The Moment Alan Rosenstock Realized Food Boxes Weren't Enough

I want to know how you found two minutes to even leave the office today. Like It's been a busy day. I've been The cases I met with this morning, it's horrible. I left with one of them just They're still at my desk. Horrible stuff. I just went to the last case just now. Um a young lady with a genetic disorder. One in 200,000 people have it. It's leads towards blindness. Um regular person wants to go to work. Uh impossible challenges. That was just That's the most recent case. I met one after that this morning. You're saying it's impossible to go to work, right? So that >> She cannot work. She can't work. >> People have this vision of an old lady sitting in an apartment. No, no, it's a regular person. A regular person. Hashem said, "This is This is your challenge." And that's what's going on there. Right. >> That That was the most recent, but I had a whole string of them this morning, straight from one to the next. I'm going to have one when I come back. >> Welcome back everybody to another amazing episode of the Nunya Business Podcast. I'm your host Michael Greenfield. Today with me is the leader of Tomchei Shabbos. I would say the leader of our community and uh in so many ways you are uh synonymous with just chesed, helping, and uh everything else along with it. I've learned so much from you, so I will call you Rabbi. Rabbi Alan Rosenstock is here with us from Tomchei Shabbos. Thank you so much for being here. I appreciate the time that you are spending with us. I know that every minute you're with us here is, you know, time that you're not spending helping others. So it's very meaningful that you're able to do this, but this also helps others. I thank you for having me. I'm not a rabbi, and I'm not a leader of the community. Otherwise, I agree with everything you said. I'm just one of the people who participate to the best of my ability. Okay, let's slow down a little bit. First of all, as far as a community is concerned, a community with Hatzalah and a community with Tomchei Shabbos is not a community without those two, right? Like you need to have certain things. You need to have a shul. You need to have a minyan of people. You actually need 15 people at least so that five don't show up, right? And [laughter] you have to have a I think a Hatzalah, right? Probably a supermarket or two or like a season's or two, you know, and a hat box, and you know, but a Tomchei Shabbos is really like essential in having a community. And to me that that's why I look at you as a leader of a community. Um I also ordain you as a rabbi because I learned from you. And to me that's more important than anything. Um forget about your understanding of meat and milk and the rules of engagement in the kitchen. To me it's more important that you're learning something from someone and that's where I call someone a rabbi. To me you're a rabbi. Um I look up to you. You're a person that I've been following for a very, very long time. We've had our a lot of connections in the past with the volunteer work that we've crossed paths with over the years. Um Today though, it's really more about getting to know who you are, what your background is, where you're from, what got you to what you're doing, what your wish list is, what is happening in the world right now, and what to expect from the future. That's really the conversation breakdown that I'd like to do with you today. So, first of all, welcome to the program. Thank you. Thank you for having me. >> you being here. And of course, thank you to all our subscribers. Thank you to the Prime Source production team and to all the wonderful work that we're putting out there in the world, which is amazing. You're familiar with podcasts already, so you know you know the concept of what you're doing here. Um but we try to do things a little bit differently in terms of, you know, it's not really about all about Tomchei Shabbos. I think most people know already today what Tomchei Shabbos is. Um but I really want to dive a little bit deeper A into who you are, but B more importantly as well, I said I mean just as important I would say, is the need of Tomchei Shabbos. And when it comes to the challenges that people have in a community, like what it means to help, what are the guidelines of helping, when when should someone help, what's enabling, what's not, when do you feel like it's important to step up, when should people, you you get involved or the frustrations of them not getting involved and I want to get into all that if that's okay with you. Yeah. You got to use this once by the way in case it comes up and I ask you a question and it's uh you know if >> [laughter] >> something that you By the way, you know, getting you to laugh was one of my most important goals of today. So I'm already good. We can shut this down and move on because [laughter] I know that you live in a life of uh challenges in terms of dealing with others and it's must be very difficult for you. Um where did this come from? Who are you? Where Where are you from? Where are your parents, grandparents from? Where did you grow up? Give me a little bit of a who you are. I grew up proudly in Washington Heights to refugee parents in a refugee community. And I've often felt I'm richer for it because their perspective is one that can't be replicated in today's world. It's it's a humble you know Rab Broyer used to say that the killer was built with the pennies of penniless refugees. You could walk into a shul of 500 men and maybe 6 700 ladies. Of course that as the shul was packed every Shabbos and you couldn't tell who had money, who didn't have money. We were friends. No one was trying to show off the other one. It was the warmest, the most encouraging way to grow up. And my parents who both are from pre-war Germans pre-war Germany they were part of that fabric and I was privileged to grow up in a family like that and in community like that. Wow. Okay, that's amazing. You said a lot by the way. First of all, you said that the shuls are filled with women. So that's a thing in where you grew up in the in the world because today I don't know if it's as it was then, you know, uh there are women that come to shul, but uh it's always like three quarters of men and a quarter of of of women. I think in those shuls in those days there was a much bigger space for women to come. What changed? I don't know. I I don't want to indict today's society. Many things have changed, but I have to tell you when I when I I remember I probably saying that the reason there was a huscama minion is so that the wife can come also. He had little children. Of course, there was no Arab. So, a husband and wife both felt the need to daven but see but in in pack Kayla. So, they had a huscama minion so the husband can go to huscama and then the wife can go to the main minion. It was pretty unthinkable for lady to say on all of my my sister went with my mother with the grandmother say that Did Did everyone went? All the ladies went to school. Wow. I don't know what changed, but things changed. What do you think it was? What do you think it is? Society? That That's too long for this podcast. Um I try to live in today's world. And then as Rabbi Simcha Shwab used to say, the good old days weren't. I can't live in yesteryear. I face today's challenges in today's world, in today's society, and that's doesn't help me to reflect on the past. And why we are where we are today. I got to face the reality of today and addressing the challenges of today. I mean, that's what I do. Okay, that's a healthy way of looking at it. I like that. So, but let's go back a minute for the way you grew up in that society in that world. What kind of tzedakah organizations were there then? What can we learn from then? Like when you said that everybody was sort of on the same playing field and you didn't feel that one person was wealthier than another. There wasn't the front of shul or back of shul feeling, I guess. So, what kind of chesed organizations were there when you grew up? So, I can't say there were many chesed organizations. Chesed was done quietly. Um the most beautiful thing that they What most beautiful method of tzedakah they had is something we've adopted here with their permission. When someone is sitting shiva, we give them a wooden box that's locked and it's got a slit in it. And we give them an envelope. And in that envelope is two things. Hundreds of dollars in cash and a letter. And the letter says quotes the kids Shulchan Aruch that says woe to the community where someone cannot sit shiva properly because they need the parnassa. And therefore every single