I don't buy their reasons for mentioning his name.
I too, agree that there is no reason to mention his name, now, 17 yrs after his death. I knew him to be a good friend of my parents, A"H, and he was so close that he attended my Sheva Brochos in Baltimore. In my years at TA , I never heard of any molestation charges by any of the Rebbeim or the secular teachers. The excuse to print his name so that Mental Health professionals can track supposedly other abusers, does not hold water with me. The whole situation is a sad one, and I grieve for his victims.
I agree with the above.
"It’s better to watch porno and masturbate than to engage in an actual sexual relationship."
Modern morality holds that way, but wouldn't it be halachicly worse for a man to masturbate than to engage in a sexual relationship with an unmarried non-nidah woman?
yes- unprotected sex (I assume no condom so as to keep it kosher) thereby endagering yourself adn others with STI's sounds like a MUCH better solution halachically than masterbating.
to repond to the other comments -
1. i think that publishing his name may help other people who may have been victims of his.
2. i'm with sarah m on this one. i dont think straightforward 'halacha' is the only consideration.
as for your post itself - yes, the issues you mention should be taught, but also - i think this is as much about abuse of power as it is about sex. that can take place on many levels before reaching this extreme. i think that it goes unchecked, and is sometimes seen as a good thing, so that might prevent a kid from speaking up or questioning.
Rabbi Herman Neuberger would never be complicit in a cover up,to protect a sexual fiend
af - not a cover up, no. but he would have definitely dealt with it internally and left the authorities out of it. that was his way. i hope i don't need to mention examples.
but he would have definitely dealt with it internally and left the authorities out of it. that was his way. i hope i don't need to mention examples
I take it you mean to compliment him,please cite some examples?
regarding the issue of halackic and moral values of respective sexual activities and advocating masterbation over abuse:
true...there are definite things...like a non condom sex with a nidah woman..where the torah would say its better than masturbating (assuming both parties were tested for stds..therbey making it a non-sakana nefashos)
however:
1. most people who have unprotected sex dont test for std's
2. if they find std's they just have sex anyway
3. certain cases..like male to female nidah sex..even though are just as assur as..lets say..masturbation...are also assur for the other person involved as well...so while a masturbator does 1 cares averah..the two people have done 2 cares averot as a whole.
4. when the predator coerces a victim into having sex..he adds an additional averah to what he did (hurting the kid physically)..in addition to any purly sexual relation issues.
on the other hand....
im not sure we should fool ourselves into thinking the predator should be told to masturbate and take out his feelings that way...truthfully..predators are predators...they cant masturbate their way into normalcy.
bill - i think that many of these predators do what they do because it's available. i'm not sure that in many of these cases the vulnerability of the victim makes them easy targets, but that otherwise the predator might not have any preference for, say, young boys.
just a thought.
yes..but even when told to masterbate..a predator will always have a preference for someone else...not masterbation.
like chanie says...its not about sex..its about power.
true the boys are vulnerable...but that is relevant only to harding the target...not to trying to rehabilitate the offender.
I don't get you guys. It's too late to mention names? If the guy were an axe murderer instead of a pedophile, would it be too late to tell people?
BTW, Arie Crown?
In the past everybody would cover up, claiming that it was for the good of the community (irrespective of what community it was - Jewish, Catholic, Baptist, or Green-Skinned Venusians).
One major problem with covering up is that justice is not served. Whether the perpetrator never gets brought to justice, or gets whacked by an angry relative, in either case there is no justice.
Far better to take away the temptation to whack someone by involving the law. The longer it continues, the greater the temptation. And the larger the number of victims.
It still remains a painful situation, and there will still be traumatized individuals. But an early conviction is better all round.
af - not a cover up, no. but he would have definitely dealt with it internally and left the authorities out of it. that was his way. i hope i don't need to mention examples.
adderabbi | Homepage | 04.16.07 - 9:46 pm | #
Then he's an accessory to a rodef. Not only is it not moyser to hand over such a person, but one MUST hand over such a person to an authority as they have a din of rodef. Just like in days of yore Jewish money forgers who could potentially bring disaster upon the local Jewish community were handed over to the authorities.
B'H' for Phil Jacabs who had the courage to speak the truth. There are many survivors out there who have found healing in having the name of their offender made public. This not only helps them, but the generations to come.
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