The "Kibbutz-Style" Meal System: How an Internal Cult Document Describes Hidden Surplus

On July 20, 2016, at 19:23, Alon Rosenfeld sent an email from alonrozbb@gmail.com to Anna Nuzbroy at bb.calgary@gmail.com. Subject: “anna, for translation. secret. thanks.” The body contained a Google Docs link and signature “נצליח”: “we will succeed.”

The document Rosenfeld sent for secret translation laid out a plan: shift meal payments at the Bnei Baruch center in Petah Tikva to fixed monthly contributions. The word “secret” appeared not in the file but in the subject line. Whoever sent the calculation demanded this secrecy.

Document: Full Text

The idea of the "kibbutz" payment system

In order to radically simplify the payment system for meals on the one hand and ensure constant and full financing on the other hand, it is proposed:

All those who have a chip in hand, including outside groups, make a monthly contribution:
Petah Tikva - 220 shekels.
groups - 40 shekels.

The calculations show that this contribution is more than enough to fully cover all expenses connected with preparing all meals held in the Center. This includes all holidays and congresses, except of course the Big Israeli Congress.

In addition, this amount covers all expenses connected with maintaining the building (maintenance) and expenses for the community.

As a result, any person, whether from Petah Tikva or from an outside group, will be able to participate in any meal, at any time, without any additional costs or restrictions.

In addition, this will make it possible to organize extra meals or meals at unusual hours.

Also, the optimized budget will help improve both the assortment and the quality of the prepared dishes.

What changes?
1. The current inconvenient and cumbersome payment system at the entrance to the dining hall is completely canceled.
2. It will be possible to organize round-the-clock meals.
3. Children under 16 eat for free.
4. Women with children will be able to come after 16:00.
5. The number of people participating in meals will increase.

Calculations show that a reserve of about 500,000 shekels appears. This money must remain with the food department.

Reasons:
1. sharp jump in prices.
2. increase in the number of meal participants.
3. unforeseen expenses.
4. new equipment and disposable tableware.

Data:
Chips: 2100 units in circulation
In 2015, 2,100,000 shekels were spent on the kitchen for food (excluding the big congress) + 350,000 for disposable tableware + cleaning products.
For 2016 until August: 1,021,000 (excluding the big congress) + 175,174 for disposable tableware + cleaning products. Forecast until the end of the year: 2,042,000 shekels.
Total expenses for 2015 = 2,450,000 shekels.
For 2016 = 2,392,348 shekels.
Average annual expenses = 2,421,174 shekels.

Branch	Number of people with a chip	Amount (shek./month)	Months	Annual income (shek.)
Petah Tikva	850	220	12	2,244,000
Groups	1,250	40	12	600,000
Total income				2,844,000
Annual expenses				2,421,174
Reserve				422,826

What the Table Shows

The document speaks of care for people. It offers to cancel payment at the entrance, feed children under 16 free, open the hall after 16:00 for women with children, improve menu and quality, provide round-the-clock meals. In the list of changes, there is not a word about surplus.

The table tells a different story. With 2,100 chips (850 in Petah Tikva at 220 shekels monthly, 1,250 in outside groups at 40), the annual collection totals 2,844,000 shekels against kitchen expenses of 2,421,174. The remainder of 422,826 stays inside the cult, hidden from those who paid it. The “Reserve” sits in the file sent for translation, not where these people eat.

The document inflates its own figure. The reserve is called “about 500,000 shekels” in the justification, but the table shows 422,826. The gap exceeds seventy thousand shekels, placed exactly where the document requests the food department keep the money: the larger the sum, the weightier the request.

The request is plain: “This money must remain with the food department.” Below it, four reasons: price increases, growing participant numbers, unforeseen expenses, new equipment and disposable tableware. Refunding overpayment is not listed; the document never raises returning it.

The disciple pays for all this. Until now he gave money at the dining hall entrance; under the new plan, he contributes 220 shekels monthly, whether he ate there thirty times or never. The amount stays fixed. Outside groups contribute 40, equally indifferent to whether anyone made it to Petah Tikva. For families on Israeli salaries, this is permanent budget line alongside rent and electricity. The table showing their contributions add to “Reserve” was never shown to them. The file went not to the hall or bulletin board, but to the translator’s mailbox, marked “secret” in the subject line.

Laitman’s name does not appear in these papers. Not in the calculation, not in the email. This is how his power works. In Bnei Baruch, no one ranks above him: he is the sole teacher, final arbiter, author of everything called a spiritual path here. The kitchen in Petah Tikva feeds his disciples by his rules. Laitman’s cynicism is measured by this ledger: disciples are sold the road to the Creator, while one floor below their 220 shekels flow into the “Reserve” line of 422,826 shekels. They will never see it.

Two documents: the calculation with surplus as a separate table line, and the email sending it for translation marked “secret.” The sender is the third point: alonrozbb@gmail.com appears in the blind copy of the leadership’s official response to a student’s complaint. The pattern repeats: calculate in closed files, translate under classification, keep recipients from seeing it.

In the dossier, this is one small document within the cult’s money practice. The network of amutot, the Registrar’s audit, and family management are examined in the article on Bnei Baruch finances. Here: payment was sold as convenience, surplus kept for the kitchen, calculation sent for translation under classification, away from those who paid it.