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| Rabbi Yakov Yitzchak Roth |
My guess is that it is as prevalent today as it was in the
past. It has always been an epidemic. The difference today is that we know
about it. The media is all over it and the internet spreads the word widely and
quickly. Everyone knows about it instantly. And thank God for that.
I say ‘Thank God’
even though it makes the Torah world look bad by being no different than other communities that have these problems. But ‘knowledge
is power’. Now that we know more we can do more to prevent it and to help survivors better deal with it.
Although we have a long way to go, things have been slowly
changing for the better as some survivors have come forward to expose their abusers
and testify against them in court. And major Orthodox religious organizations like the
RCA and the OU have publicly supported reporting abuse to the police
immediately. Even Agudah and Lakewood support it in theory as long as you
consult with a rabbi first. (That this is woefully inadequate is beyond the
scope of this post.) The only religious groups who outright forbid it are major Chasidic enclaves like Satmar, Ger, and Toldos Aharon.
As recently as the late 1970s, it was widely believed that
sex abuse in our world was extremely rare. To the extent that it existed at all,
it was thought to be the rarest of aberrations. People like serial sex abuser Avreimal Mondrowitz
were thought to the exception that proved the rule. We believed that our
religious values and simple fear of Heaven
would prevent all of us (with rare exception) from doing this.
But as we now see, there is a new story of sex abuse almost
every day. And it doesn’t matter a bit how religious the abuser acts. It doesn’t matter if he is Jewish or not. I believe that the percentage of
abusers per every type of population base is the same. I further believe that there
is a lot more sexual abuse than is being reported. Who knows how many untold stories
there are?! Sex abuse is under reported
for many reasons - even though it would mean putting an abuser behind bars. It takes
a lot of courage for a survivor to come forward.
You would think that the religious values of abusers would
prevent religious people from doing it. But that is clearly not the case. If an
individual has an aberrant sexual appetite and lacks the ability to control his impulses, he will seek to satisfy his lust clandestinely all the time, even as he might
feel guilty about it. He thus become a predator. It doesn’t matter how pious he is. Nor does it matter what Hashkafa he has. Or what denomination he belongs to. Or even
what his religion is. Or what stature he has in his community.
Which brings me to Rabbi Yakov Yitzchak Roth. I believe this
is the first religious leader to have served a 16 year sentence for ‘raping,
sodomizing and sexually assaulting a child relative…’
Who is Rabbi Yitzchak Roth? He is the Chasidic Rebbe of Shomrei
Emunim. Shomrei Emunim was founded by Rabbi Roth’s father Rav Chaim Roth, son
of Toldos Aharon founder Rav Aharon Roth. Rabbi Yitzchok Yakov Roth is R' Chaim Roth’s son
and one of the current Rebbes of Shomrei Emunim. They are primarily located in
Meah Sheraim and Bnei Brak.
His conviction of sexual abuse has now come to light because Rabbi Roth has applied for
a visa to come to New York. He lied on his visa application swearing that he
had never been arrested or convicted of a sex crime. He was arrested by the New
York police Special Victims Squad.
How does a man like this retain any respect in his
community? Even after spending 16 years in prison. I guess the answer to that his
followers do not believe it. They think he was convicted of a crime he didn’t
commit in a court which they do not recognize as valid.
And I’m sure they view those who reported him and testified
against him Mosrim (informants). Which they consider to be a capital offense.
They do not believe that a man who they see as holy; a man that is exemplary in
his public behavior; a man that they see as an icon the son of an icon and
grandson of an icon to be holy.
I’m sure that his every public act and his every publicly uttered
word is pure Torah. I’m sure he exudes extreme piety. I’m sure that he advises
people on how to live holier lives via Tznius and other religious practices
that go beyond the letter of the law. I’m sure that he is as Machmir on Shabbos
and Kashrus as possible. I’m sure that Chalav Akum or Chalav Stam has never
touched his lips. I’m sure he lives in modest dwellings and lives a modest
lifestyle. And never speaks a word of Lashon Hara.
With such an image constantly displayed, how is it possible
that he sodomized anyone?! The mere thought is sacrilegious! But he was
convicted of that in a court of law. It is highly unlikely that he was innocent
– even though I’ll bet he still denies it. As we all know they all deny it.
The list seems endless and as I said crosses all lines. From
Catholic priests, to evangelical preachers. Rabbis of all Jewish denominations
including Orthodox Rabbis, Poskim and Dayanim. It includes all Hashkafos: From Modern
Orthodox Kiruv workers to Chasidic Rebbes; from Religious Zionist Mechanchim,
to Chabad; from Satmar to Ger; from principals and teachers
in Modern Orthodox schools to principals and teachers in Charedi schools. It
doesn’t matter what station in life they had. And it doesn’t matter how exemplary
their reputations were or how charismatic they were.
I too used to think that people like this were incapable of
sexually abusing anyone. Their piety spoke volumes to me. But unfortunately that
image has been shattered to me so many times that it no longer surprises me
when I hear about it. Although I admit that there is a part of me that still
finds such stories incredible.
How many more people in prominent religious positions are
there out there, that are yet to be exposed? And how many victims are there who
have still not come forward? How many are suffering in silence in all of these
communities? How many more are yet to be abused by these predators?
I can’t even imagine the pain of suffering in silence. And I’m
afraid to think about just how big the numbers might be. And to make matters
worse - is it any wonder that a typical survivor goes OTD when trusted religious icons
end up sexually abusing them? It would not surprise me that the vast majority
of young people who have gone OTD have done so because they were sexually
abused. And frankly, I don’t think we are doing enough about it. We need to do
more. But what?
