America's Worst Rabbi

Newsweek just released it list of the 50 most influential American rabbis. But who is America's worst rabbi? This man is.

Rabbi Avi Shafran, Director of Public Affairs for Agudath Israel of America. Here's proof:

Harboring Some Admiration for Bernie, And Less For Sully
Rabbi Avi Shafran

Something tells me I won’t make any new friends (and might even lose some old ones) if I confess to harboring some admiration for Bernard Madoff.

And to make things worse, I can’t muster much for Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger, the pilot who safely landed a full commercial airliner in the Hudson River back in January.

Let me try to explain. Please.

Mr. Madoff committed a serious economic crime on an unprecedented scale for such wrongdoing, and in the process ruined the financial futures of numerous people and institutions, including charitable ones, worldwide. There can be no denying that.

Yet I can’t quite bring myself to join the large, loud chorus of those who have condemned him to – to take Ralph Blumenthal’s judgment in The New York Times Magazine – the Pit, the deepest circle of Dante’s Inferno. Others have devised and publicly proclaimed creative and exquisite tortures of their own for the disgraced businessman – Woody Allen fantasized Madoff being attacked by clients reincarnated as lobsters, and Elie Wiesel wished the investor confined to a solitary cell and forced to watch his victims on a screen bewail their changed fortunes. The fury of the bilked has yielded opprobrium and loathing that isn’t visited on mass murderers.

I think the revulsion may say more about the revolted – and our money-obsessed and vengeance-obsessed society – than it does about Madoff. His crime, after all, was really remarkable only for its longevity and its scope. The Torah teaches that stealing is a sin, but it doesn’t differentiate between misappropriating a million dollars and pilfering a dime. And as to the sheer number of people defrauded by the thief of the moment, well, anyone who cheats on his federal income tax is defrauding 300 million of his fellow citizens. Few though, in such cases, invoke Dante.

What is more, Madoff likely began his crime spree in the hope of rewarding, not swindling, investors, and by the time it became clear he wouldn’t be able to do that, he was already deeply entangled – and daily becoming more entangled – in the web he wove.

None of that, though, is to belittle the great pain Mr. Madoff caused, and is certainly no cause for affording the iniquitous investment broker respect. No, what I admire about him has to do with his owning up to his crime.

Think about it. The man knew for years that his scheme would eventually come apart and that prosecution loomed, yet he took no steps to flee, huge bribe in hand, to some country lacking extradition treaties. Idi Amin, we might recall, died of old age in luxury. Madoff’s millions, moreover, could have easily bought him a new face and identity papers; he could spent his senior years tanned and well-fed among the sunbirds of Miami Beach.

Instead, though, he chose to essentially turn himself in and admit guilt. He apologized to his victims, acknowledging that he had “deeply hurt many, many people,” and adding, “I cannot adequately express how sorry I am for what I have done.”

No one can know if those words reflect the feelings in his heart, but I don’t claim any right to doubt that they do. And facing one’s sins and regretting them is the essence of teshuvah – which we are all enjoined to do for our personal aveiros, however small or large.

No such sublimity of spirit, though, was in evidence in any of the public acts or words of Mr. Sullenberger. He saved 155 lives, no doubt about it, and is certainly owed the hakoras hatov of those he saved, and of their families and friends. And he executed tremendous skill.

But no moral choice was involved in his act. He was on the plane too, after all; his own life depended on undertaking his feat no less than the lives of others. He did what anyone in terrible circumstances would do: try to stay alive. He was fortunate (as were his passengers) that he possessed the talents requisite to the task, but that’s a tribute to his training, and to the One Who instilled such astounding abilities in His creations (and Whose help the captain was not quoted as acknowledging). Basketball players are highly skilled, too – and heroes, in fact, to some. But I have never managed to understand that latter fact.

Sully has reportedly inked a $3 million book deal with HarperCollins, and is also planning a second book of inspirational poems; Bernie, likely for the rest of his life, will languish in jail.

That may make societal sense, but personally, I’m still unmoved by the pilot, and, at least somewhat, inspired by the penitent.

Rabbi Avi Shafran Director of Public Affairs for Agudath Israel of America.

