New York – We are deeply appalled, saddened and pained by reports that have reached us concerning alleged inappropriate behavior on the part of the chairman of the rabbinic committee of the Eternal Jewish Family, Rabbi Leib Tropper. We need to wait for more complete information before we can react fully.
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Nonetheless, at this time, we would make the following points clear:
1. What we have heard, if true, violates the fundamental elements of all that Judaism holds sacred.
2. We urge anyone who might have been victimized to seek appropriate counseling and we, at the Rabbinical Council of America, remain ready to refer anyone who needs such assistance to the appropriate professionals.
3. Anyone who may have any questions of Jewish Law regarding conversions should feel free to contact our Geirut administrator, Rabbi Michoel Zylberman, at 212-807-9000 ext. 3.
For further information please contact Rabbi Barry Freundel at 202-258-5172.
More about the RCA here
“we will wait for all the facts before we can fully repsond”…
and then you respond????
inane
I Thought Rabbi feinstein Had It All Under Control, Maybe We Should Call Chaim Blum . .
How is it that the RCA is always 10 days late, and 20 dollars short?
Numerous Rabbonim, poskim, and gedolim have issued psakim about him. It is his voice – of that there is no question. Gedolim have denounced him in print. He has been given opportunity to apologize and has not. Why should one wait?
Lipa Schmeltzer gets destroyed for kleinikeits – This guy gets caught doing things much worse and nothing??
I wish the Moetzes would issue a statement as well.
Big Joke. Where was the RCA when the EJF farce began. The Badatz of Jerusalem and the Igud Horabonim plainly stated their opposition. The EJF was a blatant outreach effort to non-Jews, period. Their cllaim that they reaching out only to non-Jews married to Jews carried no weight. It was completely halachicly defective. If it wasn’t for Tom Kaplan’s BIG BUCKS, the ficticious EJF would have been a non-starter from its day one. Now that Tropper has disgraced himself, the RCA is here to pompously proclaim its own piety. Who leads the RCA anyway? If Rabbi Hershel Shechter were leading, they would possibly have value. But the RCA really is an old paper bag full of hot air. I don’t hear the RCA kicking Tropper out of their organization. I don’t hear them distancing themselves from EJF. All the RCA is willing to talk about is “alleged inappropriate behavior.” The RCA still fails to call a spade a spade.
The RCA includes all the gadolei hador and they are not going to simply respond now to this loshon horah without having all the facts. Maybe Rav Tropper, shilta, had some specific therapeutic purpose in having these conversations or there was some other reason consistent with daas torah. Also, its not clear since she was not married if there was any real violation of halacha although the behavior, if true, was probably inappropriate.
I smell opportunism. Call me a skeptic…
oy vey another scandal…let them all get real jobs
Sadly their is no doubt about Tropper’s behavior. A simple search on youtube will answer any question as to his deeds and motives.
More information? It’s all out on YouTube All the facts and more.
maybe the rca should spend more time worrying about catastrophic problems within it’s own ranks then on who some yidden choose to believe is moshiach.
all everyone is saying is “wait until all the facts come out”
the FACT is, is that the voice on the tapes is that of tropper.
and EVEN IF as some of his defenders are saying that he was “set up”, that still doesn’t excuse his conversations with this woman.
the FACT is out, and it’s on youtube loud and clear
You know, the woman here was brilliant. If people learned to use tape recorders more, our community would get cleaned up quick. Good for her.
If the allegations against Rabbi Tropper prove to be correct it is tragic for his family and deeply shameful for the observant community. Those who respond from the observant community should stress to the media that he is only one individual who has seriously erred and that he should not be viewed in any way as illustrative of the observant society or its clergy. We must make certain that the media understands, again if the claim against Tropper is indeed true, that we find this conduct totally unacceptable and that we have zero tolerance for such behavior. The time to preempt negative media fallout is now. (Before the media spreads the story without out strong and unequivocal expressions of disapproval). The RCA has taken an important first step. Others should follow.
I’ve listened to all 5 tapes on YouTube. Definitely a little hazy smoke but where’s the fire? I give Rabbi Tropper the benefit of the doubt on this one.
I always wondered why Lo Sirtzach needed to be in the Aseres Hadibros. Is this something we wouldn’t know without divine instruction? Maybe it was intended to teach us about murder that doesn’t get out hands dirty. Plenty of people would be willing to murder, so long as they didn’t get all dirty or have to actually pull a trigger. Like, for example, killing a man dead dead dead by assuming guilt without a stringent and meticulous analysis of the evidence, as is required in Beis Din in Dinei Nefashos– ve’hitzilu ha’eida. I’m not seeing much ve’hitzilu here.
maybe R tropper was framed?
Could the message here be that we should stop so much work in kiruv and gerus—we are not worthy to bring in seculars and converts until we clean up our own act.
I think this is a positive step being taken by the RCA.
