Beth Aaron's Trojan Horse

After helping Beth Aaron with their extensive sawdust expansion and Etz Chaim Ohr Saadya to their new family room sanctuary, last year their heroine found her way onto Beth Aaron's board.
Wonder what other good things are in store for Beth Aaron and Teaneck. If her track record at Arzei Darom, Jewish Center of Teaneck and Etz Chaim Ohr Saadya is any indication of what she's capable of, get your lawyers on speed-dial. There is no hiding or skirting the issue when it comes to this lady.

I wonder if you can guess who she is??????????

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Dear Members:

The Nominating Committee has completed its assigned task, and has submitted its slate of nominees for the officers and members of the Board of Directors for 5772-5772 (2012-2013). Their terms of office will begin on Rosh Chodesh Tamuz 5772, which this year is June 20th.

According to the Beth Aaron Constitution, if there is no opposition to this slate, these nominees will be deemed elected. However, any member of the Congregation may submit a petition to me with additional names for any position no later than June 19th. To be considered for nomination, the petition must contain the signatures of at least ten percent of the members of the Congregation in good standing as of June 10, 2011.

If you have any questions, please contact me at 201-743-8222 or president@bethaaron.org.

The members of the Nominating Committee are Aliza Fischman, Larry Kahn,

Ronnie Schwartz (Chair), Yacha Singer, and Moshe Teitelbaum. On behalf of the outgoing Board, I thank all of them for a job well-done.

Sincerely,


David Goldberg
President

Officers

President-- David Goldberg

First Vice President --- Hillel Hyman

Second Vice President -- Yair Mayerfeld

VP- Finance -- Jeff Neugroschl

VP -Programming -- Sandy Zlotnick

Treasurer -- Rob Sperber

Secretary - Moshe (mo-b) Singer

Financial Secretary -- Ben Alexander

Board of Directors

Two Year term (2011-2013)

Myron Chaitovsky

David Horowitz

Louis Karp

Rachelle Mandelbaum

Joel Richter

Ronnie Schwartz

Moshe Teitelbaum

One Year Term (2012-2013)

Marc Felsen

Larry Kahn

Micah Kaufman

Josh Klavan

Jordan Sterman

L'via Weisinger

Neal Yaros

Two Year Term (2012-2014)

Ben Cooper

Aliza Fischman

Isaac Hagler

Steve Hoenig

Abe Leidner

Steven Pudell

Pinny Wechter

Immediate Past President

Larry Shafier

Sisterhood Representative

TBA (Appointed by the Sisterhood President)

Men's Club Representative

TBA (Appointed by the Men's Club President)

Neighborly Love

Etz Chaim of Teaneck does not want to fight with their neighbors.

They really don't.

Etz Chaim of Teaneck doesn't want their neighbors to fight with them, either.

It became more obvious after reading today's Suburbanite. Here is the link to the article: Etz Chaim Files Lawsuit Against BOA

Some highlights:

• Etz Chaim of Teaneck, an Orthodox Jewish congregation at 554 Queen Anne Road, is suing the board of adjustment.
• Griggs Avenue resident, Janet Abbot a neighbor of the congregation, said that one of the restrictions imposed by the BOA was that Etz Chaim appoint a member of its congregation to serve as liaison with the neighbors. Abbot said that to the best of her knowledge, this has not occurred. "Nobody has contacted us," she said. She noted that except for a noise complaint, "Nothing untoward has happened," since the variances were granted.
• "The board's decision was fair because it recognized that Etz Chaim has a right to have a congregation and also recognized that they created a synagogue without going through the normal processes. The board institutionalized what they said they were already doing," she (Abbot) said.
• But Rif Campeas, another neighbor, was more outspoken. Campeas said that on at least one occasion since the variances were granted, a neighbor called the police because of excessive noise emanating from the congregation. "They said they would abide by the board of adjustment decision. The town has invested time and money, but Etz Chaim is never satisfied," Campeas said.
• In an interview, Etz Chaim President Robert Erlich and Akiva Shapiro of the law firm of Gibson Dunn in New York City, co-council in the case, emphasized that the suit is against the board of adjustment and not the neighbors. "Our relationship with the neighbors has been good and we hope that this suit doesn't affect that relationship," Erlich said.
• He (Erlich) noted that the dispute over noise involved a single incident that was resolved immediately and that the neighbor could have approached the congregation directly rather than calling the police. Erlich said that the congregation has not appointed a community liaison because it is taking the BOA's requirements as a whole and is working through them.

