How You Are Unique: Part 7 of How to Master Mentoring

“How You Are Unique” is the focus of podcast episode #55 by “The Rabbi Who Got Rich on Sunday,” which is also the seventh episode in the “How to Master Mentoring” mini-series. 

In the How to Master Mentoring mini-series, each episode begins with a story of how a mentor taught me, Rabbi Dave, a valuable lesson and continues with one of the individuals I mentored in life and another in my side hustle business.

I hope that sharing my experiences of How You Are Unique in this podcast episode inspires you to find a real mentor with hard-earned experience to help you in your life and business. This is even more important in a side hustle because you need to avoid roadblocks, falsehoods, and pitfalls to take the shortest path to success. This is much easier when you have a guide!

I’m Rabbi Dave, and most weeks, we explore the challenges and triumphs of achieving business success while living a #dreamlife. I hope you enjoy “How You Are Unique.”

How to master mentoring Story #19: How You Are Unique

In my journey as a Rabbi, I spent my second year after high school studying at Kerem B’yavneh, an institute of higher Jewish learning (a Yeshiva) in Israel. Kerem B’Yavneh is an excellent school, and the head (or Rosh Yeshiva) was Rabbi Chaim Yaakov Goldvicht of blessed memory.

Rabbi Goldvicht was a true mentor who was able to give different on-target advice to each student because he really knew how you are unique.

When I first started in this Israeli institution, I decided to go to Rabbi Golvicht’s public lesson each week.  It was all in Hebrew, and very difficult to understand Hebrew at that. After the first week, I was the only American to come back, and I continued to come back each week until, after several months, I began to understand myself!

One week, I was engrossed in my studies, and as the lesson began I left my Talmud book open in front of me.  I didn’t know that this was considered disrespectful to the speaker, but he taught me in a way I’ll never forget. He pointed to me and commanded me very loudly to close my book immediately! I always remember the importance of this, even now, 38 years later!

On Yom Kippur (a Jewish Fast Day when G-d’s judgment on all of us is sealed for the year), the school had us say the entire Psalms several times. After the fast ended, as I was sitting up front, I heard the Rosh Yeshiva ask the kitchen staff when the food was going to be ready, and they replied that it would be delayed.  With a big smile, he announced we should all say Psalms another time.  I thought he was joking and chuckled.  He pointed at me and said, you, sit now and say Psalms.  He sat and watched me say all of the Psalms another time while everyone else left as he was joking!

A few days later, like the other students, I had plans to be with friends during an extended Sukkot holiday.  But before we left, we needed to say goodbye to the Rosh Yeshiva. When it was my turn, he asked about my plans and told me to cancel my plans for the last days of Sukkot because he wanted me to spend them in the Yeshiva!

He let all 100 American students go but me and one friend!  As Americans, we needed to keep an extra day of the holiday, and the Rosh Yeshiva made sure we had enough people and attended himself.  There is a big honor called Chatan Torah (Groom of the Torah), and he gave it to me!

The food was terrible in Yeshiva, and one of the parents offered to buy refrigerators and deliver Chinese food once a week.  The Rosh Yeshiva said no.  I was upset and asked him why he turned this down.  He responded with a big smile that by the end of the year, I would no longer notice how bad the food was!

Towards the end of the year, there was a big push by the Israeli government to require Yeshivot to sign a declaration of support for the state in order to receive government funding.  Since our Yeshiva was the very first one to combine learning with army service, they must have thought it would be easy to start with us.  

When they asked the Rosh Yeshiva to sign, he told the government representatives that they had the chutzpah (audacity) to ask him to sign that he supported the state!  Instantly, he became the most popular person in Israel, both among the religious and the secular!

They decided to honor him, and he asked me over to his house to help him pick a picture for the article, I was shocked that he actually spoke great Hebrew (not like his public lecture) and that all the pictures he showed me were of him much younger with a red beard and did not look at all like he did then.  When I pointed this out, he acted surprised and, with a big smile, said ‘really!”

