Man Posed as Fake Jew for Five Years to Infiltrate Secretive Jewish Community So He Could Write a Book

A report claims Yechiel Yisroel Bloyd, who infiltrated a Hasidic sect in NYC, is actually a secular writer who goes by the name Bartimaeus Black

New York City's Hasidic community is accusing a couple of converting to Judaism but still living a secular life, all so he can write a tell-all book about the secretive Jewish sect.

Israel National News/Channel 7 reports that the irreligious couple were allegedly exposed as imposters on Thursday.

The report claims Yechiel Yisroel Bloyd is actually a writer named Bartimaeus Black , and that he joined the Satmar Hasidic community back in 2018.

On Amazon and Goodreads , Black is listed as the author of three books, all released within the last three months: From Novice to Adept: Ascension Through Magick , Tarot Decoded: Practical Divination for All , and Talking With Angels: An Introductory Guide to Angelic Theurgy.

His Amazon biography claims he is a "practitioner of the Western Esoteric Tradition for the past ten years," and that he "truly believes that spirituality and magick should be accessible to all people who seek to practice it and improve their lives."

When he joined the New York Hasidic community five years ago, he allegedly claimed to have undergone his religious conversion under the tutelage of well-known rabbis.

"He baked matzahs on the day before Pesach [Passover], in the best bakery," one person told INN. "He gave speeches in synagogues, we gave him everything he needed in order to raise a family; hasidim would go around collecting charity for him."

Bloyd has announced his proposal for a book about his experience infiltrating the Satmar community and becoming firmly entrenched in it.

Israel National News claims Bloyd denied the allegations, but said that the lifestyle of the Satmar community was no longer appealing to him.

The Messenger reached out to Yechiel Yisroel Bloyd and Bartimaeus Black on Friday but did not immediately receive a response.