WASHINGTON (DC)
The Jewish Daily Forward
By Nathan Guttman
Published October 24, 2014
There is no playbook guiding Modern Orthodox congregations on what to do when their rabbi is accused of abusing congregants and of violating their privacy at the most holy and intimate of moments.
But when the venerable Washington congregation Kesher Israel got the news on October 14 that its spiritual leader of more than 26 years had been arrested on just such charges, its members didn’t hesitate: First, the board voted unanimously to suspend Rabbi Barry Freundel. Then, the very next night, its members gathered to dance in the street, as Jewish tradition demands, to celebrate their completion of the yearly cycle of reading the Torah.
“We will celebrate, dance, sing,” said Kesher’s president, Elanit Jakabovics, as she urged congregants to fulfill the calling to be joyous on Simchat Torah.
None of this was meant to mask or paper over the sense of utter shock that swept across the pews at the small but prominent synagogue in the upscale Washington neighborhood of Georgetown during the long holiday weekend of which Simchat Torah was a part. Freundel, according to the charges connected to his arrest, had used a hidden camera in the synagogue’s mikveh, or ritual bath, to record videos of female congregants and other women as they disrobed to submerge themselves in its waters.
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