Chabad has always kind of scared me (though of course I know and love many Chabadniks) not least because they seem to have infinite amounts of cash. Turns out, some of that cash is being laundered, and some of it is being pocketed by various guys who work for Chabad. Which begs the question, What Would Menachem Mendel Do? Jpost reports:
Administrators in the Israeli branch of the Chabad Hassidic sect are allegedly embroiled in a multi-million shekel embezzlement, tax evasion and money laundering scheme involving local businessmen, police said Wednesday.
Police arrested four men on Tuesday connected with the sect who are suspected of embezzling and aiding Israeli businessmen in tax evasion by accepting tax-exempt "donations" to Chabad which were later returned laundered.
A Channel 10 report said that among the business leaders suspected of using the money-laundering facilities allegedly run out of Kfar Chabad was Arkadi Gaydamak. Gaydamak, according to Channel 10, had made NIS 1 million in donations to the fund – but was far from the only prominent business figure suspected of involvement. Police said that they would continue to investigate both Gaydamak as well as the other businesspeople.
Police arrested Yosef Aharonov, director of the non-profit Young Chabad Association, which is the main supporter of Chabad activities in Israel. Aharonov's driver, Levi Edrei, and Young Chabad employee Dov Livitin were arrested, too.
Later on in the article Asst.-Cmdr. Avi Mansour, head of the criminal investigation against Chabad reminds us that last year, when Yosef Segal was arrested for embezzling more than 17 million shekels, he continued to be employed by Chabad. Full Story Weirdly, it looks like Chabad was the one being ripped off in both these schemes.
This might be a good time to check out some writing on why it’s a bad idea to steal or cheat in business. I like this dvar Torah by Rabbi Jay Kelman of the Business Ethics Center of Jerusalem:
We must make things perfectly clear. A Jew who is ethically wanting, no matter how meticulous in his relations with G-d, is not a religious Jew.
Much more important than the diagnosis of the problem is finding a cure. While the evil inclination will continue to resist efforts to curb its appetite for money, this yetzer hara can be 'defeated' as we challenge it for productive purposes. Not so long ago, everybody, including observant Jews themselves, thought that traditional Judaism could not survive in America and were thankfully proven wrong. Similarly a concerted effort to address this problem is bound to have positive results. The first step towards a solution is recognizing the gravity of the problem, and the centrality of the issue to the definition of being an observant Jew.
It is time to make this issue a priority. We must teach and re-teach the basic Jewish values of honesty, full disclosure, and integrity in all of our dealings. Our rich heritage includes such teachings as: the flood happened because of the sin of robbery, that the first question that G-d will ask us is whether our business dealings were conducted honestly, that it is a Biblical obligation to follow the civil laws of your country of residence, that due to dishonest weights Amalek comes (Midrash cited by Rashi Devarim 25:17), that robbery is "more difficult" than adultery (Baba Batra 88b), that G-d abhors social sins but can tolerate idolatry (see commentary of Meshech Chochmah to Exodus 14:24). We must stress the notion that our prophets have told us over and over again that absent social ethics G-d does not want, in fact He even despises our sacrifices (Isaiah 1). And we all know that prayer has replaced sacrifices.
We must not allow those whose business practices are not up to Torah standards to be held as role models for a Torah lifestyle. We must ensure that all of our activities are conducted in a manner that will result in a kiddush Hashem. We must continue to work until people will stop and say what a wonderful Torah the Jewish people have, look at the honesty and integrity of those who keep it.
So here’s a novel idea: tonight, do your best to light Shabbat candles on time, and ALSO keep your hands off money you didn’t rightfully earn. Gosh, Chabad has so much to learn from me.