Brazil’s best-known rabbi, who was charged with shoplifting in Florida, was hospitalized for what doctors termed a mood disorder. The Albert Einstein Israelite Hospital in Sao Paulo said Rabbi Henry Sobel was admitted last Friday after taking large quantities of insomnia-treatment drugs that “cause potential states of mental confusion and amnesia,” Reuters reported. Sobel asked for a suspension from his duties as chief of the Sao Paulo Rabbinate after the media reported that he had been charged with stealing expensive ties during the Florida trip. After claiming he was never arrested during his trip and denying the charges, he later issued a more vague statement that read: “I have never had an intention to steal any object in all my life.” Palm Beach County police said a Henry Sobel was charged with retail theft in multiple locations. He was arrested March 23 after a surveillance camera in a Louis Vuitton shop showed him picking up a tie and then leaving empty-handed. Four other expensive ties were found in his car. Sobel was released the following day after posting bail.
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