NEW YORK (VINnews/Anonymous) — Very few people are fortune to go to their deathbeds knowing that they made a real change in the world; that they made waves, and made the world a better place. I know I myself have always wanted to be one of these people. I’ve always tried to be a good person and spread kindness and truth.
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But I don’t think I’ll ever create ripples like the ones created by the victims of this monster. They didn’t just makes waves;
They created a tsunami.
Chaim Walder was a coward. His actions were so heinous and odious, that he left so many victims living lives filled with guilt and shame. He made a career out of creating a space for these victims. And in his last moments of his life he was thrown into that same puddle of guilt and shame. And he couldn’t even sit in it for a short moment.
What a coward.
He placed so many people into that same puddle, and he didn’t have anything in him to withstand it for one moment.
Pathetic… His victims have been drowning in that shame their entire lives because of him, and of course he couldn’t handle even a slight taste of his own medicine.
His victims who came forward, who were brave warriors and put an end to his evil actions, who saved hundreds of lives of what would’ve been future victims, they are changing the world. He spent his life destroying their lives and even in his last moments on earth he found a way to hurt them again by taking his life.
He took their voice, and he took their opportunity to heal by speaking up. He robbed them of that when he took his life and ended their fight, and now they’re left with a whole new level of hopelessness. Of “now what?”
And here’s what I see for them;
I see a new world. I see a world where people are finally shouting out about a topic that spent hundreds of years buried under the rug. I see thousands of people standing up to abuse and throwing books in the garbage, which is an invitation for a hard, but necessary conversation with their young innocent children. Which is prevention. Which is POWERFUL! I see thousands of victims who now know that when they speak up, people will LISTEN. People will believe them, and support them. People will hold that space for them. I see a new world where abusers are weaker, because they also see the change around them. They are a little apprehensive now to target their weak victims, because their victims are stronger now. The world is taking bucket fulls of shame and tossing it out. So victims of abuse no longer need to drown in shame.
Because that shame they live in does not belong to them. And this is all because of YOU; Fierce warriors, not victims of that animal, but warriors who are the catalyst for big change in the world. You did this. The 22 of you have quite literally changed the world we live in. Now this world is a little bit safer for our children, and future children to come. So to you I say thank you.
Thank you for bravery.
Thank you for your fortitude.
Thank you for fighting this battle.
It only ended early because you won.
Brave ineed. And they will carry their battle wounds and scars to the grave. Because nobody ever fully recovers from sexual abuse. Let that sink in. These people’s lives were permanently damaged. I know because I am a survivor like them. Nobody will ever understand the pain we live with.
Stop posting pictures of this sick sick man
Thank you for saying so eloquently what so many have been feeling
I want to thank Rav Eliyahu for braving the criticism, damnation, and heaps of garbage thrown onto him be people cloaked under their own perceived righteous mantle of halacha. It was he who gave a voice to the victims and helped prevent more victims. Over the many years there were unfortunately many people who buried the voices of the victims and if not for Rav Eliyahu these voices would still be buried.
If you read the letters to editor in this weeks Mishpacha from victims in great pain, you’ll sadly see that they did NOT win as your article tries to create a poetic ending. The ending is still very sad for the victims. Whose fault? Not Walders. OUR FAULT – the klal, for not creating, past or present, a safe environment for victims to believe they will be heard about all their killers (not just Walder) when they speak up. We must create our society so that victims are much better off speaking up than remaining silent. Be honest, if you know a girl was molested for 10 years by a big name rabbi, not only won’t you take her word seriously, but she’ll also be treated as damaged goods for everything including shidduchim. At best, she’ll be treated as a nebach, not a heroine as she deserves. Non Jewish people generally do not castrisize abuse victims and do treat them more respectfully than we do.
One of the problems we have in the more insular sectors of our community is ignorance based on lack of updated knowledge. A lot of information has come out in the past decades about emotional, physical, and sexual abuse, including grooming, how victims are silenced, how ignorance, fear, and clueless avreichim and other communal leaders all too often totally misunderstand the situation, how they themselves have been manipulated, what should be the most important concerns, the danger of “sweeping under the rug” the actions of these predators. Doctors, psychologists, and other medical / health professionals are required by law to take courses in abuse, victim trafficking, and a host of other subjects for good reason.
great letter in support of the victims! But, i am still upset by lack of support from some rabbeim. Does anyone know if the letters published online supporting Walder by Rav Edelstein and Rav Tau were for real? If they were real I hope those rabbi’s retract their letters!!