Sontrepreneur

I was talking to a friend about mortgages and he mentioned
That one of the biggest players in the industry is
Mat Ishbia, the Jewish owner of the Phoenix Suns.

I knew he ran one of the largest mortgage lending companies,
But I hadn’t realized that his father had started the business.

As he explained how Mat built on his father’s success
And took the company and industry to new levels,
I innocently commented:

So you’re saying he’s not a sontrepreneur.

My friend loved it. It sounded right.
But he had never heard the term before
And wanted to know exactly what it meant.

So I explained.

There are two types of people who inherit generational wealth or successful businesses.

You have the entrepreneur.
A person who realizes that he or she was given a gift
And works hard to better the business and increase their wealth.

And then there are those who feel entitled to the comforts
That others struggled to acquire and pass on to them.
They live off what they inherited, often convinced they are self-made,
Without much interest in contributing or giving back.

That’s not an entrepreneur.

That’s a sontrepreneur.

There’s a famous line about the self-made millionaire.
His parents left him a billion dollars.

It’s funny, but it forces an uncomfortable accounting.
What did you actually build, and what did you simply receive?
What good is a gift if you’re not using it properly?

The truth is, we all inherit tremendous wealth.
Sometimes financial. Often in the form of talent, education, relationships, or opportunity.
And even more importantly, spiritual wealth-
Our soul and the ability to connect to G-d through Torah and mitzvot.

This month marks two sources of such wealth that I’ve been privileged to be born into,
And reflecting on them has pushed me to ask those same questions of myself.

Seventy-five years ago, on the eleventh of Shevat,
Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the Rebbe,
Assumed the leadership of the Chabad movement.

In his public talks, private letters, and personal encounters,
He focused on the soul and its G-dly essence,
And believed deeply in its ability to illuminate even the darkest corners of the world.

Yet the Rebbe wasn’t satisfied with his immediate sphere of influence.

Just as he brought out the best in others,
He wanted his followers to create a ripple effect.
One whose center was in Brooklyn,
But whose waves would spread throughout the world.

He wasn’t interested in creating satisfied sontrepreneurs,
People happy in their heritage
And focused only on their own spiritual growth.

He wanted to develop and empower entrepreneurs,
People willing to sacrifice and dedicate their lives
To bringing light into the lives of others as well.

And so he asked his followers to join him on this mission.
To move far and wide, teach and share the beauty of our heritage,
And build strong communities filled with Jewish pride.

Today it’s common to find Chabad almost everywhere you go.
But at the time, it was almost unheard of for practicing Jews
To leave the comforts of established communities.

In 1977, when that ripple effect was still in its infancy,
My parents were sent by the Rebbe on the fifteenth of Shevat
To establish Chabad of Arizona.

Learning from the Rebbe’s example,
They, too, weren’t satisfied just doing the work themselves.

At every opportunity, they looked to expand their reach-
Creating more programs, inviting more rabbis and rebbetzins,
And empowering others to take responsibility
For communities and initiatives across the state.

They built, and they brought others to build with them.

As one of fifty-five shluchim (emissaries of the Rebbe),
Working in one of over thirty Chabad centers in Arizona,
I reflect on the wealth I’ve received
From the Rebbe and from my parents,
His emissaries to Arizona.

And I ask myself:
Am I building, or am I only receiving?

Am I a sontrepreneur, or am I an entrepreneur?