Marc Gafni

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Doctor

Marc Gafni
Dr. Marc Gafni.jpg
Dr. Marc Gafni
Born
Marc Winiarz

1960 (age 60–61)
Pittsfield, Massachusetts, U.S.
Other namesMordechai Gafni, Mark Gafni, Mordechai Winiarz, Mordechai Winyarz
OccupationPhilosopher & Teacher
ChildrenZion;[1] three others from prior marriage[2]
Academic background
EducationQueens College, Oxford University
Alma materOxford University
ThesisThe Theology of Acosmic Humanism : Mordechai Lainer of Izbica (2006)
Academic work
DisciplineTheology & Religious Studies
Sub-disciplineNew Age Spirituality
InstitutionsCenter for Integral Wisdom
Websitehttps://www.marcgafni.com/

Marc Gafni (born Marc Winiarz; 1960) is an American philosopher, author, and rabbi who became a New Age spiritual teacher with a focus on Integral Theory, Eros, and "outrageous love".[2][3][4][5][6] Gafni is the author of over twelve books including the award-winning[7] Your Unique Self: The Radical Path to Personal Enlightenment.[8] He hosted a National television show in Israel called Tachat Gafno from 1999-2002.[9] He has been the subject of multiple allegations of sexual misconduct over many years, which he has denied.[3][4][5][6][10][11][12][13]

Biography[]

Gafni was born in 1960[4] to Holocaust survivors in Pittsfield, Massachusetts.[2] Gafni was educated at Modern-Orthodox yeshivas in the New York City area. In the 1980s, while attending Yeshiva University,[2] Gafni worked with Jewish Public School Youth (JPSY), an organization providing Jewish social clubs in public schools.[14] In 1988, Gafni also worked as a rabbi in Boca Raton, Florida.[3] After making aliyah, Gafni served as rabbi of the West Bank settlement of Tzofim.[15] When Gafni moved to Israel in 1988,[16] he Hebraicized his name. "Winiarz", Polish for "vintner", is related to the Hebrew word gefen (גפן), which means "grape"—thus the name "Gafni." Gafni has three children from previous marriages[2] and one child with Mariana Caplan.[17][18]

Higher Education[]

Secular Education[]

Gafni majored in philosophy as an undergraduate at Queens College and earned his Doctorate in Philosophy from Oxford University.[2][19][20] His doctoral thesis was entitled, "The Theology of Acosmic Humanism: Mordechai Lainer of Izbica."[21]

Religious Ordination[]

Gafni states that he currently holds ordination from non-denominational Rabbi Gershon Winkler.[22] Gafni had received Orthodox semikhah from Rabbi Shlomo Riskin and Renewal semikhah from Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, both of them later returned or revoked.[3][6]

Teachings[]

Gafni's teachings are described as integral or world spirituality, incorporating traditional religious studies with contemporary themes, and are aimed at spirituality for people who do not identify with one specific religion.[2][23] Gafni describes himself and his students as "dual citizens" of both their native traditional religion and the broader themes of "world spirituality".[2][24] He advocates a new set of teachings around eros, sexuality, and relationships in his book Mystery of Love and CD set Erotic and the Holy.[25][26] At the core of his message is what Gafni refers to as the Unique Self.[27] Gafni believes that "the sexual is the ultimate Spiritual Master" and has written "I was convinced from an early age that religion had lost what I believed must have been its original erotic vitality. I knew that the sexual, if liberated and ethically expressed, must somehow hold the mystery of return to the much larger-than-sexual Eros."[28]

Integral Theory[]

In 2011, Gafni, Mariana Caplan,[17] Sally Kempton, and Lori Galperin founded the Center for World Spirituality, which later evolved into the Center for Integral Wisdom.[1] At the Center, Gafni and Ken Wilber founded a Wisdom Council to envision a spirituality based on Integral Principles.[29] The Wisdom Council includes members such as Gafni, Wilber, Tony Robbins, Warren Farrell, Lori Galperin, Sally Kempton.[30] The co-chair of Center for World Spirituality was Whole Foods CEO John Mackey.[31]

Gafni was a Scholar in Residence at the Integral Institute and the Director of the Integral Spiritual Experience but was asked to leave after the 2011 allegations of his sexual misconduct.[32]

Writings[]

As of 2021, Gafni is the author of over twelve books on spirituality and religion.[33] He wrote Radical Kabbalah, a two-volume work published by Integral Publishers in 2012.[34][35] In 2012, he published Your Unique Self: The Radical Path to Personal Enlightenment with a foreword written by Wilber,[36] which won a 2012 USA Best Book Awards in Spirituality: General category.[7]