Let me add major points from Monday's article in the Bergen Record:

• Etz Chaim, which battled with several neighbors for years prior to getting approval from the town’s zoning board, asserted in a lawsuit filed in Bergen County Superior Court that the variances it had sought – including a request to have only six parking spaces, rather than the 21 required – were relatively minor in nature.
• A group of neighbors – some of whom had feuded with one of the members of Etz Chaim prior to the group’s establishment – complained to the town that the congregation should have applied for a house of worship permit.
• The suit claims the restrictions violate the group’s First and Fourteenth Amendment Rights, the federal Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act and state law. It seeks to have many of the conditions thrown out and to impose punitive and compensatory damages.
• The group’s lawyer, Akiva Shapiro, of New York-based Gibson Dunn, said his clients would welcome an out-of-court settlement.

Etz Chaim of Teaneck filed this lawsuit to get Teaneck to settle with them.

They do not want this to go to court.

Etz Chaim wants the leadership of Teaneck to feel the weight and pressure of a lawsuit based on the loss of religious freedoms, so they can suppress the Neighbors' rights to be heard.

There is no loss of religious freedom.

To quote Janet Abbot -

"The board's decision was fair because it recognized that Etz Chaim has a right to have a congregation and also recognized that they created a synagogue without going through the normal processes. The board institutionalized what they said they were already doing."

For more on this please read: It Must Be Real It's In Newspapers

Some Famous Bypasses

Coronary Bypass

Highway Bypass

Gastric Bypass

AND..........................................

Neighbor Bypass

Teaneck congregation appeals conditions placed on house of worship permit

Monday, January 10, 2011
BY JOSEPH AX
THE RECORD
STAFF WRITER
TEANECK — A Queen Anne Road congregation that received a house of worship permit last fall after months of controversial hearings has appealed several of the permit’s conditions, calling them arbitrary and unduly burdensome.

Etz Chaim, which battled with several neighbors for years prior to getting approval from the town’s zoning board, asserted in a lawsuit filed in Bergen County Superior Court that the variances it had sought – including a request to have only six parking spaces, rather than the 21 required – were relatively minor in nature.

By contrast, the congregation claimed, the board’s conditions “are vague and ambiguous on their face, largely have no connection to any legitimate land use concern, and are far more onerous than the conditions imposed on other, comparable secular and religious institutions.”

The case has sometimes delved into the murky definition of a “house of worship,” as the congregation holds services in a private residence.

Etz Chaim owns 554 Queen Anne Road, and the group’s rabbi, Daniel Feldman, lives at the home. The congregation received permission from the town to add a family room and to hold private prayer meetings there.

A group of neighbors – some of whom had feuded with one of the members of Etz Chaim prior to the group’s establishment – complained to the town that the congregation should have applied for a house of worship permit.

The town’s zoning official issued a cease and desist order in August 2008, and the congregation decided to apply for the permit rather than filing a lawsuit then. After a series of contentious hearings, the zoning board issued the permit – along with two dozen conditions – last fall.

Among the restrictions flagged in the lawsuit are a ban on using the outdoor space for celebrations, a limit on the number of religious services permitted during the week, a ban on outdoor signage and a requirement that participants leave the home an hour after services are finished on Saturday mornings, as well as others.

