Gerushin: Aharon Friedman vs Tamar Epstein
Gerushin: Aharon Friedman vs Tamar Epstein
Aharon Friedman is a DC Lawyer who works for Republican party politicians. The closest Jewish community is the Greater Washington (DC) Jewish community known for its Modern-Orthodoxy. The mother of Aharon Friedman was already a widow before the marriage.
In 2006, Aharon Friedman married Tamar Epstein of Lower Merion (Philadelphia). Her mother, Cheryl, was also a widow prior to the day her daughter got married. The father of Tamar donated [many times] to the Yeshivah of Philadelphia led by the rabbinic family of Kaminetsky.
Tamar Epstein gave birth to a daughter in 2007. Less than two years into the marriage, on Aharon’s birthday, Tamar said she was unsatisfied with the marriage and wanted to be divorced from Aharon. She did not initially claim that Aharon was a bad person. In fact, it even gave honor to him. Her reasons were that he wasn’t as social with her friends and her family members. She thought she could do better, but that’s not how a normal person thinks in a marriage…It is apparent that she is a self-centered woman. It doesn’t take a scientist to figure that out.
In 2008, she filed for a divorce in both secular and religious courts. The religious court used was the Beis Din of Baltimore. Rabbi Aharon Feldman, the Rosh Ha-Yeshivah of Baltimore’s prominent Yeshivah (Ner Yisrael), was involved in mediating the case. During the process of attempting to obtain a גט, the Beis Din did not order him to give a גט. Aharon and Tamar signed a Sthar Berurin (Arbitration Agreement) that did not allow them to consult another Beis Din on the matters of their divorce.
On April 10, 2008, she moved back to her mother’s place in Philadelphia with her daughter and without her husband. She also moved with the child, but she did so without permission from the father. Some say that she was told that she is allowed to do this for two months, but she stayed for many more months. This was a form of kidnapping. Aharon Friedman was being deprived of his new-born daughter.
The reason why Aharon tolerated this move to kidnap a child was because she said she would then reconcile with it. The lawyer of Aharon said that this was a trick as a way to keep the child in Philadelphia (limiting his access to the child).
Tamar Epstein didn’t just “move” to her mother’s place. She took a child with her without the father’s consent before there was ever obtained a גט. She kidnapped a child (unilaterally). She ran away, selfishly, from a marriage with a child that has a father. Thus, she is a מורדת.
In order to justify this rebellious behavior, the family members of Tamar began spreading false rumors about Aharon. They tried to claim he was a bad father. They tried to destroy his reputation in the Lower Merion area of Philadelphia.
Litigating in a Civil Court is a sin which can result in the person’s claim becoming invalid. We are not obligated to listen to that person. The sin of secular litigation applies to Lonna Kin. Both Lonna Kin and Tamar Epstein have violated הלכה while attempting to benefit from a Jewish court. Their divorce cases are invalid, and they are rightfully denied a גט.
Tamar prevented Aharon from seeing their daughter on many weekend occasions because it was generally difficult for him to drive from DC to Philadelphia on Friday (before Shabbat started). The manipulation of location was, in essence, a form of parental alienation. Tamar attempted to use the secular courts to further alienate their daughter from Aharon, but the courts denied these motions.
Three months later, Aharon Friedman had sent an emergency child custody motion to the civil court only after the child had been abducted. Tamar had refused to consult with a rabbi (neutral to the case) over child custody.
Aharon Friedman would drive to Silver Spring early on Sunday mornings to be with his daughter. He was limited in terms of what houses they would socialize in. Often, it was parks and malls. However, there was a family willing to host them, but Sholom Kaminetsky (Son of Shmuel Kaminetsky) put pressure on this family to make them discontinue.
Because the Beis Din of Baltimore wasn’t ruling in favor of a Gett, Tamar found other alternatives to make the גט possibility. She got the Beis Din of Washington DC to be involved with the case. The Beis Din sent a Hazmanah (Summons) to Aharon, but he replied that Tamar had no right to adjudicate her case in another Beis Din.
The matter of parental alienation was worsened as Tamar admits to the secular court that she used tracking devices to supervise his visits with their daughter. The Epsteins then decided to get the rabbis involved. They got Shmuel Kamintsky to “declare” that she has the status of an “Agunah”. This happened in May of 2010. This declaration was an attack on the legitimacy of the Beis Din handling the case.
