Comments on: Report: Madoff’s Ponzi Profits Hidden Offshore

By: tzippi

tzippi — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 14:24:14 +0000

7, I don’t like a lot of the lashon hara that gets through here, but there is a real possibility that this guy is close to a rodef for doing what he did.

A lot of people will abuse the Chofetz Chaim where he says that it is permissible (or more) to say lashon hara about particular people. Personally, I would also err on the side of caution (which the Chofetz Chaim also urges as a rule), if nothing else it builds my dan lecaf zechus muscles. I don’t think that’s relevant here.

By: misterzee

misterzee — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 10:36:04 +0000

of course he sent money off shore.many of his investors were off shore.if he hid money he was not dumb enough to leave a paper trail.he would have chaim yankel in the carribean send money to his account in switzerland and then credit chaim yankel as an investor.he was a smart cookie and wouldnt leave that easy of a mark
as far as loshon hara,who says its not loshon hara?but i was told by one of the big poskim that they should announce in shul the ganavim so that we should not be taken in
many frum type madoff’s could be prevented if there was a site where one coul dclaim that ploni is a crook and ploni would have a right to respond and defend himself.meanwhile madoff said he was a ponzi scheme.

By: akuperma

akuperma — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 09:30:09 +0000

Initially, the news accounts suggest a Jew with ties to the frum community, most of whose victims were Jewish, and who had profoundly affected Jewish charities.

As it turns out, he is a largely assimilated Jews, albeit one who was affiliated with the secular business school of YU, who had a few friends who are “modern orthodox”, but whose victims, money, social ciricle was one that (Barukh ha-Shem) did not include Hareidim, and that no frum (okay “frummer than YU”, or “frummer than modern orthodox”) charities were involved (it helps that most frum charities are forced to spend their money are tsadakah rather than endowments). The “losers” in his Ponzi scheme were overwhelmingly non-Jews.

While the subject of “Jewish criminals” is interesting in a perverse way, and occasionally relevant (e.g. discussions of kosher food in prisons, or how Israel is a world class player in global trafficking of women), I don’t see how Madoff is all that interesting from a Jewish perspective, or why YWN is so interested in him.

By: Thinking out loud

Thinking out loud — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 07:53:20 +0000

anything that can help correct a chillul hashem is a kiddush hashem…

This stuff is out there on all the news outlets. That is a chillul hashem. The fact that frum Jews care about it, and are ashamed of a brother who has done the wrong thing, and seems like he tried to get away with it… That is a kiddush hashem. A kiddush hashem is l’toeles. It is one of the purposes of creation.

The world is watching what we say, and what we do. They understand honesty, and they understand hypocrisy. Dina D’malchusa Dina was not invented by the press. It’s actually a mitzvah called tzedek tzedek tirdof.

If you want to follow the chofetz chaim, make sure you are not doing ona’as devorim with your neighbors and family. If you want to make a kiddush hashem, make sure you do not defend a thief in public. In your siddur, yes. In your mind, be dan l’kaf zechus.

Don’t write stuff that makes you sound like a bumbling fool. It’s not a kiddush hashem to make the Author’s children sound like they are illiterate!

Tzion b’mishpat tipadeh, v’shaveha bitzdaka.

By: ozi

ozi — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 01:44:15 +0000

The chofetz Chaim Say that there is no isur lashan horah on a jew not observing the torah,specially on such a big ganav like Bernie is

By: dealboy

dealboy — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 00:37:22 +0000

im assuming these type of stories are not loshon hora – just wondering why – does anyone know what the heter is?