Rabbi Mordecai Gafni has a new defender and a new direction.
Now that a leadership role in Jewish life is denied him, he’s penetrating the American Zen Buddhist world.
Gafni’s new Zen champion is Diane "Musho" Hamilton (link, link), who’s married to former Utah Supreme Court justice Michael Zimmerman.
The parallels between Hamilton and Gafni’s previous girlfriend Erica Ariel Fox are eery. Both are hyper-educated white women who specialize in mediation.
Gafni has been with Erica for about three years and with Diane (not Jewish) for more than a year.
Gafni has also been with an Israeli woman in Utah for about a year. She has two kids (a boy and a girl).
At the time Gafni left Bayit Chadash, he wrote a letter saying he was sick and needed help.
Mordecai specializes in teaching eros and "Hebrew wisdom."
How did Gafni’s defenders Rabbi Joseph Telushkin and Rabbi Saul Berman react to the news that their boy had been bad? I understand that Rabbi Telushkin went into a rage that lasted for days against Gafni. Rabbi Berman continued to believe that he had done the right thing in attacking unsavory people such as Vicki Polin and myself. If he had to choose between the Marc Gafnis and Luke Fords of the world, Berman would always choose the Marc Gafnis.
The Jewish Survivors blog asks:
Why would Arthur Kurzweil still associate with… Mordechai Gafni? Why is Diane Musho Hamilton hanging around with Marc and why is she helping Marc Gafni get speaking engagements? Remember Gafni confessed to hispast history of clergy sexual abuse / spiritual abuse! Bruce Hogen Lambson, spokesperson for Genpo Merzel Roshi, stated Gafni has nothing to do with the Zen Center of Utah. Lambson stated in a letter that Genpo Roshi had to walk away from being Mordechai Winartz’s spiritual advisor (see below). Is Genpo Roshi aware that one of his workshop facilitators of the Big Mind Center is promoting a…? Does Diane Hamilton (AKA: Musho Sensei) believe she can replace Roshi as Mark Gafni‘s spiritual advisor? Does Diane believe she can "heal"…? Does anyone know if Marc Winartz has a new name yet? If he does, what is he going by?
Who writes the Jewish Survivors blog? It has the spirit of Vicki Polin but the emotions of Rabbi Eisgrau‘s daughter who accused her father of molesting her. It feels like she writes much of the blog.
In other news, Salome Worch (Rabbi Hershy Worch’s wife?) has started a website devoted to Vicki Polin, founder of The Awareness Center.
