A Thoughtful, Measured UOJ (Or UOJ on Valium) - WHAT IF??????????

From The UOJ Archives - Wednesday, May 17, 2006 B.C. (Before Convention)

Regular readers of my blog are accustomed to my in-your-face tone and firebrand ranting on a host of topics affecting our community.

Worry not; I have no intention of changing my stripes. Tomorrow bright and early, I will be back to ranting and challenging the powers that be.

But just for today, as hundreds of thousands of decent, law-abiding, spiritual members of Klal Yisroel are in the process of mourning the desecration of Hashem and our Torah caused by the lawsuit against Kolko, Margulies and Torah Temimah, I ask you to be intellectually honest and walk a mile in my shoes, or better yet, walk many miles in the tattered souls of the victims, making some assumptions:

What if every one of the allegations listed in the New York Magazine article is true?

What if the three lawsuits are in fact the tip of the iceberg in the rape of our children by Kolko and Margulies?

What if there was a pattern of terror,“ a second round of abuse" directed at those who reported these abuses? Not for weeks, months or years, but decades?

What if Margulies was repeatedly offered a quiet and discreet resolution of this matter, with Kolko offered a paid leave while a hearing was conducted, and a registry of sexual molesters established by Torah Umesorah, to see to it that molesters don't get shuttled from school to school?

What if you actually listened firsthand to the pain and suffering of the victims? What if you heard them talk about the confusion, anger, rage and their struggle to get their lives back on track?

What if you heard them ask you how Kolko and Margulies can continue to have the respect of our community while they wallow in despair and agony?

What if you felt that there was a CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER to the innocent children under the care of Kolko and Margulies?

What if you heard that Margulies had the unmitigated gall to recently conduct an asifa of his "talmidim" in Lakewood to set the stage for opening a branch of his "kiddy molesting business" there?

What if you saw the intimidation and terror that was directed at anyone who challenged the powers that be and stood up for the rights of our children?

Well, you might do the responsible things first:

Send them messages and messengers that you "have the goods" and beg them to do the right thing.

Take your message to the public via the Internet.

Send a mailing to the community, hoping against hope that someone, somewhere, would convince Margulies to let reason prevail.

Issue clear warnings and datelines should he refuse to do what is correct and moral.

What if that didn't work either?

What if you felt that you, and perhaps you alone, had the courage, means and fierce determination to stop the insanity and finally after all these decades protect our children?

What if you spent sleepless nights over the past few years feeling that you are not doing everything in your power to protect our children, and permit a confirmed embezzler called Lipa Margulies to get away with not only theft of millions of dollars from Yeshiva Torah Vodaath, but from pretending to run a Torah institution, while a vile predator is hanging around a thousand kids every day?

What if you have documents in hand from a psak bais din to force Margulies for ten years to change the name of "his" yeshiva? What happens if you have documents in your hands from estate attorneys designating their clients' money to Yeshiva Torah Vodaath then in Williamsburg, to be cashed by the vicious thief and embezzler Lipa Margulies?

What if you were convinced that Torah Temimah's very bricks and cement were purchased with stolen money?

What if you felt that Margulies would never respond to reasonable people, but "maybe" only to the ranting of a "wild maniac"?

I have no doubt that history will judge Margulies to be the wicked, heartless, soulless fiend who regularly expelled "average" children from his school to maintain his elitist image. It was the cruel and evil Margulies who repeatedly refused to bring resource rebbeim and programs into his school, allowing kids to drown or transfer to more compassionate, responsible mosdos. It was none other than this rasha of the generation, Lipa Margulies, that was the first to turn the sacred mission of chinuch habanim into a personal, corrupt, nepotism-filled fiefdom and "pig"gy-bank.

History will be brutal to this self-righteous thief, vile and evil man, and confirmed embezzler called Lipa Margulies.

Tomorrow, I vow to continue my crusade to finally bring safety to our children and other vital issues to our community that are being swept underneath beards, black hats, kapotes, bekishes, shtreimels and OU certified kosher plastic tablecloths, all in the name of Torah.

Today, however, I ask you to think about the terrible desecration of Hashem and His Torah, that this corrupt, evil, vile man brought to all of us.