Sheldon Adelson's greatness was not in the fact that he had a lot of money, but in the fact that he was able to invest it in building the country, in charitable organizations and in secret giving.
Sheldon Adelson with Rabbi Lau
Photography:
Moshe Shai / Archive
In the last week many have been talking and writing about the great donor, the great philanthropist, the great, Sheldon Adelson.
With your permission I would like to talk about the punisher, the person in it.
Nearly thirty years ago we met on the lawn next to the King David Hotel in Jerusalem, while I was holding a canopy and consecration for Sheldon Gary Adelson, whose real name is Shalom Gedalia.
The bride was Dr. Miri Oxhorn. Our last meeting also took place in Jerusalem, under completely different circumstances. It was at the big world convention for International Holocaust Remembrance Day in January 2020, exactly one year ago, at Yad Vashem in the capital.
I will never forget the first time we met in New York, at the Hilton Hotel, as part of a big evening dedicated to raising funds for the establishment of Yad Vashem.
I was the speaker, and Sheldon and Miri were the guests of honor.
Sheldon, who was not a man of things, stood up and spoke with all his heart.
"You must ask what's wrong with me and near and there, what with me and the story of the Holocaust," he told those present, "I tell you honestly - personally I did not go through the Holocaust, my family did not go through the Holocaust and we had no contact with the Holocaust. They are Holocaust survivors, and I am here thanks to them. "
I saw his consideration, this specialization with the family, and it really impressed me.
At the same time, I also learned from conversations with him about his first connection to the Land of Israel, even before the establishment of the state.
He sucked the love of the homeland from his father, from a town near Vilnius, who dreamed all his life of coming to the Land of Israel despite his poverty and the great hardship in which he lived.
This dream did not abandon him and left its mark on the son's personality, namely Shalom Gedalia, known as Sheldon Geri.
When the father did not fulfill his dream, the son, who was already quite capable, stepped into the tattered shoes of the father and took his first steps, in what later became the center of his being, the State of Israel.
In his speech there in New York, he described himself as a child who stood in the early morning freezing cold, in the street corners of Boston Massachusetts, to sell newspapers to passing drivers, and earned five cents per newspaper.
The word mammon is in gematria 136, just like the word ladder.
To teach you that wealth is like a ladder - some go up and some go down.
The money was just a deposit
Sheldon Adelson's greatness was not in the fact that he had a lot of money, but in the fact that he was able to make the highest use of his money - whether in building the country, its various institutions, whether in charitable and charitable organizations of a distinct Jewish and national nature. Involved.
As well as the private plane that serves people and purposes that were sublime to Sheldon.
I would like to mention that he made it available to the president of the Rescue Union, Eli Bir, who was in danger of death from the Corona disease, and of course Jonathan Pollard's "returned boys to their border" recently.
Sheldon, with Miri's tireless help to be separated for a long life, knew that the large sum of money he had accumulated was nothing but a deposit in his hand.
The deposit must be returned in proper ways of charity and kindness, private and national.
All of these contributions are credited to a world that is all good.
So let's just say this - Sheldon Adelson came to this world 87 years ago, poor rebellious, destitute, and left the world this week as extremely rich.
All his giving and righteousness go before him to a world that is all good, as it is said "justice before him will go".
Sheldon Adelson will be our example and role model of giving.
The author is the chairman of the Yad Vashem Council. The former chief rabbi and rabbi of Tel Aviv-Yafo