person who sits shiva in our community is getting this box, this letter, and this money. If you need the money, you take it. If you don't need the money, you slide it into the lockbox. Since we have many boxes that are all identical and then we are only we only open them on occasion no one will ever know who took and who didn't take. It's a beautiful way of giving tzedakah. And I was so touched that not only did I ask if we could bring that to our community and Tomchei Shabbos does that but I actually asked to borrow one of the boxes and I built the same box and we have maybe a dozen such boxes and it goes to everyone as as as as as as as as long as we know about the shiva. That's a beautiful thing. Wow, I never knew this. This is very cool. I love it. So, someone sits shiva, you have a box that gets delivered to them and there's an envelope with it. How much money is in there? Do we Hundreds. It used to be 500, now it's 300. It's a token. It's not going to make it and no one has to this day I I go I'll give it to a millionaire and he says, "Alan, this is insulting." He said, "Do me a favor. If you didn't take it then we'll just be giving it to people who are struggling. It'd be embarrassing." So, everyone has to have it. And they read the letter and they accept it and we put the box there and the letter, envelope money. >> Wow, what a cool concept. It's a beautiful thing. Uh take me back to where you were growing up. I like that you went through it so quickly, but I also want to go back to it a little bit. So, you know, what schools did you go to afterwards? When did you get involved in Tomchei Shabbos? Did you work for a company? Like, what was your life like as, you know, post teenager and you know, your your definitely an entrepreneur type of mindset person because you're a a you're on the move, you're a networker, you're you're you're responsible for what budget a year? Uh the budget is we raise between 10 and 11 million dollars a year. Okay, so you're running a over 10 million dollar organization, right? That's a big feat and that's something that doesn't come lightly and it's a lot of responsibility and it's something that comes from experience of dealing with something or you know, you have in you a certain way of thinking or doing. So I would like to tap into who that is. Who are you? Where did that come from? What did you start off as? >> It's actually simpler than you can imagine. After high school uh I went to college at night working in the jewelry industry during the day. In 1993, I opened up my own business. As you mentioned, I'm entrepreneurial. One business led to the next and I was vertically integrated. Um I was traveling frequently to Asia. I started manufacturing there. It was one day that someone when we were carpooling, a group of my friends were driving to Manhattan. That's where my my uh company was located and everyone had to drive in all the employees. One day I was in the off I I know in the car on the way back, I still remember it was the George Washington Bridge and someone said, you know, there's someone in our community there's no food. If any of your wife would maybe want to drop off some food, make a cook or something, just drop it off on the lawn. I was stunned by the comment and when I got home, I I made a phone call to two no one knew anything about it. So to tell you how long ago that was, I took my Ford Taurus station wagon and I drove to Pathmark. Now neither of those exist anymore. And I loaded up the back of the car with food and I drove over to the person's house and I just put everything on the lawn and drove away. Um the next morning I found out that some of that food went to waste because the family's electricity had been shut off. They didn't have refrigeration. And I just made some phone calls like anyone else from the office on next day. Just how is it possible in today's days early 90s? How is it possible that this family without food? The money you know, that sounds like the old style ghetto. You know, Eastern Europe 1831. Not in the 1990s and uh I found out that they had some people doing different things, but there was no unified effort. I started doing homework, looking into it, making some phone calls. And I think my yeshiva's background helped that what I did is all I did is put some people together and said let's if you all would work together, we wouldn't have people sliding through the cracks like that. So, What community was this? Monsey. Oh, this was Monsey. >> Monsey. I was living in Monsey. Moved to Monsey in 1984. Oh, got it. Okay. >> I got married. So, I banned people together and I said, you know, I'll take care of the money. Just do what you have to do and at the time I could write the check. It wasn't a big to do. And once we had unified and we'd created the the organizational name Tomchei Shabbos of Rockland County, well, people started coming out of the woodwork. We started hearing about other people. So, you created the name Tomchei Shabbos knowing that Tomchei Shabbos is a known name? Like how did that happen? >> Tomchei Shabbos of Boro Park, they weren't I they weren't many of them. They had Tomchei Shabbos of Boro Park. I don't know if they had other So, we created Tomchei Shabbos of Rockland County. >> Your own little 501c3, but you're using the name to be >> even have a 501c3. Let's go back to when we first started. We didn't have a bank account. We didn't have an organizational name. We didn't have a 501c3. We had nothing. And what we did is there was a tzaddik called Rabbi Paluchik who was living in Williamsburg. Had I don't know if he's alive anymore. His organization's name is Tzedakah of a Chesed. And he used to give to the needy leftover food from the bakeries and butchers, whatever they can with anything left over. And every second week a volunteer, remember Shlomo's Army? He was a bus driver for the Monsey bus lines. Not in this exists anymore. I'm sure he's around somewhere. He would drive after he dropped off his route in Monsey, he would drive to Williamsburg to pick up whatever was left over from their distribution and he would bring it up to us. And we would go ahead and distribute it. The accumulated effort at the time was about 24 families. Like everyone. And I often wondered if we're doing them a favor or not. The The challahs were hard as a board. There was There was nothing You know, we did this every second week. Well, I was busy with my jewelry and I just suggested that, you know, we stop stepping it up and maybe we should buy our own challahs. Well, we didn't have any money. I said, "Well, it's not a problem." So, remember when I asked people, if I couldn't write the check myself because it started growing, I I would ask people, "Can you write a check?" Well, they wrote the check to Bais Feiga and to get a tax deduction and Bais Feiga wrote a check to the bakery. So, I still remember Marsha Eisenberg, a non-religious woman on First Avenue working for like a a council over there, Jewish Council. She got us tax First we recuperated from the sales tax in the county. She got us tax deductibility. Um Well, that was like winning a lottery. People could write checks to us. And then we had volunteers who would take the checks and deposit them. Initially, I was doing every check I would deposit in the bank. Every Friday we'd go to the bank. And I would make the deposits myself. So, while I was doing my business on the side, I just kept stamping checks for deposits and write a deposit slip. 100% of the time the bank would send back the slip the following week correcting my mathematical errors or whatever it is. I still remember those days. There were no employees. There was no one. There was just my shirt pocket. I would go to the bank and every week they taught the staff to greet people by name. I remember they would say every weekend, "And have a wonderful weekend, Mr. Schwartz." And after maybe two, three months of this, I said, "You know, I come here every week. You can call me just Just call me Tom Schwartz. That's fine." I You can be on a first name basis with me. It's all good. >> Um so, then when I when I when I was getting everyone wrong, so then this volunteer picked it up for 6 months, that month, etc. We just We did the best we could. And it slowly grew. I guess the biggest change occurred I was sitting in my company in the in the jewelry office. I said, "Wow, what a failure. We are the most embarrassing organization out there. Every box of food we send out represents a failure. It represents a failure of Israel having found that person a working job during the week. Why we patting ourselves on the back for delivering a box of food? We're not