Shaul Shimon Deutsch
{{Short description|American rabbi and author}}
{{BLP sources|date=October 2017}}
Shaul Shimon Deutsch (born 1966)Tworek, W. (2017). Lubavitch Hasidism. Oxford Bibliographies. is a rabbi and author from Brooklyn, New York.Marcus, Joel. "The once and future Messiah in early Christianity and Chabad." New Testament Studies 47, no. 3 (2001): 381-401. Originally associated with the Chabad Hasidic community, during the mid-1990s, Deutsch attempted to form a breakaway sect and named himself the Liozna Rebbe.Eisenberg, Charles. The Book of Daniel: A Well Kept Secret. Xulon Press. 2007. Page 103.{{Cite web|url=https://www.villagevoice.com/1998/10/06/holy-daze/|title = Holy Daze|date = 6 October 1998}} The attempt did not gain popular support and remains a marginal phenomenon in the Chabad Hasidic community.
Following his attempt to establish a Hasidic following, Deutsch opened and operated the Living Torah Museum in Boro Park, Brooklyn.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/31/nyregion/seeking-a-buyer-for-a-home-full-of-creatures-frozen-in-noahs-time.html?|title = Seeking a Buyer for a Home Full of Creatures from the Time of Noah|newspaper = The New York Times|date = 30 December 2013|last1 = Otterman|first1 = Sharon}} Deutsch also runs a food charity called Oneg Shabbos.
Biography
Shaul Shimon Deutsch was ordained as a rabbi in a Lubavitch institution and married to Pe'er Deutsch. They have five children.{{Citation needed|date=March 2017}} Deutsch is the Rebbe of Anshei-Liozna, a Chasidic court that is centered in Boro Park, Brooklyn. He has been the Liozna Rebbe since 1995. The group appointed him their Rebbe at their synagogue on 45th Street in Brooklyn. He took the name of the town of Liozna in Belarus (where the early Chabad movement was founded).{{cite web | url=https://vinnews.com/2011/06/05/brookln-ny-rabbi-shaul-shimon-deutsch-and-his-living-torah-museum/ | title=Brookln, NY - Rabbi Shaul Shimon Deutsch and His Living Torah Museum | date=5 June 2011 }}
The cause for Deutsch's break from Chabad is also attributed to a biography he wrote covering the early life of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the Seventh Rebbe of Chabad. Deutsch's work, despite its lack of professional editing was viewed as groundbreaking for dispelling myths held by Chabad community members concerning the Seventh Rebbe's life.Tworek, W. (2019). Beyond hagiography with footnotes: Writing biographies of the Chabad Rebbe in the post-Schneerson era. ajs Review, 43(2), 409-435.
Deutsch's communal activities include:
- Living Torah Museum — Deutsch's museum, the Living Torah Museum is based out of two conjoined row houses on 41st Street in Boro Park, Brooklyn. The museum's collection includes hundreds of taxidermy animals referenced in the bible.{{cite web|url=https://religionnews.com/2014/01/02/brooklyn-museum-every-biblical-animal-money-stay-open/|date=January 2, 2014|first=David|last=Gibson|title=A Brooklyn museum has every biblical animal — but no money to stay open|publisher=Religion News Service|website=religionnews.com}}{{cite web | url=https://gothamist.com/arts-entertainment/torah-animal-world-the-most-delightfully-specific-museum-in-nyc-is-quietly-preparing-for-a-comeback | title=Torah Animal World, the Most Delightfully Specific Museum in NYC, is Quietly Preparing for a Comeback | date=17 June 2019 }}
- Oneg Shabbos — Deutsch also runs a food charity, Oneg Shabbos, that feeds more than 1,000 poor people each week, with dozens of volunteers.{{Cite web|url=http://observer.com/2016/08/talmud-for-taxidermy/|title = Talmud for Taxidermy| website=The New York Observer |date = 25 August 2016}} The charity distributes $5.5 million of food annually.{{citation needed|date=August 2022}}
= Allegations of theft and fraud =
Deutsch has been involved in several claims of impropriety regarding his dealings with historical artifacts. Allegations concern potential theft, fraud and forgery involving items purchased by Deutsch or items he put up for auction.
- In 2008, Deutsch was accused by an Israeli antiquities dealer of theft after an alleged reneging of full payment for an ancient artifact.{{cite news|newspaper=The Jerusalem Post | Jpost.com|url=https://www.jpost.com/jewish-world/jewish-news/10-commandments-focus-of-antiquities-dispute|first=Michal|last=Lando|title=10 Commandments focus of antiquities dispute|publisher=The Jerusalem Post}}{{cite web|website=www.upi.com|publisher=United Press International|url=https://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2008/04/14/Suit-Rabbi-stole-Ten-Commandments/53761208213567/?spt=su&ur3=1|title=Suit: Rabbi stole Ten Commandments}}
- In 2019, the museum owner was sued for auctioning an artifact without the owner's permission.{{cite web|url=https://nypost.com/2019/09/10/holocaust-survivors-son-asks-judge-to-block-auction-of-dads-relic/|publisher=The New York Post|website=nypost.com|title=Holocaust survivor's son asks judge to block auction of dad's relic|first=Priscilla|last=DeGregory|date=10 Sep 2019}}
- In 2022, Chabad community websites alleged that Deutsch forged artifacts and permission notes from Chana Gurary, the daughter of Joseph Isaac Schneersohn.{{cite web | url=https://crownheights.info/chabad-news/756360/breaking-expose-fraud-exposed-in-auctions-of-chabad-memorabilia-worth-hundreds-of-thousands-of-dollars/ | title=BREAKING: Fraud Exposed in Auctions of Chabad Memorabilia Worth Hundreds of Thousands of Dollars | date=5 January 2022 }}{{cite web | url=https://collive.com/what-collive-missed-in-the-chabad-auction-expose/ | title=What COLlive Missed in the Chabad Auction Expose | date=10 January 2022 }}
=Books=
- Larger than life: The life and Times of the Lubavitcher Rebbe Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneersohn (Volume 1), Shaul Shimon Deutsch, ~ Chasidic Historical Productions 1995 ~ {{ISBN|0-9647243-0-8}}
- Larger than life: The life and Times of the Lubavitcher Rebbe Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneersohn (Volume 2), Shaul Shimon Deutsch, ~ Chasidic Historical Productions 1997 ~ {{ISBN|0-9647243-1-6}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.thelivingtorahmuseum.com Website of the Living Torah Museum]
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Category:American Hasidic rabbis
Category:21st-century American rabbis