CBS Los Angeles

Rabbi Cunin: I Was Targeted for Feeding Homeless

Rabbi Shlomo Cunin, director of Chabad of the West Coast, believes he was targeted by authorities for feeding the homeless in Santa Monica, California.

Cunin told CBS2’s Cristy Fajardo that he was handing out food along Palisades Park when he and his son-in-law were cited by an officer for driving with his handicap placard hanging in the rear-view mirror, which the ticket stated was an obstruction of vision.

The rabbi said a second officer then started writing them a $304 ticket for parking in a bus zone.

In the “note” section of the ticket, the officer wrote, “To feed homeless.”

“I said, ‘Well, we were pulled over by the other officer, that’s why I’m here.’ And he said, ‘No, no, no, no, no… you were parked here,’” Cunin said. “They don’t want Rabbi Cunin with his beard and black coat coming to feed God’s children.”

Santa Monica police said there was no ulterior motive.

“We, at the Santa Monica Police Department, are actually homeless advocates ourselves. We work a lot with the homeless,” said Sgt. Jay Moroso.

Cunin and his son-in-law, Moroso said, broke the law.

“One had seen one violation…that being the placard violation. And at pretty much the same time, the park ranger had seen the parking violation, so they both went to take enforcement action at the same time,” he said.

Cunin, however, doesn’t believe the timing was a coincidence. He now plans to make his case in court.

37 Comments

    • Rabbi L

      What a awful comment to make on what is potentially an amazing opportunity for a Shliach to bring attention to his Shlichus in response to overreach by police. Shame on you.

  • Kop Mentch

    If he was parked, how can he be cited for “an obstruction of vision” which is a moving violation?!

    If he committed a moving violation of “an obstruction of vision [while driving]”, how can he be cited for parking in a bus stop?!

    Seems to me that each ticket would cancel the other!

    וכן שני כתובים המכחישים זה את זה עד שיבוא הכתוב השלישי ויכריע בינהם

  • Learn for the Future

    What did the rabbi mean when he pointed sternly and said, “And you want to know something? Nobody stops me.” It came across as threatening and intimidating. Maybe it was taken out of context, but it’s not something I would expect a rabbi to say. We’re all within the law and have to obey it.

    Yasher koach for feeding the homeless. Find a legitimate parking spot next time.

    • Milhouse

      No, we are not “within the law”. We do the right thing, and if the law gets in the way we spit on it. That is how free men behave.

    • Yes, we are.

      Dina d’malchusa dina. Deal with it. There are consequences for spitting on the law. Anarchists spit on the law. Free men do not.

    • Kop Mentch

      Is there no limit to the foolishness of such comments by Milhouse?

      Even when a person is עוסק במצוה פטור מן המצוה, and when “we do the right thing, and if the [Torah] law gets in the way” we are exempt, STILL, if אפשר לקייים שניהם then there is no exemption (according to שיטת התוס’, הרא”ש, רי”ו, הריטב”א והנמוק”י – I am well aware of the other opinions).

      In this case, feeding the homeless is no “stira” to parking legally. You do not davka need to park in a bus stop (causing an inconvenience and possible a danger to the public) because you are feeding the homeless.

      In other words, doing a good deed does not give you a licence to ignore laws that are made for the public’s good. Certainly, it does not create a “right” to “spit on” the rule of law.

    • Milhouse

      More amhoratzim heard from. “Dina demalchusa dina” does not mean we must obey the law. Go look up what the word “dina” means. No legislature has the power to change what is right and what is wrong. Only the Torah defines what is right and wrong, and the law is irrelevant. We keep it when we have to, and ignore it when we can, or when it gets in the way of doing what is right.

      There is no difference in halacha between the “malchusa” of the USA and the USSR or the Czar. Their “dina” has exactly the same status. And we all know how much regard our grandparents had for Soviet and Czarist law.

      Simply put: keeping the law is not a mitzvah, and breaking it is not an aveira. Therefore Rabbi C was right in saying that “nothing stops me” from doing Hashem’s will.

