Challenge Rescinded

Posting Update 8/5/12 10:00pm:

The imposter's comment magically disappeared from Teaneck Patch, but the memory lives on. As does my comment with links to this blog :-) I should thank the imported for increasing the traffic to this blog, but I don't thank charlatans.

 -------------------------------------------------------

An Etz Chaim member, the same one with all the pro Etz Chaim comments on here has posted a comment on the Patch using MY NAME. This was his comment:

http://teaneck.patch.com//articles/congregation-s-lawsuit-against-teaneck-moves-toward-trial

shluffenheimer Macdougal

10:43 pm on Saturday, August 4, 2012

If you check my website Macdougal Musings, you will see that I have issued a challenge to Rabbi Feldman and his Congregation Ohr Saadya. Although I think the Lawsuit against the Teaneck Board of Adjustment is wrong, I have done some self reflection since posting that challenge. I have come to realize that by creating this blog I have continually defamed Rabbi Feldman along with Robert Erlich and the rest of his congregation. I have Actually acted like a complete Jerk. My actions have been dispicable, reprehensible and morally wrong. I own a deep apology to Rabbi Feldman for my absolutely childish and inexcusable conduct. I have also defamed people of Scottish decent for using the name Macdougal. Please consider dropping your lawsuit for it is wrong and bad for the town. However, two wrongs do not make a right and I have been an absolute jerk and am unworthy of being a part of this Community, please forgive my inexcusable actions and continuous infantile behavior. I hope that your congregation grows to be a great success.

I never posted this nor will I ever post a comment such as this one. I have nothing to apologize for rentlessly pursuing the truth about the fraudulent actions of the synagogue founded and spiritually lead by Rabbi Daniel Z. Feldman, Robert Erlich - President and defended by Akiva Shapiro.

My response:

This is the REAL Shluffenheimer MacDougal, registered member of Teaneck Patch. Not the imposter posting in my name.

A Comment from the REAL Shluffenheimer MacDougal:

Due to the comment above this one from Saturday night August 4th at 10:43pm, pretending to be me, I am rescinding my Challenge to Etz Chaim as seen on http://macdmusings.blogspot.com/2012/08/the-macdougal-challenge.html and the blog isn't going anywhere.

The commentor above this comment is a charlatan and a sham. A coward posting in my name. Typical Etz Chaim/Ohr Saadya Identity theft fraud. Anyone who has read my blog knows that my english, grammar, diction and style does not match the faker above.

I will never and have never ever apologized for anything in my blog, even within the confines of my challenge. What Etz Chaim/Ohr Saadya and Rabbi Daniel Z. Feldman is doing is wrong and harmful to the entire Jewish community of Teaneck.

It is time for the Jews of Teaneck to say something and speak out to the leadership of Etz Chaim/Ohr Saadya. 

http://macdmusings.blogspot.com/2012/07/see-something-say-something.html

Shluffenheimer

The MacDougal Challenge

There were the 

Rock N' Roller cola wars 

of the 1980's

Coke Vs. Pepsi 

a classic battle fought 

in the 7-11s around the country 

on a daily basis.

There was the Thrilla in Manilla

Smoking Joe Frazier VS. Muhammad Ali

There was England VS. the Scots

Our fight for freedom

Budweiser VS. Bud Light

The fight for your buzz

But those battles are nothing 

compared to the upcoming battle 

on August 17, 2012!

554 Queen Anne Rd. DBA

Etz Chaim/Ohr Saadya 

VS. 

Teaneck Board of Adjustment

In the spirit of Shabbat Nachamu,

a nice comforting Weekend

usually filled with a nice big 

Etz Chaim L'Chaim

at 554 Queen Anne Rd,

I am challenging

Etz Chaim/Ohr Saadya

with

The MacDougal Challenge.

The challenge is as follows: 

I will NOT post anything new on the blog

about Etz Chaim/Ohr Saadya

from

Friday August 3, 2012

until 

Thursday August 16, 2012

at 11:59pm.

DURING THIS TIME

554 Queen Anne Rd DBA: 

Torat Chesed/ Toras Chesed/ 

Etz Chaim/ Ohr Saadya

must drop their lawsuit against the BOA 

and the entire township of Teaneck

(Not ask for a continuance, settle, postpone or delay - They must DROP the lawsuit)

and apply for everything they want

through normal accepted channels.

IF Ohr Saadya completes the challenge successfully

and drops the lawsuit,

I will take the blog offline

and it will stay offline

until they try to merge 

576 Queen Anne Rd

with 544 Queen Anne Rd.

Then I come back online.

President Robert Erlich 

and 

Founder & Spiritual Leader

Rabbi Daniel Z. Feldman:

The clock is ticking!

See Something Say Something

Countries around the world have ways to report activities or packages that one might even just suspect of being harmful and if you know it is harmful, it must definitely be reported.

In England you can see signs like this one

In Israel you can see scenes like these

Even in America you can see signs like this one in Washington, DC

At a nuclear facilities there are signs like this

And in NYC, after 9/11 you can see signs like this

Everywhere in the world, parents tell their children to watch out for strangers and suspicious activities. Adults report all suspicious and criminal activities to the authorities.

Unless you are an ORTHODOX Jews and the impropriety involves other Jews or Synagogues. Look at the news today and read about all of the deeds that were hidden for years and communities falling apart because nothing was said. Even their Rabbis, their spiritual leaders, preached for silence.

This blog is asking for Teaneck residents, Jew and Non-Jew, to stand up to Etz Chaim. Say something to Rabbi Feldman and the RCBC about the Torat/Toras fraud, the filing for the family room, nasty treatment of the neighbors (Jew and Non-Jew alike) and frivilous lawsuit against Teaneck taxpayers.

Rabbi Feldman is being PAID for his silence

The friends of Etz Chaim/Ohr Saadya will never admit wrongdoing. Be brave and be strong and tell your friends that they need to drop the lawsuit and approach the BOA through proper channels like every other synagogue in Teaneck.

It time to SEE SOMETHING SAY SOMETHING in Teaneck. ITs time for Jews not to be silent at injustices, but vocal to their leaders. Make Etz Chaim/Ohr Saadya follow the same rules as every other synagogue, church, mosque and non profit business in Teaneck.

Just because a Rabbi is cool and learned and is a man of the cloth, doesn't make him infallible.

New Beginnings

A special Tisha B'Av Drusha from my brother

Rabbi Zitzinheimer MacDougal on the laws of Tisha B' Av

Rabbeisai (Holy Rabbis) Tesha Bav is a special time where all the yiddishe kinder (Jewish people) take the time to actually sit during a weekday. No running, jumping, hopping, skipping, rolling or dancing for Hashem's holy children. In a technically advanced age this is a big deal for anyone not just all the yiddishe kinder. Tomorrow night is a very holy night for sitting and listening to Eicha the holy book that is read on Tesha Bav.

Not only must we sit but we must sit on the floor or on small stools or technologically advanced mini beach chairs. The beach is assur (not permissible) to go to and stare at the scantily clad women without schvim kleids, the chairs are ok to use in Shul, unless of course there is a scantily clad woman on the chair. That is Assur of the highest degree, but the nekeivas (women) are nice to look at and really helps the concentration. 

One may not wear leather shoes because its super comfortable and a sign of being rich when we are supposed to be like a poor person mourning and feeling sad. Rabbosai you may wear the Tretorn Skymra SL Lace-Up Canvas Sneaker because it is made of canvas not leather. You can perform a huge hiddur mitzveh (enhancement) for Tesha Bav and buy it on amazon for $750.

Drinking and eating is not permitted on the holy tzoim (fast) yum tuv (holiday) of Tesha Bav unless you are suffering from pavlovian urges and really get hungry for a delectable hot kiddush and mashke when you drive by or get to shul. I posskin that you follow the Hydra Rav and use vitamin suppositories to nourish to body like a hydra.

