If it’s true that Rav Bina publicly shames certain students whom he believes he needs to discipline, the issue is clear: time and again Jewish law forbids public humiliation — no ifs, ands or buts. See Rabbi Daniel Z. Feldman’s scholarly but accessible book, “The Right and the Good, Halakhah and Human Relations.” The first chapter: “Emotional Homicide: Embarrassing Others.” Amazing. How Joseph, the Egyptian viceroy held back from shaming his brothers who either sold him into slavery or left him for dead.
Nobody’s exempt. A rosh yeshiva, a synagogue rabbi, a synagogue president, or the president of the United States. But if the rosh yeshiva doesn’t set the right example, who will?
Manhattan
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