Yesterday’s post about Five New York and New Jersey rabbis being arrested in connection with a money laundering scheme, and the Star-Ledger’s coverage of the story drew many heated comments including one from “DK” who wrote:
“Now is not a good time to whine about anti-Semitism”. (Ital. mine)
It’s never a good time to whine, DK, and I wasn’t. I was simply raising questions about the underlying resentments against Syrian Jews in particular, which may have inappropriately shaped the coverage of the story. And other comments on that post more than justify those concerns. The concerns of yesterday though, in no way excuse the self-serving apologetics being offered up by members of the community.
I appreciate that this is a painful and embarrassing moment for the community, but when leaders like David G. Greenfield tells us that he is “shocked” because the actions of those arrested “go against every value and teaching the community holds dear”, you have to wonder.
The sense that this community is a law unto itself has been an issue for decades. In fact, that problem is reflected in one of the most famous rulings of its previous chief rabbi, Jacob S. Kassin, father of the now arrested chief rabbi, Saul J. Kassin.

In 1935, Rabbi Kassin the elder declared that marriage to converts was not allowed. With that pronouncement, he placed himself above 2,000 years of Jewish law which recognizes the full equality of converts and born Jews. And by putting himself in that position, intentionally or not, he sent the message that his was a community that functioned as law unto themselves.
When any group believes that they are a law unto themselves, abuse is sure to follow. Whatever happens in this case, that issue must be addressed by members of the community. If they don’t, and ethnicity is allowed to trump ethics, then they will have nobody to blame but themselves for the anger directed against them.
This is moment in time, both because of these events and where we stand in the Jewish calendar – just days before Tisha B’av , when the tradition invites introspection. I hope that the community has the moral courage to undertake such introspection and those outside it have the sensitivity and discipline to allow them to do so without being humiliated.