The Jewish Channel, in a lengthy investigative report published last week, reveals that Emory Law Professor and
leading Orthodox rabbi
Michael Broyde has for 20 years used the pseudonym Rabbi Hershel Goldwasser to publish in numerous scholarly journals, take part in online dialogues and even join a rival rabbinical organization:
The Goldwasser character became a member of an upstart Orthodox rabbinical group, the International Rabbinical Fellowship, or IRF, which was founded in 2008 as a more-liberal rival to the group of which Broyde is a member, the 90-year-old Rabbinical Council of America, or RCA. With that membership, the Goldwasser character gained access to a members-only e-mail listserv with which he could remain apprised of members’ plans and ideological arguments...
The Goldwasser character would also engage in ideological arguments on the e-mail listserv — often using the seemingly fake identity to cite or tout Broyde’s own work.
As the investigative report appeared, Broyde
issued an apology, saying that he and a colleague began using the pseudonym 20 years ago for joint writings. He added: "Recently, someone else who I don’t know has started posting using this pen name which has encouraged a journalist to investigate my pseudonymous activity."
Tablet Magazine reports that in response to all of this, the Rabbinical Council of America has granted Broyde an indefinite leave of absence as a judge on its rabbinical court, the Bet Din of America. In a
statement issued yesterday, Rabbinical Council of America called Broyde's behvior "deeply troubling," and said that Broyde has also requested a leave of absence from his membership in the RCA. It added: "We will continue to investigate this matter in order to determine further appropriate action."