You may not wash your hantelach (hands) past your knuckles, but roiv (most) people don't seem to wash them  so this halucheh (law) is one you don't have to remember anyway.

For the best Tesha Bav experience, I recommend a Shul with a women's section, with lots of mashke (booze) and loose moral standards with fraud and gambling, a Ninve (Non Jewish city that Jonah got to repent after the whale vomited him up) if you will like the one at the residence of the brilliant Bekiyus (proficiency) of the Rav of YU at 554 Queen Anne Rd.

But I digress. I would like to share something I read on Tesha Bav that is fitting for our times and Shluffenheimer's message to the sefardim (spanish/porteguese/middle eastern Jews) at Ohr Saadya. It is from the ou.org and it has shaychis (appropriateness) to the matzav (situation) in Teaneck with Ohr Saadya today.

The prophet Jeremiah spent years warning his people that they repent and stop insisting that the Temple would protect them. To his chagrin, the Jews honored the Temple more in spectacle than in spirit.

But, the Jews ignored him, even imprisoned him, and to his unbearable agony, he was proven right. The Temple was destroyed, the people ravaged, the nation dispersed and he was the witness.

The book of Eichah is timeless. Although it was composed in the wake of the end of the first Temple era, the Sages of the Midrash find it full of allusions to the destruction of the second Temple, over 500 years later. This is not at all an anachronism, because Jewish history is a continuum. Just as we live by the torah that was given over 33 centuries ago, so we are molded by the experiences of our forbears and the historical epochs they created.

Jeremiah weeps and we weep with him, because – if we are thoughtful and perceptive – we can see all of Jewish history in the dirges of Eichah. This is the challenge of Tisha B’av. Can we realize that this is not merely a day of tears, but of challenge and hope?

The book of Eichah calls Tisha B’av "a day of Jewish rendezvous with G-d" and we don’t recite Tachanun because it has elements of a festival.

Rendezvous with G-d? Festival? On a day of destruction and suffering? Yes, because Tisha B’av proves that G-d is not indifferent to Jewish conduct. We matter to him. And since we do, we know that He awaits our repentance and that there will be a third Temple, an eternal one.

The Sages say that the Messiah will be born on Tisha B’av. Let us read Eichah with the prayerful hope that he has already been born and that this day next year will be a day of joy.

\

OY! Alla Da Yiddisher Kinder should know that Shluffenheimer is like the prophet Jeremiah in that he weeps and cries and lives through the scorn and deridation of the Jewish people of Etz Chaim and Ohr Saadya as they ignore his lessons and pleas for repentance for their actions that affect all the yiddishe kinder. 


Hashem watches and judges the actions of am Yisroel (the Jewish people) and the actions of these Ohr Saadya and Robert Erlich and Rabbi Daniel Z. Feldman and Zalman Levine and Akiva Shapiro and Rachelle Mandelbaum are causing negativity towards Jews and a huge chillul (embarrassment towards) Hashem and towards the yiddishe kinder of Teaneck. 


Rabbi Feldman's disciples who comment on this holy blog with their foul language embody all the negative traits of the Ninve at 554 Queen Anne Rd. 

Rabbosai there is hope in these troubled times.


I use the heilige (holy) term Ninve because just like the inhabitants of Ninve repented for their evil ways there is hope for the future of all the yiddishe kinder and the sefardim at Ohr Saadya that they will repent and return to the fold of the tzibbur (the community) of Teaneck.

As we say in Eicha:
Hashivenu Hashem Eilecha VenaShuva - Chadesh Yameinu KeKedem

Bring us back to you Hashem, and we shall return, renew our days as of old

Drop the lawsuit heilige neshama (holy soul) Rabbi Daniel Z. Feldman, Robert Erlich and Akiva Shapiro and approach the Board of Adjustment with love and respect and don't forget 
אנחנו חייבים לבצע את חוקי המדינה בה אנו נמצאים.


While we are in golus (exile) we must follow the laws of the country we are in and Ohr Saadya should file for everything they want for their family room in the BOA of Teaneck, the way that Hashem wants them to.