First, Shafran and Agudah defended Rubashkin, even though Rubashkin stole from poor undocumented workers and from other Jews, and even though the alleged abuses Rubashkin and his cohort committed against these defenseless undocumented workers are truly horrific.

And now this. Bernie Madoff as decent man, and a true hero as not much more than average, if that.

(One can only speculate but it is, I think, likely if Sully Sullenberger were Jewish, Shfran would have found nothing but praise for him.)

This Shafran quote is truly astonishing:

…The Torah teaches that stealing is a sin, but it doesn’t differentiate between misappropriating a million dollars and pilfering a dime. And as to the sheer number of people defrauded by the thief of the moment, well, anyone who cheats on his federal income tax is defrauding 300 million of his fellow citizens. Few though, in such cases, invoke Dante.…

Yes, Rabbi Shafran, both are crimes. But the real analogy is not between someone who cooks the books and cheats his way out of paying $100,000 in taxes. (Think the Spinka tax fraud and money laudering scandal, for example.) That crime steals $0.0003 from each citizen of America. It has an impact, to be sure, and combined with other similar crimes committed by others, that impact grows. But that impact is far, far less than Bernie Madoff's.

Madoff drove America deeper into recession. He destroyed the lives of dozens of people, some of whom are bnow destitute save their homes, which are now up for sale. He stole hundreds of millions of dollars from charities. That theft in turn has made the lives of the poor, ill and suffering exponentially worse. Hundreds of people lost their jobs directly due to Bernie Madoff. Tens of thousands more have oe will soon have lost theirs as a secondary result.

The real anaology is between Bernie Madoff and someone who commits economic terrorism on a mass scale, crippling the economy of country, driving many into poverty and causing some to die due to lack of proper services.

Bernie Madoff has far more in common with Osama Bin Laden than he does with a tax cheat.

True, Bernie did not set out to destroy America while Bin Laden did.

But Bernie committed fraud on a massive scale, fraud he knew from day one could leave his investors broke and could devastate Wall Street. He was Osama Bin Laden with nuclear tipped airliners, and his 9-11 will be remembered as long as Bin Laden's is.

Shafran writes:

…The Torah teaches that stealing is a sin, but it doesn’t differentiate between misappropriating a million dollars and pilfering a dime. And as to the sheer number of people defrauded by the thief of the moment, well, anyone who cheats on his federal income tax is defrauding 300 million of his fellow citizens. Few though, in such cases, invoke Dante.…

The Torah was written before banks, before stock markets, before investment brokerages and  retirement funds.

It envisions a thief stealing sheep, getting caught and then returning those sheep plus a few extra as a penalty.

Bernie Madoff can never return what he stole – no one can.

His crime is closer to the analogy made for lashon hara, evil gossip. Take a feather pillow, rip it open and let the feathers fly in a brisk, swirling wind. Can you find all the feather? Can you gather them and put them all back? Of course not.

Bernie's crime is like that. But his pillow was the size of New York City and contained the hopes, dreams and lives of millions of people. Bernie can't replace those. No one can.

Imagine if a thief stole all the goats sheep in Biblical Israel. And then, after eating as many as he could, the thief took the rest, killed them and burned them to ashes. Israel is left without wool, without milk, without cheese, without animals for the Passover sacrifice. Hundreds, maybe thousands are without income. People freeze to death or get sick, suffer and die due to exposure and lack of proper nutrition.

In Avi Shafran's world, that biblical thief is no different from the thief who steals one goat from a large heard.

A rabbi I once studied with is fond of saying the Shulkhan Arukh, the four part Code of Jewish Law, is missing its fifth section. That section? Common sense.

The two thieves are not equivalent. Their crimes are not equal.

The thief who stole one goat needs to make restitution. Bernie Madoff needs to be locked in a cell without food and water until God miraculously saves him or he dies.

Bernie Madoff is not a common thief – he's a murderer.

And Avi Shafran is unquestionably the worst rabbi in America.

Newsweek list of America's most influential rabbis.

[Hat Tip: steve.]

Comments

[Ichabod Chrain]

Well you made the case for why he was wrong in his argument, but you haven't made the case for why he's the worst rabbi in America, especially since you've criticized many Orthodox rabbis, often for good reasons. And if stilted morality is your criterion, then Reform has plenty of candidates --Saperstein, Yoffe, Lerner, and I'm not sure what branch Waskow is, but you can put him up there as well.

