Temple Emanu-El

Sermon—On the Fall of Governor Spitzer
Rabbi Jonathan Miller
Temple Emanu-El
March 14, 2008, 8 Adar II 5768

Every once in a while the stories from the Talmud are au courant. Sometimes, they seem fanciful and exaggerated. But sometimes, they are quite prescient. This story from the Babylonian Talmud (Tractate Menachot 44a) would seem to understand human nature and explain this week’s headlines.. We may live in different times from our ancestors, but in truth, our human nature is not so different from human nature back in the days of our sages. Here is the story. Listen carefully. It will blow your mind.

There was once a man who was quite strict in his observance of the mitzvah of tsitsit (the fringes on the prayer shawl). He heard of a prostitute in a distant city who took 400 pieces of gold as her hire. He sent her 400 pieces of gold and set a date.

When he arrived, she set for him seven beds, six of silver and one of gold. Between each one of the beds, there were steps of silver. The top steps were of gold. She climbed up and sat naked on the upper bed. He followed after her.

Suddenly, his four tsitsit slapped him in his face. He climbed down and sat on the ground. She followed him saying, “I will not let you leave until you tell me what fault you see in me.” He replied, “I have never seen a woman as beautiful as you. But there is a mitzvah called tsitsit, and the fringes have appeared to me as four witnesses against my transgression.

She said to him, “I will not let you leave until you tell me your name, your city, the name of your rabbi, and the school where you learn Torah.” He wrote all this down on a note to her.

She thereupon divided all her property, except for her beds, into thirds. One third she gave to the government. One third she gave to the poor. And one third she took with her. She traveled to the academy of Rabbi Hiyya. She said to him, “Rabbi. Let me convert to Judaism.” He replied: “My daughter, have you cast your eyes upon one of my students?” She then showed him the note.

Rabbi Hiyya said: “Go and marry him! And those beds which you prepared for him as a prostitute, prepare for him as a wife.”

We will come back to the story later and analyze it more fully. How is this story current to today’s headlines? Of course I am speaking today about Governor Eliot Spitzer of New York. I have been mesmerized by this story as it has unfolded. My wife has asked me why this has grabbed my attention. This would seem to be a garden variety sex scandal. Big deal. But people who sabotage their lives and enable their own self-destruction fascinate me. God knows, it is hard enough to live in our busy and hectic lives. And the older we each get, the more we have to lose. So like the rest of America, when the Governor Spitzer story broke, I chuckled for a while. Then I shook my head. Then I wept for him and his family. Then I railed my fist at the television, because I had to witness the demise of another great man whose fall will add to the disillusionment of our society.

We have been let down by great men who have assumed the trust of their followers: Eliot Spitzer, Bill Clinton, Jimmy Swaggart, Gary Hart, Newt Gingrich, and Larry Craig, most recently. These are not the common folk who seek out a tryst in the middle of a night in some lonely bar someplace. These are great people who have enormous responsibilities and influence, and who have squandered their lives and reputations for some libidinous escapade. So there is something so compelling, satisfying, and tragic to witness the unraveling of great men by their own undoing, by the forces of greed and lust and power, which they let grow beyond their control. Every human being has a dark side, a hidden side, and thoughts and fantasies, which remain pent up in the human soul. Our Christian brothers and sisters would trace this sinful nature of human beings back to Adam and Eve’s disobedience in the Garden of Eden. We Jews understand human nature differently, and I believe more accurately and maturely.

Our sages understood the dark side of human nature. They also understood the bright side of human nature. Our sages divided the human soul into two equal parts, which, upon first glance, it seems work at cross-purposes with each other. We have the yetzer hatov, our inclination for good, which describes our inclination to be selfless, self-sacrificing, and concerned for the common good. All of us possess the yetzer hatov in good measure. We also have the yetzer hara, our inclination for evil, which describes our inclination to be possessive, greedy, and our desire to satisfy our more basic desires. Our rabbis taught us that both the yetzer hara and yetzer hatov are an integral part of what it means for us to be human, and both come from God. We are created in the divine image. Our yetzer hatov reflects God's desire for us. But so too does our yetzer hara..

So what are we to do with our yetzer hara? It is precisely our yetzer hara that motivates us to be creative and impactful on the world. Our rabbis taught in the Midrash (Genesis Rabba),

And God saw all that He had made, and found it very good…vehinei tov zeh yetzer hatov, vehinei tov me’od zeh yetzer hara – "good" refers to the Good Inclination but "very good" refers to the Evil Inclination.

Why? Because were it not for the yetzer hara no one would build a house, take a wife, give birth, or engage in commerce. The yetzer hara motivates us to get up every day, go to work, study hard in school, build businesses, take husbands and wives and create children. The yetzer hara is the most creative agent in motivating us to redeem God’s imperfect world.

But because the yetzer hara, our drive to fulfill ourselves through our desires is such a potent force, it is our obligation to master it, and not let it master us. Our rabbis taught that the greater the individual, the more accomplished and the more prominent he or she is, the greater is the individual’s yetzer hara. “Eizehu gibor, ha'kovesh et yitzro", "Who is the hero? The one who has control over his desires.” They also taught that we can in a moment’s time earn our salvation through acts of good deeds and repentance. And then we can also in a moment’s time, lose our place in the world to come by submitting to our yetzer hara.

