Expert Advice

When a businessman came to ask the Rebbe for a blessing…

A lumber merchant once traveled to New York to visit the sixth Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn (1880–1950), seeking his blessing and advice.

After listening carefully to the man’s concerns and offering some business guidance, the Rebbe asked him:

“And how are your children?”

“Wonderful!” the father replied proudly.

“They’re getting top grades in school—real geniuses! I’m sure they’ll get into the best universities in the country.”

“And what about their Jewish education?” asked the Rebbe.

“Why not send them to yeshiva, so they can grow to be knowledgeable and committed Jews as well?”

“Rebbe… things are different here in America,” the man replied.

“The neighborhood we live in… their friends… it just wouldn’t fit.”

“The Torah is eternal,” the Rebbe said firmly.

“It applies in all times and all places. America is no exception. You can—and you must—give your children a Jewish education.”

But the businessman wasn’t convinced.

The Rebbe reasoned, urged, pleaded—but the visitor held his ground.

Finally, the Rebbe said:

“I don’t understand. Neither I nor my father were ever involved in business. Yet you came all the way from California to seek my advice about your most important business decisions.

But when it comes to your children’s education—something my father and I have dedicated our entire lives to—you’re not willing to listen to my advice?”