The Bnei Baruch Directorate Letter to the Global Garden Parents

A day after the letter about what was being done to children at the Global Garden, the “Bnei Baruch Directorate” sent parents a reply. Not one of the twenty-four points appears in it. Something else does: Michael Laitman’s name is taken off the letter, part of the allegations is moved into the category of things heard from other women, and instead of an external inspection the parents are offered a gathering tomorrow at 8:15 p.m. in the kindergarten itself, to clarify everything “in a good spirit.”

Who wrote the letter the directorate names itself: Rav Laitman’s daughter and secretary, Rachel. On that version the document that went out under the name of the cult’s sole leader was not written by him, and this is said a day after the mailing. Three documents in this story give three different versions of authorship.

What This Document Is

In the response the concern is attributed to the women of the Laitman family: they had long worried about the kindergarten the young son attended, and had taken it to the management.

The document removes Laitman himself from the letter in three disclaimers: worried about the kindergarten, did not check the points, did not know the content.

Scrutiny is replaced by the organization talking to itself. The document follows in full.

Full Text of the Document

Dear parents,

In light of the letter that was sent yesterday regarding the Global Garden, and following many conversations and inquiries that were conducted, the “Bnei Baruch Directorate” carried out an initial review of the sequence of events.

Below are the conclusions we reached:

• For a long period, the women in the Laitman family have been troubled by the conduct of the kindergarten that their young son has attended for the past year and a half.

  They approached the kindergarten management in different ways in order to bring to its attention the failures that, in their view, exist in the kindergarten. After they felt that “the water had reached the soul,” they decided to take an action that would draw the public attention of all the parents, out of concern and a desire to change things for the better.

• As a result, the women gathered a series of failures: some they saw in practice, and some they heard about from various rumors. It is important to note that some of the cases described in the letter were things they heard from other women, and they did not necessarily see or check the matters fully.

• Rav Laitman was not involved in the details at any stage of the review. He is indeed troubled by the kindergarten’s condition and very much wants its situation to improve, but he was not aware of the items that appeared in the letter.

• The letter was written and sent by Rav Laitman’s daughter and secretary, Rachel. As stated, Rav Laitman knew in general that the kindergarten’s condition required improvement, but at no stage was he aware of its details.

• During the day, many parents contacted us and spoke of their satisfaction with the kindergarten and the way it is run. They also asked for the help of the “Bnei Baruch Directorate” in clarifying and helping organize the situation in the kindergarten.

  Therefore, in consultation with a large number of the parents and with the kindergarten management, we ask to convene tomorrow evening, at 8:15 p.m., an open meeting at the kindergarten in a good spirit. At the meeting we will clarify the current situation together, and above all the steps required to lead the kindergarten toward a better future.

• We see the situation that has arisen as an opportunity to create for the children a high-quality and warm kindergarten that is also managed responsibly and efficiently.

  We see tomorrow evening’s meeting as a meaningful opportunity to build a shared and successful future for our children.

• At the parents’ request, and in preparation for tomorrow evening’s meeting, we are attaching an email address to which you are invited to send letters, ideas, proposals for streamlining and improving the kindergarten’s situation, or anything else you feel the need to share with us on this subject: vaadathorimgan@gmail.com

With blessings and thanks,

“Bnei Baruch Directorate”

What Follows From This

The directorate’s reply is a procedure, and the procedure shows what the cult treated as urgent. Urgent was taking the name off the document and returning the conversation inside. The twenty-four points about supervision, food, sanitation and the handling of children are not addressed in the reply, not one of them. Instead of addressing them it reports that “many parents contacted us and spoke of their satisfaction with the kindergarten,” and sets a meeting on the grounds of that same kindergarten.

No police, no social services, no outside professional appear in this letter. There is an open meeting “in a good spirit” and a mailbox for “ideas, proposals for streamlining.” The answer to twenty-four points about children was reduced to a meeting convened by the cult itself, on the grounds of the same kindergarten and with the same management whose work the letter was written about.

How to Read This Document Alongside the AMI Article

This document is a source appendix to the article about the closed complaint surrounding the Global Garden. It shows how the Bnei Baruch leadership publicly described where the first letter came from, separated Laitman from the details, and steered everything toward an internal parents’ meeting.

The fuller account of how the correspondence, the police, and the later isolation of the Kogan family relate to one another remains in “Closed Case: how the Bnei Baruch kindergarten story reached the police and was stopped”.

The documents in this story and the main article: