Troubling pattern in New Square
Rottenberg has said that he began praying at Friedwald House to help his friend being treated for cancer at the nursing facility. Jews are required to form a minyan, a quorum of 10 Jewish males, to fulfill religious obligations, including prayer.
The decision drew the ire of the Skver sect’s dynastic leader, Grand Rebbe David Twersky. Orders were issued by the rabbi, and a Beth Din, or rabbinical court, demanding all residents pray only at the community synagogue. While others returned to the main synagogue, Rottenberg stayed at Friedwald.
Soon, his house’s windows were smashed; his daughter’s schooling was threatened; crowds gathered on the street outside his home. Then, on May 22, he confronted a man carrying a rag soaked with flammable liquid, and was severely burned. Rottenberg remains hospitalized in Westchester Medical Center, where he underwent surgery on Tuesday.