As YWN reported two weeks ago, A Pesach getaway program scheduled to take place at the Claridge Hotel in Atlantic City, NJ, dissolved into disaster due to what the director of the Pesach program described as a “huge financial scam.”
On Motzei Shabbos before Pesach, Zev Brenner of talkline Communications interviewed Heshy Goldstein, the owner of Aryeh Hospitality on the Atlantic City Pesach program Debacle. But many people re still demanding answers and wondering what transpired.
In a second episode, Zev Brenner interviewed Elan Kornblum of “Great Kosher Restaurants” who has covered the plight of the victims, Yossi Zablocki of “Destinations 613” who was scammed, Doni Schwartz of Passoverlistings.com who’s an expert on Pesach vacations & $700k investor Sinai Rubin.
Was it a bad gamble or Fraud?
Scam or was the owner conned?
What happens to the money for those that paid for the Passover program?
Was the owner scammed as he claimed or is there more to the story?
(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
Join the official YWN WhatsApp status
19 Responses
The only follow-up known cure onto mankind is to comply with the פסק of the venerated גדול-הדור whose 22nd יארצייט is already tomorrow:- Moreinu HoRav אביגדור הכהן Miller זצקקלה”ה :- Make פסח at home with your family.
Have we lost our way?
When did it become ok to have a 2 hour session where frum yiddin go on a public forum to bash and speak straight out lashon harah b’rabim on another yid?
Important note: 1. I do not know any of these ppl. 2. I never went to a Pesach program. 3. I have no opinion as to what happened here or what didn’t happen.
I just have a question that is bugging me to no end. We just got went through Pesach where we have every chumrah in the world. We ask a shaila if a dish touched another dish that was exposed to a s’fek S’feika of chometz. Yet, the Chofetz Chaim wrote an entire set of seforim on lashon harah and we teach our youngest children not to say a word about a friend even if it’s true and they are right, and when a Jew has a down fall (regardless if he is right or wrong) we publicly bash him and talk about his past?
This segment is full with ppl speaking the worst lashon harah about this man, talking about their past with him, encouraging ppl to go to authorities and file criminal complaints and more…THIS IS A SHAILA OF MESIRAH!!! Did these ppl ask the posek hador if MESIRAH is permitted here? Did anybody think of his wife and children? Even if you believe he is the worst thief (chalila) we have a Torah that tells us how to deal with such a situation and this sure don’t look like the recipe of a loving and observant nation.
I hear all the responses…We have to warn ppl so they don’t do it again….and the like…Everybody wants to do good. Everybody wants their moment of fame. Everybody has good intentions. As a famous person once said “The road to hell is paved with GOOD intentions!”
We are in very dangerous territory here. I shudder to think of the risk that these ppl took by talking publicly about another Jew. If the Divrei Chazal are true….then these ppl should all go beg this person for mechilah and hope that the Divrei Chazal aren’t true.
Above all, I recommend that we start living our own truth. Segulas, inspiring videos, trips to kevarim, tehillim chats etc…. are all important things to assure a bright future for our nation. But if we can totally ignore the worst warnings about lashon harah, rechilus, mesirah etc….it peteifies me as to how the Ribono Shel Oylam sees our worthiness as a nation.
I sure hope I am wrong here…
I agree with both of the first two comments. However please be aware that even though staying home is the best thing – for many people their situation does not allow this due to various reasons that they just are not able to make pesach and going away is their only reasonable option. It does seem odd though to have this discussion in a public forum especially when these people themselves keep saying they dont know all the facts. Finally I dont believe many people intentionally try to hurt others – even if that is what this was which is far from clear. What generally happens as in many previous situations is they start off right and then they get over their heads and cant get out. Just my three cents for what it is worth.
I agree with the above poster luveveryjew.
Who bashes another yid in a public forum? I don’t know any of the people or programs either but it’s a total turnoff.
This video should be removed. Nothing positive can result from it. Consult Yeshiva World’s halachic advisors for a psak.
luv every jew
thats wonderful
but las that i checked
lo sigziol is the same lav as loshon gara
when someone pulls the lasahan hara card beware
the public needs to know about scams etc
enough is enough
I can’t decide on the loshon hora aspect of this show. But I feel strongly that the collapse of a Pesach hotel program is an outrage, period. It’s not just the money. (The proprietor is morally and probably al pi halokho responsible for every penny that he collected from his customers.) It’s that the proper observance and simchas hachag of all of the prospective participants were ruined. Most of them probably had no backup arrangements — their homes may not have been properly cleaned, they had no money left to register at the last minute for another program, etc. . If you undertake to provide a kosher and happy Pesach for many other Jews — then, Nigerian scams, FBI investigations, South African friends, and anything similar, don’t detract one bit from your being fully responsible for your failure to fulfill your commitment to them.
