A Letter To Madoff

Very, very sad... but Bernie Madoff is simply the most prominent figure in the vast debacle that has unfolded in the past 8+ years in our government, on Wall Street; in the Real Estate, Banking and Mortgage industries. I feel like I'm witnessing first hand the unraveling and fall of the current Roman Empire. Our mid-east enemies evidently gleefully see this all as proof of our wickedness. Very sad indeed... and it's still playing out and no-one can see when or how it will end.

Rabbi Gellman errs in stating "a betrayal is an intentional wounding." A minor point, but worth noting -- betrayals are what we experience as a result of others' acts or failures, and only occasionally are these acts or failures deliberate. As we know a small lie, perhaps an innocent lie, may soon require a larger lie. For people of ordinary moral capacity, it is easy to get swallowed up by an ever-expanding lie. That's why the Madoff tragedy is not a true Ponzi scheme. The motives are different. Ponzi set out to deliberately defraud his victims whereas Madoff slipped further and further as his borrowing from new investors to pay old ones (not an uncommon practice) got out of hand. Madoff, like most of us, needed external censors to put the brakes on. We were betrayed, but the betrayal was the consequence of weakness not a deliberate act against us. Unless we hear from Madoff and he tells us otherwise.

This idea that somehow the Rabbi is to blame for Jew-hatred or should "heal his own shame" is astoundingly ignorant. Have you ever dealt with a bigot? They don't care what you think ... they don't care what stories you write. Daniel Pearl had to answer three questions before he was beheaded: Are you Jewish? Is your mother Jewish? Was your grandmother Jewish?

Madoff was A Jew, but when the bigots speak of Jews, they don't separate us from each other. They claim "the Jews" killed Jesus, ignoring the Jews who were home that day, who never heard of Jesus, and the fact that Jesus was one of those "the Jews," as were most of the men following him around. The Koran, the alleged book of peace, is just one big anti-the Jews text ... every three pages, the bigot Mohammed talks about the evil of "the Jews," while stealing the names of their prophets and their history for his "third book." One Jew commits one act of wrongness and "the Jews" are hated by all - this has been standard practice for ever.

Don't pick on the Rabbi for trying to save his people from a world so fond of indicting all Jews with the guilt of one Jew or some Jews. He writes for publication all of the time, so why shouldn't he write about this? Why is it silly or maudlin to tell the truth?

This letter might help those of us who are appalled by what Madoff has done but photos of the weasal says it all. There is such a smirk on his face. It seems to say that he is proud that he pulled it off for as long as he has and so what if he is in prison the rest of his life. He had a good ride. It would be a miracle if he would feel shame and remorse. May such a miracle happen.

This was an excellent letter, with very good and wise points. From the Protestant perspective I would like to add that both the faithful godly Jesus and the betrayer Judas were/are Jews...a criminal is a criminal in any place, in any race. So why distinguish his Jewishness...it's because they're looking for a reason to support their anti-Semitism as our good Rabbi says here...and it spreads like cancer the more it's fed...it is a curse to any people...as a Bible teacher I don't know how many times I've had to explain that the Bible is NOT anti-Semitic...that that attitude cannot be tolerated.

This letter was just silly. Madoff committed a betrayal so huge that it deserves another word? No. All he did is what plenty of other people do. He was just more successful at it. His abomination was so alien to our nature and values that it can't be explained? Ever heard of greed and dishonesty? Those are perfectly native to human nature and are quite easy to explain.

Normdepalma..... said, "Hopefully the lack of response will teach Newsweek and other news organizations to refrain from
publishing idiotic immature drivel"..... Who do you think owns these news organizations ? JEWS....Don't suggest what the Jews will and will not do....we will do what we want.....LOL

I am happy to see that few people have commented on this pathetic attempt by a publicity hound Rabbi to inject himself into a scandal. Hopefully the lack of response will teach Newsweek and other news organizations to refrain from publishing idiotic immature drivel.

I just wanted the rabbi to know that I am a Christian and that I do not believe that any one person gives a whole sect of people a bad name. For what Mr. Madoff did, he will suffer the consequences and any Christian that plays the "Jew game" as you call it, should know that we too are persecuted for our beliefs and should never prey on any one because of their beliefs.