    • Kop Mentch

      Firstly, who ever mentioned “dina d’malchusa”? I am saying that the parking laws do not militate against or contradict feeding the homeless. Both can and should be kept.

      But I must comment on the most ridiculous quotable quote I ever heard, “There is no difference in halacha between the “malchusa” of the USA and the USSR or the Czar. Their “dina” has exactly the same status.”

      The poskin discuss at length that dina d’malchusa is only applied when the dinim are fair and just with equality to all citizens. This would exclude the USSR and the Czar who issued gezairos targeting yidden etc.

      But as stated, that was NOT my point, just something Milhouse tossed in (to which I say, ma inyan shmita aitzel har sinai?!).

    • Milhouse

      Hey, tochus mentch. How do you ask who mentioned dina demalchusa? Are you blind?

      And no, there is no difference between the malchusa of the USA and the USSR or the Czar. The Soviets and the Czar were also mashveh midoseihem. First of all The Soviets did not make special laws for Jews. Second, mashveh midosov means the law has to apply to a whole nation, not to all the king’s subjects. A law that applies to all Jews counts as mashveh midosov.

      But DdMD does not create a chiyuv to obey the law, or an issur on disobeying it. It’s merely a statement about the validity of the kingdom’s decisions on the ownership of property.

    • Kop Mentch

      Milhouse wrote, “Hey, tochus mentch… Are you blind?”

      Actually, yes (it is genetic from my forefathers Yitzchok and Yaakov Avinu).

      I join many sages such as Nochum Ish Gamzu (Taanis 21a) , Dosa ben Hurkunos (Yevomos 16a), Rav Yossef and Rav Sheshes (Baba Kama 87a) and others.

      But why would someone who pretends to be intelligent, stoop to undignified and childish name-calling?!

  • Can someone explain

    When did the Rebbe send Shluchim to feed the homeless? Is there perhaps a letter of this nature?

    Is Chabad is a humanitarian aid organization?

    • To "Can someone"

      Of course not, Shluchim should NEVER feed the homeless, I mean what crime could be worse than that?? Feeding the homeless!? He should be arrested just for that? Eh “Can someone explain”? Your thoughts exactly, right?

    • Milhouse

      Perhaps you have not seen an obscure chassidisher sefer called Yeshaya. I think the author was a rebbele somewhere in Eretz Yisroel. But it’s generally thought that our rabbeim held from him, and you can even find his sefer cited in maamorim. Anyway, he brings an interesting segulah:
      הלוא פרס לרעב לחמך, ועניים מרודים תביא בית: כי תראה ערם וכסיתו, ומבשרך לא תתעלם. אז יבקע כשחר אורך, וארכתך מהרה תצמח; והלך לפניך צדקך, כבוד ה’ יאספך
      Who knows whether it works, but try it, it can’t hurt.

    • Kop Mentch

      One needs to go back to Torah basics without the corruption of goyish hashkofos.

      A significant portion of our taxes are already going to Government based social services (non-Jewish charities).

      In a practical sense: Approximately 30% of our income goes to the government, and perhaps one third of government’s spending is on charitable activities, such as Medicare, Medicaid, welfare, social security, and education. As a result, the approximately 98% Non-Jewish population is receiving approximately 10% of our pretax income. As a result, I believe that the Jews are giving enough to the Non-Jewish population.

      It is important to realize that the Non-Jewish community is receiving quite a lot from the Jewish community.

      The giving of tzedaka to goyim is for “darchei sholom” and to prevent “ayva” (resentment). Many poskim hold that such charity cannot be part of one’s ma’aser obligation!

      One MUST ask:

      Has Cunin already fed ALL the Jewish homeless before searching out non-Jewish ones?

      There are levels of tzedakah, and even goyim know that “charity begins at home”. Has Cunnin completed the beginnings of this mitzvah and must now seek to expand on it?!

