A friend of mine was lamenting to me today about a story he had heard of someone he respected who has now been accused of financial impropriety. In the post-Madoff world in which we live it is probably hard to shock anyone any longer; but my friend was still having a rough time dealing with it.
The reality is that we are all human beings, we all have temptations, we all (most of us at any rate) have financial pressures which tempt us to be less than 100% honest in financial dealings. These stories devastate us because we look upon certain people and expect them to be above reproach. But the truth is, no one is above reproach. The Torah is replete with stories of the great leaders of the Jewish Nation, people such as Moses or David, who erred or sinned greatly.
The real trick to life is how does someone deal with it after they have sinned. That is what you should look at. To err is human, to truly repent is divine.
I take as an example the Spinka Rebbe who was involved in a money laundering scheme. At the time he was initially charged a loud chorus of shock, surprise and righteous indignation was heard. But what impressed me was a speech the Rebbe gave a few months ago in which he acknowledged that the institutions under his leadership had long had the attitude that they could not survive without acting outside the law. He said that he now saw that this was a mistake and he pledged not to allow any more illegalities under his watch.
This coming clean, demonstrating an understanding of the cause of the wrongdoing, and pledging for it to end, is truly an act of repentance. Perhaps of the sort in which the example shown to others, is worth having done the sin to begin with.
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