Berland Shaking Down His Followers

On the website of Shuvu Banim, the strain of Breslav led by convicted molester and rapist Eliezer Berland, Berland has announced that every person, every boy and girl, must give a 1000nis pidyon (redemption fee) to him directly before Rosh Hashana. In exchange Berland grants his bracha for success and salvation, successful shidduchim, homes in Jerusalem and apartment si Uman with cheap flights for Rosh Hashana, seeing the arrival of Mashiach and the coming doown of the Third Temple in fire from heaven. He gives instructions to send the money so that it will arrive directly in his hands and not end up in anyone else's.
Shuls sell membership and High Holiday seats before the holidays. Country clubs sell memberships. All sorts of social clubs and networks have some sort of buy-in, membership fee or whatnot. It is normally ok. When a criminal does it, it is more of a shakedown then a membership fee, even though the people following him consider him a martyr or wrongly convicted than a criminal. He doesnt say anywhere that the money is going to communal needs or to support struggling families in the community or anything like that - it is just going to his hands. It is possible that Berland plans to do good with this money without publicizing the info, but a criminal like him is probably more likely to just be pocketing at least the bulk of the money if not all of it.
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