I think the real point of what you're saying isn't that R Shafran is the worst rabbi in America, but is rather to show why those who accept the theory of Daas Torah, or who blindly accept a Rabbi's word for what they should do, need to think again.

[Yochanan Lavie]

Lerner is Jewish Renewal and Waskow is Recon, I believe.

[Hometown Postville]

No matter what the crime or the repercussions to mortal man, God will be the final judge and jury. Perhaps Madoff's motives were honorable in the beginning, but somewhere along the line he was sidetracked by greed and the thrill of risk. Sounds like a gambling addiction. Because he got by with what he did for so long, Madoff was so caught up in the power and exhileration of the game that he thought he was invincible. His idol was money, his mentor, Satan. A lesson to all of us about the sin of coveting- equally wrong whether we secretly covet our neighbor's luxury SUV or openly make billions out of millions at our neighbor's expense.

[Yochanan Lavie]

Fly like a Sully (apologies to Steve Miller)

Time keeps on slippin, slippin, slippin
Into the futile
Time keeps on slippin, slippin, slippin
Into the futitle

I want to fly like Sullenberger
To the sea
Fly like Sullenberger
Let my captain rescue me
I want to fly like ole Sully
Not Avi
Oy, Lord, through descending motion

Save the babies
Strapped in infant seats
Shoo the children
Out on the wings, on their feet
Rouse the people
Sleepin' through the feat
Oy, oy, there's Hudson's pollution

I want to fly like Sullenberger
To the river
Fly like Sullenberger
'Cause the man ain't chopped liver
I want to fly like Captain Sully
Till I'm free
Fly through the Jewish revolution

Judaism keeps on slippin, slippin, slippin
Into the shtetl
Time keeps on slippin, slippin, slippin
Into the old days
Minds keep on slippin, slippin, slippin
Into the foolish
Time keeps on slippin, slippin, slippin
Into the futile

I want to fly like Sullenberger
Not Bernie
Fly like Captain Sully
Not some retarded rebbe
I want to fly like ole Sully
Till I'm free
Fly through Aguda's dissolution

Avi's pen keeps on slippin, slippin, slippin
Into the "effed" up
Time keeps on slippin, slippin, slippin
Into the past

[A new parody on the "photo" post]

[shmuel]

Yochanan, another beauty.

[Garnel Ironheart]

Like him or not, Rav Shafran is not a stupid man. He is certainly aware of how his writing might get perceived. One gets the feeling reading this column that he was forced into it, like one of his masters told him: you're got a deadline. Come up with something. Hey, how about a piece where you insult everyone's intelligence more than usual?

[yudel]

while not relevant here it is important to read this latest breaking new on catholic church and hidden documents on child abuse

http://ncronline.org/news/accountability/bishops-were-warned-abusive-priests

[ah-pee-chorus]

i owe a debt of gratitude to avi shafran. he has done much to show just how ridiculous it is to believe that the bible was authored by an omnibenevolent inerrant god . he has shown the level of delusion required to accept its writings as applicable today. he has provided another wonderful example of the danger of religion. he has , by his own words made a mockery of the title he holds and the agudah he represents. he has furthered the cause of those that hope the world will wake up and realize the emperor has no clothes. thanks , moron avi. (the english use of moron is to be applied)

[Ben]

It seems to me that Avi the Aguda Rabbi is just excersizing his believe. Yes it is an "insult to intelligence", but it is not an insult to Rav Avi the idiot's believe to consider Sulliburger to be worse then Madoff.

[maven]

Garnel:

He knows exactly who is reading him, and he's hoping they will properly financially reward him. He's just kissing up to what he perceives to be rich potential contributors.
This column is the lowest of the low, and if this is the new Orthodoxy (stealing is just stealing, the degree doesn't matter, I suppose though that each microscopic bug you eat is another stay in gehenom, perhaps one can argue that murder is just murder as well, doesn't matter if its one or a million children, lets not talk about abuse, which isn't really assur in the Torah in this reading), with that jaded "yeah yeah" tone and entirely devoid of all ethics, well, I'll take Michael Lerner anyday (and I'm fully Ortho), at least he is sincere and honest, even if I disagree with him on many things.

