A Snide Reference?

I read this in the NYTimes about the wife of James Cayne, the chairman of Bear Stearns, whose company is in trouble, in a story they published today:

Patricia Cayne, who is a student of Jewish religious traditions

Really? Really!

Here's what Rebbitzen Jungereis has said:-

From the moment I met Pat 17 years ago and she began to study Torah with me, she has never wavered from that commitment. Today, she continues to attend my classes with the same enthusiasm that she had on the first day, the only difference being that today, Baruch HaShem, she has her daughter joining in our sessions as well.

And this is what Penina herself said:-

In my family, my father’s sister and my mother’s two brothers have no Jewish descendants. The lineage our ancestors died for is lost. And three entire Jewish families are GONE!

If seventeen years ago, G-d had not put the Rebbetzin in my life, and then, if the Rebbetzin had not put Torah in my life, my Jewish family would also have disappeared.

When I met the Rebbetzin, like most assimilated Jews, I knew absolutely nothing about Judaism. I didn’t know about the Torah, the Sabbath or the life style of the Orthodox. It is not that I rejected any Judaic concepts, I simply didn’t know they existed. But once I started Torah classes with the Rebbetzin, all of that changed. My thinking, my interests, my reading, the food that I ate, my dress, time, conversations, friends and my world changed. Torah study transformed my life and reversed the assimilation process.

Nice, but what has that to do with the husband's finances?

Well, according to unnamed sources:

Cayne has spent considerable time searching for comparable events in religious history to see what lessons can be learned from the collapse of his firm, said a person who has spoken to him recently.

Ah, so it's not an antisemitic snide. Just a religious moment.