Have a good shabbos and a meaningful fast,


Rabbi Zitzinheimer MacDougal

Classic Musings #1: Paradise Lost

The Classic Musings series was created to repost older musings that are relevant today. Its especially helpful for those who have not been following the blog from the beginning.

A history lesson that was originally posted March 18, 2010. Everything you ever wanted to know about the origin of Ohr Saadya/Etz Chaim/ToraS Chesed/Torat Chesed is in this posting.


Once upon a time, Rabbi Daniel Feldman and his minyan were victims of slavery in the bondage of the Jewish Center of Teaneck. Rabbi Feldman couldn't handle the edicts of the spiritual ruler of the JCT, Pharoh Zierler. His 3Cs were mightier than 10 plagues and so Rabbi Feldman wrote a letter severing the relationship of the Jewish Center and the Orthodox members of his minyan. The letter was read at a Board Meeting and in doing so, he sacrificed the goodwill that was left between the Board of the Jewish Center and the Mechitza Minyan members of Merkaz L'Torah that would have stayed behind. He led his congregants out of the bondage of slavery in the Jewish Center of Teaneck and to the promised land of self determination. Pharoh Zierler did not chase after the Center members that left. Que Sera Sera. Pharoh Zierler had his own plans for the future of Orthodoxy at the Jewish Center of Teaneck.

Rabbi Feldman, and his group of Orthodox that left the Center with him, wandered from house to house in the wilderness until they set up temporary camp in CareOne. There were a few weeks of calm and stability. Rabbi Feldman set up a Board that he was to lean on for guidance and advice, but they were not taken seriously. His advisors, who guided Rabbi Daniel Feldman to remove his minyan from the Jewish Center, were still in charge and a rift began to form. The Original Mechitza Minyan members who trailblazed the way for the Orthodox community to feel comfortable at the Jewish Center of Teaneck were quickly relegated to the background and the amazing group of people that came together in such a short period of time moved to the forefront.

The group was named Torat Chesed, Torah of Kindness, and were incorporated, in May 2007, using the names of Original Mechitza Minyan members who did not approve the usage of their names on the documents of incorporation. There was talk of the group merging with The Teaneck Shul, a prayer group located near Arzei Darom, a prayer group that was allegedly begun to help their friend with his courtcase. There was talk of getting Rabbi Feldman paid, buying a house on Chadwick, being a satellite for the Teaneck Mikvah and other issues to distract the Original Mechitza Minyan members. Very soon there were activities attempting to get the two groups, the Teaneck Shul and Torat Chesed, to get to know each other, to possibly merge.

Finally, everything came to a head when Rabbi Daniel Feldman took a job with the Teaneck Shul, complete with salary and 554 Queen Anne Rd, and left the Original Mechitzah Minyan members in the wilderness of CareOne. All of his new friends left with him. To add insult to injury, he designated CareOne as a sattelite minyan for his Congregants to pray there on Sundays and Legal Holidays. His new Congregation incorporated in September 2007 as 554 Queen Anne, Inc. DBA: Etz Chaim of Teaneck.

While all of this was going on, from May to September 2007, Torat Chesed collected donations and dues for membership. Checks were being made to Torat Chesed and being cashed in the Torat Chesed bank account. In or about July, there was a change of address where donations and dues were to be sent and there was a request for checks to be made out to ToraS Chesed instead of ToraT Chesed. Monies that were earmarked checks written out for ToraT Chesed, were being deposited in a ToraS Chesed bank account. What was the need for a second bank account? Inquiries were made as to why there was a change and they were greated with a flippant attitude. Some people were told that some people say Tora"t" and some say Tora"s". Its just a matter of what pronunciation you were brought up with. Some inquiries were met with extreme venom.

There was to be no land of Milk and Honey, no giant grapes or land for the hapless Orthodox people that didn't follow Rabbi Feldman to the Promised Land, to the land of strong Cedar trees in the South, on the Path of Peace near the House of Aaron. Rabbi Feldman did what was best for himself and his family, in the short term, while harming his reputation and shirking his duties as the leader of all of his people. He tried to keep the peace by silencing the voices opposed to the merger and abandoning them in CareOne.

Those that were left behind were also defrauded by Rabbi Feldman's Minyan, 554 Queen Anne Rd, Inc DBA: Etz Chaim of Teaneck. It is unclear if Rabbi Feldman was personally involved with any of the shady dealings of his minyan's and now synagogue's leadership and Management Team.

ToraS Chesed is a corporation created in early July 2007 by the same person who incorporated ToraT Chesed. The names listed on the Documents of Incorporation of ToraS Chesed are same as 554 Queen Anne, Inc. From early July 2007-September ToraT Chesed, Inc. and ToraS Chesed, Inc. existed to service the same exact minyan.

The existence of ToraS Chesed, Inc. was kept secret from the Original Mechitza Minyan members. The ToraT Chesed checks were being deposited in the ToraS Chesed corporate bank account. ToraT Chesed's bank account's passbook began to collect dust from non-use.

Donors and members who wrote checks to ToraT were asked to sign a release absolving ToraS Chesed of any liability. Liability? What was/is 554 Queen Anne,Inc. DBA: Etz Chaim of Teaneck afraid of? ToraT Chesed and ToraS Chesed monies were one and the same! Right? ToraT Chesed already existed to represent Rabbi Daniel Feldman and all of his Congregants praying in CareOne. What was/is ToraS Chesed, Inc. and who did/does it represent? What is it's purpose?

ToraS Chesed, Inc. was created to collect money for Etz Chaim's future at 554 Queen Anne Rd. They knew that the ToraT Chesed members not following Rabbi Feldman to Etz Chaim would stop paying dues and donating money once they closed on 554 Queen Anne Rd. Its been alleged that they closed on 554 as ToraS Chesed, Inc. They tried to cover themselves by trying to get the ToraT Chesed donors and dues payers to sign a waiver absolving ToraS Chesed, Inc.of any liability and that they will not take any legal action against ToraS Chesed, Inc. After a ton of pressure, ToraS Chesed, Inc. became the Etz Chaim of Teaneck that we know and love.

Etz Chaim wants the Board of Adjustments to forget their history and their shady past. But as the BOA and the neighbors found out very quickly The Song Remains The Same.

It is upon us, this time of year, to remember and retell all that has befallen our old dear friends of the, now defunct, Mechitza Minyan. Please come home to the Jewish Center of Teaneck, your home until Moshiach comes.

Questions for Etz Chaim/Ohr Saadya

Important Questions

Good Luck Getting Answers

Halakha > Secular Courts

Toras Chesed/Etz Chaim/Ohr Saadya (TCECOS)
will claim that they postponed their case
because of the 3 weeks
and Rabbi Daniel Feldman said that
Jews shouldn't do anything dangerous
during the 3 weeks
and especially
 during the nine days.

Instead, the case will be tried around
Rosh Hashana/Yom Kippur,
because they are hoping that
their loss against Teaneck
will be an atonement for everything they have done wrong
and Hashem will judge them favorably.

Either way, Robert "Teflon" Erlich

Sooner or later its gonna hit that fan!

How Does It Stick To The Pan?

Robert ”Teflon” Erlich is preparing to gird his loins and get ready for his lawsuit against the big bad scary BOA of Teaneck.

Lucky for him and Ohr Saadya .
Ooops. My mistake.

I mean, Lucky for him and Etz Chaim .
Ooops. My mistake again.

Luck for him and Toras Chesed
(Full Disclosure - Etz Chaim/Ohr Saadya/Toras Chesed are all the same organization funded by the same person)
they changed their lawyer to good ole Akiva Shapiro. 

Kivi seems the perfect choice to make sure Bobert isn't put under duress by the defendants. He's strong and tough and his extensive experience in the courtroom will insulate Robert from saying harmful things that can destroy his credibility and his case, NOT!

