The third installment of radio host Zev Brenner’s interviews with Aryeh Hospitality proprietor Heshy Goldstein aired last night on Talkine Networks. It started off chaotic and only devolved from there.
The interview focused heavily on the Atlantic City Pesach hotel debacle that occurred this year, in which customers and investors lost tens of thousands of dollars when the program was suddenly cancelled a week before Pesach.
As has been the case since the story first unfolded, customers of the Pesach program were left with few answers as to what exactly happened with their money.
Interestingly, an investor who previously worked with Mr. Goldstein called in to the show and offered to put up $25,000 in restitution to the victims if Mr. Goldstein provided evidence for some his claims.
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24 Responses
Why does Zev Brenner feel that he is in charge of everything? extremely BIASED interviewer.
Scam or not he’s still responsible
Playing the victim doesn’t take away his responsibility to his customers.
Stop the rachmunis game.
Similar things happen here. An insight into what happened to French people going to Pessah Programs in Morroco: About 10 years ago, we found ourselves stuck in a similar situation. The one who organized that program booked about 500 people while apparently only 200 spots were available, we were able to manage by sharing rooms and the food available, although some fights occured, people got edgy starting day 1, when they realized they didn’t get what they paid for, but once again we found a way to go through all this. However last year things turned out really bad, once people got to the hotel, they have been told, there is no room nor any way to accomodate them. Families ended up in the street, with no food nor a place to stay, erev yom tov. They had to call morrocan autorities to get rescued and this year I heard the guy who scammed them ended up in jail. He putted their lives in danger, it wasn’t just about going in vacation, it was about a group of people finding themselves in a foreign country with nothing.
FORSIGHT When its your show you get to be in charge of everything.
Each time Goldstein opens his mouth, it gets worse. He is either totally incompetent and negligent or a really inept scam artist. Either way, he is responsible for this outcome and hopefully will be held responsible.
What troubles me the most about the video is that Goldstein appears to be more concerned with defending his own ego than addressing the losses suffered by others. While I sympathize with Goldstein as a potential victim of a scam, he must still take responsibility for his actions and show remorse for the harm caused. Even if he was also a victim, he should still make every effort to repay those who lost their hard-earned money.
I can personally attest to the devastating impact of investment scams, as a friend of mine lost over a million dollars of other people’s money to a fraudulent scheme orchestrated by a fellow member of the frum community. Despite not having the means to repay the affected parties, my friend sold his house and took a rental to begin the arduous process of restitution. He quit his own business, took on extra jobs, and worked tirelessly to make good on his debts, assuring all those impacted that he would pay them back to the last penny when he was able.
A few years later, my friend is still paying back those he harmed, but he has also found success in a new business venture. This is because he is a man of integrity who recognizes his responsibility to make amends, and has worked tirelessly to do so. His story stands in stark contrast to Goldstein’s apparent lack of concern for those impacted by his actions.
“FORSIGHT”
hes not biased at all, he said openly that many people from all over the world called him and provided valid docs showing how Goldstein scammed them. this person is a professional thief and a liar. he so good that he even fooled you
I never heard or Mr. Goldstein before and know nobody who was going to his program. After listening to him for hours I learned nothing about what went wrong and didn’t hear the slightest hint of apology or remorse from him. He would have been better off not participating in the show.
The way in which Zev Brenner handles disputes in public can be difficult to watch. As members of the Jewish community, it is important to consider more rational and respectful approaches to conflict resolution, such as seeking guidance from a din Torah. By choosing to engage in public disputes, individuals run the risk of causing unnecessary harm and potentially damaging their reputation. It’s worth reflecting on whether these actions align with the values and principles that are central to our faith, and whether they serve to honor G-d and promote unity among his children.
Classic narcissistic personality disorder
Guess it won’t the first time people lost big time money Atlantic City.
Does anyone remember when we used to clean our homes and kasher & prepare for Pesach? From all the hotel ads it seems like all the Rabbonim “got in on the action”, so this must be the the new derech/way.
Be more fruitful. Shame. This is awful behavior towards Passover Spending unwarranted funds
I learned one important thing. ALWAYS check out a Pesach program! Now we know how to do it.
Here are my comments:
1. Zev Brenner didn’t always hold Goldstein accountable to answer…he let him waffle, prevaricate and avoid answering questions. I’m surprised, because Mr. Brenner has decades of experience, but I just don’t think he’s a match for Goldstein’s sliminess.
2. How many times did Goldstein make nasty, personal comments at both named and “imaginary” individuals, make a dig and then say “but let’s not go there”… and Zev Brenner let him drop that sleaze with no comeback? Why??
3. We all know he’ll never take a polygraph test. Let’s not kid ourselves.
4. Goldstein brought in his wife to the discussion by reading out that email… so here goes. She is as responsible as he is, if only because she seems to defend him. No woman is that stupid not to know what’s going on, even if she deliberately didn’t listen to the broadcasts. I heard them all, very interesting stuff. She should be ashamed to married to such a person. I also heard some female twittering in the background at one point, so I believe she was listening to everything.
5. I feel desperately sorry for his parents, children, siblings and all those people (clients and vendors) who have been hit with agmas nefesh and financial loss.
6. The Judge was superb. He has enough authority in his persona to stop Goldstein talking over him; he wasn’t shouted down, bamboozled with words that made lots of noise but said nothing, or talked over. Zev Brenner couldn’t stop the Goldstein Circus but the Judge surely did!
