RABBI ARTHUR SEGAL: MARK BENAYER: CHILUL HA SHEM FOR ALL OF JUDAISM

 RABBI ARTHUR SEGAL: MARK BENAYER: CHILUL HA SHEM FOR ALL OF JUDAISM

 

It has been jested with the quip by the late and much-lamented Sir Isaiah Berlin ,OBM,  that we Jews ''are like any other people, only more so.'' So a Jew murdering another Jew on the Holy Days at a Chabad Shul, no less over a woman (was the  mechitzah not thick enough?) comes as a sad news, but as no surprise.

 

 In my 56 years I have 'seen' a Rabbi in my South NJ Temple hire a congregant to murder his wife, as a child 'seen' a married Rabbi have an affair with the married president of the sisterhood,  actually seen a Rabbi and Cantor duke it out on the bimah, and have seen the worst character assassinations  occur in Temples, Synagogues, Shuls and JCCs of not only Rabbis but of members trying to do G!d's will.

 

Murders have taken place in Holy places many times before. Murder in the Cathedral is a poetic drama by T. S. Elliot  that portrays the assassination of Archbishop Thomas Becket in Canterbury Cathedral in 1170. But Becket was killed by agents of King Henry II over the jurisdiction of secular courts over English clergy and Becket's refusal to sign the Constitutions of Clarendon. "Who will rid me of this troublesome priest?" demanded Henry, and four knights did the murder.

 

For Jews, our each and every one of our actions are to be a sanctification of G!d's holy name, for as the Torah states we are a nation of priests and holy nation (Ex 19:6). Each and every one of us has this obligation to do our best to do what is ''right and good in G!d's eyes." (Deut 6:8). As Jews we do not have intercessors. We each develop our direct relationship with G!d.

 

Each and every Shul, Temple, or Synagogue is a Kehila Kedosha, a Holy Congregation.  Each and every member has value. We do not marginalize members. We are to be inclusive and not exclusive.

 

The members of Mark Benayer's Chabad shul knew what was happening in his life. It was a drama played out every Shabbat and at every function. A 79 year old broke up with his 52 year old woman - friend, and another male congregant, a 44 year old, who was the employer of the woman, helped her get a restraining order against the 79 year old man, as well as force him to move from his home.

 

"Shalom Ha Gadol" the Talmud teaches. Peace is the highest of virtues.  In retrospect, always 20/20 in vision, the 44 year old would have been wise in referring the 52 year old woman to a lawyer outside the congregation. But while the Mishna teaches us to "Asei ritzono ritzoncho, Make His will, your will," we have all tried to play god at one time or another .  G!D does not like it when we assume His role. We make a mess of things.

 

The 44 year old man eventually died after 9 months in the hospital and today Mark Benayer was convicted of murder as an 81 year old and sentenced to spend the rest, of whatever life he will have, in prison.

 

The entire episode is a tragedy for everyone involved. While our Jewish houses of worship are not meant to be psychiatric day rooms, when our spiritual leaders and lay leaders, hear of suffering, action needs to be taken. If if was public knowledge that the 52 year old woman was being abused by the 79 year old man, Jewish law demands that we do not stand idly by.(Lev. 19:16).  Watching that, now 81, year old man on TV, it was obvious he was mentally ill. There is a wonderful Jewish Family services in Boca to which he could have been referred.

 

This is a chilul Ha Shem for this shul, whose name is ironically, not just the Weltman Synagogue, but the CHAIM Weltman Synagogue. Every mitzvah,( except three ***), can be forsaken, Shabbat, kashrut, etc, for the sake of Chaim, Life. Indeed the whole affair, is a desecration of God's holy name, (chilul ha Shem) when we as Jews, especially we as Jews who try to run Temples and teach our flock how to be Jews, are supposed to make each of our actions, a Kiddush Ha Shem, a sanctification of G!d's holy name.

 

For me, the saddest irony is that Lubavitch Chabad  is the sect of the synagogue where all of these folks were members. Chabad is a Hebrew acronym for Chochma (Wisdom), Bina (Understanding), and Daat (Knowledge)   Lubavitch is the name of a small town in Russia where it was founded  meaning "town of love". Where was love, wisdom, understanding and knowledge in this situation. Do we have it at our own Temples and Synagogues?

 

May there come a time, speedily if it be Your will, our G!D, when Jews truly learn :Henai matov u'mah nayim, shevat achim gam yachad--"How wonderful it is, how pleasant, when brothers live in harmony!  For harmony is as precious as the fragrant anointing oil that was poured over Aaron's head and ran down onto his beard and onto the border of his robe.  Harmony is as refreshing as the dew on Mount Hermon, on the mountains of Israel. And God has pronounced this eternal blessing on Jerusalem, even life forevermore."  (Psalm 133:1-3). Amen.

 

(*** The Talmud teaches that we are to save a life, even our own, and break any mitzvah to do so. There are three exceptions. If we are asked to rape someone, kill someone, or bow down to an idol, we are to give up our life.)

