What is it with Rabbi Mendy Muskall? How can an individual who claims to be a follower of the Torah go ahead and apparently dupe someone the way he seems to have? Is it something the Rebbe said?... or didn’t say? Why must the Torah world be embarrassed by the shenanigans of such people?
One thing we know about Lubavitch (aside from the fact that a great number of them wave Moshicah flags) is that they venerate the Rebbe. They believe him to be next to God. (and in some, albeit rare cases, God Himself Melubash BaGuf). But either way, even if they deny their Meshichist tendencies, they still proclaim that the Rebbe was… or is… the greatest Jewish figure to grace the planet earth in the 20th century. Perhaps even the greatest human being who ever lived. Such loyalty most also hold that the Rebbe was the most ethical man who ever lived as well. And yet so often they use deceptive techniques like this. Is this what the Rebbe taught? One would think so by the number of times stories like this pop up.
From an article in the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, here’s what happened. The husband of a congregant by the name Loretta Miller died in October 2003. Rabbi Muskall suggested she donate an Aron Kodesh in his memory. The fee would be $18,000. The problem is the Aron Kodesh only cost $2000. Complicating matters further, the donor said that it was a terrible job. "It looked like somebody did it as a hobby and it just looked horrible," said Mrs. Miller.
Of course Rabbi Muskall claims he did nothing wrong. It’s true that often people “buy” religious artifacts for exorbitantly high prices as a form of donation in memoriam for a deceased loved one. And those buying those artifacts usually know that they are paying for that honor. It is a time honored tradition. This is one of the ways in which instituions like Yeshivos raise money.
But what transpired here was not exactly that. Apparently Rabbi Muskall used that money for personal expense. While a Palm Beach County judge had ordered Mendy Muskall to pay $12,945 to MBNA America Bank for defaulting on his debt, court records show… and while the judgment still hasn't been satisfied, “Rabbi Muskall took his entire family on an extended trip to Israel in June 2004, staying for two months.
Complicating matters even further, the Shul’s tax exempt status had been dissolved during the period she made the donation so a receipt containing the synagogue's Tax ID number did not even qualify for a tax write-off.
How sad it is when something like this happens. An individual’s grief is exploited for money, and then improperly used.
I do not know what the disposition of this case will be. Perhaps he will be vindicated in court. I don’t know. But even if the money did not go directly into his pocket, he still misled this poor woman. The money most certainly was not used as advertised. The woman was deceived.
This Shaliach of Lubavitch… who venerates the Rebbe… who no doubt came with the best of intentions… to build a Jewish presence reflective of Torah… to be Mekarev the natives… has had this ugly side of Lubavitch exposed. And based on the history of how Lubavitch operates, I suspect the Rabbi misled his congregant. The ends justify the means. This is how they operate. I’ve seen it time and time again.
Of course every time I write about it… all the apologists come out of the woodwork with statements like: How can you trust this secular newspaper? They are biased! Or… there you go bashing Lubavitch again. Or… you don’t know the facts of the case, how can you judge? Or… look at all the good they do! Or… that has never been my experience, which has all been wonderful!
All true. But if stories like this keep popping up repeatedly they can’t all be false. You can fool some of the people some of the time…
Instead of becoming a beacon of the light of Torah to this woman, he showed himself to be a charlatan. Instead of getting a Jew to say Ma Tovu Ma Naim about our Torah he has elicited the following statement from her:
"He preyed on my goodness, my grief, my charity," she said. "He and his wife were like a vulture that came down and went after me."
