Skver mile 101

Hello, we’ve never met, but we’re well aware of your position. 

You’ve made it loud and clear: you want to enforce a Judenrein mile around New Square, and you’re determined to get it done.

Let’s call it what it is, arrogant, backwards, and completely detached from reality. Where did you pull the “mile” from? Why not two miles? Or five miles? Or a techum Shabbos? This isn’t Torah, it’s fantasy. 

You claim to have written some letter ten years ago requesting that Yidden not buy within a mile of New Square. If we had seen that back then, we would’ve assumed it was a joke. Who in their right mind tries to control where a fellow Yid lives, just because it doesn’t fit your kehilla’s preferences? That’s not how normal communities function.

Let’s be honest: if a different Rebbe, not yours, had told you to stop the Skver expansion, would you give it a second of thought? Of course not. So don’t expect us to either.

There was no such thing as a widely understood or accepted “mile rule” when families moved in. Not in halacha, not in law, not in any shared communal understanding. You invented it, expected blind obedience, and are now shocked that no one took it seriously.

Nobody was informed, because nobody outside of your shtetle recognized it as a real or binding concept. And even if someone had mentioned it, there’s no reason anyone would have taken it seriously, because the idea that one kehilla can unilaterally redraw the map around itself, with no halachic basis, and no legal standing, is simply not how Torah communities or civilized society operate.

So you’ve decided to escalate and pick a fight with your Yiddish neighbors. No, not with fire and arson like in 2011. You learned the hard way that violence has consequences. This time you’ve decided to wage economic and demographic warfare. Buying homes and illegally renting them out to multi-family tenants, including illegal migrants in order to sabotage the neighborhoods around you.

Let’s be clear: this isn’t just shady. It’s criminal. You’re breaking Halacha and l’havdil, federal, state, and local law. Worst of all, you’re breaking the basic norms of decency that every Jewish community, every one, has upheld for generations.

You will be stopped – that’s a fact. 

The question is – how ugly and expensive it’s going to get for you.

Even before the law catches up to you, you’re already paying a price. You’ve ignited a storm. Matzav, the Jewish Velt, Lakewood, the Mikveh nies, CBN Unfiltered, Dusiznies, Imamother, WhatsApp chats, it’s everywhere, and it’s not flattering. And what’s the story? A once looked up to and respected kehilla acting like a gang of bullies and crooks. You’re becoming a national disgrace. Another scandal, another headline, you’re being spoken about in the same breath as Lev Tahor – a fringe cult that no one wants to touch. 

You built something meaningful over sixty years. Skver used to mean something. A respected name. A good hechsher. A community known for warmth and ehrlichkeit. That’s all on the verge of going up in smoke. For what? To block a few Yiddeshe families from living peacefully, that’s what you’re burning it all down for?

This was stupid. Not just wrong—stupid. You’re throwing away your credibility, your standing, your future. And you’re doing it for a cause that has no halachic foundation, no precedent in Jewish history, and no chance of success.

Skver is not self-funded. You rely on outside donors. What do you think they’re going to say when they realize their tzedakah dollars are financing mafia tactics and illegal rentals? Once they understand what’s being done in their name, support will evaporate. No one wants to fund Chilul Hashem.

What exactly do you think you’re accomplishing? 

You really think if you push Yidden a mile away, your kehilla won’t see them? Won’t talk to them? Won’t think? Won’t wonder? 

You think isolation stops curiosity? You think isolation stops the yearning for freedom? 

This isn’t about us. Your young people are leaving because of you, because forced conformity and mind control are unsustainable. Because personality cults dressed in religious clothing have a shelf life. Because when you don’t allow people to breathe, think, question, or grow, you don’t produce tzaddikim – you produce escapees.

That’s not on us. That’s on you.

And no, this is not going away. We will keep this front and center until it’s resolved. You will either sell those homes, or you will rent them out legally. 

You want to be “frim”? Start with the Gemara. Start with the Shulchan Aruch. Rent to Jewish families if you care so much about kedisha. But we don’t expect that from you. Apparently, that’s not your thing.  

At the very least, you will be forced to follow the law. Dina d’malchusa dina. The world is not hefker!

You’ve made a catastrophic miscalculation. It’s not too late to stop the bleeding. Climb down quietly – or be dragged down, loudly. Either way, this ends with your defeat. The only question is: how much of your kehilla’s dignity, reputation, and future are you willing to destroy before that happens?

Your Neighbors in the Mile