I am someone that has been following the disasterous career of Yizhak Miller. (If you can call it a career). He held a job for a short period of time, and then physically attacked an upstanding member of the community in public with his car. There were other incidences of rage and innappropriate behavior where he embarassed the entire Jewish community. there were also threats against people expressing our constitutional right and brotherly mitzvah to warn others of this danger. I would refrain from warning others if there was reason to believe that he had a good character. It happens that I know Yitzhak Miller enough to tell you that any path that he has followed in his professional life has always ended the same way- with problems, dissapointment, and anger on his part. If you are considering getting married, having a bar mitzvah, or converting to Judaism, I would strongly recommend that you find another Rabbi or a Rabbi with a real synagogue. Rabbis who have a true calling to this career add holiness and legitimacy to your event rather than someone with so much baggage, no career, and terrible hygiene. I know that the Reform Movement has approached him regarding his website because there is a general feeling that he is a "time-bomb waiting to explode". There are many others who agree that his actions are not becoming of a rabbi. Yizhak Miller continues to spend a lot of money trying to keep this information from spreading. Hopefully we can together save lives, and allow the Jewish community to thrive with capable leaders.


Rabbi at Riverside's oldest synagogue resigns amid complaints of conduct

http://www.pe.com/localnews/inland/stories/PE_News_Local_D_rabbi26.32d1464.html

10:00 PM PST on Friday, January 25, 2008

By GREGOR McGAVIN
The Press-Enterprise

The spiritual leader of Riverside's oldest synagogue is stepping down, more than two months after he grazed a school psychologist with his truck during an argument over who was first in line at a drive-through ATM.

No one was hurt in the Nov. 5 fracas at Altura Credit Union in Riverside, and a judge this month dismissed misdemeanor charges of battery and hit and run against Temple Beth El Rabbi Yitzhak Miller.

Jory Yarmoff, president of the temple's board of directors, confirmed that the board has accepted the resignation.

He said that since the credit union incident, individual congregants have come forward to complain about how Miller treated them.

"The other issues predate the credit union incident. That just served to focus people's attention, " Yarmoff said.

"Anger management was part of it. The other part of it was his ability to successfully partner with temple leadership."

Miller resigned, effective June 30, in a letter to temple members dated Jan. 14, the day charges against him were dismissed. He has shaken hands and made up with his counterpart in the Nov. 5 incident, both sides said. That man, William Hendrick, a psychologist with the Riverside Unified School District, even wrote a letter asking temple members to forgive the rabbi.

Yarmoff praised the work Miller has done since arriving in July 2006. He said the rabbi has strengthened Sunday programs and education for adults and children.

Miller, who has been at the synagogue for a year and a half, said his problems there result not from his actions, but because Temple Beth El -- which serves more than 230 families -- is a small congregation with limited finances and volunteers.

Yarmoff said he expects Miller's resignation to be a hot topic at the temple's annual congregational meeting Sunday.

Yarmoff acknowledged a high turnover among rabbis but denied the temple has a problem holding on to clergy.

Past Struggles


Before arriving at Temple Beth El in July 2006, Miller served about five years as first a student rabbi, then community rabbi at Congregation Emeth in Gilroy.

Michael Oshan, president of the Gilroy temple's board, said Miller "had a lot to offer, but there were some issues." He declined to be specific but said anger management was involved.

Miller -- described in the police report on the ATM fracas as 6 feet tall and 275 pounds -- said in a Dec. 2 letter to the congregation that he has had "a compulsive eating addiction" since junior high school. He said he has been seeing a therapist for almost two years for his eating disorder and the therapist warned him that "previously unprocessed feelings would likely begin to come up in potent ways."

Miller said he also had attempted to enroll in an anger-management program but had not yet found one that would accept someone not ordered to join by a court.
Rabbi Yitzhak J. Miller

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