By Rabbi Eli Teitelbaum
While I have written many articles warning the public to
beware of monetary scams, this short article will deal with scams that are far
worse. For not only do they steal your wealth but they also steal your health
and therefore they are extremely dangerous.
Many people are not willing to accept the limitations of physicians,
and in desperation will turn to anyone who offers them hope, no matter how
foolish or nonsensical it may sound. These psychic healers have unfortunately
defrauded their believers to the tune of billions of dollars with their claims
of being able to cure the incurable. They take advantage of the sick, the
destitute and the unwary, who will believe anything, no matter how ridiculous
and outrageous. These cynical con artists willfully divert the patient from
seeking the services of a doctor and as a result, often lead these suffering people
to the intensive care unit, and even to the morgue. Medical quackery is a
dangerous business and many a time can even lead to the loss of life. Each day
they come up with new fantasies, new gadgets and new scams. So great is the desire
to believe in these quacks, that the blind believe they can be made to see, the
lame believe that they can be made to walk, and the deaf believe that they can
be made to hear.
These quacks are guided by their desire and greed for money
and are nothing but booby traps for the gullible. One by the name of Tony
Agpaoa who did psychic surgery in the Philippines, attracted thousands of
people and his spectacular procedures in which he appeared to plunge his hands
into the body and remove certain body parts were all done with simple conjuring
tricks performed with sleight-of-hand. He was arrested in Detroit and charged
with medical fraud but skipped bail and fled back to the Philippines where he
died in 1982.
Nowadays, Russia has become flooded with these types of
quack doctors and many Russians that have immigrated to Israel have opened shop
there. Since a certain amount of illnesses go away on their own, it is
quite easy for them to take credit for these ‘miraculous’ cures. Yet most of
the time they will simply give you a list of phony credentials. They thrive on
the diseased and the suffering, and are masters at exploiting human credulity
and people’s desire to live.
This type of quackery is not new and certainly has been
around for thousands of years. One would have imagined that modern day medicine
would have put an end to this quackery. Yet the popularity of these psychic
doctors seems to be growing despite the fact that many of them have been
exposed as being worthless. Benjamin Franklin once said that there are no
greater liars in the world than quacks - except for their patients!
Yankel Miller tells the story about
a farmer who once came to a psychic healer asking for a cure for his chickens
that were dying out. Charging him only a thousand dollars, he gave him an
amulet which he told him to hang on his chicken coop which would stop the
chickens from dying. A few weeks later the farmer came back complaining that
the chickens were still dying. For another $1,000 the psychic healer now gave
him a red thread which he told him to tie to the right foot of each of his
chickens. When the outraged farmer came back a few weeks later and complained
that the chickens were still dying, the psychic now suggested he try a stronger
remedy and feed his chickens special water which he had blessed and that, along
with another $1,000, would certainly solve his problem. When the psychic met
the farmer a few weeks later and asked him if he had any chickens left, the
farmer asked him, “Why do you want to know?” The healer thereupon responded
that “as long as you still have some live chickens left, I still have some more
remedies to offer you.”
Recently I’ve been told that this craze has begun to spread
through our midst and that many naive and gullible people are falling for their
miraculous claims. A friend just told me that one of these quacks is asking a
half million dollars to “cure” a Down-syndrome child. While it is very
difficult to convince people to stay away from these quacks, I recommend that
one not pay them in advance, but rather make an agreement beforehand that the
money is only due when it is proven that the sickness is actually healed. If
the psychic is not willing to agree to these terms, then I strongly suggest
that you leave your checkbook at home.
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