[WoolSilkCotton]

It is particularly sad to see the number of schmucks on VIN who fully support what he said.
Some anonymous souls did speak against Shafran, so maybe there is some hope in the ortho world.

[WoolSilkCotton]

Obama’s Rabbi

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/05/magazine/05rabbi-t.html?_r=2&em

[Isa]

Want to do something... about Shafran??

Get a list of Jewish organizations and maybe individuals who got hurt bad by Madoff...I am talking about the real high rollers here...

Put together a nice pamphlet... with Shafran's picture...and who he works for...
Title: Guess what R. Shafran said about Madoff
TEN YEARS from now they will STILL remember

BTW the newest parody from YL is GREAT!

[Shmarya]

It is particularly sad to see the number of schmucks on VIN who fully support what he said.
Some anonymous souls did speak against Shafran, so maybe there is some hope in the ortho world.

When I looked last night, it seemed to me the comments were about 100 to 1 against Shafran,

[rabbidw]

I don't know if I would consider Shafran a Rabbi, since he does not have a congregation. I think ha said something stupid. Perhapsmit was too close to Purim and he tried to show that things could be reverded. I do not think that ANYONE is sticking up for Madoff at this time, or in the forseeable future, so I think he was trying to write something interestiong, and was stupid rather than venal. That's my story and I'm sticking with it.

[WoolSilkCotton]

++ Shmarya | April 05, 2009 at 02:51 PM++

I reviewed the original piece, and it's about 10:1 against Shafran, out of about 140 postings. 10% of the VIN world agrees with Sharan.
Look at the followup article today, which has about 120 postings. It's about 8:1, against Shafran, or 12.5% of VIN readers who support Shafran's position.

I'll stand by my 2:08PM statement.

[Shmarya]

I think you need to go back and reread the comments slowly.

The first 10 are 9-1 against Shafran, and that pattern holds throughout at least the first 120.

For example, I believe you counted #2 and #3 as pro-Shafran, when I think those comments are agreeing with comment #1.

[Equal Tim e]

-0-I don't know if I would consider Shafran a Rabbi, since he does not have a congregation. --

Most rabbis DON'T have congregations (they don't wish to deal with the poo associated with gig is my theory). At my shul, we have at least a half dozen show up every week - but there's only one "official" rabbi in the pulpit.

That said - the opinion expressed by Shafran is absolutely appalling. Captain Sully may well have inked a $3mil deal, but I highly doubt that the prospect of $3mil caused him to swerve the plane into a flock of geese so that he could land the plane on the Hudson river and be a hero. Madoff absolutely did it for the money - period. Motives matter - and beyond Rabbi Shafran I would bet there is not a handfull of people in this country who would begrudge Capn. Sully the money. God bless him.

As for Maddow - he's in prison for 150 years, where he belongs.

[WoolSilkCotton]

We're both saying that about 10% of the comments are pro-Shafran.
When 10% of a population agrees that Madoff is not so bad, and that Sully is not so good, I feel sorry for that population.

I did like the person who said that Shafran's article was chometz, and should be burned accordingly.

[Itchiemayer]

i owe a debt of gratitude to avi shafran. he has done much to show just how ridiculous it is to believe that the bible was authored by an omnibenevolent inerrant god - so sayeth apc
apc, my friend - While Rabbi Shafran's opining with regard to Madoff and the Pilot is ridiculous, it certainly is not even a blip on the radar of evidence one way or the other as to the authoring of the bible. Madoff should never see the light of day again, and the wife should be there right by his side. While culpable to a much less degree, Mr. Merkin deserves to be dragged through the mud, as well as others I am sure ((perhaps the Madoff children, although I'm not sure).

