Submitted Comments RSS Feed Comments by Mary Wagner
Posted in: Rabbi: Kick Madoff out of the Jewish people
I, too, am not Jewish, but I grew up within a large, vibrant Jewish community, and my parents had many friends, other couples, with whom they spent much of their socializing time, and I had many Jewish friends during my childhood--before I moved thousands of miles away. Perhaps this is the reason that Rabbi Hammerman's near-final comment, "Our own children are watching us," jumped out for me. All of us who are parents know that young people listen to what you do for a long time before they decide if they are going to listen to anything you say. For this reason alone, I believe that some sanction (I am not familiar with Judaism's ecclesiastical measures that could be brought to bear) that would impress upon the children, who are indeed watching, that would call out what must be called "sin." A failure to act could have very serious consequences for their formation as Jews, for their self-understanding and their connection, and commitment, to their Jewish community and congregation (I am Catholic, so I ask forgiveness for not knowing how one refers to the congregation with whom one gathers on the Sabbath). In her very flippant comment, ("magdalyn c. prossii") said, "If you guys excommunicate Madoff, please point him toward the nearest Catholic Church. We Catholics are pretty good at forgiveness." It is true that, to put something rather complex in simple terms, we are taught that "what cannot be excused must be forgiven." But this is not the sort of forgiveness that Dietrich Bonhoeffer called "cheap grace." (Bonhoeffer was a clergyman who openly opposed Hitler; he spent years in one of the camps, and one of Hitler's final orders before going into "the Bunker" was that Bonhoeffer be hanged--and he was.) If you've heard the term "sack cloth and ashees," you will have had an inkling of what "penance" was sometimes required before the penitent's sin was absolve. I have a bedrock conviction about the Jewish community which leads me to conclude that any member who perpetrated such a transgression would be called to account if the victims were Jewish or if they were not. But I believe that Mr. Madoff should be called to account by whatever means are set out in the sacred sources of the Jewish people. I'd like also to express my personal regret that so many people and worthy organizations and foundations have been decimated by this man's actions. Avarice attempts to work its way with us whether we are of modest or lavish means, and this is a particularly good "teachable moment" for demonstrating this to our children. Mary Wagner
RSS Feed Breaking News
Updated 02/09/12 @ 05:54PM EST
- A poll showed that nearly half of likely voters believed the United States should use military force to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon.
- Rabbi Gunther Plaut, a major figure in Reform Judaism, died in Toronto.
- The application for a proposed Hebrew-language charter school was accepted by the District of Columbia Public Charter School board.
- A truck driving calves from Eilat to the Golan Heights was hijacked into the West Bank.
- U.S. Rep. Howard Berman introduced legislation that would allow eligible Israeli nationals to receive non-immigrant investor visas in the United States.
- Poll: Half of U.S. voters back strike on nuclear Iran
- Reform leader Rabbi Gunther Plaut dies
- D.C. Hebrew-language charter school accepted for review
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- Berman moves to grant investor visas to Israelis
- Holy cow! Calves hijacked into Palestinian territory
- Report: Israeli journalist also works for prime minister
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Posted in: The search for Wallenberg
03/05/09 05:50 AM
According to the documentary on his life, I Have Never Forgotten You, in response to a plea for assistance from Mr. Wallenberg's mother in 1977, Simon Weisenthal raised the issue, publically and privately, at every available opportunity. Mr. Wallenberg was made an honorary American citizen so that the American government could press his case with the Russians/Soviets. It would be an honor to Mr. Weisenthal's memory, and simple justice, if President Obama were to press Mr. Putin on this issue. Whatever they did to him will have been no worse than what the world suspected was done, so it could be presented to Mr. Putin as a matter of honor.