Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Today is the day

Today is the fifth Yahrtzeit of Eli Dorfman Z"L. I just felt you should know.
In other news, VIN, along with virtually every other news source, has come out strongly against Governor Spitzer of New York for his indiscretions. The Governor himself offered no excuses for his behavior. Is there only one side to this story? I guess that sometimes, you just make a mistake, even a very big one, and that's that.
Can we learn a lesson in Avodas Hashem from this sordid tale? I'd like to add, so that I don't seem so self-righteous, that I was once going to a hockey game (Rangers 3 Wild 2 F/OT) with Levi Feller, and his father Rabbi Moshe Feller, head of Upper Midwest Merkos, was giving us a ride to Xcel Energy Center. He (the Rabbi) asked us, "What lesson can be learned out from the game of hockey?" As I recall, our answer was rather generic and therefore pitiful, and I really can't think of a good one now either. Perhaps if anyone has any suggestions?
Anyway, as I was saying, what can the Spitzer case teach us? Pride cometh before the fall? Obviously. Don't do stupid things? How about, "How about don't do anything which you wouldn't want your children to find out about?" That sounds pretty good. Mr. Spitzer violated all three of these principles, and probably many more too. Of course, him main sin was getting caught. One can only imagine the glee on the Feds' faces when they realized who had walked into their wiretap.
And the poor guy is only 48. He could live for another 40 years with the knowledge that he messed up royally. Yes, always weigh your actions against their potential consequences, and if preaching is necessary, then at least make a self-deprecating joke when it's all over so that everyone will know that the pretension they've just read is only a superficial facade covering up a truly kind, caring, and slightly intelligent inner character.

1 comments:

Anonymous said...

Dear Mr. R. Shaliach:

I have read endless articles on Mr. Spitzer's bad behavior - in a few paragraphs you have more ably captured the essence of the issue than most professional writers I have read. Well done! On another matter, perhaps Rabbi Feller's point was that there are no lessons to be learnt from hockey? All the best, Leo d T.