Ramapo, NY – The Rockland Department of Health has ordered the kitchen at a yeshiva where a cow was slaughtered and strung from a tree shut down effective today.
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The county delivered a letter to the Bobover Yeshiva informing officials there that the school’s permit to operate a kitchen would not be renewed when it expired at the end of the day yesterday.
County officials took action against the school because it has been using water from an unapproved well since it began operating without a permit more than two years ago.
The school opened two years ago in what had been a single-family home on Route 306 bordering the villages of Pomona and Wesley Hills without getting approval from town or county officials.
Also last week, Bobover officials pleaded not guilty in Ramapo Town Court to charges that the school violated Ramapo zoning regulations by allowing the cow to be slaughtered on their property, town attorney Michael Klein said.
Health officials didn’t know the school was there until they were notified when the building’s septic system failed a year ago.
They inspected and discovered that the school was operating a kitchen without a permit and using well water from an unapproved source.
Health officials told the school more than a year ago that they needed to hook into the public water supply.
“We gave them a year to do it,” said John Stoughton, a public health inspector. “They have not complied.”
Inspectors will visit the facility to make sure that the kitchen is not in use.
The Rockland Board of Health fined the Bobover Yeshiva $2,000 in February for using an unapproved water source. The yeshiva has not yet paid the fine, according to documents.
The county will not issue a new permit to any business or organization that has unpaid fines, Stoughton said.
Rabbi Gershon Bornfreund, director of the yeshiva, could not be reached for comment.
Lawyer Terry Rice, who is representing the yeshiva in its attempt to win a zoning approval to build a facility to accommodate 250 students, said that he was unaware of the Health Department action.
Stoughton said that school officials indicated to the department that they would have food delivered to the school to avoid using the kitchen until the water issue is resolved.
Neighbors who were outraged when they saw young men with knives slaughter a cow in the yard of the school last week, said they were glad that the county has taken some action at the school.
“I’m glad that someone is finally doing something,” said Carol Friedman, who lives nearby. “They never should have been allowed to use water from the well.”
Residents of private homes are permitted to use well water from unapproved sources, according to Daniel Miller, head of the Bureau of Public Water supply for the Rockland Department of Health.
But unapproved water sources cannot be used if they serve the public, including schools, he said.
There is access nearby to a United Water New York pipe, but the school has to pay to hook in.
The school is due in court at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday to face zoning violations related to the cow slaughter. The school could be fined up to $5,000.
Bobover officials have apologized for the incident, which they said was the result of miscommunication by a member of its board who mistakenly gave permission for a person studying to be a ritual slaughterer to use the property.
Git Vuch
It wasn’t slaughterd in the kitchen …why would they order it shut??
how in the world did they find out about the cow i would like to know
Where are you self hater antisemit waiting 4 your comments
Sounds reasonable from the town’s perspective
What a wonderful lesson this “yeshivah” is teaching their students……
1 chilul haShem after the other!!!
the cows win !
Baruch hashem some thing is finally being . its about time they are cracking down on this hefkayroos.
They should shut down this Bobover yeshiva permanently. In a few days, these meshugaim have jeopardized ALL of the yiddeshe institutions in Monsey and made it more likely that future zoning and land use variances will be denied
Believe me, the jews today, they bring hatred upon themselves with everything they do. Start acting like refined decent human beings and be courteous to any other individual including goyim and maybe we won’t be so self-hating. Maybe we should start making a kiddush hashem not a chillul hashem in everything we do. A lot of people were saved during the holocaust by nazis themselves because before the war they said good morning to their goyishe neighbors. Today, we’re to high and mighty. Ich bin besser vee dee. Stop already!!!
Reply to 5…..what’s this burich hoshem?? Why are you so happy ?? Buvev will now strugle to find another place were is your yidish heart?? No matter what the case is you should not be happy when a moised is in trouble
Isn’t it amazing that there is always a irreligious jew -in this case carol friedman-always ready to jump in with comments?
that Carol Friedman marthshayfela is going to have box seat in g’henim the way she keeps running her mouth off.
Once they did such a stupid thing they brought themselves up on the town’s radar. It really is all their own fault: if you circumvent laws & regulations, which are for health & safety (like taking water from a normal, healthy source! DUH!!) you are asking for trouble.
Why do some people think rules aren’t for them, just for yenem? I have no pity for them. Take responsibility & ACT RESPONSIBLY.
To all yu guys that have and are still coming down hard on this yeshiva ….. All due respect, the yeshiva incident is just being used to advance your agenda, which is to knock yeshiva bochurim and frankly yeshivas – in other words Torah, in other words Almighty Himself. To all of you I say ‘ how low can you get, shame and a disgrace ‘.
its really sad. they made simply a stupid mistake, and they are going to pay a very big price for it. they will need to move to a different location. but I’m upset how the bloggers here are bein taken for a ride, this whole thing is blown up thru the Journel news, its a jew hating paper, anyone who gives one look or look at the comments there will see that, and its a shame that this jewish site should look almost like that one!! please everyone after all we should be loving one another, they made a mistake and they shouldn’t be treated that way.
these kinds of things cause major Chilul Hashem and are the cause of many other problems that people look for and blame on Kashrus etc…!
Reminds me of a story that happened thousands of years ago when our great grand father itzchak avinu fought with the goyim over some well water…
To all thos knocking Carol Friedman;
Imagine you saved your hard earned money for years to buy that dream home in a quiet neighborhood.
You finally come up with the cash. You buy it and all of a sudden a few buses pull up loaded with teenagers (about 250) and open up a school illegaly!
Then they slaughter a cow and string it from a tree.
They than hide the head and insides in a nursery classroom. Who knows how much noise these kids probably make. Which is normal for kids.
What the heck would most ppl do?
As a former head of a certain mosed I need to comment that the yeshiva commitee needs to wake up and stop blaming “der goy” for something that is purely common sense. When a shul or yeshiva gets a summons for a fire hazard they get the title of anti semite. REALLY?
And now what a terrible neighbor for getting offended by a cow.slaughter in back of her home. Give me a break
I don’t know what happened. I wasn’t there and i don’t live in Monsey. But, I do live in a residential neighborhood (frum) and I would not like a Yeshiva next door, and if someone wanted to shecht an animal in the yard next to mine, I’d prefer not to be able to see it, so they should do it indoors in a shed and not leave any trace of it outside where it could cause flies to come. Then it wouldn’t be an issue with me. As for the well, if they’re using the water for drinking and washing (toxins can be absorbed through the skin), they should have it properly tested for health reasons. Probably this story is being blown up out of proportion by anti something, not necessarily antisemites.