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Which Of These is the Nobel Peace Prize Winner?

rabbifink — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 15:21:28 +0000

Last week Bernie Madoff was sentenced to 150 years in prison. In the early days of my blog I wrote a couple of Madoff posts (check them out if you have not seen them).

His recent sentencing reminded me about something that I did not post in the fallout from the scandal. This post is not “news” but its message is timeless.

Shortly after Madoff confessed his crimes and the number of victims began to pile up, it was revealed that noted author and famous Holocaust survivor, Eli Wiesel was defrauded of $37 million. Another victim of note was actor Kevin Bacon, married to fellow actor Keyra Sedgwick, who was reportedly cleaned out by Madoff’s scheme.

Wiesel’s reaction was predictable. He called for Madoff’s head and publicly lobbied for Madoff to be severely punished. There was name-calling, as Wiesel called Madoff “evil, thief, a scoundrel” and Wiesel came off as a justifiably broken, bitter, and angry man.

Wiesel made headlines when he was asked the following question at a breakfast meeting:

Asked if he could forgive Madoff, Wiesel paused for a very long moment. “Could I ever forgive him?” he asked, almost to himself. Finally, he said firmly “No,” to a burst of applause.

Nobel Peace Prize winner, Elie Wiesel could not make peace with the man who defrauded him.

(Equally disturbing is the round of applause following an announcement that Madoff was unforgivable. None of those who applauded have ever been forgiven?)

What was interesting to me was the reaction by actors Kevin Bacon and Keyra Sedgwick when they commented on their losses to Madoff. Sedgwick spoke on their behalf:

“…the fact of the matter is that we did not lose everything, we lost hard-earned money that we worked very hard for that was what we thought in a safe place. It’s painful but a lot of people lost a lot more. And we have a lot of things to be grateful for in our life, and we never ever forget that.”

I sense a completely different tone from the Hollywood couple than that of Wiesel. They seem at peace with their prediciment and recognize that money is just money. There is so much more to be thankful and appreciative for in life that it seems silly to get angry and bitter over a tough financial situation.

Contrast that attitude with Wiesel and maybe we should give the Bacon / Sedgwick couple a Peace Prize too!

Believe me, I can understand Wiesel’s cantankerous mood after losing his personal fortune and his charity’s funds, especially after surviving the Holocaust. I may have had the same reaction. What is refreshing to me, is the reaction of the Hollywood couple. They realize that it is really just money and they have a lot of other things to be thankful for in their lives.

Many of us are going to financial hardship in these tough economic times. It is important for us to keep everything in perspective as remember it is just money and we do have so much else for we should be thankful.

Madoff's alleged misdeeds spark feelings of betrayal, outrage in L.A.'s Jewish community – Los Angeles Times

rabbifink — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 01:15:03 +0000

Madoff’s alleged misdeeds spark feelings of betrayal, outrage in L.A.’s Jewish community – Los Angeles Times.

This LA Times article actually encompasses the points I made yesterday in my post about a similar NY Times article.

Except there are still some Jewish elitists who “disown” Madoff (the first “Rabbis” mentioned in the article”). Rabbi Adlerstein and Harriet Rossetto echoed my sentiments of learning from the incident and Madoff’s opportunity for Tshuva.

Rossetto even goes so far to say that maybe Madoff is the messenger teaching us to redefine our values. That is a good approach. That is a healthy approach.

Divorcing ourselves from Madoff by saying “Madoff does not represent the Jewish people, not even remotely” is useless and inaccurate. Firstly, no one represents the Jewish people, we each represent ourselves. Secondly, that kind of disownment is not our place as humans and fellow Jews. He is still a Jew and yes he made mistakes but haven’t we all?

In Madoff Scandal, Jews Feel an Acute Betrayal – NYTimes.com

rabbifink — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 05:43:08 +0000

In Madoff Scandal, Jews Feel an Acute Betrayal – NYTimes.com

This NY Times article raises some interesting issues. Firstly, does Madoff reflect on “Jews” – are we all judged as a nation / religion by the actions of individuals? Is it anti-semitism when non-Jews express displeasure with the actions of Jews who act like idiots? Is there really no teshuva for Madoff? the last “rabbi” quoted seems to thing the Madoff is doomed to hell with no chance for redemption. Last I checked teshuva was always an option.

Besides all those questions what really irked me about this article was the self-righteousness of these non-observant Jews looking down from their pedestal of morality on Madoff. He is not excommunicated from the Jewish people because he is a thief! He is a Jewish thief and he is still our brother. He needs his people now more than ever to be sympathetic to his dire situation. He is not excused but we are not allowed to judge him either. Everyone does things that are wrong, everyone fails a moral challenge along the way. We are no different from Madoff. His sins do have grander repercussions and resonate more strongly throughout the world but at the end of the day he is just another person who messed up.

It is useless to paint him as a non-Jewish Jew because of his mistakes. As Jews we believe that mistakes are inevitable, it is how we dael with those mistakes that defines us. Not a bunch of “Rabbis” telling the NY Times that Madoff isn’t really Jewish because he is a crook!