Anatevka
While the name Anatevka is famously known as the village from “Fiddler on the Roof”, in recent years, the modern village of Anatevka was established by Rabbi Moshe Azman, one of the Chabad representative in Kiev, to house refugees attempting to escape the Russian bombing on the eastern border of Ukraine.
A Gift Which Money Can’t Buy
Kivi Bernhard, an international keynote speaker and author of the highly acclaimed "Leopardology: The Hunt For Profit In a Tough Global Economy," received an invitation to deliver the opening address at a prominent Microsoft conference. The event was expected to host hundreds of international figures vital to Microsoft's business, including Bill Gates.
The Big Picture
“Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff”. This popular saying is often used to remind ourselves or others that it isn't worth getting upset or stressed about minor issues.
Effective managers are able to share the vision of their company with their employees and partners so that while each team member may be preoccupied with their specific tasks on a daily basis, they also understand how their work contributes to the success of the business as a whole. This realization motivates each member of the team to carry out even seemingly trivial tasks with the greatest care and at the same time not allow inconsequential challenges to consume them.
Israel: Post October 7
Uvda, described by Variety as “the local equivalent to CBS News' 60 Minutes”, ran a segment that featured United Hatzalah members Avi and Avi who had been celebrating Shabbat and the holiday with their families and community when they first heard the news of the horrific attacks on October 7th. Following the Torah's injunction that saving a life supersedes all other laws, they jumped into their ambulance and started heading south.
Priorities: Business or Clients?
Providing good customer service is an important part of any successful business. However, to what extent should a company be ready to accommodate a client's request or perhaps absorb a financial loss? What if the loss came as a result of extraneous circumstances such as a pandemic which is beyond the control of the business or the client?
Priorities
With only so much time in our day and with a finite amount of resources and energy, we are often faced with the challenge of prioritizing and choosing between various responsibilities and opportunities to engage with at any given moment.
This may express itself in finding the right work-life balance such as choosing between staying an extra hour in the office or returning home to spend quality time with our children before they go to bed. Or it may manifest itself in how we choose to invest our philanthropic dollars or community engagement.
Unconditional Love
A little while ago, after being disciplined for misbehavior, my son innocently asked me, “Do you still love me?”
It’s easy to dismiss children’s words as just blabber. Though, often enough, the most profound ideas and insights can be gleaned from the expressions and refreshing questions of small children.
By asking “Do you still love me”, he was essentially wondering if a parent's love to a child is unconditional or if it is conditional on good behavior.
Chosen for What?
In a well-known quote from "Fiddler on the Roof," Tevye gazes heavenward and ponders on his many misfortunes, "Dear G-d…I know, I know. We are Your chosen people. But, once in a while, can't You choose someone else?"
For good or for worse, the nations of the world have always been obsessed with the Jewish people. Despite Israel's best efforts to prove that it is just like any other country, the world will always treat Israel differently. Indeed, what does it mean to be the Chosen People?
Think Big
Several years ago, renowned Radio & TV Host personality Dave Ramsey addressed a diverse audience of thousands at a convention and shared insights from a book that he felt had changed his life.
The book, "Thou Shall Prosper" by Rabbi Daniel Lapin, delves into how the Jewish people have had the tendency to prosper way beyond their population size in every setting they have ever been in throughout history. The Jewish people today, constituting only 3% of the American population, remarkably make up 67% of the Forbes 400 list.
Reciprocity
Throughout all stages in life and the various relationships we develop, we tend to be both a recipient and a provider.
Children are dependent on their parents for food, shelter and basic necessities, while they give boundless joy, Nachas, and love to their parents in return.
Educators and mentors guide and greatly impact the lives of their students by instilling within them exemplary morals and imparting them with invaluable wisdom and inspiration. In turn, students give their teachers and mentors a sense of fulfillment while helping them crystalize and better understand their subject matters.
Altruism & Happiness
Israel is ranked as the fourth happiest country in the world, according to the UN-sponsored World Happiness Report. The obvious question arises: how can Israel, the only civilized nation under constant mortal danger, maintain such happiness? Despite ongoing threats from Iran and its terrorist proxies like Hamas and Hezbollah, along with facing global boycotts and condemnations, what are the sources of this happiness?
No Free Lunch?
How often do we encounter an apparent freebie only to find out about the hidden fees or many strings attached. As the popular saying goes, “there is no such thing as a free lunch".
It is only human and natural for us to have the “what's in it for me” attitude when conducting business. However, Judaism teaches us that we should strive to develop a selfless approach while interacting with one another and to help others wholeheartedly without any preconditions or expectations of receiving something in return.
An Objective Truth
Elie Wiesel, an author, Nobel Prize laureate, and renowned Holocaust survivor, once recounted his visit to Brooklyn in the early '60s to meet with the Rebbe, M.M. Schneerson.
Wiesel posed a poignant question to the Rebbe, asking, "How can you believe in G-d after Auschwitz?" The Rebbe responded by looking at him in silence, his hands resting on the table. After a moment, he shed a tear and softly replied, "In whom do you expect me to believe after Auschwitz? In man?"
A Moment of Silence
Depicted over the gallery doors of the House Chamber in the U.S. Capitol are 23 historical figures noted for their work in establishing the principles that underlie American law. Moses, is in the center, facing forward, with 11 portraits on either side facing right and left toward him. Of course, this is in recognition of the fact that the foundations of a moral and ethical society must be predicated on a belief in G-d as transmitted to Moses, the Jewish people and, by extension, the whole world at Mount Sinai.
Proactive Versus Reactive
When news spread of the disturbing acts of anti-Semitic vandalism that took place at Jewish-owned shops in the Golden Horseshoe Shopping Center in Westchester on January 25, 2024, the Jewish community was rightfully shaken, disturbed, and indignant in the face of these shocking events.
Just Do It
“Just Do It” is not only a clever Nike marketing slogan, it's a way of life.
We may find ourselves at times inspired to launch a new business, take on a new project, spend more time with our family, or reconnect more with our Jewish identity. However, after the initial excitement wears off, it may become challenging to keep focused on attaining our goals.
The Game Plan
When an individual, business, organization or community is faced with a challenge, there are often a variety of ways to respond to the issue. One group may easily give up when the problem seems insurmountable. A second group may choose to compromise their values and quality in order to avoid a greater potential loss. A third group may try to aggressively oppose and resist the challenge. And yet a fourth group may passively sit back and hope things will work out on its own.
Song of the Soul
In a moving video clip from early October, a young man named Yehuda Becher can be seen singing a soul-stirring song he composed to the prayer “My G-d, the soul that You have placed before me, it is pure.” Tragically, just a few days later, Yehuda was murdered by terrorists at the Nova Music Festival, along with over 1200 of our beloved brothers and sisters, during the Simchat Torah October 7th massacre.
It's a Beautiful World
On the evening of January 17th, 1951- 10th Shevat, 5711, a diverse crowd of a few hundred people which included holocaust survivors, refugees from Stalinist Russia and American-born young students, all gathered at the headquarters of the Chabad Lubavitch movement, 770 Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn, NY, in anticipation of a monumental event that was about to occur.
Optimism
Once, a disciple of the Rebbe Rashab, Rabbi Sholom Dovber Schneerson (1860-1920), despairingly came to the Rebbe to receive his blessing and guidance after experiencing a devastating loss to his once successful business.
The Rebbe Rashab listened and then said: “One of the wondrous attractions in Vienna is a great big wheel (the Wiener Riesenrad, constructed in Vienna in 1887, one of the oldest extant Ferris Wheels in the world)