Michael Steinberg - Colel Chabad Dinner 2015 / 5776

keser shemtov the crown of a good name is the crown that transcends all others Michael Steinberg is truly the master of a good name radiating sensitivity joy and optimism in every direction Michael is a genuine and loyal friend and a wonderful Nisha he has exemplary humility genuine AAS Israel and considers Sedaka a joyful Duty ladies and gentlemen tonight's ker keser Shmo awarde Michael Steinberg work Rabbi Shimon would say there are three crowns the crown of Torah the crown of priesthood and the crown of sovereignty but the crown of a good name surmounts all of them keser sham Award presented to Michael Steinberg K kabad International Awards dinner good evening and thank you thank you for this great honor I'm delighted to be here tonight and so grateful for this recognition mazalov to my fellow honores this award has particular significance for me and I was very touched when Rabbi duchman first proposed it it's very meaningful to me and the timing of it couldn't be better just eight weeks ago the Department of Justice was forced to dismiss a very public and long-standing case against me the the case red of prosecutorial abuse from the very start and it withered under judicial review leading the charges to be dropped in October but the experience lasted four years it was a very difficult period for me and my family very humiliating and damaging I've come to appreciate Warren Buffett's wisdom when he said it takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to destroy it the man who coined the phrase kesser shemtov was nearly destroyed himself by the great adversity he faced during his storied life Rabbi Shimon barai or rashby is a towering figure in Jewish history who Zohar became the chief work of the cabala he's still revered today not just for his scholarly work but also for the highly principled and Pious life that he led in his day he was severely persecuted by the Roman authorities for defending what he believed in he was forced to flee his comfortable life and he led lived in a cave for 13 years with his son his Storch character and dedication to Hashem carried him through the ordeal and when the Roman Emperor's decrees were eventually abolished he returned to his community to great a claim I know of no one who better embodies the idea of living a principal life than our hosts tonight Rabbi dman and his son my dear friend zman I feel privileged to know the dhans and there's no way I could supply enough superlatives to fully capture who they are inspiring teachers effective leaders tireless Defenders of those who need in need but one quality stands out to me and that's their commitment the duchman specialize in commitment they're committed to Torah study devoted to their families and dedicated to making the world a better place they identify problems no matter the size and fervently work to solve them whether it's food security for the entire nation of Israel or a single orphan in hia the dman and K kabad are fully committed they are also the most loyal friends they don't run away from people and from problems they run toward them they unapologetically fight for what they believe in these are the people who make a difference in the world the dman certainly made a difference in my life our relationship started a decade ago when they rekindled my interest in Torah for several years we had weekly studied together in my Midtown office surrounded by brightly lit screens stacks of research and Technical charts and plenty of testosterone our sessions may have drawn a few curious glances at first but it didn't take long for zman to become a respected and welcome fixture there there were even a few 3% days in the market when my non-jewish friends wondered if they could join us in prayer and I recall one especially rocket study session on a September morning when buy and sell orders had to be shouted above zman's blowing of the chaar but through it all Zan made the weekly paraa come alive with meaning for me and in that tutelage our deep bond of friendship was formed that friendship helped sustain me during my darkest days when I was pillared in the press and my reputation threadbear I continued to meet with zon and put on to Fillin regularly throughout my ordeal and the strength I drew from my study helped me greatly get through it thank you zman my friends family and profess professional Community also stood behind me several of them who are here tonight were by my side the entire time too offering encouragement love and support I'm grateful to each of you my parents Sandy and Maurice Steinberg whose good name I carry gave me the grit to endure all the indignities They reminded me to hold my head high as I had done nothing wrong I drew strength from looking at my mother's face and she told me later she Drew strength from looking at mine my beautiful life Liz Liz never faltered bless her heart for four long years she stood strong clear-minded and filled with purpose to maintain a normal loving Jewish home she allowed me to lean on her whenever I needed to Liz has the strongest moral character she's incredibly kind and giving and she's the great lover of my life and then there are my beautiful children Kate and Zachary whose daily needs kept it real I know they will someday draw deep and Powerful lessons from the experience they were my motivation to fight I love you guys I'm really grateful to be here today I'm a proud supporter of the doans and Kel habad and I have complete faith they will continue their breathtaking work for many years to come I also have renewed faith in our legal system I have learned firsthand that abuses of the system do occur that can lead innocent people to being harmed but as harrowing as those experiences can be I believe they need not change the core of Who We Are by maintaining one's dignity values and Faith you can remain true to yourself as I look forward I'm excited for the future I look forward to the next chapter of my business life and for the opportunity to further the Kel kabad ideal of helping people in need in doing so I hope I will continue to honor my family name thank you