 

Shalom.

RABBI ARTHUR SEGAL

 

The Forward, October 4 , 2005; A near-fatal shooting halted Rosh Hashanah services at a Florida synagogue last week, leaving one worshipper with three broken ribs and a collapsed lung and another in jail without bond.

Marc Benayer, 79, was arrested October 4 after allegedly shooting Jonathan Samuels, 44, outside the Chabad Weltman Synagogue in Boca Raton on the first day of Rosh Hashanah.

News reports said that many congregants feared a terrorist attack after hearing gunshots. But in the end, according to police, the shooter turned out to be Benayer, a synagogue member and the jilted exboyfriend of fellow congregant Marta Pinto, 52.

Benayer was said to be enraged at Pinto's employers, one of whom was Jonathan Samuels, for helping her obtain a restraining order against him as well as a legal agreement that forced him to sell his share of a jointly owned home.

Just moments after the shooting, as Benayer was taken into custody, he declared that his victim "is the mastermind, the engineer of my destruction," according to the arrest report from the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office. Benayer allegedly added, "I did not want to kill him. I do not know what happened. I don't know."

Pinto, a native of Colombia who converted to Judaism many years ago, was also attending services October 4, along with her current boyfriend and her 15-year-old daughter. Uncomfortable with Benayer's stares, the trio left just before the shooting, according to Teri Barbera, a spokesperson for the Palm Beach County Sheriff's office.

At about 1:45 p.m., according to the arrest report, Benayer tapped Samuels on the shoulder and requested to speak with him. After the pair went outside, the report said, Benayer pulled out a gun and shot Samuels twice in the back as he attempted to flee back into the synagogue. Afterward Benayer shot into the temple, near a number of children gathered for day care. Fragments from a shattered window hit a 2-year-old.

Benayer fired several more shots and continued to threaten congregants until an acquaintance approached him. The person said, "My friend, don't do this," and forcefully took the gun, according to the arrest report.

Police were on the scene "within seconds" because they happened to be directing traffic from a nearby synagogue, according to Barbera. She added that the Chabad Weltman Synagogue had not requested any deputies.

As a result of the shooting, the synagogue decided to end services early.

Benayer has been charged with attempted first-degree murder, aggravated assault with a firearm and shooting into an occupied dwelling.

Mark Levy, Samuels's life-long friend and business partner in the Pompano Beach-based Profab Electronics Samuels, said his friend is expected to make a full recovery. Both men emigrated from South Africa after the end of apartheid in 1994, out of fear of violence and instability in their home country.

Levy told the Forward there were numerous signs that Benayer was potentially threatening, including a hand-scrawled note sent to Levy's house several weeks ago. It read: "Sooner or later, God is going to finish you. Put it in the bank."

Levy described Pinto, his employee for five years, as a grieving widow looking for support. In turn he described Benayer as a man who seemed charming at first, only to later turn temperamental.

"Basically he is a smooth talker," Levy said. "[Pinto's] husband died of cancer about two years ago… and she was left destitute. He said he was rich and he'll help her and he'll buy her a house with a pool. But as soon as they moved into together, he became a miserable old man and she wanted to get away from him."

Pinto successfully filed for a temporary restraining order in October 2004, but the following month Judge Gary Vonhof refused to make it permanent. "You haven't even come… close to getting an injunction entered here," the Palm Beach Post reported he told Pinto, according to a court transcript.

During the earlier proceedings, Pinto and her daughter Henriette filed affidavits painting Benayer as a man who was verbally abusive and controlling.

"I am too scared to get food or drink in the kitchen until my mother gets home hours later," Henriette Pinto wrote, adding, "He told my one friend that she was a street girl and that she was fat and he would cut off her feet if she came back." The girl's statement concludes: "I fear for my life. I am also scared of the knife that he keeps in the bathroom."

Pinto's lawyer at the time, Vincent Schindeler, said that his client did not prevail because they did not have proof of actual violence or threats of violence. He added that a language barrier — Pinto is a native Spanish speaker — may have hampered her testimony.

"I had a problem speaking with her," Schindeler told the Forward. "And when we went to court, you know, she didn't necessarily understand the subtle nuances of how I was trying to lead her to respond to the questions."

Levy said that after Pinto failed to obtain a permanent restraining order, he and his partners helped her secure a mortgage and buy out Benayer's portion of their home. The process was completed this past May, after legal wrangling. Benayer moved into Century Village, a nearby retirement community.

Levy said that in recent months, Pinto had been stalked. Several of her supporters, including her employers and her new boyfriend, had received threatening letters. In May, someone put sugar in the gas tank of Pinto's car.

Pinto was unable to spur intervention from the authorities despite filing a number of police reports, Levy said.

"You've got two issues that are bigger issues than what happened to her: You have to be physically harmed [to get a restraining order]… and stalking laws don't exist [in Florida]," Levy said, adding that he hoped Samuel's shooting would prompt politicians to change the law. "It's a lesson that should be learned, and let's hope something comes of this."

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