My guess is that Madeoff is a very sick compulsive gambler that "took" money illegally once and vowed to himself when he made a "hit" he would give it back. It than began to snowball. Also, he found it easy to steal as no one (it appears) was properly overseeing his transactions or the annual "results" of his companies. So many Jews have accomplished so much to improve life, the arts, medicine, education and one person can cause so much havoc. The compulsive gambler is very sick person with an incurable emotional illness. Bernie Madoff needs Rabbi Twerski to sit with him (Rabbi Twerski is probably the foremost Rabbi in the world with knowledge of addictions) and realize how sick he is and to admit what he has done. The trust is more sacred than the money and those who have lost their life savings remain as a human being with faith and hope to give to the world in non-monetary terms; how about talking to students as to the importance of life itself not the possessions that comes with wealth? Jail is too good for Madeoff; why give him a bed and meals? Stoning is barbaric. Water boarding is not legal (my belief). How about his family funding a solitary confinement separate place in Federal secret land with no visitors or outside communications. 24 - 7 recordings of people ruined by him will play on and on stating whatever they want to says until he dies. The volume should be changed throughout out the day; but never soft enough for him to sleep. Let him hear it all day and night. I am too kind to say parachute him into the Gaza strip... GOD will judge him...

sunnyboy1....tell Einstein and Oppenheimer that.... And what accomplishments have YOU made that qualifies you to make such a statement.... Also. I guess non-Jews are not as smart as Jews to be able to "pool together".....like Jews do.....

The worst thing that a Jew can do is to desecrate the holiness of God ("chillul Hashem")--one is to avoid it at all costs, even at the cost of one's life. Mr. Madoff has committed such an act.

Madoff has to rip off Jewish people ???it???s simply because they are the ones who have the money! Black people committ most crimes against black people. The dazzling Jewish success in America with the acquisition of obscene amounts of money, inordinate portion of power, privilege, prestige, propaganda and influence, unrivaled success in business and the dominance in professions of law and medicine and in sciences and power and control of universities, courts and the government, and also huge influence of public opinion, manipulation of public media, book publishing, film and TV, advertizing and marketing, ???all of that and more ???could after all??? turn out to be a spectacular form of self-undoing for the Jewish people, spiritually speaking? And you would want to know why? It could be simply because power corrupts! All of this is also playing a big role in America???s steady decline. Jews helped to create this ???no fault??? ???all is allowed??? environment in America for their own benefit. These days we would rather advertize than do hard work and make a good product. We rather litigate and lobby, to change laws rather than improve. We would rather run a business to the ground with poor management and ignorance. Then file for chapter 11bankruptcy, damning the workers who have given their lives to work. After all Bankruptcy law is the most profitable form of law practice in big firs! Who???s thinking about profiting from that? And we would move money around and around in shall games and live off of other people. All of these seem rather obvious and largely Jewish enterprises. Read all those columnists in the media, including the present company??? you???ll be shocked by their lack of new ideas. But they go on and on. From Washington to Hollywood and to the Wall Street we???ve seen the extravagant decay and corruptions. As Alexander Solzhenitsyn pointed out that we Americans live on the ???Outer limits of the law.??? No one is responsible for their acts and no one is in charge. ???Everything is permitted, if it???s remotely legal?????? America has fallen down to 41st in infant mortality among nations in the world and 40th in life expectancy. Washington DC has a higher rate of HIV/AIDS than on the Caribbean island of Haiti, while ???Sex and City??? is telling our young women that promiscuity is power and an important part of her self-discovery! Just like most churches have become inextricable linked with right wing political movements, nowadays??? most Synagogues have become centers for making deals and networking??? promoters of same of corruptions and social injustice and decay. The Rabbi has seen the writing on the wall!

I don't care if this Madoff guy is a Jew or whatever. The thing that irks me is when you see a picture of him he has a s**t eating grin on his face. Why? Because he knows he will do a few months in minumin security and then have the rest of his life to spend the money he has hidden somewhere. If we start hanging these crooked sobs that do this stuff I bet it would stop. Wonder what would happened if this guy lived in China or Russia?