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by Rabbi Steven Schwartz
Each year it seems that there is one particular issue that emerges as the most commonly referred to theme in HHD sermons, and this year, from what I can tell, that issue is actually a person, namely Bernie Madoff. I am sure I don’t need to remind you -and maybe you’d rather not be reminded - of who Bernie Madoff is - he was running perhaps the largest ponzi scheme of all time from his offices in NY and London, and by the time he was caught he had defrauded his investors of billions of dollars. And of course what made Bernie Madoff particularly interesting, or embarrassing, or both to the Jewish community is that he himself is a Jew.
Do you think Bernie Madoff is in shul today? Imagine for a moment, if you will, Mr. Madoff coming to shul on YK, and standing with the congregation to recite the list of sins. I wonder which one he would focus on? Would it be bagadnu, dealing treacherously? Or gazalnu, stealing? Perhaps tafalnu sheker, practicing deceit? Rashanu might be good for him, acting wickedly. Titanu is perfect for him - leading others astray.
And I think that is the key point. Because what is so striking about the Bernie Madoff story is not that there was a Bernie Madoff - there have been plenty of Bernie Madoffs before, and plenty yet to come. But what is truly astonishing about Bernie Madoff is that there were so many people who were willing and ready to be lead astray by him.
Think of the list for a moment - it is filled with top notch respectable organizations like Hadassah and Yeshiva University and various Federations around the country; and it is filled with brilliant individuals, among them many prominent Jews and their foundations: Robert Lapin, of the Lapin Foundation, and Ellie Weisel and his foundation. And it seems to me that is what the Madoff story is really about - it’s about Hadassah, a sophisticated well run organization, and Weisel, a very smart person, and all those others, experienced and wise in the ways of the world, who bought into this hocus pocus without seeing the obvious danger.
How could it have happened, we all were asking? But in reality it is very simple. It happened because people were ready for it to happen - they wanted to believe it was true. They wanted to believe there was an easy path to success, and a short cut that could be discovered to reach their goals - they had been looking for it their whole lives! And along came Bernie Madoff, and he said, “here it is! That easy path you’ve been looking for all these years - I’ve finally discovered it. Come with me, and I will show it to you.”
Sound familiar at all? Have you ever heard that message? have you ever been tempted by the promise of easy access to a goal that you have desired? I would bet you probably have. Because I feel like those promises are all around us today - Almost anywhere we turn we can find a Bernie Madoff standing there calling out to us with a promise of an easy path to a life of achievement and success and meaning and satisfaction, if only we buy into it.
Now I understand that kind of promise is something that religion has been holding out to people for a long time - eternal life! salvation! spiritual satisfaction and fulfillment! That is why people flock to the mega churches today - you know some of the mega churches have 10, 15, 20 thousand people showing up for Sunday morning services. Why? They want to see if that promise could actually be true - because they want it to be true! And lest we think this only happens in Christian circles, Judaism has its own version - maybe not so many people in one place at one time, but the message is the same - with organizations like Aish HaTorah, and some of the ideology that you find in the Ultra Orthodox world today - and you could throw into it Madonna’s take on Kabbalah, by the way. In each case they talk about promises that secrets will be revealed, that fulfillment and meaning are at hand, and that the path to success and satisfaction is clear and uncluttered.
And I can understand the appeal of that message - because it tells you you don’t have to think too much, you don’t have to worry - you don’t have to wrestle and struggle, it is all laid out for you in God’s plan. All you have to do is accept the plan, and come into the tent, and you will find salvation. And that is a very comforting idea, tempting even - it certainly has been tempting people for thousands of years now.
But it seems to me what has changed today is that that message, that promise, doesn’t only come to us from the world of religion - today it comes from everywhere. All you have to do is turn on the radio or watch TV for a few minutes and you will see or hear how a medicine will change your life, or a diet will suddenly enable you to drop that extra weight, or a work out machine will give you a perfect set of toned muscles, or you can almost immediately or completely reduce your debt to nothing - and all of it without any effort on your part. Or you can just simply walk into Barnes and Noble, and you will find tables piled high with self help books that will promise you a perfectly organized, healthy, happy, secure, and fulfilled life. And the vast majority of them imply that it is not even that difficult - it is just a matter of buying this book, or following this program, and before you know it you’ll be there - and where is there? where you’ve always wanted to be.
Some of you may have heard of, or you may have read, a book called “the Secret.” That book has been at the top of the NY Times advice/how to best seller list for 140 weeks straight. Here is how the book advertises itself, the blurb on its dust jacket:
“The Secret reveals the most powerful law in the universe. The knowledge of this law has run like a golden thread through the lives and teachings of all the prophets, sages, seers and saviors in the world’s history, and through the lives of all truly great men and women. All that they have accomplished, or attained, has been done in accordance with this most powerful law.”
And of course the implication is that if you buy the book and read it, you also will have access to this great secret, and your life will become what you had always hoped it would be. Now that is quite a promise - and maybe to us it sounds silly, or maybe not, but the fact of the matter is that millions and millions of copies of that book were sold, and then a movie was made from the book, and millions and millions of copies of the DVD sold. So at the very least it is a powerful illustration of how strong a pull that kind of promise holds for people.
Friends, I too could stand here, to deliver a similar promise. I could tell you that I’ve discovered the secret of living a fulfilled and happy life. I could tell you to forget the fundamentalists, the mystics, the self help books, and the inspirational speakers, because I have the real goods right here. If you just listen to what I have to say, all of your problems will vanish. But if I gave that sermon, I’d be Rabbi Bernie Madoff and I’d be lying to you, and I would be lying to myself, because the fact of the matter is, no such secret exists.
