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ISBN
1-4033-3805-1
Charlotte Rolnick Schwab, Sex, Lies,
and Rabbis: Breaking a Sacred Trust. Sex,
Lies, and Rabbis: Breaking a Sacred Trust by Charlotte Rolnick Schwab, PhD,
is a powerful book, a combination of memoir and nonfiction, about what happens
when clergy, specifically, rabbis, are deified. It is about the betrayal and
the cover up of the betrayal of teen aged girls and women by male rabbis, and
thereby, the betrayal of these rabbis’ wives, families, congregations,
communities, denominations, and all Judaism. Two murders are connected to
rabbis’ sexual abuse. One rabbi is awaiting retrial for allegedly
hiring a hit man to murder his wife because of his sexual misconduct. This
author writes about her own frightening, shocking experience as the wife of a
rabbi-perpetrator of sexual abuse of other women, his violence toward her,
and threat to kill her if she told about his nefarious double life. The
book delineates in one volume: the crisis in the rabbinate, in congregational
Judaism; what needs to be done to bring about healing and change; gives
description of cases of rabbis’ sexual abuse as told to the author
(these cases are all composites; the victims/survivors’ identities are
disguised), and as reported in the media, including the two murders related
to rabbis’ sexual abuse; the alarming extent of this problem; outlines
policies that synagogues and denominations need to adopt; provides
definitions of sexual abuse; discusses the kinds of personalities of rabbis
which can lead to rabbis becoming sexual predators; and offers some
suggestions for prevention. The book offers a Resources List and extensive
Bibliography, including articles from Jewish and secular newspapers around
the country, about rabbis’ sexual abuse. The
book provides a healing program geared toward Jewish victims/survivors or
rabbis’ sexual abuse; it can be adapted for victims/survivors of abuse
by other clergy and of other kids of abuse, including abuse by batterers.
Women who suffered abuse of any kind will find this book validating and
helpful for healing and recovery. "12 Steppers" will be especially
interested in this book. The
book is helpful to people of all religions who are experiencing the crisis of
their religious authorities’ sexual abuse and covering up of that abuse,
including Buddhists, Catholics, and Protestants. It is an urgent read for all
Jewish people concerned about the safety of their teen aged children and
women, and about the future of their religious organizations and communities. Books
have been written about Catholic priests and Protestant ministers and sexual
abuse; this is the first about rabbis’ sexual abuse. Rabbis Arthur
Gross-Schaefer and Marcia Zimmerman, and Rev. |