Michael Steinhardt - Jewish Pride

Advance Praise for JEWISH PRIDE

Contrarian Michael Steinhardt has used his wealth to launch innovations to help make the Jewish world become as vibrant and committed as possible. A strong believer in data and evaluation, he is a harsh critic of how the organized Jewish community uses its resources. Not afraid to admit failure, he turns to each new idea with undiminished enthusiasm. This is a book of a secular and proud Jew who loves the Jewish people and the joy of experiencing Jewish life.

Jehuda Reinharz , President Emeritus of Brandeis University, President and CEO of the Jack, Joseph, and Morton Mandel Foundation

In this book Michael Steinhardt describes among other projects, his brilliant and innovative idea of Birthright. Birthright is successful in bringing American and Israeli young people together for the sake of advocating the relationship between the US, Israel and other countries. And I know that even some marriage proposals and weddings resulted. This book should be read by all people of good will who advocate for the relationship between Israel, the US and other countries.

Ruth K. Westheimer , Ed.D, co-author (with Jonathan Mark) of Heavenly Sex: Sex In The Jewish Tradition (NYU Press)

Here is the view from the insidenot of the Jewish religious world, but the Jewish philanthropic and institutional and political world. It is astute, candid, and could only have been written by someone whose access and contributions have made a difference in the lives of countless Jews.

Rabbi David Wolpe , Max Webb Senior Rabbi, Sinai Temple, Los Angeles

For the twenty some years that weve been friends, Michael has demonstrated by word and deed his deep caring for the Jewish People. This book, written with full heart, rejects not only that caring, but also his concerns and his hopes for our future. It is a welcome addition to our ongoing debate.

Charles Bronfman , Co-Founder, Birthright Israel

A WICKED SON BOOK

An Imprint of Post Hill Press

Jewish Pride

2022 by Michael Steinhardt

All Rights Reserved

ISBN: 978-1-63758-002-8

ISBN (eBook): 978-1-63758-003-5

Cover design by Richard Ljoenes

Interior design and composition by Greg Johnson, Textbook Perfect

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author and publisher.

Post Hill Press

New York Nashville

posthillpress.com

Published in the United States of America

For my wife
Judy

Our children
David, Daniel, and Sara

And our grandchildren
Jacob, Josh, Kira, Aatein, Talia,
Lila, Anceena, Nate, Theo, Halean,
Aaliyah, Eli, and Leo

Contents

T his book took me almost a decade to write. Im not sure why it was such a struggle. It may have something to do with my intensely conflicted feelings about my people, the Jewish people. On the one hand, I have been critical about the way many Jewish communal institutions workand about the future we face under their continued leadership. On the other, I feel immense affection for Jews everywhere. I love old Jews and young Jews, rich Jews and poor Jews, Russian Jews and Ethiopian Jews, Uruguayan Jews and Moroccan Jews, American Jews and Israeli Jews. I consider all Jews a part of my familyand writing about family is complicated.

When you make money and start to give it away, you quickly discover the limits of your ability to have an impact and create change. Sometimes when I look back on the years I spent trying to engage secular young Americans in the richness of Jewish life, I feel Ive made a difference; at other times, not so much. This book represents my best effort to offer an honest reckoning of my successes and failures. I hope that boththe things that worked and the lessons I learned from those that didntwill inspire others to think about the Jewish future and to take risks in order to try and make a lasting difference in Jewish life.

Across my philanthropic career, I rarely acted alone. I was deeply fortunate to find like-minded people of means to join me in both more and less successful efforts to build a Jewish identity. Among major philanthropists, I will forever be grateful to Len Abramson, Sheldon (z"l) and Miri Adelson, Charles Bronfman, Edgar Bronfman (z"l), Bill Davidson, Harold Grinspoon, Tom Kaplan, Charles (z"l) and Lynn Schusterman, Paul Singer and Terry Kassel, and so many others who felt as I did about what needed to be done and how to do it and put their money and time on the line.

Many people assisted in creating this book.

Seymour Epstein, David Foreman, and Len Saxe helped me begin to untangle my ideas about Jewish values and my vision for the future of Diaspora Jews.

Wendy Belzberg, Jacob Berman, Daniel Bonner, Shira Dicker, Tova Dorfman, Abe Foxman, David Goldin, Felicia Herman, Ezra Merkin, Charlie Melman, Eli Schapp, and Jordan Singer were early readers of parts or the whole of the book. Their insights made a tremendous difference to the finished product. Laurie Blitzer, Josh Elkin, Alon Futterman, Hayim Herring, Valerie Khaytina, Aliza Kline, Gidi Mark, and Barry Shrage also offered their recollections at various points in the process.

David Gedzelman single-handedly brought together the people and forces that made this project succeed. He has played a central role in my philanthropic work for more than twenty-five years, offered innumerable recollections and suggestions when he reviewed the manuscript at various points, and acted as a valuable sounding board throughout the process.

This book would not have been written without my writing partner, David Hazony. He did much of the research and helped me put words and ideas to paper. I am grateful for his good humor, patience, and dogged determination to make this book a reality.

My editor, Adam Bellow, publisher of Wicked Son, believed in this book when I wasnt so sure it would ever be more than a dream. He steered this ship, and I am grateful for his stewardship.

I have been married to the love of my life, Judy, for fifty-three years, and I could not ask for a more committed, optimistic, and steadfast life partner. Judys warmth and grace shine brighter as the years pass, and I am eternally grateful for her support and wisdom. She offered crucial insights on the manuscript as well.

My three children, David, Daniel, and Sara, their spouses Sarah, Tanata, and Mark, and our thirteen grandchildren, are truly the lights of my life. I turned eighty last year, and in my ninth decade, my interests and passions have narrowed. At some point, politics interested me; today, not so much. The art world once fascinated me but not today. I still have areas of deep interest: Horticulture and animals stand out. But my children and grandchildrenthey are my future and on my mind nearly all the time. My daughter Sara dedicated many hours in helping review and formulate my memories and thoughts that appear throughout the book.

This book is not an academic work of history. It is a memoir. It is a recollection of my personal journey, filled with my encounters, observations, and memories. I have tried to tell this story as faithfully as I could, and I accept all errors as my own.

To some extent, it is also a call for action and a vision for the future, and it is my hope that, even if not every prescription is as feasible or wise as I would want it to be, the central message of the bookthat Jewish identity can be a source of inspiration and pride for Jews everywhere, regardless of their background or religious outlookhas been delivered in a way that can both explain my story and inspire a new generation of Jews.