Consider Yourself Rich
D'var
Torah: Vayeshev
December 19, 2008
Consider yourself rich. Even in these challenging economic times, consider yourself rich. If your net worth, big or small, is about the same at the end of this week as it was at the beginning, consider yourself rich. If you haven’t lost millions or billions this week, consider yourself rich. That you never had millions to lose is besides the fact. You didn’t lose it. That you never heard the name of Bernard Madoff before this week, consider yourself lucky. That you never gave him a penny with which to scheme and scam consider yourself fortunate. This is the week that people who stuff their cash under their mattress are busy running around saying I told you so.
Maimonides, in his book of Jewish law, the Mishne Torah, says that if a rich man falls upon hard financial times and is used to ride upon a horse, sufficient charity funds should be given for him to ride on a horse, and if he is used to having a servant run in front of him, charity funds should be used to have a servant run in front of him. The Rambam adds that there is no obligation to restore all of his wealth but evidently there is an interest in restoring some of the amenities that wealth brought him. This is different from the poor man who can’t even afford to put a meal on the table. Sufficient charity should be given to provide that simple meal.
My immediate reaction to the news of the tremendous losses of life fortunes was to truly feel sad for those who went overnight from having a fortune to being amongst the unfortunate. I could understand the empathy inherent in the Rambam’s Mishne Torah for the wealthy who have fallen from the pinnacle into the pit. I feel immeasurably worse however for schools and philanthropic endeavors that had the bulk or all of their money invested with this alleged schemer. We have no idea yet how this will ultimately affect the American Jewish community. Millions and millions of Jewish organizational money was invested with Madoff. Those being served by those funds are now out in the cold. Organizations, foundations, synagogues, institutions that have benefited by the largess of the wealthy that invested with Madoff will be hit hard.
What a week this has been. If we thought we heard it all with Governor Rod Blagojevich, we were then introduced to Bernard Madoff. They would be two worthy contestants for a gold medal in the most bizarre and corrupt men olympics. How does a man who has achieved the high office of Governor of a great state behave in such a vulgar and seemingly illegal manner? I guess we could ask more than one former governor of Illinois to explain it. How does a man who sits on the board of religious institutions, who is entrusted with such fantastic sums by friends and relatives go to sleep at night knowing that the whole enterprise is nothing more than a scam? Every day he has to devise new and better ways to deceive each person who puts their faith and fortune in his care while trying to convince him more and more how trustworthy he is. One can’t help but be astounded by both men. I am.
We should not be surprised that there is something in our Parsha that responds to this unprecedented financial calamity and the anguish that results from it. I mentioned above that so many fell from pinnacle to the pits. Well that is the story of Joseph which we begin to read again this week. Joseph goes from being the favorite son of father Jacob to finding himself alone in the pit in which his brothers placed him and then sold to the Ishmaelites. His good fortune is gone. It doesn’t take long however until he climbs out of the pit to a plum position, without even paying off Gov. Blagojevich, in the house of Potiphar. Refusing to play with Potiphar’s wife, Joseph pays a steep price, loses his fortune and again finds himself in the pits of prison. It’s only a matter of time though until he rises once again and becomes one of most powerful and prominent men in all of Egypt. Joseph devises a great savings plan that enables Egypt to feed all of Egypt and beyond. His is no scam. It’s the real thing.
For those who find themselves in the pits today, there is reason to be hopeful. They should not despair. When we find ourselves in the pits as we do at times neither should we despair. They may not restore themselves to their former positions of extraordinary wealth, but they don’t have to remain in the pits any longer than Joseph did. I have a sense that those who made a fortune once have the ability to bounce back and at least land on their feet again. I truly hope they can. I hope Jewish organizations, institutions and charitable foundations who placed their trust in Madoff will be able to regroup and those dependent on their services will not be left out in the cold.
Hanukkah celebrates the light growing brighter and stronger. There are brighter days ahead. This is a holiday of hope so let’s hope so. In the meantime we haven’t lost a large or small fortune this week. Consider yourself rich. With the price of gas dropping more and more consider yourself richer. The amount of gas you bought for close to $4.00 over the summer will take you, if not eight times as far, almost twice as far. There is much to celebrate!
Shabbat Shalom and Happy Hanukkah.
