Rabbi Charles P. Sherman
Shabbat Vayakhel-Pekude
March 19, 2004
Jewish Accounting Principles - Tips for April 15 and Beyond
This week we observed the Ides of March, a date which signals different things to different people. To the litterateur, the 15th of March represents the date chosen for the murder of Julius Caesar. For the baseball fan, March 15th is the benchmark of an annual ritual known as spring training, where the "Boys of Summer" in Arizona and Florida play exhibition games and send back north glowing reports of a division champion, if not a pennant-winner in the making.
For most of us, however, the Ides of March are a reminder that we have only one month left until our Federal and State income tax returns are due. Many of us finally make an appointment with our accountants and bare our fiscal souls. Our annual day of reckoning is just around the corner, where we have to come to grips with our personal financial ledgers - how much did we really earn in the past year and, more importantly, how much do we owe to the government? Will we report faithfully our side income, or do we try to sweep it under the rug through a tax loophole or other form of subterfuge?
In our Torah lectionary, we have now reached the end of the Book of Exodus. At the beginning of this book, we were introduced to Moses - the greatest Jew of all time. We experienced Moses the Redeemer, who led our people out of Egypt; Moses the Law Giver, who ascended Sinai's summit to bring down Torah, establishing his reputation as Moshe Rabenu - Moses our Teacher. We also experienced Moses the Fundraiser, who inspired, exhorted, encouraged the people to give so much toward the building of the mishkan that he had to say 'stop giving already; we have enough.'
This week we learn of Moses the Accountant. The work of building our People's first sanctuary completed, the leader of our people gives a fiscal accounting of the public funds which were in his trust. These are the records of the Tabernacle which were drawn up at Moses' bidding. All the gold that was used came to 29 talents and 730 shekels - each talent was the equal of 3000 shekels. The silver came to 100 talents and 1775 shekels. As a modern accountant might do, Moses listed the materials - gold, silver and copper, wood, fabrics, animal skins and precious gems which had been contributed; he recorded how the builders who worked with him used this material in the construction of the sanctuary.
I. I think there are important lessons to be learned from these concluding chapters of Exodus. Lesson #1 concerns how we view accountants. Last year at this time it was disclosed that Royal Ahold, the Dutch-owned world's third largest grocer, owner of Giant Food, became the latest accounting scandal to make headlines. They admitted overstating their profits by at least $500 million. In the past several years, Congressional committees have investigated the bookkeeping practices at Enron and its accounting firm, Arthur Anderson. Ledgers from K-Mart, WorldCom, Global Crossing, Adelphia Communications, Tyco International, HealthSouth and others, have been scrutinized for irregularities. The accounting profession has come on hard times.
That is truly unfortunate, for accountants have played an important role in the history of our People. Isaac Abarbanel, great Jewish philosopher and biblical commentator, served as treasurer to King Alfonso V of Portugal in the 1400s. In this capacity, he helped save many Jews. Similarly, you remember it was Yitzhak Stern, the accountant for Oscar Schindler, whose creative bookkeeping helped save hundreds of Jews from the gas chambers. For us Jews, an accountant belongs to one of the world's oldest and most honorable professions. The first Jewish accountant, was a man called Moses.
So, when we are bombarded with the news about the Enrons, WorldComs, Royal Aholds and their accounting problems, we are tempted to say 'they are all crooks.' That is not so. Yes, there are some bad apples in every profession, but it is important to keep a proper perspective. The welfare of the world, the ability to do business, the amount of trust people have in each other when they buy and sell and trade depend upon what accountants do. Therefore, accountants should be treated with respect; the work they do is sacred. During my rabbinate here, this congregation has benefitted immeasurably from the dedicated work, generously contributed, by Marty Kehlmann, Malcolm Milsten, Ed Sherman, Steve Greenfield, Ivan Winfield, Phil Wilner and others.
II. Lesson #2. Our ancient teachers were troubled when they read Moses' audit at the end of Exodus. No one in Jewish history was deemed more worthy and faithful than Moses. Our tradition singled him out by calling him "The Man of Faith" - the trusted one. So why did God require Moses to present a statement to his people, accounting for the manner in which he used the money and materials which had been given? Why was Moses, of all people, required to account for every cent that had been put into his hands?