“Shackled by the onerous conditions imposed by the board, Etz Chaim is not able to proceed as a fully operational Orthodox Jewish house of worship,” the lawsuit reads.

The suit claims the restrictions violate the group’s First and Fourteenth Amendment Rights, the federal Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act and state law. It seeks to have many of the conditions thrown out and to impose punitive and compensatory damages.

The group’s lawyer, Akiva Shapiro, of New York-based Gibson Dunn, said his clients would welcome an out-of-court settlement.

Harold Ritvo, the zoning board attorney, did not return a call seeking comment. Rif Campeas, one of the neighbors who led the fight against Etz Chaim, declined to comment on the suit.

E-mail: ax@northjersey.com

Rutherford Institute Update

The Rutherford Institute represented Etz Chaim of Teaneck.

The Rutherford Institute describes it's mission:
"Founded in 1982 by constitutional attorney and author John W. Whitehead, The Rutherford Institute is a civil liberties organization that provides free legal services to people whose constitutional and human rights have been threatened or violated.

The Rutherford Institute has emerged as one of the nation's leading advocates of civil liberties and human rights, litigating in the courts and educating the public on a wide spectrum of issues affecting individual freedom in the United States and around the world.

The Institute’s mission is twofold: to provide legal services in the defense of religious and civil liberties and to educate the public on important issues affecting their constitutional freedoms."

ONE YEAR ago I posted in Etz Chaim of Teaneck: Modern Day Robin Hoods?:
"Two things make Etz Chaim special, however. First is the unorthodox manner in which it remodeled the rabbi's residence to create worship space that technically may or may not have been what is commonly considered a synagogue, generating ill will in the process.

The second is the implied threat of a lawsuit against the town if permission is denied. Etz Chaim is represented by the Rutherford Institute, a prominent legal organization that takes cases to protect religious rights. Its 2008 annual report lists Etz Chaim as a "pre-litigation."

Etz Chaim doesn't follow Township rules and will claim that their "religious rights" were violated if their permission is denied."

This is the original article the Rutherford Institute posted on their website from the Jewish Standard.

Important Points:

• Feldman said he believes the prayer group is "among the most above-board and responsible, and we have taken every appropriate step to do everything by the book."
• The rabbi disputed the change-of-use argument, saying that of the 168 hours in a week, only five are devoted to religious services at the house, which are held Friday night and Saturday morning and afternoon.
• "That’s 3 percent of the time," he said. "It is our understanding, confirmed in two meetings with the township, that [a] prayer group in the house is a permitted residential use. Thus, we do not believe that the use has been changed in any way."
• Erlich said the group had filed an appeal to the zoning board to challenge "the interpretation of what they [the township] say is going on at 554 Queen Anne Road. They call it a house of worship [and] place of assembly [but] we call it a private prayer group."
• According to the letter, "[W]hen Rabbi Feldman first decided to have a private prayer group in his home, it was of the utmost importance to him that everything be done above-board and in accordance with local ordinances."
  The letter also explains that services are held on the "Jewish Sabbath and on Yamim Tovim/holidays."
• "We told the town from the beginning what we were doing, and they confirmed that it was acceptable," Feldman said. "We were not trying to hide anything."

The Rutherford Institute 2010 CASE SUMMARY REPORT doesn't include Etz Chaim of Teaneck as one of its clients. Even the Rutherford Institute doesn't consider BOA ruling as discriminating against Rabbi Feldman and Etz Chaim of Teaneck. Etz Chaim of Teaneck got exactly what they wanted and fought for.

Etz Chaim of Teaneck has overplayed their hand.

Can Opener Anyone?

Click me: Superior Court Bergen County on 12-17-2010

Its A PPG!

PPG ≠ Power Play Goal (Sorry Zach)

Shluffenheimer MacDougal would like to wish
a hearty Scottish Mazal Tov to
Etz Chaim for getting their approval
from BOA on Wednesday August 11, 2010.

