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	Rabbi Tendler Suspended from Monsey Synagogue The Jewish Week [New York] March 2, 2006 http://www.thejewishweek.com/news/newscontent.php3?artid=12129 Rabbi Mordechai Tendler was suspended Sunday by the boards of his Rockland County synagogue as a result of longstanding allegations about his sexual behavior, but the rabbi has refused to leave. According to several congregants, the board of directors and the board of trustees of Kehillat New Hempstead acted to cut off the rabbi's salary and prevent him from serving as their spiritual leader, apparently shaken by a lawsuit filed recently by a woman against the rabbi and the synagogue charging him with giving her "sexual therapy" to increase her chances of finding a husband. Some say that board members were shown physical evidence to bolster charges against the rabbi. Rabbi Tendler has denied all wrongdoing and insisted that he is the victim of an effort to undermine his reputation, though he has refused to speak to the press. One of the synagogue's six members of the board of trustees told The Jewish Week that Rabbi Tendler was "suspended indefinitely, until his innocence is proven in a court of law." The board member, who asked not to be named, said the rabbi has a life contract with the synagogue and that terminating it would be complicated. Rabbi Tendler is seeking to take the synagogue to a bet din of his choosing, but the board member said the synagogue would not agree, believing the bet din would be biased in favor of the rabbi. The synagogue has been divided over the rabbi for some time. Allegations about his personal activities led to his membership in the Rabbinical Council of America being terminated last year for "improper behavior." The board of trustees member said synagogue membership has declined from about 200 families to about 35, and Shabbat attendance has fallen dramatically. Rabbi Tendler continued to attend services this week, and members said they do not know what will happen on Shabbat when he usually offers a sermon. Rabbi Tendler's brother, Ahron Tendler, recently announced that he would soon step down as spiritual leader of his large Orthodox congregation in Los Angeles. That community has been shaken by allegations that Rabbi Ahron Tendler acted improperly with young women in his charge as a teacher in a local yeshiva in years past.
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