We need to realize that this individual is one who abused, manipulated and deceived the trust of all of us frum people by putting on a holy face on the outside, looking like someone who cared for true Torah values sitting up there with all Gidulim etc., creating organizations that looked like they were promoting the highest standers of Torah when underground he was running what appears to be a prostitution agency for frum people with money involved as well. Who knows yet where all this money came from, I’m scared to even go there. What a Shanda!
Our children/teens/young couples see all of this and lose their full trust in all those who we show them to be Torah leaders in our community.
If the community Torah leaders try to hide this incident from the real truth and make a Shh Shtill about it then they lose trust in all of us! We need to show that someone who can violate and deceive so many people is denounced and condemned in the strongest terms by all.
One of the comments mentions his smicha from R Shach , WOW
The EJF never did a sinle Gieurus the intention was to streamline Gierous into a single unified stringent legitimate protocol for conversion.
The road to hell is paved with good intentions.
Never fight a ground war in asia
Never try to unite the Jewish people its like putting out a fire with gasoline
Except for many leaders are fuming that he duped them #33
A few Questions:
1. Who said its his voice?
2. Even if it is, who said these are not cut n paste senteces from months of recorded conversations with varios people put together as a frame (listen to the audio W/O the womens voice, you will understand)?
3. Does anyone realise that there is no dispute as the who released these tapes. and A) that person has a very strong hate for R’ Tropper. B) He has been accused of threatening to kill him. C) He has been accused of threatening to throw him out of a 9 story bldg. D) He has claimed that he is Mashiach. This has been documented. E) His wife is a non jew and has been denied a geirus by R’ Tropper. F) Many in his family claim that he is not stable and is on drugs.
4. Does anyone realise that the above said person by the name of Guma is a billionaire who has unlimited amount of funds to bring down R’Tropper, and could have easely pain good money to someone to talk on the tapes, or paid big $ to bug the phones and do a cut n paste job to this women talking. Or a combination of both tactics in making these tapes?
5.DOES ANYONE REALISE THAT THIS WOMEN (you wont believe whats in her past) IS AN OLD FREIND OF GUMAS?
CONNECT THE DOTS!!!
I just listened to the tapes on YouTube. It is clearly his voice.
Let’s be frank. If you listen to the tapes you realize he is a very sick individual. He is beyond our insults and disgust. The man seriously needs a refuah.
The man should check into an in-patient clinic and probably needs medications.
While the tapes are not nevalah, they are truly disgusting.
Oy, Hashem should send a refuah to his wife and to this woman who obviously did unspeakable things.
Leib, if you have a heart, give your wife a Get and get out of the house.
You have humiliated her beyond all repair.
May Hashem open your eyes and see what you have become.
I’ve been trying to reach Rabbi M. Zylberman (for an unrelated issue) at extension 3 for over a month now. He won’t return my call. RCA, where are you when we need you? Where?
Yes, it appears he was running a prostitution agency for frum people under cover and he was caught. May he do true Teshvah!
Thanks to the RCA for taking control, getting involved, and identifying itself as an interested party in this matter.
What’s with the RCA Washington guy (202 area code) though? I thought the RCA was an New York organization.
Perhaps I don’t understand all the implications of this matter.
I hope this doesn’t become like the Democrats vs. the Republicans on healthcare or another RCA vs. the Feinsteins battle.
Anyone even somewhat familiar with the conversion issues of past, knows that the RCA and the EJF have been at each others throats, to put it mildly.
The RCA’s pious attempt to capitalize on the downfall of the EJF is nothing less than shameful. Their gloating is pitifully obvious.
FACT: Rav H. Shechter, the head of the RCA, was the Av Beis Din and was present at the TRUMP “conversion”. R’ Lukstein contracted it out to R’ Shechter, because his conversions are not accepted in Israel.
If that is their standard $$$, then you know where they are holding!
he wasnt oiver any issurim. he was expressing feelings for someone but never indicated he will act on his feelings. he might not be a good role model or a tzaddik or a leader but he isnt that bad. he doesnt use foul language in any of the conversations he just expresses feelings. whats the end of the world?
what does rca stand for
this guy is a soneh yisroel.
He embarrassed two helikeh yidden burabim.
good for him. truth comes out.
It’s very nice that we have a knight in shining armor to save us from the big bad EJF. Maybe we can start ignoring rabbis who do giyur shelo kehalacha, and also ignore rabbis who motzi la’az on giyur that is kehalacha, and put both organizations in their place.
Reb Leib Tropper,
Perhaps it’s time you went to the gravesite of the Lubavitchers Rebbe that you so often besmirched and ask for forgiveness.
A Friend
#33 you are so naive
#29 i am sure he doesnt have even one ksav from a legitimate rav..for that matter i am quite sure mosr :rabbonim today do not have a ksav unless you are a graduate of yu
#51 MOREINU???