I'm sure there will NOT be a kiddush this week or a special L'chaim to celebrate.
There will be no ticker tape parades down Cedar Lane or Queen Anne Rd. for that matter.
CareOne will not be putting postings on TeaneckShuls to help you with a minyan and NNJ Kids will not make a monthly donation to your PPG.

Based on initial reports from the BOA meeting, Etz Chaim members are POed. They got their approval but there are A LOT of restrictions that they will have to obey.

Personally, I don't understand why they are upset.



From Day 1 President Robert Erlich has claimed that Etz Chaim is a Private Prayer Group and runs within the constraints of a PPG. In a response to an article in The Jerusalem Post Robert Erlich wrote:
A reply from Teaneck
Sir, - Marilyn Henry's article about the Teaneck, New Jersey, Etz Chaim variance hearing egregiously misrepresents and mischaracterizes many of the elements of our situation, and in doing so unfairly terms my testimony either "clever or deceptive" ("A house, or a house of prayer?," December 27). In truth, the article is deceptive in taking the ancillary statement of a technical legal distinction and wrongly portraying it as the relevant question at hand. The distinctions between a private prayer group and a house of worship, in our case, are numerous and not at all accurately depicted in this column. Our group meets at the rabbi's house only on days when driving is forbidden, meeting at all other times and for all other functions at other locations; no other synagogue-type functions take place at the house, which is not the mailing address or corporate office of the organization; the house is a full-time, round-the-clock private residence of a family of five, maintaining a residential look, with no permanent fixtures of a house of worship; among several other distinctions.

The Rabbi of this PPG, Rabbi Feldman, claimed in The Jewish Standard that:
The rabbi disputed the change-of-use argument saying that of the 168 hours in a week, only five are devoted to religious services at the house, which are held Friday night and Saturday morning and afternoon. “That’s 3 percent of the time,” he said. “It is our understanding, confirmed in two meetings with the township, that [a] prayer group in the house is a permitted residential use. Thus, we do not believe that the use has been changed in any way.”

Coincidentally, again based on early reports, most of the stipulations that the BOA have attached to Etz Chaim's approval are consistent with Robert Erlich and Rabbi Feldman's descriptions of what Etz Chaim of Teaneck really is.

It is a PPG - Private Prayer Group!

So, Mazal Tov to Etz Chaim of Teaneck on getting township approval to be all the Township will limit them to be, a PPG.
I'm sure there were easier ways to get Rabbi Feldman a house.

Power Out(r)age

I hope everyone in Bergen County is well, families are safe and everyone gets their power, clean water and cable back very soon. I want my MTV!

I am blessed that I have been given the opportunity to author this blog. There are elements in Teaneck that act and operate as if they are beyond reproach. Etz Chaim of Teaneck and Rabbi Daniel Feldman are two of those elements. Etz Chaim because they are a religious Jewish Institution being repressed and discrminated against by the evil Board of Adjustments. Rabbi Feldman because he is a public figure, a local and internationally known celebrity (one website even called him a Rosh Yeshiva at YU), a learned scholarly Rabbi with Yadin Yadin Yoreh Yoreh semikha from REITS and he writes books about ethics.

That is why this blog is so important. The pedigree should not matter. They are acting unethically and outside of the boundaries of decency and the law. This blog, macdmusings, is the only venue that is critiquing them for their actions. This is where their opponents and victims have a voice.

During the storm I checked the comments that needed moderation. There was a single comment and it was by the same negative commenter as usual. Instead of trying to guess who I am or lauding my efforts or inviting me to a Kiddush in my honor or calling me McDick or commenting on my genitalia, this time I was issued an ultimatum.

