UNITED STATES
Washington Post
By Alana Suskin | Religion News Service May 14
When I was in grad school on the path that would eventually lead me to become a rabbi, I took a class in the philosophy of Jewish law. The teacher was clear and interesting, if not terribly personable. When the semester ended and I wanted to learn more seriously about the body of Jewish text called Mishnah, I asked the professor if he would help.
He agreed but specified that our study had to take place over the phone. I thought it odd, but knew that philosophy departments are full of eccentric personalities, and I was grateful that he was willing to take the time. I didn’t think much of it, but now, I wonder if even back then Rabbi Barry Freundel was already fighting his demons.
The story of Rabbi Freundel is notorious: a nationally known figure, the rabbi of an important Orthodox congregation in Washington, who was disgraced after he secretly recorded women immersing in the mikvah ritual bath. It is a sad story, one that certainly reveals the truth of the Talmudic comment: “When anyone commits a transgression in secret, it is as though he thrust aside the feet of the Divine Presence.”
In the Washington area, where I live, there is shock over the Freundel scandal. I myself have struggled with what to tell people who ask me about how we should respond as a community. As a former student, I, too, was shocked.
But after much reflection, I think there are two primary responses: one personal, one communal.
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