Anyone who followed the BOA hearings got a taste of Bobert up close and very very very personal. Just ask Toras Chesed's neighbors who got blasted by Robert ”Teflon” Erlich in front of the BOA. Akiva has his work cut out for him defending TCECOS.

TCECOS =
They Create Every Conspiracy  Over Selfishness =
Toras/t Chesed/Etz Chaim/Ohr Saadya

Even the non-stick coating on a ”non-stick” pan has to stick to something Mr. Erlich. Ranting and raving like an crotchedy old man angry at kids who accidentally threw a ball in your yard is not ”duress”. Attemping to force your will on Teaneck through the courts without regard for any one else, Jew and Non-Jew alike, will cause something to stick Teflon Erlich. For you and your family's sake, ”President Puppet who went too far”,  its not the stuff that hit the fan.

And to those in the comments blasting this blog while remaining inactive, thank you. You are the reason this blog is vital for the Jews of Teaneck, Bergen County and NJ.

As Albert Einstein once said -

Call The Waaaambulance

Jewish Standard - June 29, 2012

The conflict seemed to have concluded in September 2010, when the synagogue received the zoning variances necessary to operate as a synagogue in exchange for stipulations including a restriction on weekday services and the length of Shabbat kiddushes.

But the synagogue turned around and filed suit against the town, saying that the restrictions were null because it agreed to them under duress, and because they violated the federal Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, which restricts local laws that place a “substantial burden” on religious practice.

Unless the case is settled before trial, a jury will be asked to decide questions set out by Judge Alexander H. Carver III in his ruling earlier this month. 

They include: 

1- What restrictions did the congregation agree to? 

2 - Were the restrictions agreed to under duress and therefore invalid? 

3 - Are the conditions more severe than those placed on other non-profit institutions operating in residential neighborhoods? 

4 - And are those restrictions legal under the federal law?

_____________________________________________________________

Great questions! 

What did they agree to? Under Duress? Severe Conditions? Legal?

Instead of speculating, I will use Etz Chaim's own words.

From the aftermath of the BOA approving Etz Chaim, here is a compilation of Etz Chaim's lawyer Ed Trawinski's quotes, ”coerced” President Robert Erlich's quotes, and founder and spiritual leader Rabbi Daniel Feldman's quotes.

Suburbanite from August 19,2010
On at least one occasion during the hearings, Edward Trawinski, attorney for Etz Chaim, threatened to sue the township for discrimination.

Etz Chaim President Robert Erlich wrote in an e-mail that the community liaison position is not unique to this application, but that the BOA has required such a position for similar applications.
"We are pleased with the approval and we will comply with all conditions imposed," Erlich wrote.


Bergen County Jewish newspaper (not the secular papers)
The Jewish Standard from August 20, 2010 the week after the BOA approval:
“The board, based upon testimony, came to the correct legal decision,” said Ed Trawinski, the lawyer who represented Etz Chaim through the proceedings. “And the board balanced the exercise of freedom of religion with the effort to minimize the impact on a residential neighborhood.”


A property tax deduction may be in Etz Chaim’s future, but the organization will have to consult a tax attorney now that a portion of the property has been designated a house of worship, Trawinski said.


“That was an unintended consequence because we were always happy with our status as a prayer group,” said Robert Erlich, the group’s president. “Obviously if there’s a tax benefit, as a congregation we’d be foolish not to take it.”


“I am gratified by the decision,” Feldman wrote in an e-mail to The Jewish Standard. “I don’t know all the details of the stipulations, but we will abide by them as we have always complied with all instructions of the township.”


“From an organizational standpoint, nothing has changed,” Erlich said. “Once we get out certificate of occupancy, instead of operating as a prayer group, we will operate as a house of worship.”


“My hope is Etz Chaim and the residents will move forward and put this behind them,” Trawinski said.



From Bergen Record - October 17, 2010
"We are hoping to have a more peaceful future," Feldman said Friday.