Television[]

While in Israel, Gafni hosted Tahat Gafno (Hebrew: תחת גפנו‎, lit. 'under his vine'), a television program broadcast on Israel's Channel 2.[2] Gafni also did a series of weekly television spots with Israeli comedian Gil Kopatch on biblical wisdom for every day life.[37]

Allegations of Sexual Assault[]

Gafni has been accused of sexual assault multiple times dating back to the 1980s.[3][4][14][32]

Teenage Allegations[]

In 2004, Gafni was accused by two women of sexual assaulting them during the 1980s. In 2004, he acknowledged a nine-month relationship with a 14-year-old girl when he was 19.[3] He denied the relationship was abusive, describing it as consensual.[10][38][39]

In January 2016, Judy Mitzner said that she was one of two teenage girls whom Gafni allegedly molested in New York City in 1986.[40] She reiterated those assertions on the Dr. Phil show of January 19, 2018, in which Gafni appeared.[41] Mitzner was 16 and Gafni was 24 and he was her Jewish Youth Leader at the time.[42]

Also in January 2016, an unnamed woman wrote that she was married to Gafni from 1999 to 2004 in an opinion piece in The Times of Israel. The article was in response to a New York Times article about Gafni the preceding week.[4] She catalogued what she described as her story of abuse and wrote that she had gone public to "Protect some girl. Protect some woman. Some student. Some unsuspecting soul."[43]

Within two weeks of the publication of the piece in The Times of Israel, Sara Kabakov revealed in The Forward that she was the other formerly unnamed teenage girl who had been abused by Gafni in the early 1980s, beginning when she was thirteen years old.[44] Gafni commented, "she was 14 going on 35, and I never forced her."[5] In a subsequent article, The Forward published Gafni's response together with the analysis of sexual abuse experts. Gafni states they were 14 and 19 year old teenagers and describes their relationship as "a mutual expression of teenage love." Gafni included polygraph results to support his claim that his relationship with Kabakov was consensual. It was completed by Dr. Gordon Barland, the former director of polygraph research for the Department of Defense. Dr. Barland concluded that Gafni had answered each question truthfully although confidence in his conclusion was lower than would otherwise be the case due to the time elapsed.[10][45][46] Afterwards, Kabakov responded to Gafni's comments and reiterated her claim that the relationship was not consensual.[47] In February 2017, the National Coalition for Men published an article by Gafni in which he defended himself, calling the allegations "a long-standing smear campaign".[12] This accusation was also addressed on the Dr. Phil episode of January 19, 2018.[41]

In 2020, Kabakov and Mitzner filed suit against both Gafni and Yeshiva University in 2020 under the recently pased New York Child Victims Act.[16][48][49] Gafni is being sued as the perpetrator and Yeshiva University is being sued as having employed Gafni in the early 1980s.[48]

Bayit Hadash Allegations[]

In 2006, after he moved to Israel, Gafni was accused by five women who attended the Bayit Hadash (Hebrew: בית חדש‎, lit. 'new home') spiritual center in Jaffa, which Gafni opened in the late 1990s.[50] Gafni acknowledged relationships with some of the women.[14] However, he characterized the relationships as consensual and supported his claim by posting polygraph results on his website.[51] Because of the allegations, and because Gafni fled the country to avoid prosecution,[15][23] he was dismissed from Bayit Hadash,[52] which closed within days.[53] Back in the United States, Gafni sent a remorseful letter to his congregation saying he regretted his actions and added "Clearly all of this and more indicates that in these regards I am sick. I need to acknowledge that sickness and to get help for it."[14][52][50] Gafni later explained why he signed the letter and that it was not an admission of guilt but an attempt to cool the controversy.[54]

Reactions to Allegations[]

As a result of these allegations, Integral Life, one of Gafni's promoters, deleted his contributions from its website and announced that it was distancing itself from him.[32] Tami Simon, CEO of Sounds True, canceled her planned publication of Gafni's book, Your Unique Self, and issued a statement denouncing him.[55] The board of directors of the Center for World Spirituality, an organization co-founded by Gafni and of which he is CEO, issued a statement of "unequivocal support" for Gafni.[56] Wilber first separated from Gafni,[57] but the two eventually reconciled and Wilber rejoined Gafni at the Center for World Spirituality.[58] Your Unique Self was ultimately published by Integral Publishers.[59] Furthermore, a number of new-age spiritual leaders, who had previously worked with and endorsed Gafni, have publicly withdrawn their support and written a public statement disavowing themselves from him, including Deepak Chopra, Joan Borysenko, Andrew Harvey, author Jean Houston, and Stephen Dinan.[60]