Tamar furthered her involvement with the Beis Din of DC. In June of 2010, this Beis Din tried to claim that the Beis Din of Baltimore had to publicize Aharon’s “wrongdoings” and give a Gett…In August of 2010, Shmuel Kaminetsky claimed that, once again, that Tamar was an “Agunah” and that people should protest against Aharon and his family members. This was posted on the bulletin board of the Yeshivah in Philadelphia.
In December of 2010, Shmuel Kaminetsky posted another paper on the bulletin board claiming that Aharon was “Mechuyav” (Obligated) to give a Gett. Hershel Schacther added his signature to this paper. Near the end of December, the ORA and Hershel Schacther promoted a letter claiming that had to give a Get even though no Beis Din officially claimed he did. Allegedly, the letter by Schachter claims that one could cause physical harm to Aharon in order that he give a Get.
In January of 2011, Tamar Epstein had tried to get the BDA involved in the case. However, because of the Shtar Berurin, the BDA could not be involved in the matter. Unlike the Beth Din of Greater Washington (DC), the Beth Din of America would not be involved in cases where a Shtar Berurin already exists (preventing them from using other Batei Din). Because of this, the BDA never issued a Hazmanah on Aharon.
After her involvement with the BDA, she invited her case to Agudas HaRabbonim. Later, a סירוב was put out against Aharon Friedman by the beth din sheker of Rabbi Ralbag (which he was not originally called in for in matters of his divorce). The “rabbis”, that signed the סירוב, include Aryeh Ralbag, Yisroel Belsky, Gavriel Stern, and Mordechai Wolmark – the Rosh Ha-Yeshivah of a high school called “Shaarei Torah” in Monsey.The סירוב that was also signed by against Aharon was signed by the Hershel Schachter famous Shmuel Kaminetsky – the Rosh Ha-Yeshivah of Philadelphia’s prominent Yeshivah. These “Rabbis” were not part of the בית דין in Baltimore that was handling the case and signed to be the only בית דין that could create the divorce. However, Aryeh Ralbag never claimed he is obligated to give a גט. Rather, a סירוב merely exists due to him not coming to the rabbinical court. The Beis Din of Baltimore never said he was obligated to give a Get, and they never claimed that he had breached their trust by not attending the sessions. The Beis Din Sheker of Aryeh Ralbag has made a mockery of Halacha.
And it is wrong for someone to choose a different בית דין in the middle of a case…Why did these “rabbis” get involved? What was their justification? This isn’t the first time there has been an additional court interfering with the case of another. The real question is: Why was Shmuel Kaminestsky involved in the case? He is not part of the phony court led by Aryeh Ralbag in Flatbush. In fact,the Kaminetsky family is based in Philadelphia. He is personally involved in the family, which does not make him a fair judge in the case. Shmuel Kaminetsky chose to be involved in the case knowing that there was another Beis Din involved in the case. That’s akin to one judge trying to take the case from another judge without the consent from the judge that is handling the case.
The סירוב has no authenticity with anyone but the fake, Modern-Orthodox Jews of Lower Merion and the DC Modox counterparts whom still hold by it to this day. He has been banned from all shuls in the Greater Washington (DC) area except for the shul of Rabbi Kranz even though the original סירוב against Aharon Friedman did not claim he should be banned from shuls entirely. It is because of the evil, Liberal-influenced Feminists of DC, that Aharon Friedman was banned from these houses of worship. The relatives of Aharon Friedman were publicly humiliated in their respected neighborhoods in Flatbush (Brooklyn). Rav Belsky was involved with both sides – supporting and opposing Aharon Friedman (switching sides multiple times).
Because of the influence of the בית דין of Ralbag, the סירוב was used as an excuse for the supporters of Tamar to publicly humiliate Aharon. This was done in many areas of DC. The ORA was involved in denouncing the actions of Aharon without having consulted with him to understand his side of the story. The Rabbi of Young Israel of Greater Washington forbade Aharon from having an Aliyah in the shul.
Things became tricky as Hershel Schachter of YU became involved with the case. He has openly campaigned for self-made Agunoth, and has publicly campaigned on the behalf of Tamar Epstein. He openly endorsed a married woman who has mocked the holiness of the Torah. Tamar and the Pro-Get “Activists” have publicly humiliated Aharon Friedman. Schachter has sanctioned horrific tactics against Jewish husbands using the powers of Battie Din despite having acknowledged in Ami Magazine that the system is corrupt.
The Rabbis of Lower Merion (Philadelphia) are supporting a rebellious women who demands a גט while stealing fatherhood from her husband. Do these leaders think that they’re going help her receive a גט? It seems like they are attempting to ignore the truth because their campaign revolves around the ignorance of truth. These people might be good-hearted, but they are blind.
