Image by Paul Berger. By Paul Berger July 28, The 9-year-old girl was unusually quiet that Sunday evening at supper. Her parents thought that maybe she was tired. She said that Ruven Barkan, a Conservative rabbi, came into her classroom, closed the door and turned out the lights. He asked the class of fourth graders to lie on the floor and relax their bodies. Then, he asked them to pray for abused children.
The family verified the document but did not wish to be identified. There were about 10 fourth graders in the classroom that morning, most of them girls. That evening, many parents heard similar stories. Initially these parents were not sure how much to believe of what their children were telling them.
Children sometimes conflate events; they forget important details. But as the parents called and texted each other that evening and through the next day, their concern grew. The stories matched. Some of the children appeared unfazed, but most were scared and confused. In a large Jewish community, the situation might have died down as families switched synagogues and moved their children to another preschool.
But Savannah has only three congregations and just one supplementary Jewish school. Barkan and his defenders acknowledge that he made a serious error of judgment. But they see it as an innocent mistake made by a man whose career and reputation are threatened by a group of hysterical parents.
They point to other examples — all of them ambiguous — that they believe illustrate a pattern of poor judgement by Barkan in discussing issues relating to sex. The board of directors of his synagogue, Agudath Achim, says it has fully investigated the matter and found that Barkan does not pose a threat to children. The board considers the matter closed and wishes to move on.
