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September 28, 2001/Tishri 11, 5762, Vol. 54, No. 3
New O.U. head aims to heal
JULIE WIENER
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
NEW YORK - It would be an understatement to say that Rabbi Tzvi Hersh Weinreb is coming into his new job at a difficult time.
Just two weeks before Weinreb was appointed executive vice president of the Orthodox Union, the view from the Manhattan-based organization's 14th-floor headquarters was of soot and debris from the World Trade Center catastrophe, just a few blocks away.
And in the year and a half preceding his appointment, the view inside the office has been filled with a different kind of debris - from a major scandal.
Since July 2000, the O.U. has been reeling from accusations that Rabbi Baruch Lanner, the top professional in its youth group, sexually abused and molested scores of teen-agers over a period of 30 years, and that the group ignored complaints about his behavior.
Lanner, who resigned immediately after the allegations became public, was indicted earlier this year in New Jersey and is expected to stand trial in the coming months.
Weinreb, a Baltimore congregational rabbi who is also a psychotherapist and is known for his scholarly and oratory skills, replaces Rabbi Raphael Butler, who resigned in January amid criticism that top leaders had long failed to heed complaints about - and properly discipline - Lanner.
The O.U. also plans to hire a chief operating officer to oversee much of the day-to-day management.
Among the conclusions of a comprehensive investigation, an O.U.-appointed commission reported in December 2000 that "certain members" of the O.U. leadership "share responsibility for Lanner's misconduct," and also criticized the organization for "poor management practices," including lack of accountability, and a "total absence of any policies regarding basic ethical issues."
Weinreb, 61, will begin officially on Jan. 1, but is working part time before then. He acknowledges that one of his foremost responsibilities will be to restore faith in the embattled organization.
Interviewed Sept. 25, his first morning at the office - where electricity is still running on a backup generator as a result of the Sept. 11 devastation - Weinreb said the O.U.'s "blemished" reputation will be restored both by correcting internal problems and becoming a "proactive" advocate on a range of moral issues, including matters of abuse.
Asked how he differs from his predecessors, Weinreb said he had similar values and goals, but a very different working style influenced by his training in psychotherapy. Before becoming a congregational rabbi, Weinreb worked for more than 10 years as a therapist, treating both Jewish and non-Jewish patients.
Weinreb, who comes across as a warm and gentle man, is known as an advocate for Orthodox victims of domestic violence as well as for his skill at bringing together diverse segments of the Jewish community.
He is a past vice president of the centrist Orthodox group Rabbinical Council of America and has served on a range of boards, including the Baltimore Jewish federation, NEFESH: North American Network of Orthodox Mental Health Professionals and The One Israel Fund, an organization that provides humanitarian assistance to Jewish settlers in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
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