heroes. We can and must do more. And so, what I did is I started advocating for the first person job, then the next person. We started doing job placement. And it became very taxing. I was doing that at the same time I was running my business, and we had employees, and it was like when I was traveling to Asia. Up to my my record of seven times in 1 year. I was manufacturing right there. It But that I started counting our successes by how many boxes of food we didn't send out. Today, if I can jump ahead a little bit, our job placement division, person Rabbi Markowitz, is placing of average of four jobs for unemployed people per week. I am closest with him. That is a success. A box of food is not a success. But then, when we were doing all this job placement, we found people who had zero job skills. They were a diamond setter. They were a bus driver, truck driver. They're not going to be the finest of family with us finding them such a similar job. So, I started contacting people to say, "Can you teach a course? Can you teach this man?" Actually, I said, "Can you teach this man? I spoke in in two of these men in one Shabbos morning. After speaking, some guy came to me and said, "Can I speak to you privately?" Which is standard. Either means he's broke or he's going to give him a million dollars. There's no way to know. Same face. They're all like poker faces. And he said he was in the jewelry industry, and I know this man. He's not alive anymore. He said, "My business is gone. It collapsed. It's gone. I'm going to have to find a job, and I don't know how to use a computer." And the following week I spoke in Rabbi Shabbos issue, and I repeated that story. I said, "Someone here can teach that man how to use a computer." And that shul had a meeting run by Dov and Leiwand, the orthodontist. They put a Sunday to put a meeting together, and they said if there's one there's got to be a bunch of them. We're going to teach every single person how to use a computer, anyone who needs it. And we formed classes. And now we have uh QuickBooks classes. Okay, so that feeds directly into job placement. Now, there's some people there's nothing you can do. And that's where the food box comes in. Today I met with uh this woman who has a genetic disease. It's leading to blindness. A single lady wants to go off to work. She can't work. Yesterday I met with a single mother who doesn't have a car. Can't get to work. And we're working on all sorts of things. We're trying to put the package together. And there's some people who we're dealing with now with uh a man who had uh a kidney a liver transplant, but things have gone wrong. He hasn't worked in weeks weeks. Hasn't worked in months. I Before Pesach, there was a man in our community who had a massive heart attack. As we speak, he's on a trache. He gets dialysis. He was the breadwinner there. The wife has a menial job. Impossible. They can't afford a thing. So, there is a place for food, but only if there's no other option. Wow, I I'm I'm blown away by what you're saying because before I had you here today, I had questions that you know, I started asking people in my circles when I see them in the mornings or you know, um I'm speaking to them and I'm like, "Oh, I'm having a guest. What's a good question I should ask?" And one of the questions that I got when I told people that I'm interviewing you was is totally Shabbos maybe enabling people you know, is giving away food to people just showing them that their mindset is wrong and you're just you know, you're feeding into their challenges. I didn't even have to ask the question to you when you answered it to me already. So, we have a psak um that from my brother-in-law Zev Telsner if someone is not doing all they can do, we have no claim to give him tzedakah at all. Period. End of statement. One more time. If someone >> is not doing all that they can do >> How do you know what all they can do is? Excellent question. That's a qualified excellent. But first of all, that goes back to the Kli Yakar. Also of Tosaf Yom Tov, he says, if the only says he can't find us me and doesn't work to help themselves, no chiyuv. And without that, we had a family whose electricity was shut off. And this man nothing. He was busy with investments, which means going to Yankel to return money to to Shimon whatever round and round. Nothing. Completely meaningless. Nothing that we did not turn on the electricity. I know that man and I saw the orange and white and truck pulling out. He begged me for it cuz his grandkids were over. Now, that may strike you as home as heartless. We have a psak and that goes back to the Kli Yakar. So, we need I always tell people I'm looking for a partner and you are my partner. What are you doing? We will partner with you. So, if they let let's say we can find them a job at $60,000 a year. They can't live on $60,000 a year. We'll help you. But I need to know you're getting up in the morning going to work. And after 4 5 6 months here, let's see if you can move up in the company or get a different job and we're going to help you cuz Leiby Markowitz of job placement will step in. But you I'm going you to do all you can before you come to us. I have a couple, wonderful couple. The wife is medically challenged, hasn't to work. Husband was earning the princely sum of $65,000 he was a bookkeeper. Before Pesach he had a triple bypass. What's the plan? He's doing all he can. They they they really don't make it. They just juggle everything. And then he's out. Okay, so we have to provide them with food for Pesach. But that's what they do what they can. That's what it's supposed to be. No, we don't enable No one wants to be able to point to get a box of food at the door. No one. I don't care who you are. How do they How are they paying their clothing? How are they buying their kids clothing? How do they pay medical insurance? How do they get and keep their kids in school? How do they get gas for the car? I'm curious, did your mindset change over the years that you learn as you got involved in this? You're you're quoting like, you know, Halachas and Rabbonim that are have given you, you know, authority to do certain things, you know, What is it Did it shift for you? Was it a mind change for you because like I'm curious like in the beginning if it was like, "No, no, no, everyone needs to get in How was that mind shift for you as a leader of this organization? Had I not shifted my mindset, that would have been the greatest failure of time. I'm a different person today than it was 10 years ago and I hope I can say the same thing again in 10 years. The most important thing I've done is document all and shiva so no I can't show it to you. Um all and shiva for last 30 some odd years. And they've been riveting, fantastically interesting, fantastic. I'm gone as far as I can get to see all the others and fantastic. >> Can you share a question? What are those Oh, many of them. Um one of them is fantastic. Um I was I was just recounting it this morning at the office. Uh A well-known wealthy fellow called me up. He must meet with me. It's an emergency. But in private. Okay. So we agreed that that night we we came up with a place. It was a back of a whatever. And he looked down and said, "I I don't know how to say this, but my business is about to go bankrupt. You're the only one who can save it." I had no idea what this man was talking about. I'm a jewelry manufacturer, and he was in an unrelated line. I said, "How can I save it? What can I do?" And he slid across the desk to me a check for $5,000. He said, "Get this to the Nium. It's the only thing that will save my business." Now, my Rebbe is Dayan Doner in London. I called the Dayan and I said, "Fantastic story. You got to hear this story. Great." Sunday, he called me back and said, "I discussed the shidduch with Rav Chaim Kanievsky." I said, "Shidduch? I told you a story." He said, "No. It's a shidduch. If someone's going bankrupt, do they have the halachic right, that means his debts exceeds his assets, does he have the halachic right to take money and give it to tzedakah? That was the shidduch that was presented from Dayan Doner to Rav Chaim Kanievsky based upon that story." Now, it's so interesting. I would not have thought this a shidduch. I thought I was telling a story. And Rav Chaim Kanievsky paskened number one, yes. Number two, he asked for the name of the person so he could daven for the person's parnassah. That's a true leader. Now, it's interesting. When he paskened yes, what he was saying is, if I told you you can advertise your product in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, whatever, and you'll have an