Jew of the Week: Robert L. May

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

Robert Lewis May (1905-1976) was born in Long Island, New York to a Jewish family, devoted members of the “Ethical Culture Society” which grew out of Reform Judaism. He studied psychology in Dartmouth College and was particularly drawn to the work of Alfred Adler, who suggested that the main drive of all human beings is to overcome inferiority and attain some sort of perfection. May went on to work as a copywriter and marketer for a number of department stores. The family lost everything during the Great Depression, and May’s wife was also battling cancer at the same time. In 1939, May’s boss at Montgomery Ward asked him to write some new promotional material for Christmas shoppers featuring a loveable animal character. May went to the zoo with his four-year-old daughter to get ideas, and eventually came up with Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, combining elements of the Ugly Duckling with his own difficult childhood as a Jewish kid, and the psychology of Alfred Adler. Although his wife tragically died as he was working on the book, he continued the project in her memory. The book became an instant classic and over 5 million copies were distributed over the next several years. In 1948, May reached out to his composer brother-in-law (former Jew of the Week) Johnny Marks to write music for a song adaptation. ‘Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer’ was a hit, and is now the second most popular Christmas song of all time (after ‘White Christmas’). May went on to start a full-time Rudolph business, which he ran until 1958, before returning to work as a copywriter for Montgomery Ward. May wrote other children’s books, too, featuring characters like Benny the Bunny and Winking Willie. Meanwhile, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer went off to spawn numerous sequels, film adaptations, toys, and over 100 other products, and remains one of the most beloved Christmas characters today.

Will Mashiach Come This Year?

Words of the Week

In the 1930s, antisemites declared, ‘Jews to Palestine’. Today they shout, ‘Jews out of Palestine’… They don’t want us to be there; they don’t want us to be here; they don’t want us to be.
– Amos Oz

Jew of the Week: Rabbi Meir

The Miracle Worker

Tomb of Rabbi Meir in Tiberias, Israel

Rabbi Meir (2nd century CE) was born in what is today Turkey to a family of Roman converts to Judaism. He was descended from the Roman Emperor Nero. Rabbi Meir was one of the 24,000 students of the illustrious Rabbi Akiva. While nearly all of the students tragically perished during the Bar Kochva Revolt (132-136 CE), Rabbi Meir was one of five who survived, and the Talmud credits them with going on to revive Jewish life in the Holy Land and save Judaism from extinction. Rabbi Meir played a key role in the later production of the Mishnah, the earliest compilation of Jewish oral laws. In addition to being one of the most oft-cited voices in the Mishnah, every anonymous Mishnaic teaching is attributed to Rabbi Meir, too. During the war with the Romans, Rabbi Meir’s father-in-law, Rabbi Chananiah ben Teradion was killed, and his sister-in-law was taken captive. The Talmud relates that Rabbi Meir dressed up as a Roman officer and went past enemy lines to save her, managing to extricate her from a Roman brothel. After the war, he helped to re-establish the Sanhedrin, and was widely recognized as the greatest sage of his generation. He was also known to work miracles, and is often called Rabbi Meir Ba’al haNes, “the miracle-worker”, probably originating from the fact he was miraculously saved from numerous dangerous incidents. In fact, there is an old Jewish custom to invoke his name when in danger, saying Elokah d’Meir ‘aneni! (אֱלָקָא דְמֵאִיר עֲנֵנִי), “May the God of Meir answer me!” (Or “May God answer me like He answered Meir!”) The same phrase is recited when a person can’t find a lost object and needs help from Above. Some say “Meir” was only his nickname—because he was an “illuminator”—and his real name may have been Nehorai or Elazar. According to some sources, Rabbi Meir’s yahrzeit is today, the first of Tevet.

The New Antisemitism

Government Leaders Around the World Light Menorahs

Words of the Week

An Israeli soldier bears not only a duty to enlist in compulsory military service, but is granted the zechut, privilege, to fulfill a holy commandment, a mitzva, of guarding his fellow Jews.
– Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo

Jews of the Week: Marcel and Sylvan Adams

Canadian-Israeli Mega Donors

Marcel Adams and Sylvan Adams

Meir Marcel Abramovici (1920-2020) was born to a traditional Jewish family in Romania and became a leather tanner like his father. After three years in Nazi labour camps, he escaped to Turkey, and then to Israel, where he fought in the War of Independence. A few years later, he moved to Canada and got a job working at a Quebec tannery, where his boss told him to change his last name to “Adams”. Once he saved a little bit of money he began investing in real estate. In 1958, Adams became a full-time real estate investor and founded Iberville Developments. Today, the company has over 100 shopping centres, residential buildings, and industrial properties across Canada and the US. Before he passed away, Adams was the world’s second-oldest billionaire, and a noted philanthropist. He established Tel Aviv University’s Adams Institute for Business Management Information Systems and the Adams Super Center for Brain Research.

His son Sylvan Adams (b. 1958) took over Iberville Developments in 1990, and served as its CEO for the next 25 years, until making aliyah and settling in Tel Aviv. Meanwhile, he took up professional cycling and in 2017 won the World Masters Championship in England. The following year, he opened the first indoor velodrome in Israel (and the entire Middle East). He gave 80 million shekels to bring the 2018 Giro d’Italia, one of cycling’s prestigious Grand Tours, to Israel, marking the first time that the tournament was held outside Europe. Adams has signed the Giving Pledge and is a huge philanthropist. He donated 100 million shekels to Tel Aviv’s Ichilov Medical Center in 2019, and financed a new children’s hospital at Wolfson Medical Center in Holon. Earlier this week, he announced $100 million to Ben-Gurion University in the Negev to “rebuild and strengthen” the south of Israel following the October 7 massacre. His foundation provides doctoral scholarships at the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, and funds the Nefesh b’Nefesh “Bonei Zion Prize” for immigrants to Israel who make a profound impact on the country. He also donated $5 million to SpaceIL to develop Israel’s nascent space program and put an Israeli spacecraft on the moon. Adams is still cycling, and earlier this year won the UCI Cycling World Championships in his age category.

Chanukah Begins Tonight – Chag Sameach!

Chanukah & the Light of Creation

Words of the Week

We must support the gentile poor along with the Jewish poor, and visit the gentile sick along with the Jewish sick, and bury the gentile poor along with the Jewish poor, for the sake of peace.
– Talmud, Gittin 61a