After Moses collected all the gifts people gave for the building of the sanctuary, the Torah says whenever Moses went out to the Tent of Meeting, all the people would rise and stand, each at the entrance of his tent, and look after Moses until he had entered the Tent to speak with God. The Midrash comments that the people scrutinized Moses. They looked at his back and said to one another 'what a neck, what thighs, he eats that which is ours and drinks of that which is ours.' Somebody would say 'a man who is in charge of the Tabernacle talents of silver, talents of gold, uncounted, unweighed, unnumbered - what else do you expect, that he should not be rich? In other words - look how well he looks, look how well he is dressing - surely he must be personally raking off from what we have contributed.
When Moses heard this, he said 'by your lives, as soon as the work of the Tabernacle is finished, I shall render an account.' And that is exactly what he did. But this is a fascinating Midrash. Do you know what happened? It was an accountant's nightmare - the numbers were off. Moses was 175 shekels short. Now that is not very much given all of the thousands of shekels involved, but someone who is good at math or maybe had a calculator under his cloak, caught the mistake and called out - 'Moses you are a crook!' Moses had to say, 'I am not a crook.' Just then the hooks on the curtains of the sanctuary lit up. Moses saw them and realized he had forgotten to include them in the list of expenditures. He then added the figures again and this time they came out exactly right and - pardon the pun - Moses was off the hook.
Moses' example was to be a guide for future generations. No one should take his credibility for granted. Public funds must be dealt with as sacred resources; public trust requires special faithfulness. No one should presume that he is above giving an account to the people who delegate authority to him. Every person who accepts public responsibility must be prepared to give an accounting before God and before men and women. If Moses had to do it, no person is exempt from similar responsibility.
Leadership, according to our Torah, carries a double responsibility - personal honesty and conducting our lives so that the people whom we serve have faith in that honesty. Unfortunately, today, the attitude we have toward our governmental leaders can best be described as suspicious and cynical. There are those who maintain the attitude that no civil or public servant is honest; no one can be trusted, they are all in it for self-aggrandizement, to make what they can; we have become calloused to the idea of public trust.
My colleague, Ralph Simon, once had occasion to travel for a considerable distance in a chauffeured car. He says: I told the drive that I did not recognize him, although I had frequently used this particular car service in Chicago. He replied that he was not a regular driver. What did he do the rest of the time? He worked for the City of Chicago as a policeman. He served as a chauffeur to supplement his income in order to support his large family. "Is this moonlighting necessary?" I asked.
The driver replied that there are two kinds of policemen. Some support their families with dignity and honest work. Others decide that they cannot support themselves by honest means, so they violate their vows and accept bribes. This driver did not want to betray his badge and sought honest work to supplement his income.
Then he added something that should cause us all to sit up. He told me he was not boasting of his honesty, and he was not asking for special credit. His biggest problem came through contact with some of the ordinary citizens with whom he dealt. They almost compel him to be a thief, he complained. Sometimes when he stops the car of a traffic violator and asks to see a license, the driver will hand him the license with a $20 bill or a $50 bill. These honorable citizens of Chicago boast of their honesty and would be the first to decry a police officer caught soliciting this kind of behavior. Yet the traffic violator does not realize that he is more guilty of contributing to public dishonor than the man who is the second party to this breach of trust.
Yes I know that too often public leaders have been discredited. The word "politician" in our generation evokes expressions indicating dishonesty, opportunism, illicit gain, even bribery. Originally the word "politician" referred to a person trained in the art of governing, one who has mastered that skill. Moses was a politician in the highest sense of that word. He learned how to govern and accepted the word of God as his guide. He understood that he was obliged to file an honest reckoning before both God and the people. So must our leaders today.
III. Lesson 3. But not just our leaders. In this tax season, our Torah portion teaches us that if a Moses was obligated to give a proper reckoning for every dime he received, so are we. There is a story told about the rabbi who received a call from an IRS agent who asked him - "Rabbi Cohen, did a Sam Schwartz make a $5,000 contribution to your synagogue?" To which the rabbi replied, "He will."