ROI, return on investment, you'd say, "Sure." What he's saying is what the Memorbuch Hazal uh have presented us with as guaranteed assurances with Gabi giving tzedakah, that is stronger than any advertisement. That is an investment with an unbelievable ROI. That's what Chaim Kanievsky was teaching us through that pasuk. Now, that was just one of many, many. It's very interesting. That's beautiful, and I appreciate you sharing. I want to I want to um go over this topic for a second simply because two things I'm thinking about, a few things I'm thinking about as you're talking, and uh I want to get into it now is that you're a parent, right? You are a father and you have responsibilities of being a father. You're, you know, a husband, a father, you know, you're a person that has a lot of responsibilities at home as well on top of the responsibilities of the organization and I'm reminded by a conversation I had a few years ago with Hatzalah member's wife who told me, "I wish my husband would run as quickly to our needs as he does to the community's needs." And it just blew me away and I was like, "Wow, that's that's sad, you know, but it's it's something that's alarming at the same time." We should recognize that, you know, "Chesed starts at home, right?" That that old adage. How did you figure that part out? Did you figure it out? Were there challenges to you? I happen to know one of your children and you know, he's a phenomenal person and just a personality and you know, easygoing but at the same time vivacious and just a, you know, a person that's very, very successful in his own way and he speaks so highly of you and every time I speak to him and um so I know you did a great job with one of your kids cuz that >> My wife did a great job. You know, you know what's interesting? My children have been part of this and but by the way, it is a it was something that took some work. I it's very difficult. It's a natural impulse to help others before you see what you need at home. I used to have a rule, you're not allowed to volunteer in the in the rare house until you've helped your mother / wife, whatever the case may be, make Shabbos. Don't come on down here and be a hero before you're a hero at home. But it's easier said than done and when the children were active, it was very hard because yes, you can prioritize a family but then there's an emergency. You told your wife you're going to go shopping and you find someone living in a car, now what? Someone's right now in the car, it's Thursday night, you need to go shopping, what do you do? That takes a hero of a wife. Because it falls upon her shoulders. Now, the kids were too young to drive. But since you bring up family, I'll I'll bring you I'll just tell you what I used to do. The ultimate board of directors always were my kids. At the dinner table, we had formal dinners. I would present them with a singular challenge I faced that day without any names and said, "How would you have handled it?" Well, well, you This is awesome. Hold on a second. Break this down for me. How many kids do you have at the table? >> seven. I have nine children. Nine children? >> Yeah, but they they were not all Right. So, they're not all at the same time eating dinner, but No, no, no. We all ate dinner at the same time, but my oldest daughter got married before my youngest daughter was married. Right. Before she was born. Was born. Right, right. So, I imagine they're all not But that's how I would present them with a singular >> you ate dinner at at home? Yeah, of course. We all sat We all sat down together. >> You're saying every night? Yeah. Uh th- There there's one thing that you've you did right, in my opinion, is My wife did right. Well, you made sure to be home at night to eat dinner. >> we all sat down together. And then I would present them with a singular situation that happened that day. For example, I had a great one. This was a an amazing story. Um Now, we had a rule. You cannot vote to indict unless you hear two You can envision two sides of the story. I want to hear two sides of the coin. A firm mind. Man, husband and wife came to my door. Four children, they're living in a car. They lived in a van. Do we help them? They said, "We have no money. We need Now, I happened to know the husband cuz I once hired him to do a project. A talented man. He's also very lazy. Comes late to work. Do you help them or do you not help them?" That's the question, straight up. Straight out. Okay? You start the rule Maschlin min hatzad, if you know what that means. It's the same thing in Sanhedrin. The youngest has to opine first, so he or she is not influenced by the older one's opinion. So, the youngest one could be 5 years old, 7 years old. >> Anyone that can have an opinion. But it's You Maschlin min hatzad. That's how That's how the Sanhedrin used to do it. Came to dinay nefashos. It just The greatest sage was in the center and it So, that you always started with the least experienced who could opine so that they're not influenced by the by the case we started let's see what I thought and we'll go up there and the basic mask on the family is the two sides to this debate. Number one, you say we are not here to help lazy people. Let them figure it out. We're here to help widows, orphans, not lazy people. What's the flip side of that coin? The Gamora says that 40 days before the deepest formed boss call Yoto's from Maris on the ocean. Boss call emanates from Shamayim and attributes to this person that will either be wealthy or poor. Maybe he's not poor because he's lazy but he's lazy because his boss call was poor. That flips around cause and effect. But I like fertile minds and so first we had the debate and then I called Iron Donner and he consults with Kanievsky. Kanievsky quoted the time and I saw it in print who says if the only tries to work who pours lead in his bones, he can't do it. That challenges us every time we meet a situation we have to ask we don't know what this person's boss call you was. Is he doing everything he can to go ahead and be able to finance his family? And we're looking to partner with him and sometimes you see people continually losing jobs and they don't want to and you start hearing the boss call. You know, it's not an absolute. I can't say that I would ask what your boss call is but it added a dimension. You asked if I changed my perspective over the years. That added a dimension. That's fantastic. All these things have added dimensions. I'm a different person today than I was when we started 30 something years ago. >> Yeah, no, I I absolutely love that and I appreciate what you're saying. First of all, you're skipping it over like it's normal and maybe it's because you're Yucky or because you're so regimented. >> Proudly Yucky. [laughter] Write that down. Yes, proudly Yucky. But having dinner with your kids every night at home is something that I think a lot of people skip and uh you know, don't realize the uh I loved it. Those were wonderful times. >> Yeah, those were wonderful times. And and I think there were I've heard this before from uh very well-off people that talk about how they have discussions with their kids at night and they bring up a debate and they want to see how the responses go back and forth. So, kudos to you for bringing that up and having your kids grow up in an environment of thinking. Just, you know, logical thinking and just back and forth. And I I love that I love that for you. I have to apologize to you for something. Um you know, when when you when you do something to someone or speak about them and they don't know, there's a whole idea that you should apologize to them, right? You know, and I So, I never thought to apologize to you about this, but I'm thinking I should. You came into our shul around 15 years ago. So, I guess, you know, it was like, you know, I guess it was before the time that you learned things also, right? Cuz you said 10 years. So, you made a comment in the shul that bothered me. It just it irked me. And when I went out of that um that prayer that day, I I just the davening, I just like I was turned off. I was like, "Ah, I don't know. You know what? Let me see what other organizations need help." >> right. I don't know what I said, but >> No, no, no, no. You think probably I want to tell you what it was and I want to break it down for you because I want to I want to talk about it for a minute. I think it's important. You got up there and what you said was is that you guys are in your beautiful homes with your swimming pools and your Shabbos kiddush and we have people suffering. You need to help them. I know exactly what shul you were davening in