True Crime Caviar: The 21 Wives of Goel Ratzon

Note: Please start listening from episode 1. Goel Ratzon was a true crime phenomenon: a cult leader, super-polygamist and occultist, active between 1990 and 2010 in Tel Aviv, Israel. Not only was Goel Ratzon a mysterious Kabbalah healer, he was a real-life Pied Piper who lured 21 young women to leave behind their families and identity to join his cult and bear his children, believing serving him was an uplifting service according to Kabbalah. In 2010 Ratzon was finally arrested and his 21 wives were set free. This is the story of his cult, from its inception to the end, exploring the initiation and life in a polygamous cult from the perspective of Goel's plural partners, asking not only the "what?", but "why?". Why did so many young, intelligent women agree to become servants to a 59-year-old Kabbalah teacher and dedicate themselves to bearing his children and serving his whims? This case is completely unknown around the world but deserves a place next to the biggest cult stories.