Synopsis of the book - Daas Torah on Abuse

Topic: This work deals with the issue of abuse – child, wife and other psychological and
physical abuse – in the context of Jewish law, theology, psychology, sociology and secular law.
Problem addressed: There is a significant problem of child and wife abuse in the Orthodox
Jewish community. The response from schools, rabbis and parents is often insufficient and
inappropriate from the victim’s perspective as well as that of the community. This book
addresses the issues which are preventing the necessary support of victims and the prevention of
future abuse.
Issues addressed:
When addressing the issue of abuse in the religious community, there is the need not only to
point out the nature of abuse and its psychological consequences – but its context in Jewish law
and theology. This book addresses 5 basic issues.
1. The nature of abuse and associated problems e.g., most abuse is done by people known to
the victim rather than strangers.
2. Comprehensive discussion of the obligation to help others and prevent them from being
harmed according to Jewish law and theology.
3. Extensive citations of halacha which show that Torah prohibitions - which have
prevented dealing with the abuse effectively e.g., concerns for gossip (lashon harah), informing
(mesira) and profaning G-d’s name (chilul hashem) – are in fact not applicable in these cases.
3. Showing the serious psychological damage that results from abuse. This is critical
because ignorance of this is a significant cause for the ineffective response.
4. Importance of prevention measures
5. Discussion of theological factors, as well as sociological ones, which predispose
Orthodox Jews to avoid action or to try covering up the crimes.
Format of the book
The book consists of three major divisions
An introduction, which lays out the problems and concerns together with a synopsis of
halachic issues which was reviewed and corrected by Rav Moshe Sternbuch of the Bedatz
There is a middle section consisting of essays by a variety of experts dealing with the
critical issues. These include Rav Meir Triebitz (rosh kollel & posek), Dr. Baruch Shulem
(psychotherapist, Dr. Nachum Klafter (psychiatrist), Judge Phillip Marcus (family court), Elliot
Pasik (lawyer dealing with abuse), Lisa Twerski LCSW (Shalom Task Force), Dr. Asher Lipner
(psychotherapist dealing extensively with abuse), Shlomo Singer (asst district attorney dealing
with abuse), myself and a number of others that have promised material
The third section consists of hundreds of pages of translated source material arranged in a
systematic manner for easy reference.
Authors
Daniel Eidensohn - I have a Ph.D. in psychology and I have worked as a therapist for many
years. In addition I have published 3 widely used and accepted works in Jewish law and
theology. Yad Moshe (index to the Igros Moshe of Rav Moshe Feinstein), Yad Yisroel (index to
the Mishna Berura) and Daas Torah (a source book for theological issues. I also publish the
blog Daas Torah, which for over 2 years has dealt with a wide variety of Jewish issues including
abuse.
Baruch Shulem – has a Ph.D. in psychology and social work. He has worked as a therapist
for many years and is a widely respected lecturer and teacher of psychotherapy and Torah. Dr.
Shulem has been included as an author because of his intensive involvement in the clarification
of issues. However, I did the actual research, organization and writing of the book. In addition
the final form and content are solely my responsibility.