Special thanks to my cousin Arlene for encouraging me to put pen to paper, or rather finger to keys on the Madoff scandal. It has been a while since I have set down to write so it’s good to be with you all again.
There is so much being said about Madoff, it is hard to come up with original material, stuff worth reading that is not a regurgitation of what others are saying. For me, the real story is the fact that Madoff did not discriminate on who he defrauded and it appears to be that Jewish philanthropies have suffered the most. I think that is the part that is so shocking to many people.
There is no formally written commercial code of conduct on business dealings between Jews written in the last thousand years. There is a wealth of information in the teachings of the Torah and how Jews should conduct themselves in business dealings in general. The Torah speaks specifically about forbidding the charge of usurious interest and other common sense issues. The Torah also extends from common sense to specific activities that are forbidden. However no where does it say, ‘Thou shalt not defraud another Jew’. G-d would clearly not delineate between Jews and any other nation. However, the unspoken code of conduct is what has been breached in this instance. And for me, that is what is most shocking. Over and above the writings 5000 years old there is common understanding that you just don’t do this.
The underlying story of Madoff is still unfolding . The early indications is that the public is blasé about the response to the scandal. They just see it as a number of super-wealthy people that have lost money. Some of which now have to live every day kind of lives. Boo hoo. The people that will be impacted the most will be those that depend on the charities to survive. That impact will be felt for decades.
There is so much being said about Madoff, it is hard to come up with original material, stuff worth reading that is not a regurgitation of what others are saying. For me, the real story is the fact that Madoff did not discriminate on who he defrauded and it appears to be that Jewish philanthropies have suffered the most. I think that is the part that is so shocking to many people.
There is no formally written commercial code of conduct on business dealings between Jews written in the last thousand years. There is a wealth of information in the teachings of the Torah and how Jews should conduct themselves in business dealings in general. The Torah speaks specifically about forbidding the charge of usurious interest and other common sense issues. The Torah also extends from common sense to specific activities that are forbidden. However no where does it say, ‘Thou shalt not defraud another Jew’. G-d would clearly not delineate between Jews and any other nation. However, the unspoken code of conduct is what has been breached in this instance. And for me, that is what is most shocking. Over and above the writings 5000 years old there is common understanding that you just don’t do this.
The underlying story of Madoff is still unfolding . The early indications is that the public is blasé about the response to the scandal. They just see it as a number of super-wealthy people that have lost money. Some of which now have to live every day kind of lives. Boo hoo. The people that will be impacted the most will be those that depend on the charities to survive. That impact will be felt for decades.
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