There is a teaching in the Talmud that says an individual who comes before God after death will be asked a series of questions, the first one of which is, \u201cWere you honest in your business dealings?\u201d\u009d But it is the Ten Commandments that have weighed most heavily on the mind of Rabbi David Wolpe of Sinai Temple in Los Angeles in light of the sins for which Bernard L. Madoff stands accused.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou shouldn\u2019t steal,\u201d\u009d Rabbi Wolpe said. \u201cAnd this is theft on a global scale.\u201d\u009d<\/p>\n
The full scope of the misdeeds to which Mr. Madoff has confessed in swindling individuals and charitable groups has yet to be calculated, and he is far from being convicted. But Jews all over the country are already sending up something of a communal cry over a cost they say goes beyond the financial to the theological and the personal.<\/p>\n
This is a really big deal. I was chatting online with a Jewish friend in New York today and he said “It’s shaken the community like nothing I’ve ever seen” with the possible exception of 9\/11. Read it all<\/a>.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" There is a teaching in the Talmud that says an individual who comes before God after death will be asked a series of questions, the first one of which is, \u201cWere you honest in your business dealings?\u201d\u009d But it is…<\/span><\/p>\n