    • Milhouse

      The gemoro in Bovo Basro makes it clear that charity given to nochrim is not tzedokoh, and one gets no reward for it. But ורחמיו על כל מעשיו. Tzedokoh is not the only mitzvah in the Torah. There’s also a mitzvah to become like Hashem, and מה הוא רחום, וכו׳

    • Kop Mentch

      Listen to your OWN words, “there is no reward” = it isn’t a mitzva. If it would be a mitzva (of some sort) there would be (some kind of) reward!

    • Kop Mentch

      “Quite a few of the homeless he’s feeding are Jewish.”

      This point of Milhouse fails (as usual).

      In an עיר שרובו עכו”ם we presume that the unknown homeless person is non=Jewish (unless there is reason to believe otherwise).

    • Kop Mentch

      And Milhouse’s quote from Yesha’yah 58:8 speaks of the reward for giving actual tzedakah (as elaborated in the Yalkut and Medrashim on the possuk).

    • Milhouse

      Tippesh. Just because something is not tzedokoh doesn’t mean it’s not a mitzvah. Just because one doesn’t get the reward for tzedokoh doesn’t mean one doesn’t get some other reward. And if there is no other reward, then the mitzvah is its own reward.

      Oh, and הייתה חצר שיש בה גויים וישראליים, אפילו ישראלי אחד ואלף גויים, ונפלה עליהם–מפקחין על הכול, מפני הישראלי. פירש אחד מהם לחצר אחרת, ונפלה עליו אותה חצר–מפקחים עליו: שמא זה שפירש הוא הישראלי, והנשארים גויים

    • Kop Mentch

      So Milhouse would be mechalel shabbos to save an unknown Los Angeles resident?! Is that what they teach you in Chabad?!

    • Kop Mentch

      Milhouse wrote: Tippesh…Just because one doesn’t get the reward for tzedokoh doesn’t mean one doesn’t get some other reward. And if there is no other reward, then the mitzvah is its own reward.”

      This is a creative drei! According to Milhose, when CHazal say there is no reward for doing a certain act, they are being deceitful because there actually IS a reward just not the reward for Tzedaka.

      Further, when Chazal tell us that there is no reward, Milhouse interprets that to be a lie, since there actually IS a reward because “the mitzvah is its own reward.”.

      Milhouse is making Chazal into deceitful liars!

  • Rabbi Cunin has done amazing things

    Now that he is out of the education business he is focusing on what he is good at! Kol hacovod!

    • The biggest fan of Rabbi C

      I personally find it amusing that you use the words “education business.”

  • Sounds Fishy

    It doesn’t make sense, why wouldn’t the first cop give him a ticket for both. Did he not see him parked in bus zone. They’re probably not happy that an outsider is meddling in their territory and they decided to teach him a lesson.

  • An Admirer of Rabbi Cunin

    When you accomplish what Rabi Cunin has done and reach that age as a humble, devout chosid unscathed by the tumadik velt around you know you are dealing with the genuine article.

  • ABSOLUTELY YES!!!

    To 6:

    What’s the question? That’s kind of like asking if the police are a law-enforcement agency.
    Need I mention countless articles and other accounts of Chabad involvement, when it came to disaster relief in the wake of hurricanes, floods, fire, earthquakes, war-zones, etc. While, indeed, the primary purpose of Chabad is outreach to fellow Jews, I can’t see the Rebbe having any kind of objection to humanitarian aid, even if you can’t find a letter from the Rebbe on this.

  • comun sense

    Police to have to use comun sense
    A guy who is helping homeless people should not get a ticket

  • jewish dude

    Don’t pay the ticket go to court if they send you to prison file a hate crime law suit.

  • nothing wrong

    whats wrong with feeding the homeless??? he did an amzaing thing okay. look how that man was eating he was probably starving! hes doing an amazing job and its a kiddush lbavitchj that he cares for the homeless.

  • Commentator

    By giving the Noachide laws, Hashem showed we should help all mankind, not only Jews. Can you say “BaYom HaHu”? I knew you could.