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A prominent modern orthodox Georgetown rabbi has been accused of secretly filming women showering at the mikvah. Dr. Barry Freundel has been accused of secretly installing at least one hidden camera inside Congregation Kesher Israel’s mikvah. The mikvah has three changing rooms, one mikvah pool, and is used by men and women during different hours. Kesher Israel’s board issued this statement on their website:
“Upon receiving information regarding potentially inappropriate activity, the board of directors quickly alerted the appropriate officials,” the board said in a statement. “Throughout the investigation, we cooperated fully with law enforcement and will continue to do so.
After today’s arrest of Rabbi Dr. Barry Freundel, the Board of Directors suspended him without pay.”
Freundel has served as Kesher Israel’s rabbi since 1989. The synagogue boasts of influential congregants such as former Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman and President Obama’s former Chief of Staff, Jack Lew. Freundel is also an adjunct instructor at the University of Maryland and an adjunct professor at Georgetown Law School. He is also teaching as an associate professor in the philosophy and religious studies department at Towson University this semester.
Additionally, Freundel sits on the executive committee of the Rabbinical Council of America. Freundel also heads the RCA’s conversion committee and also is vice president of the Washington D.C.’s regional Vaad, which oversees kosher dietary laws at Jewish institutions.
Police swarmed Freundel’s home on Tuesday morning where he was arrested and brought into overnight custody. The police spent hours investigating and were seen leaving Freundel’s home with computers and hard drives. A reporter with Washington D.C.’s local Fox television station reported on Twitter that Freundel was arrested for “electronic voyeurism” and “had cameras in ladies rooms.”
Apparently, a 35 year old woman saw the 62 year old Freundel installing a motion detecting camera disguised as a digital alarm clock, known as The Dream Machine. Freundel allegedly told the woman that he was fixing the shower ventilation.
Congregation Kesher Israel deserves kudos for immediately reporting their suspicions to authorities and suspending Freundel without pay until his innocence or guilt can be established. During an era when so many Jewish institutions and communities have been called out for covering up sex crimes, Kesher Israel’s board took a brave and difficult step by reporting their leader to the police.
During one of the happiest seasons of the Jewish calendar, Kesher Israel’s congregants are now reeling from this horrible revelation. One woman was quoted in The Forward as saying,
“I feel incredibly uncomfortable and my privacy violated,” said the woman, who asked not to be named to protect her privacy. “It’s just really sad that such a beautiful thing is now kind of tainted and turned into something that’s quite ugly.”
I’ve written at length on my blog about the challenges of the mitzvah of mikvah. I posted a letter from a woman who finds it a constant struggle not to feel resentful over this mitzvah. I’ve posted about traumatizing experiences with the female conversion process. I even recently posted some suggestions on how women can empower themselves during the conversion process, one of which was to go through a reputable organization such as the RCA – where Freundel is in charge of the conversion committee! Now I have to wonder if he allows Dream Machines to record the proceedings. Is anything sacred?
I think many orthodox Jews, at one time or another, have joked about what goes on inside of a mikvah – or rather, what outsiders would think of the activities inside a seemingly innocuous building. Most passersby would never dream that they were walking past a ritual bathhouse. Hearing reporters refer to the mikvah as a “ritual shower” brings home how foreign the concept is to others.
I remember many years ago, my husband and I were looking into renting an apartment adjacent to our local mikvah. We joked that we could supplement our income by installing a “mikvah cam” from our window and streaming the contents on the web. It doesn’t seem so funny now. If the allegations are true, who knows if the recorded footage remained only on Freund’s computer or if he shared it with others online?
When I was newly married, there was a popular book called The Ritual Bath, about a woman who was raped upon coming home from the mikvah. Of course, the book garnered popularity because of its salacious subject matter, but I think that many frum women were also drawn to it because there is a certain vulnerability that goes along with attending the mikvah.
The mikvah ritual is performed after dark and the mikvah building publicizes that others should stay away to protect the privacy of women. As such, a woman going to the mikvah could find herself temporarily stranded alone outside the building if the attendant hasn’t arrived yet. Various mikvahs have different levels of security – some use cameras, others have alarm systems, others have combination locks at the front door, and still others utilize old fashioned lock and key arrangements under the purview of the mikvah ladies.
Regardless of the strength of the building security, there will always be a sense of potential defenselessness that goes along with getting undressed in a strange building. If there was a sudden need for evacuation during mikvah hours, there would be hordes of women spilling out into the street in various states of undress.
There is also an issue with mikvah facilities that are shared between women and men during different hours. Some communities have separate sex facilities, but others, such as Kesher Israel’s mikvah, are used at different times by both genders. This type of arrangement can leave women vulnerable to room tampering.
I have to admit, since the remodel of my local mikvah, I’ve been paranoid about hidden cameras. My first bout of paranoia erupted during the construction. The mikvah remained open throughout, but there was a lengthy period of time when none of the preparation rooms had ceilings! The prep rooms were essentially like cubicles and you could hear everything that went on in the rooms next door. It would have been easy for someone to install overhead cameras to peer down inside each shower. After the construction was completed, the community was allowed to tour the new facilities during a grand re-opening celebration. Anyone could have planted hidden cameras in the rooms! My husband thinks I’m crazy.
In fact, there is never a time when I go to the mikvah that I don’t check out the sprinkler (is it really a camera?), the mirror (is that a two way mirror in disguise?), or any wall hangings. Not that I have any clue what to look for. At least now I know that if there is a random 1980s style digital clock propped on the marble vanity, it’s a Dream Machine, or rather, the stuff of nightmares.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW.Clik here to view.
