YOM KIPPUR SERMON 2009: OUR CORRUPTIBLE SELVES

A man goes to see his Rabbi. He is distraught. "Rabbi, I have sinned." What did you do that was so bad? I did not wash my hands before I ate. Oh, and why is that? Because I didn't say a blessing. And why is that? Because I didn't eat kosher food. But you should at least, thank G-d for what you have. But IT WAS A HAM SANDWICH. Well, that is also G-d's food. BUT IT WAS ON Yom Kippur!

Bernie Madoff scared me as I am sure he scared you. Bernie Madoff embarrassed me, as I am sure, he embarrassed you. Bernie Madoff pulled off the most devastating ponzi scheme the world has ever known. His specialty?—milking Jews and Jewish institutions out of millions of dollars. So pathological was he that he bankrupted relatives and friends alike. He took advantage of his friendship with some of the most charitable rich Jews in America and caused their charitable institutions to crash.

It is bad enough that Jews are stereotyped and that so much anti-Semitism exists in the world. Now we have to have an infamous Jew serve as fodder for all those who wish to single us out as a people.

Come on Rabbi, Bernie is not the only one who is a swindler? Many non-Jews cheat as well. Cheating, evading taxes, laundering money are not Jewish causes. They are found among people with criminal minds who have no conscience and they don't discriminate by race, religion, or creed. There are bad apples in any bunch.

Just read Laurence Learner's new expose about the Palm Beach Country club to which Madoff belonged. He found Jews and non-Jews living Madoff s life style and subject to one vice after another. See, it's not just Jews who are guilty. So get off your high horse.

Maybe. But if Madoff were the only example, I wouldn't press. But so many other Jews seem to follow in his footsteps. We've got to the point that now they are accusing Rabbis of laundering money and selling organs on the black market. Aren't Jews supposed to try hard not to be a shande fir de goyim, an embarrassment in front of the non-Jew? Aren't Jews supposed to set a better example for the rest of society? After all, they are the people of the book who has a G-d that tells us in no uncertain terms that cheating, oppressing others, lying, and taking advantage are wrong, abhorrent, an abomination.

But it's hard for a book—even the Bible—to compete with a Mercedes Benz in the driveway, a second house in Florida, and cruises lined up for the next ten years. We Jews are reaping the benefits of a wealthy society. Like members of other religions and ethnic groups, Jews are getting richer and richer. Wealth brings its own temptations. So we are bound to get a few Bernie Madoffs, plus it's not so unusual. Get used to it!

I think that what scares me is not so much that we can produce more Bernie Madoffs. What bothers me is more personal. Are we, ordinary people, subject to these temptations, given the right circumstances? If I had riches, clout, and power, would I be capable of doing those despicable crimes that Madoff did?

This Friday night, we rehearsed the Ashamnu prayer—ay, ay, ay ... and we discussed it at length. Someone asked me, why do we say this prayer from year to year? I could never act out these sins listed there. I answered that I could not speak for anyone else. But I am afraid that under just the right circumstances—you, know, like winning the lottery, become a billionaire, having many people work for me, I could get greedy, arrogant, and throw my weight around. I probably could take advantage of a person or two. And I certainly would have enough money to cover up my wrongdoings.

When I was a child, I used to read this prayer with the same naivete. I understood that these sins were merely POSSIBILITIES, but that I did not need to worry about succumbing directly. As an adult, when I read this litany of sins, I am no longer shocked. Quite the contrary. I say to myself, wow, they are reporting these sins daily. These are sins being committed by real people. These are sins being committed by Jews. These are sins that if I had the means, might I also indulge?

There is a joke about a Jewish man who plays golf with the local priest. One day, they are talking and the priest says that he will not be around on Thursday to play golf. He has something important to attend to. "And I feel bad," he continues, "I won't be able to perform my confessional duties." No problem, the Jew said, "I've known you for a long time. I'll be happy to pinch hit." So nice of you, the priest replied. Come tomorrow and you'll watch me in action. So, the Jew stands behind the box and listens. In comes a parishioner and says, "Father, I have sinned." "What did you do, my child" "I lifted a candy bar from CVS without paying." "Don't worry. Say one hail Mary and put $5 in the tithing box." In comes someone else and says, "Father I have sinned." "What did you do my child? I did not return the $2 over ring given to me by the cashier. Don't worry, my child. Say two hail Mary's and put $5 in the tithing box." The Jew afterwards say, "I've got it Father—a piece of cake." So Thursday rolls around and the first person enters the confessional. "How are you my child? Good, father, but I have sinned." "Vat did u do?" "I committed adultery." "Oh. Haw many times?" "Two, she says." "No worry. I'll tell you vat. Go out and sin one more time. We are having a special: 3 for $5."

Yes, my friends, we seem to have no problems racking up the crimes. It is as if vices were on sale. The more we indulge, the easier it gets.

We know people have a dark side. We know we can do wrong sometimes. So, I'll put it to you again. Are we catching a Madoff disease?

Sheryl Weisman, Bernie's mistress for 21 years, wrote an expose of Bernard Madoff. She wrote the book because, naturally, Madoff ripped her off, too. And he milked Hadassah when she was the CFO for 40 million dollars. After they had broken up, they happened to be having lunch and chitchatting. He mentions that his son Mark would be taking his son to a recital and that he would be joining. He happens to mention the date and time. "But do not you know," she said, "that is Yom Kippur?"