- There are no guaranteed programs, no books to read, no secret formulas to be employed, no magic wands to be waved. Regardless of what you do, what techniques you try, how many yoga classes you take, self-help books you read, red threads you wear around your wrist, or money you earn, you will remain vulnerable and life will present an incredible challenge; it will be messy, complicated, unpredictable, frequently difficult, sometimes unbearably sad and all too often disappointing.
To me, the great miracle and meaning of human life - what I would say is the great secret of human life - is this. Despite knowing how challenging life may be, despite knowing that there are no guarantees, we still choose to live with incredible grace, dignity, morality, selflessness, unfathomable strength and hope. Now you may not find that message in a self help book at Barnes and Noble, but you can find it in the mahzor, its on every page. That’s what the High Holy Days come to remind us of, to restore once again to our lives.
There is a story in the Talmud about a man who is on a long journey - as he walks along the way he comes to a fork in the road, where an old man sits upon a stone. “Which way to the city?” the traveller asks. The old man points down the road to his right - “this is a short way that is long,” he says. “And the other way?” asks the traveller. “That is the long way that is short,” replies the old man. Confused, as you may imagine, the traveller decides to try the shorter route. Within a mile or so he can already see the city in front of him, but the road turns into a muddy path, then thorn bushes block his way, and finally a deep and fast moving stream. So he turns back. When he again comes to the crossroads he travels the other path, and it is much longer. It zigs and zags, it crosses through a forest, and up the side of a mountain. The same deep stream crosses across it, but there is a bridge there. And eventually, after a long, challenging, and tiring journey, the traveller is able to arrive at his long sought destination.
That is such a Jewish story, because you know that is the way Jews do things. It seems like it is never easy with us. Imagine for a moment what Jewish history would have been like if Jews had looked for the short cuts, for the easiest path. Would Israel exist today if the early settlers had not committed to the grueling process of working the land and building communities from scratch? In the Torah the Israelites wandered 40 years in the desert to get to the Promised land - what if they had just stopped at an Oasis along the way? It certainly would have been easier! And in fact God’s message to Abraham is that one day his descendants will be like the stars in the sky, but only after the experience of slavery in Egypt. No, the Jewish way is the longer road. We have been doing it for a long time - lets not change now.
And after all, if you think about it, isn’t everything truly worthwhile that we do in life sometimes difficult, often challenging, and frequently requiring from us self sacrifice? Marriage, raising children, having a successful career, running a business, being a loyal friend, doing well in school, giving back to your community, making a sports team for that matter, and oh, by the way living a committed Jewish life? We would probably all have those items on a list of life’s important achievements - and yet all of them are at times demanding, difficult, patience testing, headache inducing, frustrating; but is there anything more rewarding in this life than the relationships that we build over time with the people that we love, or the work and time that we put in to the things we deeply believe in?
A week ago Friday night, the first night of Rosh Hashannah, after services and a lovely dinner with my family I went out in the neighborhood to walk our dog. It was a beautiful night - clear, with a hint of fall in the air; a new year had begun, and I was very grateful. As I walked, here and there neighbors were out enjoying the night or tidying something up in the yard. And three or four times, as I walked, a neighbor called out to me - happy new year! - you know, word gets around there is a rabbi in the neighborhood - But the striking thing to me - these were not my Jewish neighbors wishing me happy new year - in each case I happened to know it was someone who was not Jewish.
And I thought - what an incredible thing - my father grew up here in Baltimore, on Park Heights Terrace - some of you I am sure know where that is - and he remembers on more than one occasion being chased home by non Jewish kids yelling anti-semitic slurs at him after school, and he also remembers when signs at local city swimming pools read “no dogs or Jews allowed.” And here I am, his son - I live about 10 miles from where he grew up - and it is one generation later - one generation! - and I walk through my neighborhood on a Rosh Hashannah eve, and I have people - again, people who are not Jewish - wishing me a happy new year.
Now part of that has to do with changes in society, thank God - that we are more open, understanding, and pluralistic here in the United States than ever before. But a major part of it also has to do with what our community has been able to create in a single century. The institutions that we have built - the financial resources that we have developed - and the reputation for excellence and integrity that we have garnered. That journey to get us where we are today was not an easy one. We are where we are today NOT because we discovered some short cut, or easy road; instead, we are where we are today because our parents and grandparents were incredibly determined, because they worked their tails off, frankly, because they were more than ready to sacrifice their own needs for us, and because they were guided by the values and morals of our tradition. We are where we are today because of the difficult road that they chose to walk on.
So don’t we have a responsibility - as their children and grandchildren and great grandchildren - to walk on that same road? I worry sometimes that we sit where we are today, we look around, and we feel satisfied - because we are in a good place! But we should all remember that that challenging road continues up ahead of us. And we should all understand - especially on a Yom Kippur day - that there is much work left to be done - in our lives, for sure; but also in our community, and without question in our world. The most important thing to understand is this: We all have a role to play in that work, we all have a place where our feet can walk on that road. There are little things that we can do, there are grand ideas that we can contribute to. But as is always the case, we have to take the first steps. Those are usually the hardest. But once we get on the road we will find an amazing journey - not an easy one - but an amazing one - that is truly filled with meaning, with wonder, and with deep and abiding satisfaction.
- in the year that is about to begin, let us all walk on that road together; our lives will be better for it, and at the end of the road, we will be leaving the world a better place because of it - may God help us in our journeys - amen
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