Jeremy Stern was actively involved in this case. He is against the Torah. They held protests publicly shaming known Rabbis that were on the side of Aharon Friedman, The fundraiser event for the campaign (to support Tamar) was at a place that served shrimp. These Pro-Get “activists” are clearly not dedicated to the Torah. In fact, they are an insult to True Torah Judaism. Even the original Modern-Orthodox movement would not approve of the desecration of holiness done by the ORA.
YU’s Hershel Schachter made the decision to be ignorant of the facts pertaining to the case and made statements that degrade Aharon Friedman. “Rabbi” Schachter, with his public endorsement of the ORA as their rabbinic advisor, made the public shaming and intimidation done by the ORA seem justifiable. The Modox abominations felt that they were supporting a just cause by being verbally abusive to Aharon. “Rabbi” Schachter made a lecture about harming a husband who doesn’t give a Get. This was on the YU’s website but was taken down from the site after it was assumed to be used to justify acts of violence against Jewish husbands. It can be found on various alternative sites. However, because of the campaigns he’s led, there have been terrible sins and tragedies that have befallen the nation of Israel. The lecture by Schachter claiming that one can physically harm a Get refuser was taken down from the YU website. The main points can be found at 4:00, 4:30, 10:20, 13:33, and 26:50.
The Divorce-Coercion Gang
The story of the evil woman did not end because of this. She is more vile than you might imagine, and so is her family. In February of 2011, Cheryl Epstein met with Martin Mordechai Wolmark who is involved in a covert organization with a reputation of helping women by any means necessary. In June of 2011, Wolmark arranged for Agudas HaRabbanim to issue a “final warning” against Aharon Friedman.
In 2012, on a Sunday, Tisha B’Av afternoon, Aharon Friedman returned his daughter to his mother-in-law’s house. Cheryl had inquired about her granddaughter (his daughter). Aharon had not spoken to Cheryl in years. As he was leaving their driveway, three thugs came to him and began physically assaulting him. With the help from Hashem, Aharon was able to run away from them. This incident was the result of a payment made from Tamar’s lawyer to a “Jewish” gangster known as Mendel Epstein (of no relation to Tamar).
For years, Mendel Epstein (ימח שמו וזכרו) has been paid money to harm Jewish husbands with his mob-like friends. By doing this, he has desecrated the Jewish religion. He is the most evil mobster in all of Jewish history. Innocent Jews have been afraid to stop him. He got away with this by helping married women in his public life (involved in divorce cases, etc.) which includes being a toein (lawyer). He is responsible for creating over 2,000 divorces, but this altruistic cover was just an excuse to harm people. Women would pay him money but would then be forced to remain silent about his suspicious methods in obtaining a Get. This was going around for decades even as early as the 1980’s. This has all been an embarrassment to the Nation of Israel due to their ignorance on Jewish law.
Every גט he made is absolutely null and void. All two thousand of them! Even R” Elyashiv paskened that they are invalid! Any document he forged with the בית דין of Mordechai Wolmark (or any other בית דין) involved is null and void, including documents unrelated to divorce. One of the embarrassments to the nation of Israel, is that the leader of the בית דין is also a Rosh Ha-Yeshivah of a high school. What’s more disturbing is that he did not lose his leadership position in the Yeshivah (when returning from his prison sentence) despite having been involved in a system that creates ממזרים. People who wholeheartedly care about the Torah could never endorse such a “rabbi”.
Now how does this affect us directly? No one has accounted for the hundreds of possible ממזרים that exist because of Mendel Epstein and Mordechai Wolmark. What’s unjust is that no one has created entities to help track down the ממזרים created by these evil people. The biggest injustice is that no one has created a program to help the victims that were tortured by the evil people that the Jewish community thought to be decent Jews. Because of the nation of Israel’s ignorance on the matters of divorce, it could be possible that many of our own children and grandchildren could end up marrying ממזרים.
Mendel Epstein (ימח שמו וזכרו) harmed Jewish men for money, and if you want proof it was for money, people had to pay tens of thousands of dollars for the violent tutoring to take place. If he authentically cared about the issue, he would have done it for free. He was willing to abduct and torture a non-existing person over money. He clearly did not care to research the nature of the case he was dealing with. The desecration of the Name of G-d, caused by Mendel Epstein (ימח שמו וזכרו), is irreparable. Even Rabbi Moshe Tendler of YU says that a גט can not be coerced through violence. Rabbi Tendler also claimed that Epstein was unreliable.