@Yossies. Right, but let’s say the person actually is stealing, that’s one person. That does not make publishing a video that may be loshon hara (I didn’t and won’t watch it), to a websites viewer base the right thing to do. Even by your logic that the “public” needs to know… most of the readers here never went to a Pesach program and probably never intend to and this has no relevancy for them. There is no positive way to spin this that posting that video was the right thing to do. As far as being halachically “permitted”… I’m not a rabbi but I would have thought a kosher site would have consulted one prior to posting it – maybe they did and maybe they didn’t, but regardless, this is not something I would want to see on a site I visit and based on the comments above, it seems other concur.
Loshon Hora?? Puhleeze…it is a Mitzvah to preserve the money of Jews, even Hashem is careful to. This is someone who has scammed people before and will again if not stopped. Sanctimonious fools and Chosid SHotah would say nothing and take the slap. Fine, but he is Rodeph and its a Mitzvah to save someone else from drowning in his Geneva. You want to forgive him and take the loss that’s your right. We’ve heard the same argument made for child abusers and rapists. Mesirah!! Idiots…. Lead like sheep to slaughter. NEver again !
LuvEveryJew…
Well written…i could not believe myself listening to Zev Brenner show that some speakers advised people to go to US Attorney and bring a class action against another JEW. Did any Bes Din in New york or New Jersey summon Mr. Goldstein to Bes Din and listen to all sides and Rule that Mesirah is allowed in this case.
How can a Yid get on a Radio Show where Thousands of yidden are listening and give such advice which is against every Halacha in Choshen Mishpet.
I am sure Zev Brenners intention of bringing a STOP to those scams was well intended but did he discuss this issue with Gedoyle Hador or his local Rabbi if all this Loshon Hora, Rechiles is allowed to air in public?
murray18…Murray where did you get your Semicha to wrire comments which is against Jewish Law?
Yes you are right that we must bring a Stop to those scams to assure that people dont fall for those scams but we can do this in a Torah advised way. Let the local Beth Din listen to all sides and write a Ruling and publicize the Psak in all papers and make the public aware of those Scams but NOT with Loshon Hora, and Mesirah
The pischei Teshuva writes in Yoreh Deah that it is a chiyuv of Lo saamod al dam rei’echa to prevent people from being victimized and taken advantage of.
It is clear from what the panelists are saying that this person has a checkered history and many people could have been spared huge loss and aggravation had this been publicized earlier…
TannaKamma….Seems like you must be a Talmid Chuchim knowing Yoreh Deahn off your brains but please go back and learn Chofetz Chaim and maybe you will learn that it is NOT allowed to talk Loshon Hora and Rechiles even its true. Again i stress that there must be put a STOp to those scams but only thru Bes Din…
Bes did has to summons all parties involved and listen to all sides..
This first week of Pirkei uvos it clearly states that Bes Din has to interrogate and listen to all sides before ruling and giving a Psak. No where it states that you have to air itb all out on Zev Brenners show….
Maybe I’ll be proven wrong but this sounds like either gross negligence or a deliberate scam. Either way, this guy needs to provide full disclosure quickly or otherwise, there is a liklihood that an immediate criminal investigation launched. And if indeed someone did offer him $10,000 for HIS family to attend a Peseach program, if “Heshy” had an iota of deceny, he would have used the funds to help a few of the most needy of those he scammed with emergency Peseach arrangements rather than flying off into the sunset laughing at the gullible yidden who he left hanging out with their Pesach plans vanished.
“Consult Yeshiva World’s halachic advisors for a psak.”
YWN has a posek?
guy is a fraud
and all the people who are screaming LASHAN HORA have not lost a penny with him
if they did
they would be singing a different tune
its a MITZVAH to let everyone know
HATORAH CHAS AL MOMOINAM SHEL YISROEL
@YOSSIES. Please explain why it ISNT lashon hara for someone who has not lost money, or has zero connection to this debacle to see this being discussed. Is it “toeles” to rake him over the coals publicly? Toeles would be, if he advertised a different program to make people aware of what happened with this one.
the host and all panelists lost all credibility in my eyes, when neither the host or any of the panelists commented when a caller slandered an entire city of people calling it “fakewood”.
Reb Yossel and EmEMC:
Tannakama, Yossies and all the others got it right. Going to a din torah ?? SInce when is a din torah working? 99% wouldnt touch it. Whats in it for them? Its a rare bais din that will stick its neck out and then it gets chopped off. Sad state of affairs but thats what it is.
Bottom line , this guy has done it before, you had a few people on the show testify to his thievery, his story lacks any believable support form any Baal Sechel, and HKBH Chas Al Memonim Shel Yisroel, he had opprtunity to create a fund with the 10k he got to enjoy his own Pesach program, Lo Siknav is one of the Big 10, look at the following and see that it is NOT Loshon Hara:
https://torah.org/learning/halashon-chapter10/
The naysayers are complicit with him or never suffered from such a theft. You hide behind Halacha when you yourselves are sactimonius fools and the very defintiion of Chosod Shotah.
If he had been selling Treif Chicken, as has happened, you would all be eating Treif before listening to Loshon Hara. How do you atone for that? Look deep into yourselves and see where your Sechel is.