I don't think I have to worry as much about copying Bernie Madoff because I am in shul on Yom Kippur, as are you. What is clear from Weisman's book is that to get to the point of Madoff s massive greed, you have to be a person who is riddled with vice. You have to be a person who doesn't care about G-d, who doesn't care about Jewish traditions, who is just as happy to violate the 10 commandments, who will cheat on his wife, who has no conscience, who is an arrogant SOB. None of us could or would, thank G-d, ever get to that point.

Then why did people invest with Bernie—good people, knowing that his returns were too good to be true? Oh, you haven't done that, have you, followed some reckless train of promises by people who were perfectly willing to cheat you and everyone else. I certainly have. Did we not know that there was something fishy about Madoff s claims? Many people apparently did. One fellow reported to the Senate that he had blown the whistle on Madoff years before but no one listened. Why? Because people derived status just by claiming, they invested with Bernie Madoff.

Elie Wiesel, he was cheated out of his personal savings as well as his foundation's, once called Madoff s financial heavenly acumen. Now Wiesel says he is the devil. Why do we need to identify with people who delight in circumventing the system, just so we can gain a little bit of that devilish gain? Is it kosher to bend ethics and morality ever so slightly to get an unfair advantage? So, you are not greedy yourself. Of course, not. You're just greed's best friend. You are his enabler.

There is a discussion in the Talmud about what G-d is going to ask us when we die and go to heaven. If I went around this room, I am sure that I would get many suggestions: was I good to my family, was I nice to my fellow employees, did I give a lot to charity, did I volunteer to help at my local food pantry? Great suggestions, but I would be wrong. The first question G-d will ask me is, "Was I honest in my business dealings?" Odd, that a statement about how I dealt with money should be the number one criterion for judging what kind of person I am. And do you think that G-d would be any more amused if you answered, "Well, G-d, I was honest but I hung around people who had few scruples. Now, you're not going to hold that against me, are you?"

There is a joke about an IRS agent who calls the Rabbi of a Synagogue to ask whether Moshe Pupik had given $10,000 as a donation for the High Holidays as he reported. "He will now," answered the Rabbi.

I think one of the great things that happened after Bernie Madoff and after the recession is that we are reviewing our values. We are deciding if it is worth selling our soul for temptations that might earn us a quick profit but that would destroy our reputation in the end. The questions we ask today are not just about money and investments. They are about our character, are strength, our willingness to condemn wrong doing in others as well as ourselves.

Someone joked that we need to redo the famous prayer that asks what fate is in store for us for the coming year. Given our predilection to obsess about money, we should recite the following:

How many shall be filed, and how many shall be examined.

Who shall be passed, and who shall be audited,

Who shall deduct for fire, and who for flood,

Who shall pay extra, and who shall receive refunds,

Who shall be penalized, and who shall be prosecuted,

Who shall be imprisoned, and who shall go free.

We sit here on Yom Kippur asking forgiveness so that we do not have to contemplate any of these possibilities. We go through the confessions, admitting that either we have committed the wrongdoings listed or we are guilty of contemplating them.

But my friends, once a year is not enough. The Rabbi's tell us that the struggle with the evil inclination is daily. Therefore, let me suggest that we consider expanding our opportunities to ask forgiveness from G-d. Why don't we take this confession, the short viduy, the Ashamnu prayer and recite it every day? It's small; you can fold it up and put it in your pocket. If we can stop ourselves from sinning on just one of the temptations listed there, there is a good chance that we might not go down the slippery slope and become anything near like Madoff.

Obviously, this suggestion is not just mine. If it were, you would probably laugh at me. But the idea really comes from our Rabbis who said, EVERY DAY IS A GREAT DAY FOR CONTEMPLATING OUR FAULTS. Every day IS A GOOD DAY TO REMIND OURSELVES OF OUR DARK SIDE. EVERY DAY IS AN EXCELLENT DAY FOR ASKING FORGIVENESS FOR ANY TRESPASS WE MIGHT HAVE COMMITTED AGAINST OTHERS AS WELL AS OURSELVES.

Ay, ay, ay ay ay ... what have we done?—ay, ay, ay, ay ... what are we capable of doing? ASHAMNU. And after each reading, we declare: "I am not going to harm myself or anyone else by ACTING unethically or immorally." PROMISE.

But don't just take my word that confession should be done daily. There is a fellow, a former master swindler, a Syrian Jew, who has spent the last 20 years of his life, going around lecturing on how to prevent people from committing white collar crimes. His name is Sam Antar and he is the cousin and CFO of Crazy Eddie, the electronics chain who helped bilk customers, investors, and the government out of hundreds of millions of dollars. They trusted Antar as they did Madoff. His tells audiences everywhere he goes, "You have to be vigilant about not allowing yourselves any opportunity to sin, or you will not be able to go back. The price you pay for moral indulgence is that you have no chance for redemption, no chance for reconciliation, no way for the thousands you cheated to forgive you. No way for G-d to give you a pass. Jail time is nothing compared with the years of remorse that you have to live with for the rest of your life. So, ask for forgiveness EVERY DAY OF YOUR LIFE."

If we don't work individually on our moral shortcomings, my friends, no one will do it for us. As they say in any of the 12 step programs, if we don't admit we are capable of hurting others, we can never heal from the audaciousness, greed, and arrogance that made Bernie Madoff and others like him possible.

I pray that this year will be the one in which we foreswear greed or any of its derivatives and commit ourselves to penitence, charity, and good deeds so that the Bernie Madoff in us never be given a chance to raise its ugly head.

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