Ordination[]

As a result of these allegations, in 2004, Gafni returned one rabbinical ordination to spare his former teacher, Rabbi Shlomo Riskin, "any further embarrassment" after Riskin expressed he wanted to revoke Gafni's ordination on the grounds that Gafni's theology had extended "beyond the bounds of Orthodoxy".[3] His other rabbinical ordination by Reb Zalman Schachter-Shalomi was revoked in 2006.[6]

Bibliography[]

  • 1999 A Certain Spirit {Vadai}: Re-Defining Certainty
  • 1999 Uncertainty {Safek}: Reclaiming the Spirituality of Uncertainty
  • 2002 Soul Prints: Your Path to Fulfillment ISBN 978-0743417006
  • 2002 Seelenmuster ISBN 978-3442216062
  • 2003 The Mystery of Love ISBN 978-0743442206
  • 2005 Who is Afraid of Lilith? Rereading the Kabbalah of the Feminine Shadow
  • 2006 The Erotic and the Holy ISBN 978-1591792895
  • 2012 Your Unique Self: The Radical Path to Personal Enlightenment ISBN 978-1467522779
  • 2012 Radical Kabbalah ISBN 978-1467522748
  • 2014 Loving Your Way to Enlightenment ISBN 978-1502305145
  • 2014 Tears: Reclaiming Ritual, Integral Religion, and Rosh Hashanah ISBN 978-0989682749
  • 2014 Self in Integral Evolutionary Mysticism ISBN 978-0989682787
  • 2014 Your Unique Self: An Integral Path to Success 3.0 ISBN 978-0990441939
  • 2017 "A Return to Eros: The Radical Experience of Being Fully Alive" ISBN 9781944648183

References[]