Dear Schluff: please take this as a warning, I know who you are and I am asking you nicely to stop your musings and tweeting and all of your other garbage for good.  I am not really concerned sbout EC but your defaming Rabbi Feldman is going on for too long.  Grow up amd move on.  stop brooding about what you had at the Center.  Shut it down in 48 hours or I will expose you and you will be fair game for legal action.  (The sentence that was here was removed to protect the innocent person that the commenter believes is Shluffenheimer MacDougal)  Again shut it down or I will tell them who you are, please stop already.    grow up and move on in life.  shalom

Rabbi Daniel Feldman has taken a public position in the Teaneck community. He is well known around the world and commands a nice salary to visit communities and speak. He is a public figure and public figures are held to a higher standard than you and me. He has not been defamed, he has been critiqued and criticized using pure fact or opinions based on the truth as reported by newspapers. Sometimes the critiques are based on Rabbi Feldman's own words, books or newspaper articles quoting him.  

Under the First Amendment of the United States Constitution, as set forth by the U.S. Supreme Court in the 1964 Case, New York Times v Sullivan, where a public figure attempts to bring an action for defamation, the public figure must prove an additional element: That the statement was made with "actual malice". In translation, that means that the person making the statement knew that they were making the statement with reckless disregard as to its truth.

The concept of the "public figure" is broader than celebrities and politicians. A person can become an "involuntary public figure" as the result of publicity even though that person did not want or invite the public attention. For example, people accused of high profile crimes may be unable to pursue actions for defamation even after their innocence is established, on the basis that the notoriety associated with the case and the accusations against them turned them into involuntary public figures.

A person can also become a "limited public figure" by engaging in actions which generate publicity within a narrow area of interest. Jokes can be made at their expense based on their actions. Like I have made here about Mr. President Robert Erlich's newspaper quotes and transcript and reported actions from the BOA hearing.

For more about defamation click here.

So here is what is going to happen.
You will tell Etz Chaim, President Erlich, Rabbi Feldman or whomever, who you think I am.  They will serve the poor guy/gal and attempt to take him/her to court. Rabbi Feldman and/or Robert Erlich lose their case because they blamed an innocent person and they will point the finger at you as their informant and if they don't, I will. You will lose house and home when your victim sues you for everything you have and more. YOUR good name will be destroyed and I get the feeling your professional standing will be harmed, too.

All of this because you want to protect someone who doesn't care about you, leaves you scrambling for a minyan every Sunday because his Congregants don't show up to CareOne and his cronies who continue to badger your friends that don't toe the Etz Chaim party line or buy into the propoganda. Please stop fooling yourself. This is not your battle.

If you feel the need to be in touch with me, email me directly at macdmusings@hush.com

Please feel free to continue to comment and participate in the blog. I look forward to real arguments based on facts to prove me wrong.

Shluffenheimer MacDougal

Pet Peeves

My three biggest pet peeves based on current happenings in Teaneck are

1. Super Padded School Board Budgets:
The Schools need money to operate, but their priorities are in the wrong areas. A strong school system is needed to make Teaneck desirable for anyone to move in. Everyone gains when your town is known for having good schools. The School Board needs to be more frugal in certain areas of spending.


2. Politicians Playing the Anti-Semitism card:
Politicians should have opinions, stances and platforms. Hopefully they are strong and powerful enough to sway voters to choose to vote for them instead of the other candidates. There are Politicians who want Teaneck’s citizens to vote for them solely based on race or religion. Voters need to be better educated to who the candidates are and what their election to the Town Council really means.


3. The “False Entitlement” of Orthodox Jews:
In communities all around the world we are seeing a rise in Orthodox Jews, laymen, Rabbis and private citizens alike, being caught breaking the law, criminally or civilly to the point where they are causing a chillul Hashem, with no concern for others, Jew and non-Jew alike. You make a choice when you deliberately decide to break the law after carefully weighing all the options. The public must be educated to what those types of people are about. They do not represent Teaneck Jewry and must be called out.

Macdmusings.blogspot.com will be focusing on all three of these pet peeves. Thank you for reading and respectfully commenting on the issues!

Shluffenheimer MacDougal