Rabbi Chaim Dovid Zweibel, leader of Agudath Yisroel of America (Haredim), said “On the surface, .this particular scenario was beyond the realm of anything the halacha might countenance. It seems as if the role of one of the rabbis was to determine whether the circumstances justified a beit din ruling that you could force the guy. It clearly was done in a way that leaves a lot to be desired. The whole case was a sham. The rabbi didn’t go on more than a woman’s crying and signing a check. It’s very troubling”
Rabbi Perry Tirschwell, leader of the National Movement of Young Israel, said that the entire story now sullies anyone who is identified as a Rabbi. Even the decent Rabbis of Modern-Orthodoxy think that this behavior is terrible.
Mendel Epstein (ימח שמו וזכרו) was caught because he was willing to help force a גט from a non-existing person. He used the בית דין of Mordechai Wolmark in order to force a גט without researching if the person was even real. It was Wolmark who told the undercover FBI agent to consult with Epstein. That is how Wolmark and his evil gang got arrested and sent to prison.
Can you call someone “reliable” or a “rabbi” if he wants to punish people who don’t even exist? Can you really call a man “righteous” if he is a greedy man who loves torturing people for money? I would not claim that his actions were for the sake of The Torah. Rather, his actions were for his own, selfish interests. One of his favorite torture methods was a cattle prod – an electric baton used on cattle.
So how exactly did Mendel Epstein (ימח שמו וזכרו) get caught? Let’s go back a couple years before the incident with Aharon Friedman. In Israel, a “religious” Jewish woman named Chaya Dina Schechter wanted to divorce Yisrael Meir Bryskman. The divorce process wasn’t going the way she wanted it to, so she paid Mendel to pay one his thugs $100,000 dollars to force a Get out of her husband Yisrael Meir after he moved to America. This has been documented by the FBI.The so-called “religious” Jew in Lakewood named Dovid Wax, with the help of Dovid’s wife Judy, got Yisrael Meir from New York to New Jersey by luring him with a lucrative job offer.
It was in Lakewood, NJ where he was physically assaulted by Dovid and his accomplices who handcuffed him to a chair. Dovid Wax put on a white hat and threatened to kill him (by burying him alive in the mountains) for a and then forced Yisrael Meir to pay for the operation saying that he would have Yisrael Meir’s father (still in Israel) killed if he didn’t pay. This doesn’t sound like something a pious Jew would do, right? Exactly. Because these Pro-Get gangs are not following Jewish law. They are low-life thugs who should be banned from the Nation of Israel. They are people with no moral compass who use women’s rights to justify harming innocent Jews. They practice abudiction, extortion, and threats of murder to make ends meet.
The FBI was able to investigate and find the white hat and other evidence needed to convict Dovid and Judy Wax. It is a great tragedy that such people will be led back on the streets of the Jewish community thanks to a phony justice system. The Jews of Lakewood should be weary of such dangerous individuals.
What’s more vile is that Chaya Dinna re-married. She “married” someone with the family name Mondrowitz – a man whose father is a convicted pedophile rapist. Because the גט was obtained in an absolutely non-Kosher manner, her remarriage is adultery. If she does not do teshuvah (repentance), then she has no share in the world to come unless she truly repents. The same applies to Mr. Mondrowitz…The worst part about this world comes from the lack of protest from the Jews who did not protest the wedding of a woman who did not get properly divorced.
Did anyone know that Mendel Epstein (ימח שמו וזכרו) was involved? Well, some people suspected it as seen on various internet comments made before Esptein’s arrest. He was suspected by various people as early as 2009.
Now, we can go even further back where he had tortured other people too. The names of these oppressed people include Zachary Ploni, Elya Amsel, Abraham Rubin, Yisrael Markowitz, Usher Chaimowitz, and Menachem Teitelbaum…None of them were able to identify Mendel Epstein (ימח שמו וזכרו) directly even though he was accused of violence in some of these cases. However, in the Jewish courtyards of gossip (albeit the internet or kollel coffee rooms), some people did know that Mendel was up to no good and suspected that he was behind these attacks, but he was yet to be apprehended.