"It's quite a relief," said Robert Ehrlich, the president of the group. "From our perspective, this was never a fight worth fighting. We want to move on. To the extent that the neighbors have comments on things we can do to make their lives less disruptive, we're willing to do that."


January 2011, 5 months later:


Teaneck Patch - June 20, 2012
“As we have said from the very beginning, the intrusive, oppressive and unequal restrictions imposed by the Teaneck Board of Adjustment on Etz Chaim as a house of worship strike at this nation’s most cherished freedoms and cannot be justified,” the group’s attorney Akiva Shapiro, of New York-based Gibson Dunn, said in an e-mail. “We are confident that a jury will agree when this case goes to trial, as the Court’s summary judgment opinion indicated it would.”


No Akiva, that's not what was said from the beginning. 
This is what was said:


“The board, based upon testimony, came to the correct legal decision,” said Ed Trawinski, the lawyer who represented Etz Chaim through the proceedings. “And the board balanced the exercise of freedom of religion with the effort to minimize the impact on a residential neighborhood.”

The Gold Standard

To win a courtcase, there must be some contact with the opposing counsel. In the case of Etz Chaim/Ohr Saadya or ECOS (Every Congregant's Overtly Sinning) there was a winner before any correspondence was sent between Akiva Shapiro ECOS lawyer and Teaneck.

When going to court against a township, especially in the case of "religious discrimination" and the duress of Robert Erlich, it is important to pick an experienced and qualified lawyer to help you win. But that's not the case here. ECOS picked a lawyer who values something more than religious freedom for the Shtibshul Prayer Group. It can't be the money because he is doing the case pro bono, so what is in it for him?

Lets learn a little bit more about Akiva Shapiro from Martindale (a handy website where you can research lawyers). I'll be sure to bold the important parts.

Practice Areas Litigation Appellate and Constitutional Law Media, Entertainment and Technology White Collar Defense and Investigations
University	Columbia University, Bachelor of Arts, History, 2001; Yale University, Master of Arts, Religious Studies, 2008
Law School	Columbia University Law School, Juris Doctor, 2008
Admitted	2009, New York; U.S. District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York

Akiva Shapiro is an associate in Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher's New York office, where he is a member of the firm's Litigation Practice, as well as its Appellate and Constitutional Law Practice Group. Mr. Shapiro's practice focuses on a broad range of appellate, constitutional, criminal, and complex commercial litigation matters, often involving challenges to the policies and legal determinations of government actors. Mr. Shapiro is regularly engaged in front of the U.S. Supreme Court, federal and state courts of appeal, and New York's trial courts. (Since 2009 - 2 1/2 years at most - my addition)


Some representative matters in which Mr. Shapiro has been involved include: Persuading a New York appellate court to grant an emergency stay, and issue a precedent-setting ruling on the merits, preventing the NYPD from continuing to target the ticket-sales practices of an entertainment venue; representing a brand drug manufacturer in an interlocking, multi-year cluster of intellectual property lawsuits, both at trial and on appeal ; suing to prevent the implementation of a statute on takings and environmental impact grounds; and a wide range of high-stakes commercial disputes involving-among other things-fraud, breach of contract, and class action claims. (Since 2009 - 2 1/2 years at most - my addition)

Mr. Shapiro has participated in the preparation of numerous certiorari and merits stage briefs to the U.S. Supreme Court, including as principal architect and author of a number of amicus briefs relied on by the Court in the constitutional, criminal-immigration, and separation of powers contexts.

Mr. Shapiro is also currently leading the trial team in a suit to protect the land use and First Amendment rights of a New Jersey synagogue; for his work on that case, among others, Mr. Shapiro was nominated for the Frank Wheat Award, given to lawyers in the firm who demonstrate leadership and obtain significant results for their pro bono clients.

