October 2002 Coping With 'Infectious Greed' By Rabbi Alvin Kass It is hard to find anyone who has not been adversely affected by what Alan Greenspan has referred to as the "infectious greed" of corporate America. The CEO's of many of our companies have lied, cheated, misrepresented, and driven their companies into the ground. As a result, multitudes have lost their jobs, stock values have plummeted, and many millions of Americans have had their financial status disastrously downgraded. However gigantic in size our major companies may be, it is clear that a lot of them are headed by moral pygmies who have destroyed the most valuable trait that human beings can possess in their interactions with each other - trust. That loss of confidence in the honesty of others is the worst casualty of this terrible ordeal. Is there a way out? Surely, we need stronger laws to enforce honesty; and recent legislation is designed to meet that requirement. Henceforth, CEO's will have to sign off on their company's financial statements and face stiffer penalties for misrepresentation. A better long-term solution, however, is suggested by the famous Talmudic maxim of Ben Zoma: "Who is strong? The person who can control his desires." Notice that Ben Zoma doesn't call for the abolition of our desires. There is nothing wrong with the impulse to make money. What is needed is simply control, the capacity to harness, discipline, and channel this deeply ingrained drive. Our faith confidently affirms, not only the desirability of self-control, but also its possibility. That's what the High Holy Days are all about. These rites are an expression of the conviction that people can change. We can be better than we are. Our lives can be ennobled by an elevated vision of human conduct, a vision we are capable of bringing to realization. Indeed, the Biblical tale of Jacob is the story of a man who starts out life, dominated by selfishness, avarice, and greed, but is ultimately transformed into Israel, a loving, caring, and generous exemplar of the nation whose name he bears. The obstacles that stand in the way of self-improvement ought not to be understated. It is no easier to curb the appetite for money than it is to curb the appetite for food, sex, or cigarettes. Many have tried and failed. In truth, the effort to change our lives in a positive direction takes a lifetime of continuous striving, but the difficulty of this indispensable task is no excuse for not undertaking it. I suspect that many of us fail because we don't make change a major priority. It's not that self-improvement is beyond our reach. It's just too far removed from the center of our priorities. The eminent Hasidic sage Susya expressed great confidence about how he would handle himself before the Heavenly tribunal on the day of the final judgement, as long as he was asked why he had failed to accomplish goals of the magnitude of Moses and Rabbi Akiba. He would simply and unhesitatingly retort that he did not possess their talents. If, however, God were to ask him: "Susya, why weren't you Susya? Why didn't you achieve the full potential of which you were capable?", then Susya would tremble with fear. After all, there is no answer to such a devastating accusation. There is no reason why each of us cannot live up to what God gave us the ability to do. Surely, that includes the capacity to be honest in our interactions with each other. The best way for us to thank God for the priceless gift of life with which we have been endowed, is to live up to our full potential. Unless more of the financial titans that run America's corporations follow that imperative we had better, to paraphrase Bette Davis, fasten our seat belts because the economy is in for a rocky ride for a long time.