Whither Goes Rabbi Dovid Weinberger? (From the 2014 Archives of FF)

Rabbi Dovid Weinberger

First posted on 2/27/2014. I was the first and primary source of this story on the Internet and it garnered over 30k views.

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Rabbi Dovid Weinberger was fired by his shul in the Lawrence, NY, Shaaray Tefila, before Rosh Hashanah. They claimed he was on medical leave** but announced a search for a new rabbi shortly afterward.

Weinberger went off to Israel searching for another job but came back about a month ago. He should have been able to find a job because he is married to a granddaughter of the late “Gadol” Rabbi Chaim Pinchas Scheinberg. That he failed to find a job, suggests both a bad reputation and marital estrangement. If the Scheinberg family wanted to help him, he would have found a job. In those circles, allegations of molesting are no obstacle to rabbinic employment.

His return provoked consternation in the 5 Towns

Sex Abusing Rabbi Dovid Weinberger is back in the Five Towns

Dovid Weinberger

Dovid Weinberger recently moved back into West Lawrence some two years after his abrupt departure from his position as rabbi of Congregation Shaaray Tefila in Lawrence, NY.

He quit in the wake of revelations that he was sexually exploiting women who sought his help for various kinds of counseling including marital counseling.

According to local sources some of the same rabbis who forced him to agree to quit the rabbinate, and publicly denounced him, are now divided about whether to advise their communities publicly.

In December 2013 he promised to stay totally out of the rabbinate when he signed the following statement:

To whom it may concern, I Rabbi Dovid Weinberger, formerly the Rabbi of Cong. Shaarei Tefilla of Lawrence, NY, do hereby acknowledge that I will retire from the Rabbinate effective immediately, and will never again serve in the capacity of Rov or Rabbi of any congregation or community, nor will I ever again be involved as a mechanech [teacher] in any venue of Chinuch [education].

5 Town Rabbis Slam Belsky for Defending Sex Offender Weinberger

Rabbi Yisroel Belsky

Rabbi Yisroel Belsky’s defense of disgraced former rabbi of Shaaray Tefila (Lawrence, NY) hurt Yeshiva Torah Vodaath when it angered rabbis and laity in the Five Towns and Far Rockaway and they pulled the plug on cooperating with a Torah Vodaath fund-raising weekend.

In explaining the decision, thirteen rabbis and yeshiva heads in the area issued a letter (3/28/14) stating:

Dear Fellow Members of the Five Towns and Far Rockaway Community,

… Unfortunately we are unable to host the Yeshiva [Torah Vodaath] at this time. This is due to a letter written by one of their Roshei Yeshiva [Yisroel Belsky], disseminated throughout our community, and critical of its Rabbonim, whose decision was made after much investigation and deliberation to protect the community from serious harm. It was clear from this letter that this Rosh Yeshiva was misled and misinformed.

Backlash Against Belsky Forces Torah Vodaath to Cancel Fundraising Shabbat

Rabbi Yisroel Belsky

Residents of the Five Towns and Far Rockaway upset with Rabbi Yisroel Belsky, one of the roshei yeshiva of Torah Vodaath, forced the last-minute “postponement” of a planned “Five Town Shabbos with the Roshei Yeshiva.” Some synagogues cancelled planned appearances. Others conveyed reluctance of many of their members to contribute, including those who had given generously in the past.

Belsky Damaged Torah Vodaath by Getting Into Fight with Rabbis Solomon and Kaminetzky

Rabbi Yisroel Belsky

I have updated my previous post, Five Towns Angry at Belsky Over His Defense of Disgraced Rabbi Weinberger with the following: