False Appearance

B"H

German orthodox communities face a serious problem. First of all, there are only a few orthodox communities to begin with. The vast majority of German Jewry is reigned by the reform movement. Although Chabad tries its best to educate more and more German Jews in an orthodox matter, the Jews themselves seem to stick to their old ways called Haskalah.

A Jew living outside Germany cannot imagine the amount of problems he would be confronted with if he was living there. The majority of German Jewry is totally uneducated in halachic matters. Haredim ? Almost none besides a few litvishe and Chabad rabbis. Chassidut ? Only Chabad.
Germans who have not been to Israel, Antwerp, Zurich, England or the States have never seen a real Chassid. Vishnitz, Toldot Aharon, Satmar, Skver, Munkatch, Kalov, Karlin ? Never heard of.

It is true that at some places like Frankfurt, Munich or Berlin you can find kosher shops and restaurants. The only question is, how kosher you are going to be. The only real kosher food is mostly available at Chabad. If you intend to eat anything else, check the Hechsher very carefully.

Another problem for German orthodox communities is finding an orthodox rabbi to employ.
Let's be honest: Who as a serious respected rabbi wants to work in Germany ?
Guess how many !!!
Right, not too many.
Those who are actually prepared are not the most respected people. Some of them come from Israel where they either had problems with the Rabbanut or simply were not able to find an appropriate job. Israel is full of rabbis and only the best have a chance. Nevertheless, German communities pay well and if you are looking for a job, take this country into consideration. Only temporarily, of course, because you will soon get fed up with the internal community policies.

In January 1998, I went back to Germany after having studied for quite a while at Israeli Yeshivot. Haredi, national religious, you name it. I have been around.
When I went back, I knew where I am going to. German Jewry would hardly understand what I had experienced in Jerusalem. How could they ?

As I did not know the exact time of my stay, I moved in with a friend. Thus, I got to know German community issues a little better although I did not officially become a member of this particular community. It was a small community anyway. At that time we had maybe 300 members, and more than 90% of them were Russians.
German Jews consider the Russian newcomers either as not Jewish or as second class. The Russians, on the other hand, see the Germans as arrogant and are not interested in getting to know the language but rather receiving the social benefit. At least in the community where I lived.
For the Russians in my town, the synagogue was a social meeting place and nothing else. However, there were a few interested in learning some Judaism and once I was asked about the meaning of the "Shema - prayer". I explained it but also asked the woman why she does not ask the local rabbi. "Well, she said, I did but he responded that I do not need to know that".

On my first Shabbat there, I went to the synagogue. After the service we had Kiddush with non - kosher Challot (in an orthodox community !!!) and the "orthodox" rabbi invited me for lunch. "In my home, everything is kosher", so he said, but without mentioning beforehand that the community Challot were not.

Every year in March, Jewish and Christian communities all over Germany "celebrate" the so - called "Woche der Bruederlichkeit - The Week of the Brotherhood". Usually some rabbis or leaders of the Jewish communities give lectures and Gentiles are invited joining the Shabbat service.
Shortly after my arrival, this particular week started and then I got to know our local litvishe rabbi from a different side. As soon as local politicians and some entrepreneurs arrived, he jumped on them. Although the rabbi was anything but learned, he wanted to be the center of the goishe attention. He just loved being in the newspapers and seen with important German gentiles. His ego was greater than his Jewish identity.
German politicians, on the other hand, loved it to be seen together with a "religious" Jew, as this is helpful for their consciences. It makes them think that the Holocaust is totally forgiven or even forgotten.

The rabbi did not care about "Kavod" in a religious way; he ran after the big money and the gentile press. He obviously just loved to be worshiped. Still in Israel, he hardly passed the rabbi's test and it was known that he is anything but a scholar. So he worked as a helper of a Mashgiach without much income. Once in Germany, the locals just saw him in his black suit and hat and thought that he is the greatest orthodox person. How should the Gentiles know that the rabbi is of low standard and the community itself did not have Jews to check on him.

First, I did not care too much about his wheeling and dealings with the Christians because I was not planning to stay forever. However, soon I was sick of his creepy behaviour; especially when he gave lectures about a "Jewish J." in Christian communities centers.
The rabbi seemed to check me out for some time. It did not escape his attention that I knew something about Judaism and he obviously was afraid that I might inform the Israelis Rabbanut. Soon he must have come to the conclusion that this would not be the case. A big mistake.

During the first year or so, I got used to the orthodox - non - orthodox rabbi breaking Halacha. Furthermore, I did not get an invitation to the Pessach Seder and no Mazzot. He did not care although I was upset.
You might say now that I should have gone to another Seder. However, in most German communities only the common community Seder exist and nothing else. So, I was alone at home.

The more members a German Jewish community has, the more additional money the rabbis receive. In my community was a slight problem with Russians leaving for the nearby town. The reason was that the nearby city paid more social benefit. Of course, the rabbi did not want people to leave, as this meant less salary for him. In order to avoid all this he got a "great" idea. He sent out curse letters to those Russians, who wanted to move to the other city.
As I mentioned to him that no one should ever curse people with talmudic, kabbalistic or whatever curses, he claimed that everything just happened according to his own private Badatz - rules.

