The rabbi of a historic Chelsea synagogue wished his own congregants would “go to hell” as he turned their sanctuary into a “discotheque” and tried to freeze out elderly members, a lawsuit brought by his congregation claims.
Facing a dwindling attendance and mounting repair bills for their 100-year-old synagogue, members of Congregation Emunath Israel on W. 23rd St. cut a deal with Rabbi Yechezekel Wolff in 2012, wherein Wolff would lease the building in exchange for paying the shul’s operating expenses and raising at least $400,000 for building repairs by the end of 2018.
But he hasn’t held up his end of the deal, according to a $21 million lawsuit filed in Manhattan Supreme Court by five members of the temple’s board of trustees.
Wolff has made some repairs, but he’s done damage by ripping out historic pews, cutting the heating in the winter to allegedly “kill off the congregation” and allowing secular film crews and art exhibits to use the synagogue, the suit charges.
He’s also accused of tearing down memorial plaques to Holocaust survivors — because they would put a damper on his fund-raiser parties inside the synagogue, according to the suit. He also allegedly rented the sanctuary to people who threw dance parties with lights and music so loud the cops were called.
“I guess having memorial plaques to dead people is not consistent to renting out the sanctuary for discotheques,” lead plaintiff Ira Glauber fumed to The Post.
In a recording shared with The Post, Wolff can be heard griping to another rabbi about his own congregation’s inquiries into his fund-raising efforts.
“The point is, to deal with these ‘meshuga’im’ (crazy people) is only gonna make me crazy. I cannot think about these people. I don’t wanna know of them. I don’t want to think of them. They should all go to hell,” Wolff can be heard saying.
In another recording, he wishes the synagogue’s board would “get the f–k outta here” so he could have the building, the suit claims.
“A rabbi using four letter words? I’ve never heard of that in my entire life,” Glauber told The Post.
Wolff declined to comment when reached by phone Sunday.
Additional reporting by Nick Fugallo and Max Jaeger
It seems Wolff is part of Chabad-Lubavitch.
ReplyDeleteSee the listing at https://www.chabad.org/centers/default_cdo/aid/709099/jewish/The-Chelsea-Shul-Rohr-Center-for-Jgrads.htm
Is Chabad-Lubavitch being sued as well?
This case is a cautionary tale for other Shuls who may be thinking of cutting deals with Chabad-Lubavitch. There are quite a few cases when they have tried to take over Shuls.