Mr. Shapiro earned his Juris Doctor in 2008 from Columbia Law School, where he was a senior editor of the Columbia Law Review, a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar, and a semifinalist in the Harlan Fiske Stone Honors Moot Court competition. After law school, Mr. Shapiro served as a research assistant to Judge Debra Livingston of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and to Professor Harold Edgar. He also received a Master's Degree in Religious Studies from Yale University, where he was a member of the Yale Journal of Law and the Humanities and the recipient of a Yale University Fellowship. In 2001, Mr. Shapiro graduated from Columbia University with a Bachelor of Arts in History. Mr. Shapiro is admitted to practice in the State of New York and before the U.S. District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York. (Since 2009 - 2 1/2 years at most - my addition)

Mr. Shapiro regularly speaks on constitutional and legal ethics topics , and has published "Should the Lower Courts Save Taxpayer Standing?" in The Journal of Appellate Practice and Process, 10 J. APP. PRAC. & PROCESS 273 (2009)."

Very impressive guy this Akiva Shapiro and he totally fits ECOS. He graduated college in 2001 and got his MA in religious studies and his JD in 2008, from two different Universities located in two different states. Very impressive to  go to Yale and Columbia concurrently and earn those degrees. He was admitted to the bar in 2009. That's a ton of education and experience for ECOS to draw upon to help them win, NOT! 

Akiva Shapiro has an impressive write up and has achieved a lot since 2009 - 2 1/2 years at most. Obviously ECOS wasn't happy with their last lawyer and they took on this experienced lawyer to show Teaneck that they mean business, afterall he was the lawyer who prepared a brief for Zivotofsky vs Clinton which was argued in the Supreme Court in 2011. 

So what is in it for  Etz Chaim/Ohr Saadya or ECOS (Every Congregant's Overtly Sinning) ? Why Akiva Shapiro? 

• He's a member of  ECOS
• He's doing it Pro Bono
• He convinced Rabbi Daniel Z. Feldman its a good idea
• Zalman Levine doesn't like losing
• Robert Erlich wasn't happy with the accurate quotes in the various newspapers
• Since Mario Guralnik is not involved with ECOS anymore they feel their chances for victory greatly improved
• ECOS already used Jason Flynn for their parking initiative and it failed
• Gary Miller was extremely active and disappeared
• They will have nothing to talk about during laining if there are no lawsuits

Etz Chaim/Ohr Saadya loses either way because of the bad press and the stigma of going to a shul that has separated itself from the community and is built on hate.

Teaneck loses either way because the tax payers have to foot the bill for the BOA's defense.

Akiva Shapiro, ESQ has already won. 

• He is lead counsel on this case.
• He was nominated for the Frank Wheat Award, given to lawyers in the firm who demonstrate leadership and obtain significant results for their pro bono clients.
• He was honored at Etz Chaim/Ohr Saadya's  last dinner.
• He was promised  2 aliya's a month by Levi Goldberg and then Levi changed it to 3 aliya's because Zalman told him to.
• Rabbi Daniel Feldman will speak at Beth Aaron on a Tuesday night in his honor, for a modest donation of course.
• He will have his picture and name in prestigious newspapers like the Jewish Standard and Teaneck Suburbanite.
• Columbia and Yale will write about him in their alumnus newsletters.
• The Famous Urine Cake King will give Akiva a lifetime supply of splash guards and cakes for his urinals.
• Free high risk deliveries from Dr. Abdelhak.
• Mario Guralnik promised him free parking in his backyard.
• Rochelle Mandelbaum will make sure he gets all the approvals to extend his house, when Akiva is ready.
• Elliot Frome put in a huge bet in Vegas on the verdict and promised Akiva 10%.
• Allan Chanan Cohen promised to smile if Akiva wins.

Akiva Shapiro arranged special permission to argue the case in NJ because he is only recognized in NYS. 

He wins no matter what the outcome, because Akiva doesn't "really" care about ECOS or money. Akiva wants the recognition, the press, the awards and the accolades. Akiva Shapiro is 2 1/2 years into his law career and isn't focused on the outcome. Being first chair is all he cares about and he steered ECOS and Teaneck into the lawsuit for personal reasons. 

Akiva Shapiro is the perfect lawyer for Etz Chaim/Ohr Saadya. They both fit together