The Torah anticipated the phenomenon of a mighty person who would consider himself or herself above the rules set by God. The book of Deuteronomy sets the King as the servant of Torah, and not as a master of people. Deuteronomy was wary of the hubris that powerful human beings might assume for themselves. The ideal leader is one, like Moses, who is humble before God and the people he is meant to serve. So Deuteronomy warns the people about the King and the institutionalization of the powerful:

Moreover, he shall not keep many horses or send people back to Egypt to add to his horses, since the LORD has warned you, “You must not go back that way again.” And he shall not have many wives, lest his heart go astray; nor shall he amass silver and gold to excess. When he is seated on his royal throne, he shall have a copy of this Torah written for him on a scroll by the Levitical priests. Let it remain with him and let him read in it all his life, so that he may learn to revere the Lord his God, to observe faithfully every word of this Torah as well as these laws. Thus he will not act haughtily toward his fellows or deviate from the Instruction to the right or to the left, to the end that he and his descendants may reign long in the midst of Israel. (Deuteronomy 17:16-20)

Permit me to return to Governor Spitzer. I don't pretend to understand what motivated the governor to self-destruct in such a tawdry manner. There is a lot more to it than a simple sexual tryst. Sometimes, when they say that it is not about sex, that's precisely what it is about—sex. And sometimes, when they say that it is about sex, there is a lot more to it, a lot more to it, than simply the passions of the moment. Michael Lerner, the editor of Tikkun Magazine wrote the following in the aftermath of this week's headlines.

Going to a prostitute is legal in some states and some countries around the world, and is often the very arrangement that saves families from splitting up whose sexual energies have diminished but whose love is intact. It's not uncommon for men (and now increasingly women as well) who have achieved great power in our society by adopting an outer show of ruthless pursuit of power and influence . . .to feel a deep emptiness and loneliness that is not addressed by friends or spouse, and hence to seek some kind of outside connection no matter how superficial that is not bound by previous rules and roles.

In my opinion, Lerner has misrepresented the nature of love and marriage. He separates our sexual energies from our emotional engagement with the people we are meant to love. The deep emptiness and loneliness is a symptom of a troubled soul, and not the result of some existential reality, which renders one incapable of close and intimate relations with the people we profess to love. Governor Spitzer's downfall was about sex, but I know deep inside that there was a lot more going on than simple sexual desire. And it is terribly unfair for Michael Lerner to imply that if Spitzer's wife were a little more forthcoming and energetic, that this state of affairs, so to speak, would never have come to pass.

For some people, powerful people, people who have been entrusted with the destiny of others, there can be a feeling of unworthiness. The responsibilities may be too overwhelming. So many people depend upon the powerful for their sustenance and for guidance. The more that the powerful identify their person with the offices and positions they serve, the more likely it is that they will disappoint the people who depend upon them. My heart goes out to Governor Spitzer's family, especially to his wife and children. We need to pray for them that in the course of time they will find wisdom and strength from this ordeal. In my rabbinate, I have found that people can better themselves from their misfortunes. I have found that sometimes great people become great only by understanding their weaknesses, and the weaknesses of those they love. We can only pray that this will be the case for Mrs. Spitzer, her children, and also for Governor Spitzer.

I want to make one last point before I conclude. Governor Spitzer broke the law and deserves the disgrace that he has brought upon himself. He deserves to be deposed from his position of authority. He has violated the trust of those who depended upon him, and he deserves to suffer the consequences of his actions. But Governor Spitzer still has enormous opportunities in front of him. Governor Spitzer can still achieve greatness in his life. We Jews believe in repentance. We Jews believe that no individual, no one, is beyond the ability to be redeemed. We Jews believe that everyone, saint and sinner alike, can live in repentance and be close to God. As a matter of fact, our Talmud teaches us that the repentant sinner is closer to God than one who has never sinned.

I am sure that Governor Spitzer is today counting his losses. And he has lost much. But in his humiliation, he is more dependent upon God now than he was last week. In his humiliation, he's more dependent upon the people who love him now than he was last week. Governor Spitzer now has the opportunity to learn just how great is the power of repentance and forgiveness, if not from the people of New York whom he has betrayed, then certainly from those closest to him. While none of us should ever vote for him again (and I don’t anticipate that opportunity to be forthcoming), as Jews, we should hope that he can emerge from this self-inflicted ordeal spiritually strengthened.

Parenthetically, I am proud of Mrs. Spitzer, who seems to be getting a bad rap from the media talking heads. None of us knows what words of love and sorrow and anger have passed between them. And she too has the opportunity to work through her sorrow and disappointment, and anger, to help keep her family intact. God knows that none of us would ever choose to walk in her shoes. But there are people who depend upon her too. And while none of us could ever blame her for throwing the bum out, none of us should be critical of her for her efforts to keep her family intact.

This has been a sobering Shabbat. Governor Spitzer's debacle has prompted each of us, beyond the titters and snickers, to examine our faith's most cherished ideals. Governor Spitzer's debacle has prompted each of us to examine our own yetzer hara, and the propensity for human beings to sometimes fail. It should also help us appreciate that tsitsit, the mitzvoth and the Torah that God has given us, which can keep intact our character, our good name, our families, and the lifetime of good works we hope to achieve. May God keep each of us strong and resolute, and should we ever think of acting in ways that would sully our character, may God fling those tsitsit in our face and remind us of our blessings and our obligations.

Shabbat shalom

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