Our Stories
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The Birnbaums
The Ervin and Hadassa Birnbaum Story
Today we’re telling you a story out of Israel. But like most stories from Israel, it doesn’t begin and stay there. This story centers around Ervin and Hadassa Birnbaum. It’s a story that includes at least five countries, several languages and one very big war, more specifically, World War II.
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When History Comes Knocking at Your Door
The Rabbi Moshe Sachs Story
Hillel’s aphorism – from the first century BCE – “If I do not act for myself, who will? If, however, I am only for myself, what am I? And if not now, when?”, is at the core of the actions, beliefs and preachings of one very special human being – Rabbi Moshe Binyamin (Buddy) Sachs – the Jewish Forrest Gump. From Okinawa to Jerusalem under the British Mandate; from Birmingham, Alabama, to Washington, D.C.; and from St. Louis Park to a final settlement in Jerusalem – Rabbi Sachs participated in many of the 20th century's most important events. The two-part special will allow us to witness one man's response to the calling of humanity, and also to witness the way he forged a path for others to follow.
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A Fully Lived Life
The Bob Magid Story
It is said that it is better to master your passions than conquer cities. Such is the practice of Robert – Bob – Magid, who travelled across continents to discover his passions – and lived them. From making toys for little children to creating a documentary film, from leading a nuclear disarmament movement to nursing the wounds of war victims in Israel. From living the life of a refugee – to becoming a real estate tycoon in Australia… not many people get to live a life so full of adventures. This is the inspiring story of Bob Magid, an entrepreneur, a businessman, a father – and a proud Jew.
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Ask Good Questions
The Avi Seidmann Story
Abraham (Avi) Seidmann is the Everett W. Lord Distinguished Faculty Scholar of Information Systems and an Associate Research Director for Health Analytics and Digital Health at the Questrom Digital Business Institute of Boston University. He is the author of over one hundred research articles and has over 9,300 research citations. In 2012 he was named a “Distinguished Research Fellow” by the prestigious Institute of Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS) and the Information Systems Society of INFORMS; the Fellow award was given to him in recognition of his outstanding scholarly leadership contributions to the information systems discipline. In addition to his prolific research, he has consulted and worked together with Israel's and America’s foremost companies In February 2022, and again in January 2023, Professor Seidmann was named a part of the world's top 2% active scientists by two recent Stanford University studies. Prior to joining Boston University, Avi taught at the University of Rochester, Tel-Aviv University, Ben Gurion University, the Technion, and Yale University. Avi has also been the president and co-founder of several commercial companies dealing with real estate, management consulting, medical imaging CME, hospitals’ business management, and Medical Residents recruiting software development. In part one of his life's story "Ask Good Questions" we get to know Avi through the stories of his early childhood, adolescence, army service, academia, marriage and fatherhood. It is a story of a boy, a son, a lover, a husband, a father and a learned man, who chose hope and perseverance in the face of adversity. It is the story of one man’s joys, sorrows, fortitude and resilience. Of a life fully lived.
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A Life Full of Mazal
The Gucia and Szlamek Melnik Story
Gucia Fried and Szlamek Melnik were born in 1918 in the Polish town of Pultusk. There they went to school, the shtiebel and local Jewish youth groups, where they met and fell in love. A few months after the Holocaust began, they were married in the Siauliai ghetto in Lithuania. It was from there that they were taken, in 1944, to separate concentration camps – and there that they last saw their two-year-old son, Moshe. Despite these harsh beginnings, the Melniks’ life was one of perseverance, happiness and joy. Through sheer willpower, determination and optimism, they began their lives anew in Melbourne, Australia, where they raised their two daughters, Ray and Betty, and built a small knitwear empire. This is their story.
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Fish or Cut Bait
The Micha Balf Story
Michael Balf was born in a small fishing village in the United States. Micha Balf lived his adult life on Kibbutz Ma’agan Michael in Israel. They are the same man – someone who has always lived between worlds. In this episode, Micha looks back on his life and his legacy, and we hear from the many people whose lives he touched along the way. It is the story of a man who never stayed on the sidelines, and who chose, again and again, to step up and make a difference in the people and places around him.
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