[ah-pee-chorus]

Itchiemayer : the halacha does equate stealing 1 dollar with 60 billion. that is pretty strong evidence that the religion was created by man and used by rulers of society to keep order. without a viable police force at that time, the most effective method of controlling behavior would be to convince people there is an "eye in the sky" able to see every move they make. but i think it would be very difficult to accept that an all-knowing ,just, god could possibly have ordered equal treatment for one who shoplifts rice from a supermarket to feed his family with someone who stole people's entire life savings, and with one who would steal from charities that were themselves helping the poor. only a man written document with man written explanations could be responsible for such idiocy. so this halacha is either evidence of the torah having been manmade, or it is evidence of god's stupidity or irrationality. that is what i was referring to as being evidence. but i agree that shafrans opinions or even actions would not have any bearing on the discussion of evidence for or against.
his opinions , as i think you agree, only give evidence to his own moral bankruptcy . i regret not having been clearer in that distinction.

[compugraphd]

B"H

I myself wrote two pieces on the Madoff "disaster" -- one is on my blogs (http://jewishsandwich.blogspot.com/) and the other in the Central NJ Jewish State(http://thejewishstate.net/march2709opedisrael.html).

As for Sully -- he may have been put in the situation of landing the plane without harm to himself, but he didn't have to search the entire plane for people who hadn't gotten off the plane. In actuality, he could have jumped off the plane to save himself. But he didn't. He chose to land the plane in the Hudson River. He chose to check the plane to make sure everyone was off (mind you, this could have cost him his life).

So whatever Avi Shafran says, whatever he believes (whether it's what he said or something else), you can't take away from the heroism of Sully (remember the plane a week or so later that crashed in Buffalo? Didn't they say it was because the Pilot put the plane on auto-pilot when he shouldn't have?) and you can't take away from the criminality of Bernie Madoff. Just ask the late Meyer Lansky -- it's very hard for a Jew to find asylum in a country that doesn't extradite to the US....

Debbie

[compugraphd]

B"H

Jewish Sandwich blog
Jewish State article

Debbie

[Chicago Samson]

Shafran is a real creepazoid, but I wonder whether the Rabbis in St. Mary are just as bad. The legion of American Haredim/Hasidim (Yes Yochanan, I see them too!),are so appalling--whether it's the Stinka Rebbe, or the Lubvitcher crazies--they are walking public relations disasters waiting to happen.

[WoolSilkCotton]

++they are walking public relations disasters waiting to happen...Chicago Samson | April 05, 2009 at 07:27 PM++

And yet, all those black-hatted skunks think the world of themselves, and are convinced that they are superior to everyone else in every way.

When will this Shafran story hit the general media?

I believe the media treats the skunks with kid gloves because they don't want to have the inevitable accusation of antisemitism. The shit has not yet hit the fan regarding the magnitude of the child molestation problem; just wait until the general public finds out.

[Equal Tim e]

--When will this Shafran story hit the general media?--

It won't - not that it matters.

The black hats are OUR problem - not the media's. Until WE as a group accept the fact that there are "frum" alternatives (MO and CJ) that do not involve being racist or sexist, and that in fact DO represent "real" Judaism, we are simply going to have to live with these guys and their open and overt hijacking of our faith.

[ah-pee-chorus]

what might even be scarier than his opinion is how out of touch with reality he is. that he didn't realize the effect it would have on his reputation is beyond belief.

[Ben]

Itchemayer writes: ": the halacha does equate stealing 1 dollar with 60 billion". This is not true, because the thief suppose to make restitution. Remember that making restitution of 60 billion is harder then for 1 dollar. Secondly Chalacha does make a distiction between a person who steals once and a person who steals thousand times. Madoff didn't make restitution, he stole thousands of times. THis is not a Halachic problem, it is "creapazoid" Rav Shafran's problem.

[Dr. Dave]

Not to be an apologist for Rabbi Shafran, but I stil think that the "rabbis" who shtup little kids are worse.

[Ryan P]

What a warped mind. What little sympathy I had for Shafran is gonzo.

What does the Masoret say - "save a life and you save a world", or something like that.

How many lives did Sully save?
How many lives did Madoff save?

Finally, isn't there a passage in the Talmud talking about how one will be judged in the "world to come" whereby the first question - THE FIRST QUESTION - is something along the lines of "were you honest in business"?

How might Madoff faire on that test? And why should that passage no longer be relevant?

[Yochanan Lavie]

Thank you, Shmuel.

