but the majority are.
Why don’t you get out of Monsey, and move to Eretz Yisrael where Jews are supposed to live, learn Torah and do mitzvos.
Just because people react negatively with regard to an issue related to the Jewish community, does that mean antisemitism is afoot. In the real world, not the paranoid shtot mentality so many posters here have, if Bobov would be model neighbors and did everything lifnim meshuras hadin, and the community still hated them and wanted them out, then that would be anti-semitisim – baseless hatred essentially.
But we all know the truth – Bobov is being very typical – they’ll do whatever they want and thumb their nose at everyone who is not in their “in crowd.” Especially the goyim.
Well, now they too will get what they deserve. Like it or not, goyim are people too. And the neighborhood has the right to control its environs.
They act like animals – they should be treated as such. Every word of this editorial is emes. Whether you are man enough to admit it is another question.
The Journal News should be appalled at the pictures of the Bobov property,. but not for the reasons they say they are. As there is NO law against what was done (there are laws that regulate slaughter for commercial reasons and since this was NOT the case there were NO LAWS VIOLATED which Rabbi Tendler and so many others care to ignore), there should have been NO search of the property. and NO pictures released. America has a few rules in place about what constitutes a reason for a search. i don’t see how this was allowed. If I search the neighbor’s homes, you might be appalled by the pictures I take of the insides of their homes. Fortunately for them, that would be illegal. Unfortunate for our community, our rights are not always protected, especially when folks want to call us barbarian. Nobody yet has explained why schools are allowed to dissect animals in their labs without this brouhaha, and a Yeshiva cannot do the same.
Mark my words .Bobov will NOT be expanding there in MY life time. #hey sit there and kvetch and get poloticions inv olved . es vet zay goornisht helfin and I will make sure that it doesnt
In a normal town, the local government would step in and would not allow a renegade group to operate an illegal school in a residential house. But Ramapo is not a normal town. Chris St. Lawrence is in office by the bloc vote only so he allows special privileges for the bloc. simple as that.
the only reason y this topic is so active is because it has to do with bobov- thats it
it was finally quiet for a while but as soon as the blogger post something -they’re there WHAT A SHAME
I wonder why on the Bobov story everyone jumped and condemed them. While in the same time here in Queens NY there was a similiar story last week, even worse when the cow ran out of control on the streets of Queens NY where the police tried to chase it. ( Was reported on VIN). The only difference is that in Queens NY it was arabs and in Monsey it was Chassidishe people. If anyone was ever in Queens where these people slaghter all kind of animals would wonder .
Where is Rabbi Tendler! Journal News?
The answer is very simple. We Chassiddisha people don’t have any problems with the Goyim. The problem we have is with the modern orthodox jews who are affraid that Ramapo will become a second Williamsburg. To those people we say “your fight is lost”
It’s a wonderful thing when someone can stand up to a group that is behaving wrongly. It’s a shame more people cannot do that. If more people did that, the dessler family would have lost its hold on the cleveland jewish community a long time ago. instead, there is a family that is destrying children one generation at a time.
As I have said before- we frum yidden have become to comfortable in Golus America and have forgotton Yaakov’s message about not confronting Asov and living a low profile life style. .
I do not live in or near Monsay bit it seems to me that Bobov needs to sell and find a new location without all the calf issues around its neck (pun intended).
Rabboisai, the problem is LOCATION. You don’t build a yeshiva in a residential area like that. The yeshivos in North Jersey are ALL in non-residential zones. Same thing with SOME of our yeshivos in Monsey (like Ohr Someyach and R’ Rudinsky’s yeshiva).
as a city person im appalled at the animosity out there in the beautiful suburbs and we city slickers are considered cold and ill mannered and btw most of the bobover yingerlaht were not born into those lovely suburbs welcome to small town usa
Yall are still forgetting there was nothing ILEAGAL here. I am not making that up! That was said in the original story.
what amazes me about the comments is that opinions of what is legal or not, what is right or not and on on is all based on “boch sevaros”, gut reactions, people’s feelings. “I feel” “I think” have become our generations outlook. That was Chayt Adam — to rationalize based on what he wanted. We have a Torah. Trespassing is not about our feelings but about Halacha. 41 won’t take someone who protects his property as a Mechutan. Another commentator has other gut reactions. However, this is a Halachic issue — and my father pointed out ot us long ago when we were in Monsey that it is not OK, not by his feelings, but by backing it up with a Tanna’s reasoning (that each person going through cannot be blamed cuz each person is only doing a bit of damage, but ultimately they ruin the property — kinda like the stealing that was done in the times of Noach).
Same goes for the Bobov story. Everyone has an opinion. Most are not based on legality. Name me code for what was done wrong — even the police could not do so. When a hunter brings home a deer (and yes, I’ve seen that done) on their car and drive into their yard and dissect it, there are no legal ramifications, because there are no laws governing it. So this was a cow, not a deer. No illegality. Like it or not, no crime was committed.
these yingerlaht who learn hilchos shchite and hichos treyfus are kolel yungerlaht who study from early mornig till late at night i dont think its fair to rip them apart with such a vengeance even if they are a bit narrow minded . shevach meats is git ziegepast zi monsey . monsey should be proud that the young generation is yearning for kosher meat and understanding whats kosher and whats not shame on monsey which just finnished kashering their kitchens should pounce upon naive jewish scholars
If some muslim school opened up next door to your home in your nice quit area u wouldn’t have a promlem ??? All these jewish ppl are the first to scream racism when ppl are just trying to live their own nice quiet life without all the cars noise and kids everywhere
There a town just north of New York City
That deserves a great deal of pity
A few fools slaughtered a calf
that gave us all a good laugh
While Bobov thinks it will gain a zoning variance.
So the moral of this tale, is clear for most to see
live a low profile life in galus is still the key
Don’t tangle with Asev, Yaakov warned us long ago
Then maybe a Bobov school will emerge in Ramapo
.
The problem with trespassing is because a person’s property is their private domain. You would be violating a person’s right to privacy. Accordingly, all those who arw aso voicefersly denouncing trespaasing should be horrified at the neighbors of Bobov who violated its privacy by looking in to Bobov’s private domain.