A conversation about recent real estate scams in our community left me deeply disturbed—not only because of the pain and financial loss inflicted on the victims but because of the disturbing response from those around me. Instead of a united call for accountability, I witnessed people urging others to stay quiet, to “protect the family” of the perpetrator, to keep things hush-hush and “not publicize the details.” I’m sorry, but there is no justification for this kind of protection. In fact, there is a strong precedent for the opposite response, and it is time we follow it.
When we whitewash these actions, offering sympathy and protection to those who harm others, we’re sending a clear message: commit any wrong you want, hurt as many as you want, and we’ll look the other way. This approach fails us all. Rav Shimon Schwab zt”l famously warned against the chillul Hashem that arises when a member of our community acts dishonestly. He spoke about a Jewish businessman who went to trial for embezzlement and publicly rebuked those who asked him to intervene. Rav Schwab saw the man’s public actions as a disgrace to the Jewish people, a “virtual rodef”—a pursuer who threatens the integrity and safety of the entire community. His message was clear: no whitewashing, no condoning, and no protecting the desecrators of Hashem’s name.
Rav Schwab even went so far as to demand that this man remove his yarmulke and shave his beard when appearing in court to avoid further shame to the Jewish people. He urged that we treat those who act with such disregard for honesty and ethics as having “unwittingly defected from our ranks.” Yet today, when faced with similarly shameful actions in our midst, some in our community still rush to shelter the perpetrators and preserve their public image. Why?
We must ask ourselves a hard question: Why do we allow individuals who tarnish the reputation of our community to slip back in, protected from shame and consequence? Why do we insist on preserving the image of someone who scammed, stole, or cheated, all in the name of “protecting” their family, while overlooking the innocent families whose lives were turned upside down?
Our communities have seen far too many of these scandals in recent years. And why wouldn’t they? When there’s little consequence for dishonest actions—when we let perpetrators blend back in without repercussions or shame—they become emboldened. They know they can offer a hollow apology, make some empty promises, and continue on as if nothing happened. And so the cycle repeats, leaving victims traumatized and the community’s integrity eroded.
It’s time to say “enough.” Instead of protecting the guilty, we should be standing with the victims, making it clear that deceit, theft, and fraud have no place among us. Public shaming may seem harsh, but it is a necessary step. If a scammer and their family faces the prospect of genuine public disgrace, perhaps they will think twice before causing such harm. If we take an uncompromising stance, if we refuse to protect those who desecrate our values, we may finally create a culture that holds each person accountable.
We have always prided ourselves on values of honesty, kindness, and justice. If we allow these values to be tarnished by those who act with impunity, we fail our own standards.
Rav Schwab’s words resonate louder than ever: “No whitewashing, no condoning, no apologizing on behalf of the desecrators.” Let’s show future scammers and fraudsters that there will be no shelter here for dishonesty and theft.
Anonymous
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13 Responses
If you have proof of a Jew stealing from another Jew, at most the person can be summoned to a Din Torah, and if they don’t obey the Beis Din and refund the money stolen, the the matter goes to the goyim’s courts. Is the poster suggesting something else?
The Chofetz Chaim has got detailed guidelines on how to deal with such matters and a competent Rav needs to be consulted.
akuperma #1 is absolutely correct and on target.
Why not extrapolate that to Shadchanim who lie and give out people’s names without their permission (especially after being explicitly told not to). Maybe if there would be consequences for their actions they’d act in a civilized manner.
Maybe this would put a dent in the “shidduch crisis”!
There are situations where someone enters a business venture, borrows money to make the investment, and then loses everything. The victim whose money was lost is apt to believe that the venture was a scam. However, it might well have been a poor decision, or circumstances just did not work for the investment to succeed. Is shaming the answer to this? I suggest that this is dinei nefashos. There needs to be a psak din that assesses this prior to risking public shaming. I’m no happier about scams than the author. In fact, there are publicized campaigns for “tzedokoh” that might be considered scams. I think we have a double edged sword here. Not simple.
והאלוקים יבקש את הנרדף yes let’s stand up for the underdog! Rebbes who are suspected of inappropriate behavior ought to be fired – they can get a different job. The children don’t get to love another life they’re stuck with the trauma.
I mamish have the best solution.
Ask your Rav.
Ask your Daas Torah.
That’s what we do a Torah Jews.
If Halacha is being used to protect bad people who hurt honest Yidden, then maybe we have to examine the way we are understanding the Halacha. How can it be that Toras HaShem Temimah would allow bad, dishonest Jews to hurt other Jews?
I’m sure everyone who posts comments in this forums are ready to give a din vcheshbon for the loshon hara and rechilus that goes on here. Everyone sins in their own way. The scammers will need to answer up to “were you honest in business?” after 120 and own their portion to whoever they hurt.
These comments written online are blatant loshon hard without any daas torah quoted. Are YOU ready to give a din vchesbon to the thousands of readers who your words reached?? Why do you believe your words are less heavy than a scammers sin?
Just curious.
Whether the author here is right or wrong, it’s a little ironic that he/she writes a letter about exposing names, and then signs it anonymously.
to Avi G
you are part of the enabler crowd
you hide behind Lashan Hora the excuse for burying everything
no one cares about “lo samoid al dom reiacha”
happens to be the end of the pasuk!!!!
the crooks know they will not be exposed so they do it over and over
like the guy with the pesach proigram
he now has a chanukah program
and the oilam goilam will fall in again
An investment is never guaranteed. In fact, the greater the return, the higher the risk. When someone is offered a deal that will “double or triple your money”, you should be skeptical. But…greed gets in the way of logic. The dollar signs blind you to the risk. You don’t ask yourself, why doesn’t this deal get a bank loan at a reasonable interest rate? Oh, because the banks won’t touch this deal! The banks know this is a high-risk deal with a strong possibility of failing. But the yiddel is desperate to hit it rich and ignores all the alarms and red flags. Do you know why? Because yes, a few buddies did succeed and won the lottery on such an investment, so he thinks this is his ship knocking at his door. And guess what? It failed. So who is to blame? You can’t blame yourself or your greed, so you blame the “scammer” who made “false” promises of get rich quick…Is the State lottery a scam? A few WILL win big, but most won’t. Does that mean it is a scam? Is a casino a scam? Is the stock market a scam? Only a fool will put his life savings and go into debt to buy stocks!
It would be one thing if you had named a renowned Rav whom you had personally asked about this issue, but you didn’t. I understand that we listen to our Rabbanim, both those who are with us, may they live and be well, and those who are in the next world, but we also need to ask Shailos for each individual case. Shmiras Halashon cannot be taken lightly, and this isn’t an exception. (Since there really isn’t no such thing as an “exception” to Shmiras Halashon. There is l’toeles, and not l’toeles – i.e. Lashon Hara.)