When I was leaving for America, I went to say my goodbyes to the Rosh Yeshiva and he told me that I should go learn in Ner Israel Yeshiva in Baltimore and work for Rabbi Lowenbraun in the youth group NCSY.  He gave each student specific “advice” that was tailored to them, and this advice set me on the path to who I am today (next week, we’ll talk about my most significant mentor at Ner Israel).

After I was married and returned to Israel with my wife, we visited the Rosh Yeshiva.  He recognized me instantly and sang my praises to my new wife.

He really knew how to tailor his advice and guidance differently for every student and let you know very clearly how you are unique!

How to master mentoring Story #20: How You Are Unique as a mentee

When I began directing outreach to Jewish secular students in New Jersey, I put together several student leaders who helped me as my personal cadre of super role models. Dovid A, Dovid R, Tirza S, Elana M, Allison K, Yechiel S, Gil S, Zevi, and Rachel H. were chief among them. Each one brought unique skills to the team, and I guided each one as I had been guided to help their fellow Jewish students by showing them how you are unique.

I’ll just share one story about Dovid R.  Dovid was a public school student in Englishtown, New Jersey.  He decided that he wanted to bring NCSY to his traditional but not yet Orthodox synagogue.  I began teaching classes in their Hebrew supplemental school, and soon he convinced the Rabbi, the school principal, and his father to talk me into finding a chapter advisor for them.  I thought it was impossible to find someone good enough willing to travel the hours it would take each week to run events and do a proper job, but I committed to try.   He had a unique passion and vision and was a great example of how you are unique, as you’ll soon see.  As soon as I started looking, a superstar David Z. applied, and as they say, the rest is history!

Dovid R. became chapter president and regional president, attended the same Yeshiva in Baltimore, wrote a Sefer (Jewish Torah book), and today is a Rabbi teaching back in Englishtown.

For those few years, the Englishtown had record success and not only with the teens but also transformed the entire synagogue!  All because of Dovid R and the magic formula of how you are unique.

How to master mentoring Story #21: How You Are Unique in business

I first met Steven B. when he was just starting with my Youth group in the Central East.  I mentored him, and he quickly became my equal as an informal educator and one of my best friends.  He was a quickly rising star in the organization, and it wasn’t long before he became my boss, giving me the opportunity to fulfill one of the ways for me how you are unique by starting the alumni program internationally.  He was a big risk taker, and when he thought it was the right thing to do for the organization’s success, he did it, no matter the potential personal consequences, and he ended up leaving the organization.

He knew of my success in my side business and asked me to help him as a business partner. He was not typical as he was really good at some things and really bad at others! I really had to use the how you are unique method because the typical approach that worked for most did not work for him.  We really sunk deeply into figuring out what really motivated him to be successful in our business, and he realized it was the opportunity to help other Jewish leaders who gave their all to help but did not make enough income to help their families properly.  This led to burnout and many of the most successful left Jewish education for more lucrative pastures.  We created a band of brothers and sisters who were all in that same boat and committed to burning the ships behind us and leaving no one behind until we all achieved our business goals.  This band of brothers met frequently, held each other accountable, celebrated our successes, and lifted each other up when we didn’t succeed.  Within a few months, every member of our band reached their initial goal, and it was one of my all-time favorite business experiences.  I’d like to say that this band of brothers continued, but it was a one-time experience at the right time and place for the right people when they were ready to show how you are unique.

How to Master Mentoring Recap and Weekly Podcast Challenge

I hope you enjoyed the sventh episode in the miniseries “The Rabbi Who Got Rich on Sunday Shares Mentorship Mastery.” This week’s challenge is to identify how you are unique and put a plan in place to use that to drive your success.  Please share your efforts and results, even if small, with me. It is the small efforts that mean a lot!

If you’re looking for a mentor and ready to take your personal growth seriously to see how it can transform your business, I’d love to help you. Visit my website and use the Work With Dave link to set up a free consultation. Let’s unlock your full potential together.

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