In the meantime, two potential converts to Judaism were "creeping" around him. One of them used to support him with money and whatever he demanded from her, he got. If he had asked her to jump out of the window, she would have done so. A few months later, another family joined the mysterious conversion circle.
Although the family got fed up quickly, as they lend their car to the rabbi and he caused an accident. The car ended up being a ruin. One could think that therefore he was a kind of obligated converting them. Yes, this is right but the rabbi did not care.

Zniut (modesty) was a minor issue for the rabbi. The above mentioned woman from the conversion course (let's call her Mrs Moneypenny) run his household. She was always there and when I once came with a visitor from the States who just wanted to say HELLO, Mrs Moneypenny tried to get rid of us. "The rabbi does not have time for you". By the way, the rabbi saw the scene but kept quiet. Instead, him and her got into her car and drove away. Later on, he admitted that he does not want to loose Moneypenny's support.

They only people knowing something about religion were me and a young Chabad couple. As we dared to criticize the rabbi, Mrs Moneypenny hated us. She did her very best to keep us away from him and he did not mind her ruling.
Once, on the second day of Rosh HaShana, I was in the middle of the Amidah and the Moneypenny walked into the synagogue. As I did not say "Git Yom Tov" she came up to me and let me know that next time she would really appreciate me greeting her. The Machzor I was using was bought by her. I did not want to get into a fight in a synagogue and especially not on Rosh HaShana, so I responded nothing.

The Chabad couple got a baby and the matter of a Brit Milah got onto the agenda. A Mohel had to be arranged.
The rabbi hated the idea of a religious outsider coming into his "kingdom" (community) and he suggested to the couple that he could to the Brit. Well, he was not a professional Mohel but claimed however, that he had circumcised all his sons. "And by the way, he continued saying, I also shachted a few chickens in the past". This is a very nice thought; a guy who cuts chicken throats is going to be the Mohel of your son. Eventually, the further far away community of Munich arranged a Mohel and the whole Brit for the baby. The same with the Mikweh. The rabbi did not allow a halachic expert coming in to check if the Mikweh is kosher. Instead he reigned alone together with the money lady.

After a little more than two years I moved back to Israel on Aliyah. I was so glad to go and start a real religious all over again in Jerusalem. There, I could go and buy religious books (the rabbi had mostly refused giving me any) and I had kosher food everywhere. Just incredible when you compare it.

Many times, I told my Israeli friends about the experience in Germany until one day someone had told Yad Le'Achim about the rabbi's behaviour. Yad Le' Achim found out that the rabbi actually was a convert to Judaism. His father was born Jewish but his mother was a reform convert. Furthermore, he had problems in Israel and it seems that he already did his wheeling and dealing here but people found out. Yad Le' Achim asked me if his kids (who were then living in Israel) should be thrown out of their Talmud Torah schools. I refused because the kids are not responsible for the actions of their father. I hope that they use their chance in life to become something better.

At the same time, people came up with the information that the rabbi is planning to sell Giur certificates in southern Germany. According to the Jewish Agency in Frankfurt, false certificates had already appeared in the area of Augsburg.
The background was that the Rabbanut Jerusalem had appointed him as a member of a Beit Din in Konstanz - Southern Germany. Of course, not in order to solve difficult halachic issues but rather to check if the Russian Jews are halachically Jewish. The rabbi, however, used his position for criminal purposes and the Rabbanut in Jerusalem went berserk.

I was so busy with running from one place to the other and answer all the questions of the Jerusalem rabbis who had started an investigation. Rabbanut, Ministry of Religious Affairs, European Rabbi's Conference, and many more.
The Jewish Agency Frankfurt let me know that they got hold of a false conversion certificate with the German rabbi's signature and I asked them to fax it to the Rabbanut in Jerusalem. However, the Jewish Agency got cold feet and claimed that they cannot do so. The case would be "too hot" and might cause anti - Semitism in Germany. Furthermore, the Jewish Agency has no authority getting involved in German Jewish community matters.

This was the end. We could not get hold of a written proof.

The German conversion couple got cold feet as well and ran to Antwerp where they complained about the rabbi. The rabbi himself was asked to appear at a hearing in Munich but he did not show up.

To make it short, nothing happened because we did not have the written proof in our hands. Otherwise the Rabbanut would have taken away his rabbi license.

A year later, he left the small southern community in order to become "Landesrabbiner" in a bigger city in the southern region. There, he is in charge of a whole federal state.

If he changed his ways ?
No, not at all. He got fired by the community but re - employed by a new elected committee. Not because of his knowledge (which he lacks) but due to matters of internal politics.

Mrs Moneypenny converted and G - d knows how. Today she is the head of the small community where I used to live.

And myself ?

I am so glad to be in Israel. You cannot even imagine how much.

As long as no real halachic authority is checking on rabbis working in Germany, illegal wheeling and dealings will continue.