These are the types of [spiritually] ugly] people we’re dealing with when you learn about the vile actions of the Get-Coercion Gang. In the case of Avraham Rubin and Miriam Chaya Mund, the Beis Din consisted of Yisroel Belsky, Martin (Mordechai) Wolmark, and Mendel Epstein (ימח שמו וזכרו). Chaya Mund and the case against her Avraham was not some “poor girl” from a poor family that was dependent on Rubin. In fact, she decided to flee the US with their children and then pay money to the thugs who extorted the Get. And much like Chaya Dina remarried, so did Miriam Chaya. She was able to find a Religious Jewish man willing to marry her and now lives in Silver Spring, Maryland. Cursed is the Jewish community of DC.
Aryeh Ralbag and Peretz Steinberg were also involved themselves in these harsh matters. Belsky had a Beis Din with Steinberg which was involved with the Rubin case. Transcripts of the Rubin case prove that Belsky was fully aware of what was conspiring. Ha-Rav Shlomo Miller wrote a proclamation condemning what Belsky and Steinberg were doing. During the FBI investigations that took place, following the arrest of Epstein and his thugs, the FBI was also investigating Belsky, but he died during this time period.
The FBI did not have to do that much investigating in order to figure out that this evil Mendel Epstein (ימח שמו וזכרו) was a thug in sheep’s clothes. Aryeh Ralbag later confessed to be aware that the Eid (Witness) for these unethically procured divorce documents was an Eid that Aryeh Ralbag knew. The Eid, Binyamin Stimler, admitted to the roles in the kidnappings of the oppressed husbands mentioned above.
It is disgusting that many of these people, in the Pro-Get movement, gave praise to Mendel Epstein (ימח שמו וזכרו). One person might have a daughter “helped” by Mendel; another person might have a son harmed by him. But most religious Jews have at least one son and one daughter. Every Jew should be weary about potentially not seeing their children (via their married sons).
It is also relevant to expose all of those known to be involved in this Get-Coercion Gang: Mendel Epstein (ימח שמו וזכרו), Martin Womark, David Epstein (Mendel’s son), Jay Goldstein, Moshe Goldstein (Jay’s son), Binyamin Stimler, David Hellman, Simcha Bulmash, Ariel Potash, Sholom Shuchat, Mordechai Eichenthal, and Chaim Baruch Rubin. All of these people are guilty of tarnishing the reputation of the Nation of Israel. Their sins may have been forgotten in this world, but they have not been forgotten by the Beit Din Shel Maalah. The only way for them to be forgiven is if they do a Teshuvah Sheleimah. If not, then these people are wicked who do not deserve to be buried in the section of a Jewish cemetery designated for Observant Jews..
Some people were suspicious that Mendel Esptein was behind these tortures years before he was caught, but no one was able to do anything about it. Those people were cowards. Mendel Epstein (ימח שמו וזכרו) was no “hero” to the Jewish people, no was he an “expert” on matters of divorce as the media claims. He is an embarrassment to the Nation of Israel, and he can never be trusted. R” Dov Abraham (Monsey) and R” Elyashiv invalidated the bills of divorce forged by the Epstein gang. However, little was done to stop it until it was too late. The last karbonn was already brought. The suffering of innocent Jews had gone on for too long until Hashem decided that enough was enough and that something had to be done.
This entire story is a Chillul Hashem (חילול השם) – desecration of the name of G-d. It tarnishes the image of Religious Jews – the only group of Jews known for their appreciation of holiness. These events made Religious Jews look like extortionist thugs. Beyond that, it showed that Jews think that divorce and Feminism are a good thing when the Western world, historically influenced by Catholicism, did not have the concept of divorce as a social norm. Let alone, to harm someone for it?
Rabbeinu Gershom tried to implement norms that would help create a Monogamous society. Such a society would only operate with fewer divorces. This is why he decreed that a man should not senselessly divorce his wife.The decree of Rabbeinu Tam specifically promoted non-violent measures (in matters of divorce) because there’s no way that harming someone for an action frowned upon would make the Jews look good.
Double Standards
So let’s clarify an enormous double-standard. The fake, Modern-Orthodox people aren’t offended by sexual immorality or unethical business practices (or at least enough to make a protest about it), but they believe in shaming people (if not torturing them) over a divorce document? That speaks volumes about Modern-Orthodoxy. It speaks for itself. These wicked heretics do not care about being an objectively good person unless it can be manipulated to benefit Female Empowerment. גט refusers thrown out of shuls but immoral men are not? It doesn’t make any sense.
If Mendel Epstein (ימח שמו וזכרו) is responsible for the attempted harm Aharon Friedman, then we should take into consideration that he’s not killing a legitimate Get refuser. He’s potentially killing someone who is justified in withholding a גט from a מורדת who abuses their daughter by not allowing her husband to have a normal, parental relationship with the daughter. If someone is trying to kill you, then self-defense is justified even if it means killing the assailant.
