I’m Angry, Too, About Madoff. But Now What? - Jewish Anger over Madoff Betrayal

I’m Angry, Too, About Madoff. But Now What?

by Robert Katz
Special To The Jewish Week

Eight years ago, when I worked for a worthy Israeli institution, the dot-com bust had hit and we were scrambling for help. I approached a stalwart supporter for emergency assistance for the school. His response startled me, and indoctrinated me in what I call the “Psychology of Jewish Giving.”
The gentleman, with a serious and concerned look on his face, informed me that he had lost “millions” in the last year. And then came the hammer: “You have to understand,” he confided, “that if I don’t have $5 million liquid in my bank account, I can’t sleep at night. Something’s wrong. It’s a sign that I’m failing.” I closed my eyes, and thought back to my youth and our small apartment in Brooklyn, watching
my Holocaust survivor parents opening the couch every night, and closing it the next morning, so that we children could share the bedrooms.

The donor had told me his deepest, darkest fear. An imaginary red line had been crossed — his liquidity was below $5 million, and he felt unable to help. Who was I to criticize him, or question his motives? He was a generous and good man, and through his tzedakah had accomplished so much for people in need.
During this recession, and especially post-Madoff, philosophical questions resonate among us professionals as to our modus operandi, and rightfully so. The Jewish philanthropic world is psychologically debilitated, in a near-catatonic state. Many donors are understandably paralyzed, fearful of the future and reluctant to part with funds, causing a deafening holding pattern. Yet who am I, as a Jewish communal servant, to count others’ money? I have no right.

Yet, at the end of the day, how can we Jewish communal professionals not do our best to work toward helping our orphans and widows, our hungry and our homeless? We need to help people understand that tzedakah is the purest form of human correction.

David Sable, in a Jewish Week Opinion piece (“Get Angry Over Madoff Scandal,” Jan. 16), lamented the cult of money that has been created, and the Shakespearean way it has come crashing down. Over the years, some of my own angels of Jewish philanthropy have left me crestfallen. But it is still charity that makes our world go ’round. And while the evil of greed, hubris and super-egotism must be immediately marginalized by the organized Jewish community, there are plenty of examples of inspiring men and women who deserve recognition.

There are so many volunteers who work countless hours organizing charitable dinners, making phone calls, sitting in productive board meetings and doing other thankless tasks.

There are many donors who give so generously because they want to make an impact on the Jewish world, to leave a lasting legacy of love and caring and hope.

There are boys and girls and their bar/bat mitzvah projects. When have we ever been blessed to witness this trend before? Countless young adults, coming of age, are twinning their celebrations with less fortunate children, often donating a significant percentage, if not all, of their gifts to a worthy cause.

We should begin to think about honoring a new category of philanthropists, those who “used to have” large charities. We must show them the dignity and the appreciation they still deserve for having done what they were able to do in the past, and pray for their future success and resilience. It will come.

And so, I, too, am angry. Leadership has failed — in many cases both lay and rabbinic — and well before the Madoff scandal erupted. Nowhere does it say that all Jewish organizations must thrive, or even survive. Mergers are one answer, closures are another. But there is still plenty to be proud of, and plenty of good work to be done by good caring people.

Robert Katz lives in New Milford, N.J., and has been a Jewish communal professional for the last 23 years.