8/9/2019 To the Bear Stearns Minyan

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To the Bear Stearns Minyan, one last time:After two great years at the Bear, and having been observant for about the same amount of time,I have chosen to exit galus and the world of gashmius (at least temporarily) in order to immersemyself in the ruchnius that I hope to find at Ohr Somayach in eretz Yisroel. I had been planningto go learn at some point, and despite having had a potential opportunity to go over to JPMorgan,the events that took place in mid-March made my decision that much clearer. Not only hasHashem provided me with the ability to go learn but he has blessed me with a scholarship" careof JPM.The Bear mincha minyan was really my first regular minyan and it provided me with muchinspiration. The whole concept was foreign to me. The idea that a few dozen men at a majorfinancial institution would take time out of their busy schedules and express their gratitude toHashem, in a conference room within the building no less, was a big motivator for me. Moreover,nobody was talking, rarely were there any cell phone interruptions, and some were even able toachieve serious kavanagh. Thank you to everyone who davened for inspiring me with yourtefillah.While I sympathize with those who lost money and jobs, we know that everything happens for areason and it will all work out for the best. That being said, the collapse of BSC provided a greatdeal of mussar to all who wish to see it. There are some employees who gave their heart andsoul to the company for many years, and some lost thousands or even millions of dollars (Jimmyliterally lost a billion!) they learned the hard way that money is fleeting. Still there are others

who were with the company for only a few months who will receive a nice severance packageand have already accepted offers elsewhere at higher salaries. There are those, who because ofthe extraordinary amount of time that they spent at the office, missed out on many milestones(birthdays, weddings, etc.), and lost it all. And there are those who were just in the right place atthe right time. And of course there are stories of everything in between. There are no accidents.Hashem is in charge of the world. Sometimes when we are in certain situations it is difficult tohave a clear perspective. In the business world it is so easy to get caught up in the day to dayand to lose sight of what really matters This experience has truly served to clarify for me the ideathat the only "things" that are timeless are the mitzvahs that we do and the tzedakah that we givein olam hazeh. Bear Stearns will soon be a distant memory but hopefully this lesson will remainwith us.There is a famous story of an extraordinarily wealthy man who wrote two wills. When he passedaway his children were instructed to immediately open will #1 and then 30 days later to open will

#2. Will #1 indicated that the mans last wish was to be buried in his favorite pair of socks. Thechevra kadisha informed the children that this would not be possible. The children pleaded,informing them that their father was a very powerful man who had given a substantial amount oftzedakah throughout his life. They asked, Do you know who our father is? Still, the chevrakadisha told the children that it was not halachically permissible. They informed the children thatthe dead could only be buried in a white kittel. The children sadly buried their father unable tofulfill his final request. After 30 days had passed will #2 was read to the children. By nowchildren, you have buried me without my socks. I want you to realize that no matter how manymillions of dollars you accumulate in your lifetime, you cannot even take your socks with you tothe next world.There was once a man traveling through Europe in the 1800s. He came to the town where theChofetz Chaim had lived. The traveler stopped in to meet the great Talmid Chuchum. When hearrived at the house, he saw that the Chofetz Chaim lived in a tiny home. He knocked on the

door and when he looked inside he saw a nearly empty one-bedroom apartment. The travelerasked the Chofetz Chaim, arent you the great Chofetz Chaim? How can you live like this?Where are all of your possessions? The Chofetz Chaim turned to the traveler and posed thesame question. Where are all of your possessions? All you have with you is a suitcase. Thetraveler answered, Well, I am just passing through, to which the Chofetz Chaim responded, Itoo am just passing through.These are old stories but their messages are powerful. It is of course important to make a livingand support a family but it is also important to learn Torah byom u blayla, to treat others withrespect, to be a Kiddush Hashem and to always act lshaem shemayim. As I have been inspiredby everyone at the minyan, and certainly affected by the events that have transpired at Bear, I

8/9/2019 To the Bear Stearns Minyan

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hope that you are all inspired by the messages that Hashem sends us on a daily basis and thatyou continue to strive to achieve a true closeness to the Rabbeinu shel Olam.Nachum and I had a brief conversation with our CEO, Alan Schwartz, in the elevator on the wayto Mincha yesterday. We invited him to daven with us though we conveyed our feelings thatmaybe our prayers for the well-being of Bear Stearns had not been received in the way that a lotof people had hoped. He had a meeting to attend but he left us with some great mussar. He saidsomething along the lines of dont worry fellas your prayers are being answered we just dontknow how. Now I dont know if he has been meeting with a Rabbi over the past few months or ifit was just the power of the pintele Yid but I thought it was a great attitude reflecting on what hasno doubt been the most tragic part of his career. Hashem sends us messages all the time andfrom the most unexpected places.A big hakores hatov to Andy on behalf of the entire minyan for all his hard work and for being ourshaliach mitzvah. By the way, if you have noticed that Andy hasnt been around as much lately itis because he has been spending his mornings learning in Yeshiva. Yafeh!If you find yourself in ir HaKodesh and are in need of someone to send out minyan e-mails (thistime for a fee of course), or if you just want to take a yeshiva bucher for a decent meal, pleasecontact me at robsavit@gmail.com . Hatzlacha vBracha!

Robert SavitVice Preside nt

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