  1. ^ a b "Founders". Center for Integral Wisdom. 2015. Retrieved December 19, 2016.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Livneh, Neri (March 4, 2004). "Post-Orthodoxy Journey". Haaretz. Archived from the original on November 4, 2016.CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Rosenblatt, Gary (September 24, 2004). "The Re-Invented Rabbi". Between the Lines. The Jewish Week. Archived from the original on September 25, 2004. Retrieved January 11, 2008. Alt URL
  4. ^ a b c d e Oppenheimer, Marc (December 25, 2015). "A Spiritual Leader Gains Stature, Trailed by a Troubled Past". The New York Times. Retrieved December 29, 2015.
  5. ^ a b c Friedman, Gabe (December 29, 2015). "4 quotes by ex-Orthodox rabbi Marc Gafni not in The NY Times article". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Retrieved January 3, 2016.
  6. ^ a b c d JTA (December 31, 2015). "US Jewish group spurns ex-rabbi over his sexual behavior". The Times of Israel. Retrieved November 29, 2021.
  7. ^ a b "2012 Results" (PDF). USA Book News. Retrieved December 19, 2016.
  8. ^ Gafni, Marc. "Marc Gafni". Amazon. Retrieved December 2, 2021.
  9. ^ "The Gafni Show: Tachat Gafno". IMDB. Retrieved December 2, 2021.
  10. ^ a b c Gafni, Marc (November 3, 2016). "Marc Gafni Tells His Story — and Experts Respond". The Forward. New York. Retrieved December 15, 2016.
  11. ^ "Gothamist". Gothamist. Retrieved December 2, 2021.
  12. ^ a b Gafni, Marc (February 10, 2017). "NCFM Member Marc Gafni, Fake Facts: Unchecked Falsehoods that Destroy Lives". National Coalition for Men. Retrieved March 26, 2017.
  13. ^ "A Brief Refutation of False Claims Circulated on the Internet". Who Is Marc Gafni. Retrieved December 2, 2021.
  14. ^ a b c d Montefinise, Angela (May 21, 2006). "Fiend Rabbi On Run; Victims in U.S., Israel". New York Post. p. 25. Retrieved November 29, 2021.
  15. ^ a b Raved, Ahiya; Cohen, Avi (May 18, 2006). "Rabbi Gafni accused of sexual assault". News. Ynetnews. Retrieved December 28, 2016.
  16. ^ a b DeGregory, Priscilla; Lapin, Tamar (March 4, 2020). "Popular New Age author Marc Gafni molested 13-year-old girl in 1980, lawsuit says". New York Post. Retrieved December 2, 2021.
  17. ^ a b "About the Founders". Center for Integral Wisdom. 2015. Retrieved December 29, 2015.
  18. ^ "Marc Gafni, D.Phil". Executive Officers. Center for Integral Wisdom. 2013. Retrieved October 28, 2021.
  19. ^ Matousek, Mark (September 8, 2015). "Evolutionary Love: An Interview With Dr. Marc Gafni". Psychology Today. Retrieved October 12, 2021.
  20. ^ "Marc (Mordechai) Gafni | University of Oxford - Academia.edu". oxford.academia.edu. Retrieved October 26, 2021.
  21. ^ "The theology of acosmic humanism : Mordechai Lainer of Izbica". WorldCat. 2006. Retrieved October 12, 2021.
  22. ^ Gafni, Marc (2017). "Dr. Marc Gafni is an ordained Rabbi". Retrieved December 2, 2021.
  23. ^ a b Ganihar, Tomer (June 7, 2011). "Death of the spirit". Haaretz.
  24. ^ "A Passport for Dual Citizenship with Michael Murphy & Marc Gafni". Ievolve.org. Center for World Spirituality. August 8, 2011. Retrieved October 28, 2021.
  25. ^ Wall, Alix (May 9, 2003). "Let love, sex and holiness make your life full, says rabbi". J Weekly. Retrieved December 2, 2021.
  26. ^ Rosenblum, Jonathan (July 13, 2006). "Think Again: 'Sexualizing' the public square". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved December 28, 2016. See also Gafni, The Erotic And The Holy: Kabbalistic Tantra for Everyday Living
  27. ^ Gafni, Marc (2011). "The Evolutionary Emergent of Unique Self (Abstract)". Unique Self. Retrieved December 20, 2016.
  28. ^ Kestenbaum, Sam (August 2, 2016). "Former Rabbi, Accused Molester Marc Gafni Teaching at Tantric Sex School". The Forward. New York. Retrieved April 20, 2017.
  29. ^ Caplan, Mariana (2011). "Los Angeles Makes Movies. San Francisco Makes Movements". Common Ground Magazine. No. December 2010/January 2011. Mill Valley, California: Rob Sidon. pp. 64–65. Retrieved December 19, 2016.
  30. ^ "Wisdom Council". iEvolve. Archived from the original on March 7, 2013. Retrieved March 14, 2013.
  31. ^ "What is a purpose-driven business?: John Mackey and Marc Gafni in Dialogue, Part 2". iEvolve. October 19, 2012.
  32. ^ a b c Rosenblatt, Gary (September 13, 2011). "New Sexual Complaints Against Marc Gafni". The Jewish Week. Retrieved December 28, 2016.
  33. ^ "Marc Gafni". Amazon. 2011. Retrieved November 29, 2011.
  34. ^ "Radical Kabbalah". Integral Publishers. Retrieved September 1, 2021.
  35. ^ Stein, Zachary. "A Review of Radical Kabbalah" (PDF). Zak Stein. Retrieved December 2, 2021.
  36. ^ "Foreword to Your Unique Self by Ken Wilber". Your Unique Self. Integral Publishers. 2016. Retrieved January 4, 2016.
  37. ^ Kopatch, Gil (June 2, 2005). "Why Am I Not a Buddhist?". Haaretz. Retrieved December 28, 2016.