and I remember saying it. That was Rabbi Weinberger's shul. Wow. I said yes. Um I regretted the statement afterwards. I don't believe I sound I didn't intend to sound that the way. Before I speak, I usually say it's okay. I have no idea. I speak unscripted. And the statement was meant It It was It didn't come out the way it was intended, but you were right to Yes, I did it one time. I know exactly one single time in my whole entire career. >> way, I'm I'm shocked. I I thought it was just like your MO. Like this is how you're trying >> One time I made that statement, it was the second US spoken by Rabbi Viner. The first year I spoke when the show was in Russell down there in Horowitz's house. You know, I have to tell you, I feel terrible because you're here's a guy who left a jewelry business, uh started an organization for our community, walks on Shabbos for hours to speak in the community shul, and I felt this and it's unbelievable that >> you did the right thing. >> No, but it's it's all honestly, I I grew from that and I said it doesn't matter. He must At the end of the day, what I said to myself ultimately like a few weeks later is that you're in it and when you're so deep in it, I felt like you were in the quicksand and there was so much going on around you of people that needed help and it's hard for you to walk to a shul through swimming pools and houses and just and I'm like, I don't want to swim pool. What do you want from me? I'm not, you know So, it was it was a mistake to make the comment and I'm sure I made other mistakes, but I remember that single time I made that mistake. I know exactly what it was. First year I spoke in the new shul in Rabbi Viner's, I made that statement. It was a mistake. I regretted it almost immediately and it's difficult to all day long meet with people who can't afford toilet paper and then try to relay their anxiety, their fear, their loneliness, their helplessness to people who are living so well. And nonetheless, I got to have to be more regarded, after be more done the costs with people I send them some money. Let them live. I know exactly when that happened. One single time I made that mistake and I've been walking for 20 years. I've been speaking in shuls or I walk as far as Chestnut Ridge Road to to Chestnut Ridge by the lane. I walk all the way out to all the way my furthest ever walk was 7 and 1/2 miles each way to the top of Pomona up on >> You're kidding. 7 and 1/2 miles on a each way. Came home 5:00 in the afternoon. Been walking for tens of years. That was my singular biggest mistake, that comment I made at Rabbi Viner's shul. Only time I ever made the comment and regretted it thereafter. >> How would you say things differently now? What would you say to to penetrate my heart? >> say anymore. What would you say then? What I do is I go from shul to shul, I share with them what's going on, and I leave it at that. They can do with it whatever they want. The Ponevezher Rav used to say when he knocked at a door, he hoped no one answered. How was that week that Shabbos when I walked Rabbi Wein's shul? How was that a success? I have to do my histalkus and walk. And then I walk back. That's all I had to do. The fact that I spoke a few minutes, fine. Messed up, but I still did my histalkus, and that's enough for me. I walked for hours and hours and hours. It doesn't bother me at all. It doesn't bother It's I I celebrate. It gives me yishuv hada'as, clear my mind, think of the cases, how can we make a difference, am I doing enough, make a cheshbon hanefesh. Everything's going on out yourself, totally by yourself. There's no cell phone, there's no one to see. If you leave your house 6:00 in the morning or early, it depends how far you're walking, and you just walk. And the streets are quiet, and you're just left to yourself, and it's wonderful. And so I made a mistake at that talk. >> often do you >> [laughter] >> By the way, I love that your your you remember it because it obviously impacted the >> One time, made that [clears throat] mistake. >> Right, and then you learned from it, and you and you move you move on. How often do you do the Shabbos walks? Um I used to do it as a summer sport, um but it's very very hard when it's 80-some-odd degrees walking for hours. >> And how many shuls do you cover a year when you say that? I I want to know. Whoever Any shul that have me come, I'm going. Wow. And so I I I have to I have to pause you there. I have a tremendous amount of respect for you for the things that you've done, and I'm learning now about it. It's so mesmerizing to me because, you know, when you see an organization, you don't really realize the person behind it had to drop every success that he had financially and his and on his way of entrepreneurship and in terms of doing this. So kudos to you, and thank you. I want I want to move to the other topic that I was thinking about is that you're seeing so much pain and it's difficult. You just said it a minute ago cuz how can I, you know, walk by? What do you do to remove yourself from that pain? I'm I'm on a practical level. First of all, do you go on vacations? Do you do you go away? Do you watch television? You don't You don't have a smartphone, so how do you disconnect? Who is your person? How Everybody in trauma that deals with things, I always say like all trauma members need someone to debrief to unwind with, you know, there's you're seeing a lot. You're seeing the depth of a lot of negativity that goes on in this world, unfortunately. And that bus call that you referred to, you're the one that gets to see that and it's very, very challenging. I can't imagine how how tolling it is on you and your, you know, just in general, your lifestyle. When and how do you disconnect? So, I'm going to need a few minutes to respond to that. Let me first go to why am I here today? Why did I take off time to come today? And that's related to your question. Every challenge is addressed by a hero. I focus on the most amazing people whom I have met who quietly do heroic things. I remember um a man who gave me $10,000 to give to his ex-wife. His kids were out of the house. It wasn't for his kids. He just said, "I once was married to that woman and she doesn't have it easy. Please give her $10,000. Don't tell her it came from me." I remember a family who was saving up for dining room set and there was a house fire and the neighbors were collecting and the the husband and wife turned over all the money they'd saved from the dining room set that's they're they're fine with a folding table and folding chairs. I remember two brothers in Fields who had raised a small amount of money for Purim and I asked to meet with them. Why did they want to The parents couldn't understand. I'm coming up, maybe they had raised $40. I don't remember what it was. Why they coming up? I want to meet them. And I challenged them. I said, "What more can you do? Think big. Let's do it together. And they started Kids with Feline. People who cannot afford basics can't afford bikes for the kids. So, they now they run it, by the way. Um they run it with the family, Kids with Feline. That's one of our divisions. It's We we partner with anyone. Then the two hero ladies who started a gown gemach. Then there's a Steifman cruel families who run Bobby's Place. I'm asking you what your outlet is and how you disconnect and you're telling me how much more you connect. Because that is my outlet. The heroes keep me going. Everyone has a talent. Everyone can and must do something. I'm surrounded by people and encouraged by people who rise to the occasion. There are no great people. The common people who do great things. And I feel bad that in one misstatement I misspoke for all of them because these people are heroes. The kid who holds who runs the lemonade stand to raise money. People who who open gown gemachs. People who teach courses. We have an education division. Volunteers teaching courses. People who calling in with jobs. That's my therapy. These people drive us. They encourage us. I took the time to be on a podcast because every single person can and must. Everyone has a talent. Some people can help financially. Other people have a talent. Imagine if every person listening to this podcast called in with one job opening. That's what encourages me. I live a charmed existence. I meet challenges, but then I meet the heroes who address those challenges. It's the most incredible life. I can't describe to you what it's like. I'm a kind of know-it-all in this world. Every day I feel like I've won a lottery. Horrific challenges. Right now, this morning I'm at with There's a husband and wife who have major shalom