I mean, when isn’t it the season for repentance?
On Friday, I posted, what I thought was a somewhat humorous video mocking Bernie Madoff for “giving Jews a bad name.” You know, all in good fun…
The truth is though that many people are really angry at Bernie Madoff and they want him to know about it. It is one thing to call for justice, but it is another thing to call for public humilation.
Putting this all into context this week over at The Forward, is Louis E. Newman (no relation to Alfred E.). In his opinion piece, titled, “The Pity of Bernie Madoff,” he reminds people, especially Jews that we should have compassion for our enemies.
As he writes:
“Judaism reminds us that even our enemies are human, and the disgrace of another person is never cause for celebration. As Passover approaches, we should consider that most powerful ritual moment, when we symbolically reduce our joy by spilling some of our wine as the suffering of the Egyptians is recounted.”
Remember, Bernie Madoff should be in prison, probably for the rest of his life. But to take joy out of that is wrong. We shouldn’t be happy that he no longer gets to live his life of vanity, now sitting in a small cell. We should be saddened by the fact that he did not appreciate what he had, and that he has to suffer the consequences.