[Reb Doniel]

This is a warped mind and a punitive one, I might add. Avi Shafran is no talmid chacham- he is a media man and a spokesman for the Agudah who has just made a shoiteh and a rasha out of himself, just like he did at the Kosher Ethics Panel at YU; he cited absolutely no mekoros in defense of his position on Agriprocessors. Shmuly Yanklowtiz from Chovovei Torah gave a speech based 100% on the mekoros and cited Reb Moshe, Rambam, psukim, The Rav and others quite copiously, while Shafran made himself look like the accomplice he is. Rambam says that one who has the ability to rebuke evil but doesn't rebuke evil is a rasha- a wicked person. Avi Shafran has just confirmed his evil behavior and deeds by defending the ganev and soneh yisroel Madoff and denigrating a man who acted decisively to save lives. I challenge him, if he ever looks on this blog, to come and talk it out with me.

[Isa]

Never get on an airplane that does NOT have a stewardess.
Why?
The pilots that fly those small things are 'bottom of the barrel dregs' beginners, non-military.
Remember Senator Wellstone, from Minnesota?
His pilot fly him into the ground.

BANG! both engines are DEAD! got two seconds to figure out what to do.
Not ONLY did he save everybody on the plane but didn't do something stupid and crash in the city and take out another 10 to 100 more people on the ground

[Bernie Made-off with my money]

While it is true that the Torah does not diffrentiate between the amounts stolen during the sin, in actuality the Torah law is quite clear: if you steal and you cannot pay back you are obligated to work for that person as a slave/butler/handyman until your debt is paid in full. The appropriate punishment would not be for Bernie to sit out the rest of his life on the tax payers dollar but to work in some slave like condition in something that would benefit our society in some financial way.

[mkarpas]

Extra Extra

Rabbi Shafran retracted

[Ichabod Chrain]

WoolSilkCotton,

Many of those VIN commenters who could be viewed as supporting R' Shafran actually say they agreed only with part of what he said. Many of them were still critical of the article. If you count partial criticisms, the criticism is not quite but almost unanimous.
R" Harry Maryles posted on the story. Last I checked, all commenters disagreed with Shafran.

Like many others, not only do I disagree with Shafran, but I can't imagine what could have prompted him to write the article. There's no legitimate point to it that I can see. If R' Shafran had kept quiet no one would have complained. His arguments make little sense, and Agudath has no reason to publicly defend Madoff or to minimize Sullenberger's achievement.

I've never seen anyone in a similar role in the Orthodox community take as much criticism for something he wrote.

[Shmarya]

Shafran "apologizes":

http://failedmessiah.typepad.com/failed_messiahcom/2009/04/rabbi-avi-shafran-apologizes.html

[AntiAgudah]

Not surprised that he writes like this. I never liked anything he wrote. How he got such a position is beyond me. Let's check how many people and organizations Madoff cheated who used to give Shafran and his cronies money.

[MisterApikoros]

I vote for that pompous ass who calls himself "America's Rabbi." Schmuley Boteach is no more "America's Rabbi" than the Atlanta Braves are "America's Team."

With that having been said, LET'S GO METS!

[Reb Doniel]

What is wrong with Boteach? He tries to help couples and families in distress and is a family man. I have met him and he is a nice guy even though he is a shyster and always looks to sell his books and promote himself.

[MisterApikoros]

You answered your own question, Reb Doniel. He's a shyster and aggressive self-promoter.

I went to two Schmuley lectures. At the more recent one, Boteach claimed that 40% of Jewish men are porn addicts, and if they were to buy his book, they'd be "cured." At that point I walked out.

[WoolSilkCotton]

When Schmuley once called himself "Michael Jackson's rabbi", and was conspicuously seen in publicity photos of Jackson's entourage, that's what did it for me.

[shneer]

BOTTOM LINE: One guy saved lives, one guy destroyed them. How a Rabbi can't see that is beyond me.

[Shmarya]

Emes!

Spot on, schneer.

Chag kasher v'samayach!

[WoolSilkCotton]

Shneer, that was a perfect summary in only 8 words.
All the best for a Happy and Kosher Pesach to you and all the chevra here at FM.

[shneer]

Yes, a happy and kosher Pesach to all of you as well.

Love, Shneer and Georgetta Mae

[Shmarya]

Reunion tour.