7. And lastly…. Pesach 2022 we went to a program, FFH events, in upstate NY. We had never done a Pesach program, we didn’t (stupidly!) take out any kind of insurance (we flew in from Israel!!) or even do any research.
AND WE WERE DELIGHTED!!! Everything was amazing! We didn’t know the Feldmans, never heard of them, but we did know the caterer and the mashgiach (crucial to our decision to go.) We were so thrilled that we booked tickets for THIS Pesach as son as we got back (we didn’t go to the program because this year we went to our daughter’s home.) But should there ever be a time when family isn’t an option we would go back there, as long as the same team is in place.
Thank you, YWN, for making these podcasts available to the technologically challenged like me. I hope you’ll continue to post updates, including court case and Beis Din verdicts.
Jayd, so called beth din guys in america are the most twisted freacks on earth. The last thing you do to resolve any confict is to call any of those. Many of them don’t even have any ichour to run a jewish court, con artists…
Brenner showed his own shortcomings in this interview. He cut Heshy too much slack and failed to direct the interview. Heshy was scattered, incredible and failed to show any concern for those who lost funds to this program.
Heshy needs to explain one absolute reality that he knows anyone that has Pesach program experience knows. There is no hotel on Earth that will wait until 8 days before the holiday begins to take the last payment. The hotel would have had to have been paid in full weeks if not months in advance. Same with suppliers, all get paid wayyyyy up front. Even distributors that offer terms during the year get Pesach paid up front. So the whole I got wire scammed, even if true, would have had to have happened with plenty plenty of time to make good on another wire. 8 days before yom tov? Please. That’s nonsense.
In my opinion, this whole thing needs a clear psak from a prominent posek, that is willing to sign his name, that it is mutter to discuss this in a public forum. Until then, it is pure loshon horah derabim.
What a waste of time to listen to this conversation…..Heshy get yourself a PR person who can defend you
@Ish Hashalom
Maybe you should learn Chofetz Chaim. Something that is known to 3 people isn’t Lashan Harah. The fact that he canceled an event and he owes people money from this event and previous events wasn’t any secret it seems to me it was a known fact to many people who have dealt with him in the past.
Mr Zev Brenner while I like your show you have zero halachic or legal authority .
Who in the world do you think you are for judging this man with a wife and kids in school in Such a public setting?
What he does or doesn’t need to apologize about is now debatable between every bored person who has zero to do with this. (No halachic authority stated this was a need to announce for the sake of the future)
What isn’t debatable is that you cant Apologize or undue the damage you did here to him.
I ofc feel terrible for whoever lost money and had plans messed up but that doesn’t equal what you did to this man.
I love ( hate) The way he sits there and says how no one is allowed to talk bad about him, that it’s loshon hora etc… Yet in the same breath he goes and bad mouths 10 other people? He says that his Rebbe said that one should make a shiddduch with one who has a smart phone, yet he has one . He refused to apologize, sounds like he has no remorse. Since when is it okay not to pay people back money that you owe unless you make more money? And saying that they will never get the money back if he doesn’t have another program? I myself have sold countless stores and frum neighborhoods, and somehow this mentality is that they do not owe the vendor’s money if their business doesn’t survive. When a person sells what does a service for another person the person owes him the money it is not dependent if his business makes money or not unless the person providing the service or goods is a partner. I absolutely hate people who use the Jewish card when they don’t want to be put down, but it’s okay for them to say whatever they want about anyone else.
It looks like to me that he set up the email chain by himself, the “accountant” he talks about is a made up name and the claridge emails are all coming from a privateemail.com emails that are controlled by the perpetrator to make it look like he was not at fault. He should be put behind bars for what he did.
I agree with JayD. As for Zetruth – he’s making fun of Talmidei Chachomim which is a serious aveiroh. I have had no dealings with Heshy Goldstein or anyone else on the show. Just came across it on Yeshiva News. I think Heshy put on a better performance than anyone else – for the simple reason he correctly stated that in monetary disputes you go to a Beis Din – You don’t shame someone in public. Nowhere in Halacha does it give credence to a lie detector. Further, in halacha it states that if someone is a debtor and has no funds to repay – it is Ossur to pursue him. You mustn’t even pass by him deliberately. Only a Beis Din can look at the facts and establish whether he has the ability to repay (it’s no use flogging a dead horse) and pasken how restitution should be made where it is possible and appropriate.
Heshy’s approach to go to Beis Din is the correct avenue to take. This is demanded by the Torah – not lie detectors or public discussion shows.
“Something that is known to 3 people isn’t Lashan Harah”
That it far from simple. The Chofetz Chaim writes in Klal 2 sif 10:
1) even if it is known by api tlasa (3 people) one can not say it to soemone who will believe it [or to someone who will embelish it – even a drop].
2) A person should distance himself from this leniency because “shekimat ain lanu makom bimitziyus”, there is hardly a case which will fill all of the details needed to permit speaking LH even when it’s api tlasa.
3) The CC concludes that even if you combine all of the details nessesary it needs research to see if this in in fact the Halacha since many (Rishonim) Poskim hold that there is no source for this leniency. “Lachain Hashomer nafsho yirchak mizeh” Therefore, soemone who guards his soul should distance himself from this.