bayis problems. It's due to finances. If we can address those finances, and I'm talking about It's a young couple. Get the man a solid job. Help his parnassa. You can save a marriage. And someone's going to do it. The only question is who it is. And that takes place all the time. I don't get down. I get up. I'm encouraged. It's It's the most amazing thing to see klal Yisrael band together in most beautiful way. Absolutely beautiful. But I'm still going to push you for an answer. Do you read books? Do you watch movies? Do you listen to music? Do you go to the beach? Do you go for walks? You're telling me that you the walk that you go to on the shul for Shabbos to talk about those That's the That's what I'm trying to extract something more. >> Okay, yes. Maybe I need to get your wife here. I need to get her on >> no. I do I love reading books. Okay. There we go. I'm a voracious reader and I've grown from a lot of them. >> Sure. I just I keep reading. Do you have any favorites? The one that impacted me the most was a book on Steve Jobs. Steve Jobs taught me how to run Tomchei Shabbos. No way. I just had to read his book. Um what he did is Apple computer, you heard of Apple, right? You heard of the iPhone? Good. Well, do Okay, I I don't know what it is. I don't have either one. But he was he walked into a meeting and they were discussing something called an app. And they said, "Obviously, we're going to be the only ones create to create the apps." And he said, "No. Anyone can create an app as long as it's approved by us." If I read nothing else but that, I realized in an instant Tomchei Shabbos is not about what we can do. It's an open forum for involvement. It's a platform, not an organization. Anything you want to do to help your fellow Jew, anything at all, call me. I'll give out my number. No problem. 845-356-0202, extension 304. I want to meet with you. Let's do this together. That's what I got from the Steve Jobs books. It's a platform. Anyone can do anything. And you have talent, do it. I love how everything I'm going to ask you leads back to your Tomchei Shabbos because it's really your life. It's really everything It's amazing. It's unbelievable. It's the most beautiful life to live. I I have to tell you that you know, I've met with a lot of leaders of different organizations and um this kind of answer I've never gotten and I I don't think I'll ever get it, which is everything that I ask you about what you know, kind of release you have release you back to that. Um but I like it. I like what's happening here. I like that you know, you read and you learn something and you adapt it to your organization and you grow from that. What else? Do you go to the beach and learn from that? No. Do you bike? Yes. >> Oh, okay. >> I love biking. Really? I love biking. Okay, do you bike for high? Have you ever done that? >> No, it's out of my league. First I bike only alone. Gives me time to be alone. Sure. And I actually turn the phone off during that period of time unless there's some emergency going on and I'll keep it on. Um and I'll just bike sure you slowly not the none of these bike for high. I'm not in that league. Got it. >> My bike is I spent real money on it. It was somewhere between $350 and $500 about 20 some odd years ago. Um it's real money and the longer I use it if I amortize it, it's less per year. Um and I actually I said okay, I'm going to try these fancy bikes. Yeah. I might borrow someone's $15,000 Italian bike. Didn't work for me. No, didn't like it. I borrowed someone else's $3,500 bike. No. So I took out my old bike and said that's good. Um that's the bike I use. Um it's great. That's it's a great uh it gives you time away. And depending on what's going on that day, if I could I could take as little as 15 minutes to ride. I only do it in obviously nice weather. And the longest I'll ever go is a 31-mile route on Heritage Trail, which takes me 3 hours and 10 minutes. I'm I'm a slow rider. But it's beautiful. You're away. You're refreshed. It's amazing. Wow. Okay, good. I'm I'm I'm actually happy hearing this that you do have those outlets. It's important. Um anything else that would surprise me as far as your outlets are concerned or things that Do get away Do you do you vacation ever? Do you go away? Yes, but it's not you know it's what what do you call vacation? In the winter we borrow someone's a dear friend's house in Boca. Okay. But I take for 10 days or 12 between a week and 10 days. I take my computer with me. I respond to respond to emails and I have my phone. But I'm working from there. Right. Okay, I can go for a bike ride. It's wintertime it's January February I'll go for a bike ride, come back, respond to emails. >> it. I think [clears throat] I think it's important for for for me to know, for people to know that when you're you're leading an organization you want to run First of all that anyone can do anything. That's a great message that everyone has a talent within something that they can contribute. Is there something missing that you see in the world right now in terms of a need? I I like what you're saying in terms of if there's someone that has something that you can adapt to it. Is there something that you say to yourself like, oh I wish this and this was you know, you know, available or out there? I can't say I can't give you an answer there because the greatest ideas right now are in the minds of people who have not yet contacted me but will contact me after I publish my number. Um I don't know. My greatest concern is that we seem as a society to turn a little materialistic which means turning inside. We're turning a little inward and Klal Yisrael's survival through the galus has always been that we not only daven b'loshon rabbeinu but we live b'loshon rabbeinu. We look after each other and yes people do but maybe we can do more for each other. If we could get more people involved and I want to hear their ideas. There's so much need and I don't have every solution but they do and they can run. They can share whatever initiative they bring to us and we'll help them. We'll partner with them to any extent they want. I love that and by the way it's a funny for me to say this but congratulations on what you've done because it's a big it's a big feat. It's shiyachid deshmaya v'siyata. >> Creating creating that it's it's you you know, you can call it see after the smile. I can call it your status. You know, you have to put that effort in in order for that see after the smile to happen and boy, do you put in that effort? It's it's amazing to me. Astonishing. So, you know, there's there's all that that's going on in your world of from the Shabbos and there's a lot that we can learn from. So, I want to, you know, ask you this. A young couple comes to you and they're starting their life out and they live Monsey, Lakewood, you know, a place where a house would be a million dollars, taxes would be $20,000 a year. You know, what do you suggest? What do you tell a young couple that comes to you now and says, "Please help guide me. What should I do?" In fact, maybe you can tell me even No, it's better for me to address a teenager or so it's a it's a double question. At what point should or could you advise someone young in what direction to take for success in our world that we're living in with the challenges and the you know, the Pesach and the private tuitions and all that stuff. And what would your advice be to them as a couple growing or, you know, heading in a certain direction? Would you tell them where to live? Would you tell them how many kids to have? Would you tell them what schools to schools to go to or careers to follow? >> people come to me, I do caution them that Monsey's one of the more expensive places in which to live and I ask that they plan and do it as a couple. They have to plan as a couple. And what they have to do is try to start working in an industry where there's potential for either them to go out on their own or make a very good living. There has to be a hobby in it. There has to be some plan, some trajectory. Because if they take a dead end job going nowhere, it's they're going to they're going to be struggling. Let's go deeper into that. You mentioned before earlier before we were just when you walked in about AI, you were joking because you don't have a smartphone. So, AI is a big deal these days in this world and it for all intents and purposes, it It means that computers and technology is taking over a lot of jobs. And you're aware of that? Okay. So, having that in mind and also the expenses of living in a certain community, now re-answer that question. How do you go into a business knowing