Leopardology & Jewish Identity
Kivi Bernhard, an international keynote speaker and author of the highly acclaimed, “Leopardology- the Hunt For Profit In a Tough Global Economy”, was invited to deliver the opening address at a very important Microsoft conference. Hundreds of international figures key to Microsoft's business were slated to be there, including Bill Gates.
Immediately realizing that the conference fell on Shabbat, Kivi told the speaker bureau, "I am Jewish and I don't work on a Saturday.” A senior VP of Microsoft called Kivi up and offered him double, even triple the rate to appear at the conference. It was explained that the meeting had been set some year and half in advance and that the theme was chosen around Leopardology etc. He said to Kivi, “What do you need? We'll send you the check, you write it.” But nothing they could do would sway Kivi.
Eventually, the meeting was in fact rescheduled to accommodate the holy Shabbat and Kivi Bernhard opened their meeting event with a keynote on Sunday morning instead.
Several months later, this senior global VP communicated to Kivi that subsequently he had an occasion to join Bill Gates on his private jet when this particular event came up. The Microsoft executive mentioned the unusual experience and the phenomena of having to work with the speaker bureau to reschedule the start date of the conference to accommodate a Jew's observance of the Sabbath.
He said to me this made quite an impact on Mr. Gates who remarked “there are some things that just cannot be bought with money… I guess the Sabbath is one of them.
More than sharing his fascinating insights on critical business strategy gleaned from the hunt of the African leopard, Kivi also displayed a far greater trait we learn from this animal. The beginning of The Code to Jewish Law opens up with a quote from the Ethics of our Fathers “One should be as bold as a leopard” and instructs us not allow ourselves to get intimidated or embarrassed by those who may oppose our Jewish identity and observance.
During the late 1800s and early-mid 1900s, there was a mass immigration of Jews to the U.S.A. running away from the pogroms, wars and anti-Semitism they experienced in Europe and other parts of the world. As they arrived on the shores on the “Goldene Medinah”, many of them felt that the only way to integrate into American society and prosper was to hide or maintain a low-profile regarding their Jewish identity.
During the 1950s, the Rebbe, Rabbi M.M. Schneerson, launched the now famous Mitzvah campaigns encouraging men, women and as well as children from all backgrounds and levels of observance to connect with their heritage and proudly display their Jewish identity by affixing Mezuzahs on their doors, lighting Shabbat candles, donning Tefillin, receiving a Jewish education etc.
The Rebbe would often explain that every Mitzvah that we do has inherent value, despite our overall level of observance or education. As long as we are doing a little more each day, we are fulfilling our responsibility and divine mission.
One of the well known campaigns the Rebbe encouraged was the lighting of the Menorah both at home and in public.
Initially, there was great opposition to this very visible public display of Judaism. Some people may have felt it would draw unnecessary negative attention to the Jewish community. Perhaps they felt it would be better keep a low-profile of our Judaism in America.
However, the Rebbe advocated that the Menorahs and its message of light, freedom and hope that it represented, was precisely the message the world so desperately needed to see and hear.
From the Eiffel Tower in Paris, to Burj Khalifa in Dubai, from Moscow's Red Square to 5th Avenue in NYC, large public Menorahs can now be found in almost every city and town with a Jewish population. Millions of Jews have gained a greater sense of pride and confidence in their Judaism as a result and many Gentiles have been inspired by the message of the Menorah to add more light in the world and to increase in performing acts of goodness and kindness.
In fact, many Gentile world leaders and dignitaries participate and assist with the Menorah lighting ceremonies. At Berlin's Brandenburg Gate, the same spot which once represented Nazi power, now stands a tall Menorah on Chanukah with the prime-minister of Germany honored with lighting the Shamash (lead candle).
In 1979, then President Carter was the first American president to be honored with lighting the Shamash of the Menorah on the White House Lawn. His participation made headlines as it was the first time he appeared in public since the start of the Iran Hostage Crisis. Every administration since then has sent a high level representative to be honored with the Menorah lighting each year. The public Menorahs have only increased the respect for the Jewish people in the eyes of the world.
In this week's Torah portion, Vayishlach, we learn about the reunion of Jacob with his brother Esau. As Jacob was making his way back home to Israel along with his family, he heard that his brother Esau was still angry at him and was coming towards him with 400 men with the intention to have him killed.
Jacob at first sent messengers to his brother in an effort to try and appease him. As the verse states, “Jacob sent messengers ahead of him to his brother Esau, to the land of Seir, the field of Edom. And he commanded them, saying, 'So shall you say to my master to Esau, Thus said your servant Jacob, I have lived with Laban, and I have tarried until now'.” -Genesis 32 1:2
Rashi comments on the words “I have lived…” and shares a deeper insight to Jacob's message: “The words גַּרְתִּי (in Hebrew) has the numerical value of 613. That is to say: I lived with the wicked Laban, but I kept the 613 commandments, and I did not learn from his evil deeds.”
Now, why would Esau, a known hunter and murderer, care about Jacob's personal Jewish identity and observance? Would it not be more effective for Jacob to impress Esau with his material wealth in the hopes of finding favor in his eyes?
Jacob understood that the only way to fight evil is with truth. By expressing his confidence in his identity and his staunch faith in G-d, Jacob was sending a message of strength and hope knowing that he would be saved from Esau's plans. Eventually, Jacob and Esau reunited with a brotherly embrace and, at least temporarily, made peace.
Our Sages explain that Jacob also represents the Jewish people while Esau represents the Gentile nations. That Jacob's first message to Esau was about his Jewish observance teaches us how we are to present ourselves to the world. We might have thought that to find favor in the eyes of the Gentile nations we should first highlight our commonality, downplaying our Jewishness and Jewish practice. From Jacob we learn that we should not be ashamed of our Judaism—in fact, we should highlight it. Exuding pride in our G-dly mission not only does not undermine our esteem in the eyes of the world, it enhances it.
When facing anti-Semitism, instead of feeling intimidated or ashamed of expressing our Judaism in public, we should combat it by expressing more Jewish pride. For every hate-crime or act of vandalism, we should add another Mitzvah and encourage our friends to do the same.
When Jacob confronted Esau, although Jacob was prepared for the Redemption, Esau was not, and the task of refining Eisav and the material world associated with him had to continue for millennia. However, in the present era, the representation of Esau has now been refined as we are witnessing the unprecedented cooperation and mutual respect between the Jewish people and the Gentile world, especially through the leadership of the U.S.A., a country of kindness, as well as many other countries around the globe.
Today, Jewish people can proudly and openly display and practice their Judaism while enjoying the highest levels of success and respect in practically all levels of government and corporate America.
To be clear, there is still much progress that needs to be made. The threats of violence, anti-Semitism and all forms of bigotry is unfortunately still prevalent. Recent tragic events remind us that we must do more to better the world. However, relatively speaking, we live in a very prosperous era.
As the holiday of Chanukah approaches, let us each become an Ambassador of Light by encouraging our friends, neighbors and co-workers to light the *Menorah and bring more light and warmth in to this world with the coming of Moshiach!