Mendel Epstein (ימח שמו וזכרו) does not care about ethical decency which is the pillar that the Torah stands on. If someone is identified as “religious” but is not a good person, then he is not religious. He is actually the opposite! He is a sick, evil person who doesn’t deserve to be part of the Jewish community. No Jew should ever forgive Mendel Epstein (ימח שמו וזכרו) or his allies.
So how are such evil people able to spend so many years harming people and get away with it? The first thing to mention is voluntary ignorance. Some people “choose” not to learn about things that endanger the public and therefore, make it impossible for dangerous people to be vilified before it’s too late. The second thing about the evil Mendel Epstein (ימח שמו וזכרו) is that he had the backing from the heretical, feminist entity known as the ORA and their first rabbinical advisor – Herschel Schachter of YU.
The third point is a combination of the other two points which can be summarized in one word: Silence. The people choosing to be silent about it are to blame. The entities that quietly looked the other way when these tragedies occurred. Their silence is worse than the silence of the average person. Silence against a sin is equivalent to the sin itself. It is our obligation to speak out against such misuse of Torah. These “Jewish” entities (such as the ORA) knew that they were supporting unjustifiable torture in order to justify their cause. Any black-hat “rabbi” who supports fake Torah Judaism should seriously reconsider if they are truly upholding the Torah. Rabbi Moshe Teitelbaum (one of the ancestors of the Satmar Rebbe under the same name) predicted that there would be a future where there are corrupt “rabbis” that do look like the authentic, traditional rabbi. The evil can come in the most kosher attire.
So back to the Friedman case, we have learned that Aharon Friedman had his life endangered. Did his in-laws know about it? It seems they did. There is evidence of this. These cold-blooded fake-Jews of Tamar Epstein’s family were willing to let another Jew be beaten in public because they wanted a גט that they knew couldn’t be granted. That shows how evil some fake-Jews can be. I specifically use the term fake-Jew because I do not consider these people ethically decent enough to be considered part of our nation, and their existence is only a Chillul Hashem – desecration of the Name of G-d.
The entire concept of Gett Meusah has become a Chillul Hashem because it makes Jews look like they merely cave into the demands of women (not accepted by any faith), advocating for injustice by promoting biased opinions on a court case before both sides are presented, demonstrates how Jews are willing to publicly vilify other Jews (for biased reasons), and convinces the public that Jews are selfish people who resort to violence when things don’t go their way.
Nothing good can come out of gang of paid thugs who torture people over a dociument esspecially when they have demonstrated that they’ll do it for money by attempting to abduct a non-existent person. They clearly did not do any research on the “Agunah” they were trying to help or her “husband”.
Now, if Mendel Epstein (ימח שמו וזכרו) wasn’t caught, who would have his next victim be? Some say it may have been Meir Kin. Let’s not forget about the fact that both of these cases are still relevant in the exact same era. Rabbi Aryeh Ralberg was part of the system run by Mendel Epstein (ימח שמו וזכרו). Do you deny that it could have been possible for him to help his relative in obtaining their גט? Ironically, Rabbi Aryeh Ralbag served as a witness against Mendel Epstein (ימח שמו וזכרו) in court. In a way, this means that Ralbag is also a back-stabbing traitor who shouldn’t be trusted.
Sheker: The Heter To Remarry
Tamar Epstein did not stop her selfish activities after the beating of her husband. She found another male. She found a Jew by the name of Adam Fleischer who supposedly started becoming more “religious” and somehow ended up in a “relationship” with a married woman – Tamar Epstein.
So how does a fake society reconcile this? The following information is shocking. She got Rabbi Shmuel Kaminetsky and his son, Sholom Kaminetsky, regarded by others as a well-known rabbinic leaders that her mother has financial connections with, to claim that the Kiddushin (קידושין) that she has with Aharon Freidman isn’t valid. This concept is called “Mekach Taut” (מקח טעות). This concept applies in business when someone purchases a product, quickly discovers that it’s faulty, and then returns it. It can be applied in marriage – קידושין טעות. In Western culture, this is a “Marital Annulment”.
There’s several rabbinical approaches to the issue of קידושין טעות. The limiting factors to any of the “camps” on the issue involve the idea that they knew about the issues before the marriage. In Masechet Bava Kamma 110b, R” Shimon ben Lakish limits the ability for them to attempt to create an annulment in the cases where the wife “would have never gone forward” with the marriage. The contemporary sources who completely forbid the usage of קידושין טעות include the Dayan Yitzchak Weiss ZT”L (Minchas Yitzchak), Ha-Dayan Yechezkel Roth, Ha-Rav Yitzchak Isaac Liebes (Beis Avi III #135), and Rav Chaim Berlin, ZT”L.
R” Eliashiv, R” Ovadia Yosef, and R” Chaim Over Grodzinsky (ZT”L to all of them) forbid it with the exception of certain circumstances provided that other factors were in place. Ha-Rav Moshe Feinstein allowed it solely on the מקח טעות alone (Igros Moshe E.H. IV #13). Even within the framework of the Feinstein view, these factors are not built on dishonest claims, and he never said that the Halachic innovations (to help married women) should be accepted automatically.
The קידושין makes Aharon Friedman to be the husband of Tamar Epstein, is still active today because מקח טעות does not apply. Why do we say this? Because they lied about his mental condition. She had no evidence that he was a faulty product based on a pre-existing condition that deemed him unlivable, and if such a condition was present, it would have needed to be discovered earlier on (closer to the start of the marriage) for this concept to apply. Even Hershel Schachter does not claim to believe that מקח טעות applies in this case and still wants Aharon to give his wife a גט.
The Gedolei Yisrael (Great Rabbis of Israel) strongly disagree with this perversion of הלכה. It was only used so that Tamar, a married woman, could “marry” Adam. The Gedolei Yisrael have openly criticized Rabbi Shmuel Kaminetsky whom some have ignorantly and/or mistakenly called the “Gadol Ha-Dor” – Great One of The Generation. I wouldn’t call someone who promotes the perversion of justice and desecration of marriage as “Gadol Ha-Dor”. And the shameful reality is that they think we’re stupid. The fake leaders think that Klal Yisrael actually believes in the stupidity of creating artificial loopholes that promote immorality. This entire scandal can make one ashamed to be a Jew. Shmuel and Sholom Kaminetsky have publically distanced themselves from the heter by moving the blame to the Beis Din that forged it. However, they did not excommunicate the adulterous couple from their community in Philadelphia. They took a normal case that could have been resolved easily, created a horrific campaign that lasted for five years, and when realizing that they couldn’t get what they wanted, they decided to ignore the whole issue by bypassing the bill of divorce using an annulment.
Rabbi Mordechai Shuchatowitz is one of the dayanim in the Beis Din of Baltimore. He said that it’s up to Tamar if she wants a Get. Aharon is not obligated to show up and has not called for another hearing to take place since the desire to initiate גירושין came from Tamar, who is no longer interested in obtaining a גט.
Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky, Rabbi Gestetner, Rabbi Aharon Feldman, Rav Sternbuch, and Edah HaCharedis have written letters criticizing Kaminetsky/Greenblat for refusing to instruct an adulterous couple to seperate. The letter from Ha-Rav Feldman is more detailed than the others due to his personal involvement in the case.
Ha-Rav Moshe Sofer (Chasam Sofer) said that it is permissible to criticize a Gadol or Rosh Ha-Yeshivah when he makes a mistake. However, most people overlook this concept and decide that they will not defame a proclaimed Gadol over these issues even though it is good to do so.
The Gemara (Shabbos 54b) states that if one has the power to influence those to not sin but does not do so, he is liable for that sin. The Kaminetsky “leaders” had the power to stop this sin but did not. They are liable for it. May Hashem have mercy on their souls.
Some have accused Gavriel Stern of supporting this remarriage. However, He wrote a letter bthat states that he does not support this. Most noted rabbanim do not support the heter. The entire event is a mockery of the very ability for someone to be a Gadol Ha-Torah.
Shmuel and Sholom Kaminetsky have continued to have rabbinic careers and have even been invited to speak at events in the Jewish communities of America (but not much in Lakewood). They can pretend that none of this ever happened, but do the Friedmans feel this way? Do the families (they destroyed) feel this way? It seems like the entire issue has been thrown under the rug.
