BRIDGING THE GAP

I'm starting my own blog trying to make some sense out of the Chaim Halpern debacle.  The current facts seem to be as follows:  This world-renowned chassidic rov and religious Judge in the Union of Orthodox Hebrew Congregatiions appears to have been giving marriage guidance counselling for many years.  At some point in recent years, various complaints were made by some women, to other rabbis, that the counselling they were being given was somewhat inappropriate for a rabbi.  R.Halpern was advised to stop his counselling sessions, and chose not to follow this advice.  He maintained that he was healing these broken women and rebuilding their family life, which of course is highly commendable - if done properly. 
   All of a sudden last autumn, things took a drastic turn and another senior rabbi of the Union of Orthodox Hebrew Congregations insisted that R.Halpern "leave town" asap.  What had happened??  No sensible answers have been given, but it appears that as many as 30 or so women complained (suddenly?) that they had been touched and spoken to inappropriately and they were going to the police.  The next thing anybody knew, which transpired several weeks later, was that R.Halpern had been obliged to stand down from all his public duties in the Union, including his position as Principal of the Beth Jacob Senior Girls School, whilst maintaining his innocence.  So the Union were washing their hands of him, if only because they strongly disapproved of his actions; but most likely because they had no choice once the external authorities were being called in!
   However, R.Halpern had a privately-run synagogue located within his own home, and this could not be touched.  So when the other rabbis realised that they could not stop him being the rabbi of his own community, they went further to try and stop his followers attending services there.  They issued a proclamation declaring that R.Halpern was "unfit to serve as a rabbi in any capacity".  Still nothing much happened ! A few people stopped their allegience but the little synagogue (shteible) continues to operate and have support.   R.Halpern continues to give his talks and classes (shiurim) on different aspects of Jewish life, and if it wasn't for the internet one could be forgiven for thinking all was now quiet.  Of course the question remains, if he is innocent why did the rabbis issue such an edict?  The panel of rabbis that investigated the complaints was by no means an amateur kangaroo court.  But we shall return to this question.  We might also like to ask why it wasn't enough for them that he resigned his public offices?  Why did they seek to finish him off completely, and so publically and humiliatingly?  We might return to this matter too !
   Something close to an on-going riot then followed.  Differenct factions went head-to-head with their support for either R.Halpern or as anti-Halpernists.  People stopped buying kosher meat under the supervision of the Union Rabbinate in protest at the Union's failure to oust R.Halpern effectively years earlier.  This economic pressure could not be underestimated and the Union had to take further action:  so it eventually appointed another team of international rabbinic judges to try the case again and urged the public to hold fire until such time as this court issued a ruling.  After that the Union would take swift action (if necessary).  But this posed the problem of what about the rabbinic proclamation that had already been issued???  Didn't that carry any weight?  What respect could the people have for those rabbis and judges if it could be set aside so lightly?  Why did the Union need a second court of judges to hear the evidence?
   More importantly, what penalty could any religious court impose, if no criminal activity had taken place?
Unless the police and criminal justice system could be deployed, the Halpern followers are free to attend the synagogue of their choice however many edicts are issued against the man.  So what stands to be gained by having even 50 different hearings?  Why is there such a drive to get R.Halpern to leave town instead of talk to make him pay compensation to the victims he is supposed to have abused?  The whole emphasis is on saving the community from outside policing, not on any actual victims (if they exist), a strange angle to take in the face of such a crime against the person/s.
   So when I look at this state of affairs, I cannot be certain that any kind of abuse has taken place.  The rabbi might have acted foolishly but this is not a crime.  The police have not impounded R.Halpern or his synagogoue, and he remains free to travel and counsel and live his life without going on the run from the authorities.  The second rabbinic trial is due to take place at some point in the forseeable future, but it will have no power of enforcement or sanction other than to issue another edict and hope that everyone will then abandon R.Halpern and that will be the end of him.  How will that help the victims?
    It will save the community from outside policing.  The victims will have been silenced.  All will be quiet once more.
    Now take a look at the "ifyoutickleus" blog and see how wrong I am !!