that you could it could be your own? And I think that was your suggestion. Like just go into something that you can start your own. Is that >> First of all, I'm not concerned about AI taking people's jobs because I remember when they started with um Easy Pass. You're not going to need tollbooth clerks. ATM, not going to need a bank uh teller. Uh the post office. In fact, you never interact with people anymore. You push three three plus six down on your headset. Okay. At the end of the day, more people are employed in America than were before they started this because people are employed in the industries that create all that those functions. And I what I've lived through this cycle. I remember when they invented calculators. I remember do When was this? My brother Michael, he's 65. For his bar mitzvah, he got a calculator. It was But my bar mitzvah was 2 years So, okay. So, 52 years ago, they they had just he got a cat. We were fascinated. We sat around the dining room table as a family looking at this machine. Now, we were taught, my father was big in all of us doing math in our heads. And we found that this clunky machine, it wasn't so small, was able to do its math as fast as us. We're fascinated. So, and and as we go on, then came the computer and the cell phone and the ATMs and Easy Pass. And so, it's like, "And everyone's going to be unemployed." So, given what you your concerns with AI, everyone should be unemployed now because everyone has machines doing everything. And it's like, "You call You used to be I remember you go to a company that had a secretary in front." I remember one of my clients at J.C. Penney. I was so annoyed. You go to the corporate office and instead of the receptionist greeting you, at at every floor, there's a telephone on the desk. And you have to dial into the extension of the person you're meeting with. I'm thinking, "This is horrible. They just replaced every receptionist for every floor of J.C. Penney. Okay, at the end of the day, employment is greater today than it was back then. So, that doesn't concern me greatly. Interesting point. Okay, so back to where we were with the couple. The couple's coming to you. So, okay. So, if there's there's no one answer. I usually call Rabbi Markowitz into the meeting, who is Job Place. We talk about different positions that might be open, industries. Some are very dangerous, like Amazon. Amazon shuts people off like that. Um on a regular basis, I have people come to with hundreds of thousands of dollars in credit card debt and inventory that's worth far less than they paid for. So, that's a dangerous thing, but there are some I know Walmart's like a big the people have gone into eBay. Something people forgot about. But, we sit down and discuss different industries, and it's hopefully they're going to other people besides myself and Rabbi Markowitz, because there's no one true answer. What what Listen, Markowitz says I'll tend to ask them, "What are your interests? Where's your heart? What What focus do you have?" To help guide Let them guide themselves a little bit. Then we might be able to pick up the phone and partner them with someone, introduce them to someone with in that field. >> Got it. So, that's for the career. But, what else do you tell them? What other advice do you give to young people that telling them to look out for for their life, to live a lifestyle? >> They have to learn um the the word budgeting is not a good word because it's it's a restrictive word. Fiscal um sanity. Fiscals fiscal stability. At any point in the in the economic range, they can and must make wise economic decisions. I'd like to highlight two organizations doing marvelous work. One is Mesila. Mesila was started by an outstanding Jew called Shmuly Margulies. And he's the one who invented the concept of you have financial coach. You sit down. A husband and wife have to do it together and keep an a spreadsheet. And this way you don't fall into trouble. You don't run into trouble. You don't fall into into a hole. The other organization is called Living Smarter Jewish. It's an all you initiative. I'm close with both organizations. What's the difference? They both have cultures. Um Mesila charges, Living Smarter Jewish does not charge. But if someone has financial ability, let's go to Mesila. You know something, if you pay for a service, you're going to take it more seriously. For our education division, by the way, we used to charge $100 for the full semester. If they attended every class, they got a full refund because they had something in there. So, in a similar manner, if they have a financial coach, they learn to live more carefully. I remember meeting someone in Brooklyn once who was a young man told me he was in significant debt. When I met him, he owned two rental homes besides his own. And he said Shmuli Margulies coached him in the early years of Mesila, and he was he was fine. And he's now has investments. >> Beautiful. We had someone here from RSK also that does something similar. >> Great. The financial coaching. So, your advice really is financial coaching. Financial coaching is so important. Right. And someone doesn't have the ability financial ability to hire a coach, go to living smarterjewish.org. Right. That that is good advice, actually. So, you know, and and you're you're saying so many smart things in terms of, you know, lifestyle and living. And I threw that question at you that you got a little nauseous from when I said, you know, do you tell them how many kids to have? I I I asked that question because it's something that I think about in terms of, you know, you have a mitzvah to have kids and to bring them to this world. >> Yep. Did this question ever come up to go all the way to my wonder, which is do you keep having kids if you know you can't afford it? If you have a if you have a disability, let's say you're the kind of husband or wife and you're sitting together and you know that you have the max capacity of bringing a certain amount of income because of whatever, you know, thing you mentioned before that you know, your your boss called or whatever it was. What do you do then? Is that a discussion to have? Is that something that you ever think about? Each person has their own rub. I'll share with you something Rub told me. Rub, I forgot to say his full told me that when you someone has a baby in the hospital, they send the mother home with a care package. And he says "A kodesh baruch who does the same thing. There are a lot of challenges that the parents are going to have, some of which can be financial, but a kodesh baruch who sends along a care package." I will not answer that question on this podcast or to any yochid, but people have come through with that. And I refer them to their own daas Torah, not mine. Their daas Torah, and it's I get it, but do you have an opinion on it? Nope. My opinion is you defer to daas Torah. >> Okay. It's not my place. >> I hear. So so that's not something you want to get into in terms of >> So because obviously it's a lot of money to have a lot of kids in the private school. >> for a moment, Yeah. had I had the number of kids I could afford. You know, when I was starting my business, there were two years I made almost no money. The bank was trying to take my house. Had I cut back, and they were tough years. You said, you know, one of my children, ask them. They were tough years. Had I only had the number of children I could afford, what happened then afterwards when baruch Hashem I was matzliach? So that's my personal take on that. Right. >> But I'm not going to opine for someone else, but I'm baruch Hashem very pleased that it was impossible. We didn't We couldn't afford food. We went through the toughest of times. But we kept moving forward, and the care package came with each child. And baruch Hashem, life turned easier. Right. That's actually beautiful. I You know, I I resonate with it a little bit, I have to tell you. Uh when I started off also, there were times that was like, how are we going to make Shabbos? That's correct. You know, I shared this once uh on the podcast. It was it very difficult for me to share it then, but um I already shared it once. I'll say it to you so you hear it, is that we we didn't know we were in such a bad situation that we were thinking, it's getting close to Shabbos and no one's inviting us for a meal. What do we do? And that feeling I carry with me for the rest of my life. It's the most horrific thing. And so I met someone who told me that he and his wife were debating they could afford one of two things, either a dip or a salad. Didn't know which one. They didn't have enough money for