NEW YORK
Jewish Daily Forward

The Riverdale Jewish Center reportedly is seeking to get rid of Rabbi Jonathan Rosenblatt, whose habit of inviting young males to join him for naked heart-to-heart talks in the sauna was the subject of a recent article in The New York Times.

In a meeting Monday night, the board of directors of Rosenblatt’s Orthodox synagogue voted 34-8 to seek a financial settlement to get Rosenblatt to resign his pulpit position, the N.Y. Jewish Week reported. Though Rosenblatt’s unusual behavior long was known in his synagogue community, the board surmised that the publicity that now surrounds Rosenblatt would make it impossible for him to fulfill his rabbinic duties at the 700-member shul and therefore it is preferable that he step down, the newspaper reported.

The Times story that prompted the firestorm focused on Rosenblatt’s custom of inviting male congregants or students, some as young as…