Accumulate, accumulate! That is Moses and the prophets!
--Karl Marx, Capital v. 1
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HARPER’S MAGAZINE / DECEMBER 2008
READINGS
RABBI IS RICH
By Rabbi Levi Brackman and Sam Jaffe, from Jewish Wisdom for Business
Success, published this year by AMACOM.
Why have so many Jews been successful at business? It’s a question many
silently mull but few dare to ask openly. That doesn’t mean it’s not a
legitimate question. After all, Jews make up less than .02 percent of
the world’s population yet represent more than 10 percent of the Forbes
400 list of the world’s wealthiest people. Jews do seem to have some
sort of advantage when it comes to financial success. We believe that
the root cause of Jewish success in business lies in the book Jews hold
most dear and sacred. The Torah offers a blueprint for the
businessperson to create, maintain, and grow a profitable enterprise.
THE MOST SUCCESSFUL ENTREPRENEUR OF ALL TIME
There have been few people in history more successful than Moses.
According to Jewish tradition, his greatest asset was humility. A truly
humble person has a clear picture of his abilities and is able to accept
the criticism and advice of others without being offended. Too many
businesspeople see their enterprise as testament to their talents and as
fulfillment for their egos. If they instead saw the business as a means
to making their vision come true, rather than a means of boosting their
ego, they would be more successful.
SMASHING THE COMPETITION
Abraham’s father, Terach, sold idols to the people of Mesopotamia. Like
any good businessman, Terach created multiple streams of revenue for his
shop. Not only did he sell idols, he leased them too. Customers could
bring a sacrificial offering and, for a small fee, present it to one of
the idols in the store. One day Terach left Abraham in charge of the
store. Even at this young age, Abraham was a master salesman; he just
wasn’t selling what his father wanted. While Terach was gone, Abraham
took his father’s axe and smashed all the idols in the room—except for
the largest one. Then he placed in front of it a food tray that a
customer had left as a fee. Abraham told his father that the idols had
fought for the plate of food and that the largest idol had won. “I know
these idols can’t move,” Terach said.
“They are just pieces of wood and stone.” “So if they have no power,”
Abraham said, “why do you serve them?” Abraham’s entire strategy here
was risky, but he was driven by what drives most businessmen: he had
something better to sell—a new, more powerful God. Marketing is crucial
in business, as are your credibility, sincerity, and belief in the
product sold. Abraham’s public-relations stunt with his father’s idols
earned him a reputation as a holy man. Now all he had to do was launch a
religion using this effective advance marketing as a springboard.
GRASSROOTS IN THE DESERT
Abraham wanted to build a successful brand. He wanted to bring new
worshippers to the concept of a single God and make them understand
God’s power and glory and the importance of striving to be close to him.
The Midrash describes Abraham’s business model: he set up shop in the
desert outside
Mesopotamia, at a busy junction of trading paths. He built a large tent
and invited any passing traveler inside. Abraham served free meals, and
while the traveler was eating, Abraham would preach about monotheism and
God. If Abraham was looking for quantity, his strategy worked. Despite
the economic drain of providing so much free food, he was attracting
thousands of converts. But a careful reading shows that Abraham’s
success did not have the desired permanence. When the newly religious
travelers made their way home, they found it difficult to maintain
excitement about the new faith. A modern marketing consultant would
conclude that Abraham’s converts did not remain loyal to his ideology
because he didn’t provide enough customer-service infrastructure beyond
the tent in the desert. Creating a new business—or a successful
religion—must enhance customer satisfaction through a series of support
systems so that customers become comfortable and trusting enough to
remain loyal patrons.
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