both. Um I don't have an alarm clock. These things keep me awake at night. I get up very very I just can't stop thinking about these things. The stories drive me. >> Yeah. Yeah, as they should. I need to go back to the question you asked before. >> Oh, please. Yes, you asked me what's missing. Oh, yes. Of course, the biggest thing that's missing is I'm waiting for this and this someone is going to come up with a solution. The challenge is age discrimination is a lot. I know so many people in their 60s, talented, successful people, no one wants to hire them. Age discrimination is out there. I'm looking for someone. I'm challenging anyone to come up with a solution. I need to change the traject We need to change the way we look at these old people. When I used to work in Asia, back in Asia, they respect the elders. They defer to the elders. Here we respect the youth, the cool guy with the Ferragamo belt. He's got the answer to my company. He's who I got to bring in. I just spoke the other day to someone in his 60s. He managed real estate for 30 years. He's a master at it. They sold the portfolio. He's unemployed now. Last night I work I was working in the warehouse. A man who's got to be high 50s, young 60s, he came over to me quietly. He said, "I still don't have a job. Is there anything you can do?" That was last night. It happens every day. I got to be honest with you. I wish I speak about this with my friends sometimes that we can open up a company that doesn't make money. It doesn't have to It could It could flat even out, but just gives people jobs. Correct. So you know, so I implore the world to answer that question because that can answer that as well. You can give a job to anybody. You could be 60, you could be 70. I experienced what you're talking about by the way. I'm I'm currently speaking to people that are over 60 and are having a hard time. Terrible. And one after the hard hard There's no no one will hire you. Then what's supposed to What's supposed to happen? I can tell you stories from that you more than you have time in this podcast for people who have died, poor people. I know a man 80s, the horrible stories. By the time he was he was poor in a home. He was a a decent man. He was if I'm not mistaken, he had a PhD or something. A successful No one wants him. What do you mean no one wants him? Is that the best we can do as a society? No one wants you? But I have one thing I can tell you. I believe with every fiber of my being that Hakadosh Baruch Hu takes notes. And one day I'm going to be old. And if I stop for one second and realize that it comes around, I think I'm going to have a different perspective. Yeah, very well said. I I appreciate where you're coming from. Uh the idea of the discrimination thing, it's it's it's difficult. Um I I wish there was some sort of company that we can all, you know, chip into and and and run and have those jobs available. But we the definitely the idea of thinking about it and discussing it is a step further. So, I'm happy you're bringing it up. >> I once built a business plan. I wrote a business plan for a co-oply owned matzah bakery. You can't outsource that to China, one of the few things you can't, which is why I scripted it. Co-oply owned by the employees. Um it was I simply don't have the bandwidth to create that. Again, the concept is what? That there's a They themselves that not age discrimination is not going to not present. Each of these people will own a half of the business and it'll be disproportionate, which means the people at the top can own more whatever it is it's run run a matzah bakery, own it, it's completely yours. And then they can tell Arbaminim uh six months later. And those two will be a parnassa. It cannot be outsourced to Asia and um there's no age discrimination in the business. That's what I wanted to do. I actually wrote a business plan for it, but I just have that much bandwidth. Right. >> But I'm looking Someone out there is going to have a solution. If they can hire someone older. That That's the most intense thing. Hakadosh Baruch Hu will take note. Yeah, now I appreciate that. The idea of a business plan that you wrote, I mean, that's those are good ideas to do, but uh finding those people to take ownership of that that's the challenge, but to >> with anyone. Anyone wants to do something, my phone number 845-356-0202 extension 303. We will partner with you. So so and we'll put the number on the bottom but what I'm saying is so so the idea and the concept that you're saying is if someone has the ability to take on the project yes then let's do it. I'll partner you'll partner up with them. >> 100% And I love that and I love everything about you and what you're doing and I appreciate you being here so much and and and just taking the time to explain to us who you are the background of Tomchei and and everything that's been done with it. It's it's just fascinating. Do you have any questions for me? It's just something I like to ask my guests. As a matter of fact I don't. Okay. I apologize. My mind my mind is I have to know the truth. Your mind's on Tomchei. My mind's going back to the office. I got I got 1 million cases since I did the questions. >> what questions do you have? I got to go back to work. >> I got to get that. So many cases every I'm going to go right down to the to the office right now. Wow. Okay. I appreciate that. Before I let you go though I do ask my guests also another question which is if you open the pod cast tomorrow who would you ask to be your first guest? Is there someone that comes to mind? It's an interesting question. I'm going to give you an answer you don't expect. A man called Mickey Montel. You know who Mona Montel is? Yes, I do. Her husband is one of the most fantastic people you'll ever meet. He shared a a room in a hotel with a man called Kalbach. He's been around the block experienced more than you ever might imagine. He's had one of the most fantastically interesting lives anyone yet the very but completely different than any other person I can't wait. I I have no social tool to ask him. You're going to [laughter] ask him. I'm going to No, you're going to ask him. And then you can you can mention I mentioned it. He's the most interesting person you'll ever meet. >> Yeah, someone actually was here who recommended Mona so you know just she's a busy woman. She know Mona is very I'm very close with Mona. >> Yeah. She's very busy. And but we'll get her we'll get her husband. I like this idea. I love the concept. Look I I appreciate everything you're doing and I I now understand better you know, the world of Tomchei. The volunteer part that people can participate is mostly the Thursday night time. >> First of all, we changed it to Wednesday night. >> Okay. Ladies come to the warehouse Wednesday during the day. Okay. >> And they bag up produce. So, Wednesday is available for anybody in the monthly community once the >> But the the real volunteer volunteers can be teach a course, get involved in the family. You want to save a family? I can partner you with a partner with a family. Amazing. I met a another man last night at the warehouse. He came to me, his business is struggling. He told me you need to business coaches. We have volunteer business coaches by the way. Okay. Can you save a man's business? Get involved in something. Go ahead. Volunteer in that way. No problem. There's 1 million ways to volunteer and we'll set you up with the right thing, whatever works for you. I love it. I think that's going to be the title of the podcast. There's a million ways to volunteer and that's uh And before we sign off, I want to apologize for the the statement I made in shul. It was a mistake, but you learn from your mistakes. You know what? The fact that you're owning up to it like that is so it it it's just amazing to see you as a person and to get to know you. Every time I see you, you're you're jumping from one chesed project to the next and if it's not your family you're busy with, it's that, but you are a person that's a man of your word. When you say something, you do it. I've had a lot of experiences with you and you're on top of everything and there's so much going on in your world. Hashem should continue to bless you to have koach to keep going and of course we shouldn't have the need for Tomchei Shabbos, but we do need people in the community that step up and get involved and you as like I said in the beginning are a true leader of our community and a friend and a person that I will call Rabbi. So, Rabbi Al Rosenblatt, thank you so much for joining us. Thank you for having me. >> That's a wrap. That was really really amazing. >> [music]