Who Do You Trust?
砖诪讜转 专讘讛 谞讗:讗
讜讗诇讛 驻拽讜讚讬 讛诪砖讻谉 讻讱 驻转讞 专壮 转谞讞讜诪讗 讘专 讗讘讗 (诪砖诇讬 讻讞) 讗讬砖 讗诪讜谞讜转 专讘 讘专讻讜转 讗转讛 诪讜爪讗 讻诇 诪讬 砖讛讜讗 谞讗诪谉 讛拽讘状讛 诪讘讬讗 讘专讻讜转 注诇 讬讚讬讜 诪讬 砖讗讬谞讜 谞讗诪谉 讜讗抓 诇讛注砖讬专 诇讗 讬谞拽讛
讚讘专 讗讞专 讗讬砖 讗诪讜谞讜转 讝讛 诪砖讛 砖谞注砖讛 讙讝讘专 注诇 诪诇讗讻转 讛诪砖讻谉 砖谞讜 专讘讜转讬谞讜 讗讬谉 诪诪谞讬谉 砖专专讛 注诇 讛爪讘讜专 讘诪诪讜谉 驻讞讜转 诪砖谞讬诐 讜讛专讬 讗转讛 诪讜爪讗 砖讛讬讛 诪砖讛 讙讝讘专 诇注爪诪讜 讜讻讗谉 讗转讛 讗讜诪专 讗讬谉 诪诪谞讬谉 驻讞讜转 诪讘壮 讗诇讗 讗注状驻 砖讛讬讛 诪砖讛 讙讝讘专 诇注爪诪讜 讛讜讗 拽讜专讗 诇讗讞专讬诐 讜诪讞砖讘 注诇 讬讚讬讛诐 砖谞讗诪专 (砖诪讜转 诇讞) 讗诇讛 驻拽讜讚讬 讛诪砖讻谉 讗砖专 驻拽讚 诪砖讛 讗讬谉 讻转讬讘 讻讗谉 讗诇讗 讗砖专 驻拽讚 注状驻 诪砖讛 注状讬 诪砖讛 讘讬讚 讗讬转诪专
Exodus Rabbah 51:1
“These are the [inventory] accounts of the Tabernacle, [ . . . which were rendered at Moses’ bidding鈥攖he work of the Levites under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron the Priest.”] (Exod. 38:21) R. Tanhuma b. Abba opened [his interpretation of this verse by quoting]: “‘A dependable man will receive many blessings, but one hurrying to get rich will not go unpunished.’ (Prov. 28:20). You will find that the Blessed Holy One brings blessings to anyone who is trustworthy, yet any that are not trustworthy but ‘hurrying to get rich will not go unpunished.’”
. . . Another explanation: “A dependable man”鈥攖his [refers to] Moses, who was made the treasurer over the construction of the Tabernacle. Our Rabbis [also] taught: “We do not appoint fewer than two people with control over public finances.” But behold that you find that Moses alone was treasurer, while here you say that “we do not appoint fewer than two” [with this authority]? Instead, [we understand that,] even though Moses alone was treasurer, he called upon others to audit [the accounts] on their own, for it says, “These are the accounts of the Tabernacle . . . which were rendered at Moses’ bidding . . .” It does not say “which Moses rendered” but “which were rendered at Moses’ bidding,” namely, for Moses but “under the direction of Ithamar . . . “
While I always read the Torah and its rabbinic interpretations in search of contemporary relevance, I rarely find texts that seem to mirror my own life history so closely. The two parts of the midrash above reflect in many ways the lessons I have learned from my father’s first and second careers: as a litigator for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and then as a personal financial planner. His work experiences have taught me a great deal about what it means to be “trustworthy” as opposed to “hurrying to get rich.”
At the IRS, my father would represent the government against wealthy individuals and corporations who had underpaid or cheated on their tax returns. One of his last trials involved a prominent Jewish family known for their business success and their philanthropic generosity. While publicly presenting themselves as “trustworthy,” a tax audit revealed that this family privately withheld earnings from their estate and thereby contributed less than they were obligated to put into the public coffers.
While that family “did not go unpunished,” a similar outcome has unfortunately eluded those who bent or broke the rules and created the recent financial crisis of the “Great Recession.” Many of my father’s clients, like almost all modest American investors planning for their own retirement, lost much of their portfolios’ worth. Few of them had even invested directly in the most problematic sectors of the stock market, like derivatives and credit default swaps, vehicles created by those “hurrying to get rich.” Will those who perpetrated this crisis “go unpunished” much longer?
While I await justice, my father, “a dependable man,” continues to lead by example, focusing on his own business ethics and on restoring his clients to financial stability.
