In the interest of safety, I advise all of you to avoid any contact with Rabbi Ephraim Bryks as part of your conversion. There are reports that he may be trying to work with conversion candidates through his privately-created beit din and even runs a mikvah out of his home.
Rabbi Yosef Blau at Yeshivah University is the hands-down expert on sexual abuse allegations in the orthodox community (I’ve met him and discussed it with him personally, and he does fantastic work for our community) described Mr. Bryks thusly about a decade ago and reconfirmed his assessment recently:
Ephrayim Bryks has become a rabbinic marriage counselor. The term marriage counselor or life coach can be used by anyone. He is not the only “rabbi” suspected of sexual abuse using one of these titles to access vulnerable individuals or couples both here and in Israel. Consulting actual professionals is expensive and unless the community publicly warns against going to these charlatans (often worse) many innocents will continue to be hurt.
I trust Rabbi Blau. And you know I have a hard time trusting rabbis after being let down or actively harmed several times.
And as a general reminder, remember to listen to red flags. If something seems off, it might just be off. Ask someone you trust, and trust your gut. You are in an inherently vulnerable position (whether you’re male, female, adult, or child), and that makes you attractive to all the wrong people. Gdwilling you should never face such a person, but you should always be aware of the danger and act accordingly. Be cautious and make people earn your trust.
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