The truth of the matter is that our government loses billions of dollars every year because people cheat on their income taxes. Please know that is a violation of Jewish law. Yes - of Jewish law. We have a principle - Dina D'malchuta Dina - the secular law of the state is the law binding on all. When Jews live in a country, we implicitly agree to be bound by its laws and contribute to its maintenance. From an halachic perspective, one who evades paying his income taxes steals from the government, violating the Seventh Commandment. You see, one's failure to pay taxes shifts the tax burden to someone else. So a tax evader effectively robs from everyone - not just from the government.
You remember the words of the great prayer we recite on both of the High Holydays - the Unetana Tokef? "On Rosh Hashanah it is written and on Yom Kippur it is sealed, who shall live and who shall die; who by plague and who by flood." And the prayer ends, "but repentance, prayer and charity temper judgement's severe decree." That is what we say on the High Holydays. Let me read you a version of that prayer which is appropriate for these days before April 15.
On the first day of the fiscal year it is written,
And on the 15th day of the fourth month it is sealed.
How many shall be examined,
And who shall be audited?
Who shall deduct for fire and who for flood?
Who for lightening and who for hail?
Who shall pay extra and who shall receive refunds?
Who shall be penalized and who shall be prosecuted?
Who shall be imprisoned and who shall go free?
But accountants, auditors and attorneys may temper judgement's severe decree.
We can all temper judgement's severe decree on April 15th if we are honest in our accounting. I remember a report that the Internal Revenue Service received an envelop with $1,000 in cash, together with an anonymous note which read "I am sending you this money because I have not been able to sleep. If I still can't sleep after this, I'll send the rest I owe you." Wouldn't it be nice to go to sleep at night with no fear of getting caught hanging over you? Moses gave an honest accounting and so must we.
IV. Final lesson - and it really has little to do with accountants or taxes or money, but everything to do with life and the society in which we live. Remember how some of the Jews accused Moses of keeping some of the funds meant for the Tabernacle for himself? Well, according to some of our sages, that is the basis for a rather remarkable law which we find in the Talmud. We are told that the person who collected the money for the Jerusalem Temple could not wear a double-hemmed garment, a hollow belt or a cloak, so that if later on he would become rich, people would not be able to say that he became rich by stealing money from the communal treasury. And the Talmud goes on to explain this by saying, for a person must please people in the same manner that he must please Almighty God, as it is written "and you shall be guiltless before God and before Israel."
The principle that the Talmud is teaching us is that a person must not only be honest, but must also be above suspicion. It is not enough that God knows the truth; everyone else must know it as well. A person has a responsibility to protect his own reputation. Just as it is not permitted for someone else to besmirch my reputation, so it is not permitted for me to besmirch my own reputation. I cannot say: what do I care what others think, as long as I know I am doing the right thing? You have to care.
Moses knew that he was innocent when some Israelites accused him of stealing from the sanctuary funds. Moses knew that God knew the truth. But that was not good enough. Moses had to give an accounting so that his reputation would be above suspicion.
In classical Hebrew, an accountant is called a cheshbona-ee. To a literate Jew, the word cheshbon has echoes of the term din v'cheshbon. It reminds us of the statement in Pirke Avot, "think about three things and you will not be tempted to sin - know from where you come, know where you are going and know before whom you are going to have to give a din v'cheshbon" - an accounting.(3:1)
We are all accountants. We are all chechbona-ee. We all have to know from where we come, where we are going and that we are going to have to give a din v'cheshbon - an accounting for all of our actions. So when it comes to paying our taxes and every other aspect of our existence, let's be honest. And let our behavior also be above suspicion. Let us not besmirch the reputations of others, and let us make sure that we do not besmirch our own reputations. For then and only then, will we be able to fulfill the verse the Talmud quotes when it told us that those who entered the Temple treasury could not wear double-hemmed garments or any article with pockets. Umotzah chein v'seichel tov b'einei Elohein v'adam - we will find grace and good favor in the eyes of God and in the eyes of our fellow human beings. (Proverbs 3:4) Kayn y'hi ratzon - God willing, may it be so for us. Amen
In preparing this message I've utilized the writings of Rabbis Robert Alpert, Ralph Simon and, especially, Mitchell Wohlberg.