In 2015, “Rabbi” Nota Greenblatt officiated the adulterous wedding of Adam and Tamar. Should it even be mentioned how they tried to apply קידושין טעות? After all, they needed some type of “evidence” to make their claim. The fake “Rabbis” got a secular Psychologist to examine Aharon. He was declared mentally insane. However, their psychological analysis of him does not fit the requirement from the הלכות of how and when we can label someone as mentally insane.. Ironically, he is a mentally stable person (more than his selfish wife). Aharon had to overcome being nearly beaten to death in public (for no valid reason) and shamed by the Modern-Orthodox community for not being willing to give his wife a גט that would be פסוּל – invalid. The fake psychologist was the weapon used to allow for the spirit of fake Torah Judaism to spread its wings upon the West. This fake “marriage’ was made in the same secular year that the Supreme Court of The United States recognized immoral “marriages”. It’s no surprise that the moral decay of American society is affecting our Orthodox Jewish communities of America. Yisroel Belsky was also involved in such annulments as well as permitting many other things that the Torah forbids…His case also involved such things and were condemned by Gedolei Yisrael around the world including Rav Shlomo Miller of Toronto and Edah HaChareidis (Badatz Yerushalayim).
The Beis Din of Baltimore still holds that Tamar is married to Aharon. If Adam and Tamar do not repent for committing the sin of adultery, then they are cut off from having a share in the world to come. The real culprits behind the destruction of marriage in the Jewish world are the fake “rabbis” and Modern-Orthodox organizations that have endorsed these wicked women and their vile behavior. Nota Greenblatt permitted the destruction of the soul when he decided to sign someone’s soul away with a document officiating a non-kosher marriage. If they do not separate, then they have no share in the world to come. The Philadelphia Kollel boasted their names in a Tribute Journal for the Kollel’s annual dinner. The Lower-Merion Jewish community of Philadelphia has continued to host them as part of their community. They are publicly endorsing a “marriage” that is against the Torah.
Aharon Friedman is still not welcomed in those shuls (when he’s there to visit his daughter) despite the fact that the same community accepts her marriage to Adam. One rav even hosted a lecture at their house as seen in their shul’s news post.
We live in a generation where a specific prediction of Moshe Teitelbaum (the Satmar Rebbe’s ancestor) came true. We live in a generation where a prominent “rabbi” can not be trusted. If so, then this is the beginning of the end of True Torah Judaism in America. The rabbanim of America have put effort in preserving the holiness of Israel.
Now, if it is wrong to speak poorly about a Jew (and especially a rabbi), then how are we able to discuss the above information? It is wrong to speak poorly of other Jews but not if they are spiritually damaging the nation of Israel. If a “rabbi”, in a high position of political power or social influence, is openly promoting Torah violation, then it is permitted if not necessary to speak against them, and the Gedolei Yisrael have criticized these “leaders” for promoting falsehood. Some have even banned learning Torah from “Rabbi” Kaminetsky.
Conclusion
To this day, Aharon Friedman is banned from most shuls in the Greater Washington DC area. He is banned from his own religious affiliation because of fake rabbis who support fake ideas and create useless documents to enforce their twisted double-standards. The Rabbis of Silver Spring are wrong in their banning of Aharon. And to make matters worse, the community is plagued with moral hypocrisy that’s sickening to the highest degree. To compare and contrast how the community in Silver Spring operates, let’s look at an unrelated case in the same community. A fake, Modern-Orthodox “rabbi” named Freundel was put in prison for installing a hidden camera in the digital clock of a women’s mikvah in Silver Spring. When he was released from prison, he wasn’t banned from shuls for violating the privacy of over 50 women. He was let back in like nothing happened. What kind of sick town is this? These people are immoral. The very double standard applied here is absolute proof that these modern-learning communities are absolutely disgusting. They are evil, and their leaders are wicked. This is the gross injustice done to Klal Yisrael. These are examples of the evils of Modern-Orthodoxy and immorality. Modox culture is an embarrassment to Klal Yisrael. The DC Jewish community is a wicked community that should be avoided at all costs.
When it comes to Corona, many of us try to think of how we were hindered in our ability to be involved with the social activities we love doing most, but maybe we should stop and think about the fact that some people have been experiencing social distancing from their family and community for ages due to the fear-mongering that exists in our communities. There were already plenty of Jews that were limited in their attendance at synagogues and family gatherings long before the Corona lockdown.
Well said. It’s mind boggling, and will take much time to absorb. What suggestions can be made to insulate one from being so abused? Why didn’t rabbi Feldman from Baltimore stand up more authoratativley?
Your comment was well put.
Rabbi Feldman did take a stand, but keep in mind that neither party is trying to fight out the validity of the current issue as neither one is putting up a fight.
The benefit of a man, choosing to ONLY give a Gett would make sense IF the wife is only willing to be remarried with one. If not, then the intricate nature of a Gett is irrelevant.