  38. ^ McShane, Larry (January 2, 2016). "New Age guru Marc Gafni allegedly molested two NYC teen girls during the 1980s, denies sexual misconduct allegations". New York Daily News. Retrieved December 29, 2016.
  39. ^ JTA (November 9, 2016). "Marc Gafni: I never molested 13-year-old girl". CT Jewish Ledger. Retrieved November 29, 2021.
  40. ^ Prince, Cathryn J. (January 6, 2016). "Controversial ex-rabbi Gafni and an alleged victim square off". The Times of Israel. Retrieved February 7, 2018.
  41. ^ a b Pink, Aiden (January 21, 2018). "Accused Child Molester Marc Gafni Defends Himself On 'Dr. Phil'". The Forward. New York City. Retrieved February 7, 2018.
  42. ^ "Alleged Victim Of Former Rabbi Marc Gafni Tells Her Story". Dr. Phil. January 19, 2018. Retrieved November 29, 2021.
  43. ^ "A voice for Gafni's victims, from one who was there". The Times of Israel. January 1, 2016. Retrieved January 3, 2016.
  44. ^ Kabakov, Sara (January 12, 2016). "'I Was 13 When Marc Gafni's Abuse Began'". The Forward. New York City. Retrieved December 21, 2016.
  45. ^ "Report of Polygraph Results October 2007". 2015. Retrieved November 29, 2021.
  46. ^ Barland, Gordon H. (December 14, 2007). "Report of Polygraph Examination: Marc Gafni" (PDF). MarcGafni.com. Retrieved December 28, 2016. ...this was a poor issue for the polygraph. The polygraph is believed to be most accurate when a person denies committing a specific physical act...It would be more appropriate to examine Sarah as to whether she had written a letter, than him as to whether he had read it. More importantly, testing on the contents of a letter received nearly 30 years ago is inappropriate because memory is easily modified over time – often significantly – based on additional knowledge and experience....Mr. Gafni was adamant that he had a very clear memory of that letter. We agreed that if he wished to be tested on this issue, I would have to include a caveat to the effect that because of the complexity of the issue, one could not have as much confidence in the results as one would have if the issue was unambiguous. That notwithstanding, Mr. Gafni asked to be examined on this additional issue....We discussed his recollection of the letter from Sarah Kabakow. He said his memory of that letter is very vivid to this day. He received it after he had broken off his relationship with her. It was a sweet, tender letter in which she said she loved him, she knew he loved her, they were meant to go through life together, and only thus could they be happy....Conclusion It is my professional opinion that Mr. Gafni answered the relevant questions truthfully. Because of the nearly three decades that have elapsed since Ms. Kabakow's letter would have been received, confidence in this conclusion is necessarily somewhat less than would otherwise be the case.
  47. ^ Kabakov, Sara (November 14, 2016). "Marc Gafni Told His Side of the Story. Now His Accuser Responds". The Forward. New York City. Retrieved April 20, 2017.
  48. ^ a b Feldman, Ari. "Marc Gafni Named In Latest Sexual Abuse Lawsuit Against Yeshiva University". Forward. Retrieved December 28, 2019.
  49. ^ ""Jane Doe" against Yeshiva University and Marc Gafni, previously known as Mordechai Winiarz; Plaintiff's Affidavit". Supreme Court of the State of New York. August 14, 2019. Retrieved December 28, 2019.
  50. ^ a b Siegal, Jennifer (May 19, 2006). "Rabbi Fired Over Sex Claims, Defenders Offer Mea Culpa". The Forward. Retrieved December 2, 2021.
  51. ^ Barland, Gordon H. (October 30, 2007). "Report of Polygraph Examination: Marc Gafni" (PDF). MarcGafni.com. Retrieved November 29, 2021. In my opinion Mr. Gafni answered the relevant questions truthfully. This opinion is tempered by the fact that I had no access to the original complaints.
  52. ^ a b Singer-Heruti, Roni (May 19, 2006). "New-age Rabbi Mordechi Gafni accused of sex crimes". Haaretz. Retrieved March 20, 2013.
  53. ^ Ner-David, Jacob (December 1, 2006). "Genug: Time for a Change". Sh'ma: A Journal of Jewish Responsibility. Boston: Sh'ma Institute. Archived from the original on October 8, 2008. Retrieved December 28, 2016.
  54. ^ "Why I Signed the Letter למה כתבתי את המכתב?". Dr. Marc Gafni. Retrieved September 1, 2021.
  55. ^ Rosenblatt, Gary (September 14, 2011). "Marc Gafni, Again". The Jewish Week. Retrieved February 27, 2013.
  56. ^ "A CWS Board Statement of Unequivocal Support for Dr. Marc Gafni". ievolve.org. Center for Integral Wisdom. September 2011. Retrieved December 28, 2016.
  57. ^ Wilber, Ken (October 17, 2011). "Ken Wilber's Response to the Marc Gafni Debacle". Ken Wilber. Archived from the original on July 9, 2013. Retrieved March 28, 2013.
  58. ^ Wilber, Ken (December 27, 2011). "Ken Wilber Statement on Marc Gafni and the Center for World Spirituality". Ken Wilber.
  59. ^ "Your Unique Self". Integral Publishers.
  60. ^ Rosenblatt, Gary (January 5, 2016). "Gafni Faces Fallout From New Age Community". The Jewish Week. Retrieved November 29, 2021.
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