Myron Sugerman will hold you spellbound as he tells the history of the Jewish Mob and their remarkable contributions to the betterment of the Jewish people.
They fought the American Nazi party in the 30’s and supplied arms, cash, and illegal weapons to both the Hagana and Irgun in the struggle for Israel’s independence.
This lecture took place at the 12th annual National Jewish Retreat. For more information and to register for the next retreat, visit: Jretreat.com.
I grew up with these kinds of stories. This is why I gravitated to becoming a baal techuvah. This was a thug life, but it’s true what he remembers. My gangster uncle received coved for donating bigly to City of Hope. Those days this was cool I guess.
You are right.
It’s quite true how liberalism is destroying the Jewish community and society in general.
As you touched upon, they often try and twist Torah and halacha into an excuse to attack and vilify everything Torah actually stands for.
For example: they misuse Torah’s respect for women to attack the idea that women aren’t rabbonim and they use Torahs concern for all creatures including animals to attack the Torah’s commands of using animals for meat and for Tephillin and Sefrei Torah.
It’s in the name. They are organized, achdus works even when a crime is involved. Hashem cherrishes unity.
We should all learn from this
Regarding their ways and deeds, the good deeds are eternal and the bad deeds will be washed away in the laundry of gehenom.
Of course the Rebbe would never give a bracha to be a gangster or to be involved in criminal activities. Every Jew, says the Rebbe, is full of mitzvot like a rimon, pomegranate, and that is my point, they too, these criminals, do and did many mitzvot. They were, as you said, just as quick to jump in to do evil as they were to jump in to do a mitzvah. That is a shame. One thing for sure they were not ashamed to say, ” Ich bin a Yid”, I am a Jew. Not like what we are faced… Read more »
Perhaps the mobsters you mentioned did some good with their ill gotten gains. But what about all the lives they ruined to get that money? How many jockeys were threatened that if they did not throw a race, so the mobsters horse, could win? How many innocent people had their legs broken or their businesses stolen from them or were outright murdered so these mobsters could get the money to give to the Rebbe’s causes? Sure the Rebbe had his reasons for approaching them, once they had the money. Perhaps the Rebbe knew that by giving some of that money… Read more »
in the beginning of the 20th century most immigrants were very poor here in America. They struggled to keep body & soul together. So with poor English language skills & not much opportunity for education, some in desperation, were lured into crime and for some it was a lucrative means of success. I don’t believe they were all psychopaths or cold blooded murderers. And I know some did a lot of Chesed with their wealth. In defense those were very hard and dangerous times with anti-semitism very openly & aggressively expressed.
I know that Meyer Lansky took $22 million in cash with him when he went to Israel. He built the three biggest orphanages and helped many organizations, people, etc. A big baal tzedakah despite the connections with the mob. Because of his genius mind he was known as rebbe Meir by his friends and inner circle. He became the head of the whole syndicate because he was trusted by all the different factions of organized crime. Whatever he said, they knew you could depend on it. We don’t have people around any more that you can trust their word and… Read more »
If they did those things without having been devoted to a life of crime, I might have been impressed.