Faces of Israel: Rabbi Issamar Ginzberg

Rabbi Issamar Ginzberg traces numerous famous rabbis, including Rebbe Nachman of Breslov, Rashi, and Rabbi Yochanan Hasandlar as branches in his family tree. In fact, he even claims to be a direct descendant of King David. Yet he is not just known for his rich rabbinical heritage, Rabbi Ginzberg is also known in the business world. He is the founder and CEO of Monetized Intellect Consulting, as well as of English Speakers Entrepreneurs-Israel, and he has worked to help businesses and organizations thrive, expand, and succeed within the Jewish State.

He believes there is a good reason why the Israeli state has been so successful. Rabbi Ginzberg claims that the Talmud teaches that just breathing in the Land of Israel makes one smarter. As Rabbi Ginzberg stated, “In both my consultations and meeting with government officials and many of the people working on Hasbara both in Israel and around the world, and with lectures and interviews in prestigious places like CBS, Fox Business, CNBC, Google, and the Jewish National Fund, I try to show the world that the land of Israel is a place where greatness happens.”

When asked how he has assisted Israeli businesses to get their feet off the ground, Rabbi Ginzberg replied, “I’ve done this by giving seminars for places like Nefesh B’Nefesh, at the Jerusalem College of technology, various radio, television, and print interviews, and private seminars, as well as private consultations….I also have a three or four page guide within the Newcomer’s Guide, the popular English language guidebook for English speakers, where I explain the do’s and don’t of opening a business in Israel.”

One of the people who benefited from Rabbi Ginzberg’s assistance is Nosson Shulman, an Israeli tour guide whom Rabbi Ginzberg has aided to build up his reputation as one of Israel’s top tour guides. Another example includes a dynamic Zionist author who won an award from CAMERA named Josh Hasten; he is now speaking to groups around the world and is the voice of the Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria in the Jerusalem Post. In addition, he claimed, “I’ve also worked with travel companies, hotels, and Israeli business in the publishing world who print for clients from around the globe right here in Israel.” Furthermore, he has “spoken to a group of Israel’s’ top executives on how to use what they know to change the word” Gil Peretz an Israeli marketing guru and author who consults for Silicon Valley Sales Academy, wrote about Rabbi Ginzberg after they worked together “Listen to what this man says and you will succeed!”

Rabbi Ginzberg reported, “Every two years, there is a biannual marketing conference where JNF executives and volunteers from tens of countries around the world, both Jewish and Christian and discuss how to raise awareness of their work.” Rabbi Ginzberg explained, “Having a haredi rabbi onstage talking about the latest in marketing and going behind the curtain of social media to understand how it really works was something that tens of attendees told me was extremely powerful lesson both in business and in bridge building. People with a common goal, leaving external appearances and prejudices aside for the greater good being what G-d wants from us.”

Related to Google, Rabbi Ginzberg stated, “After speaking for the National Association of Translators in Israel, one of the worlds’ top translators, Yael Sela-Shapiro, became a fan of my work and my ability to see and tie things together in a way that changes peoples’ futures. Ultimately, she recommended me to someone she knows at Google and they invited me to come down to their Tel Aviv headquarters to lecture.”

The lecture at Google was very successful. He reported, “After my lecture there, an employee told me that in addition to my covered topics, there was a major aha moment for the employees- one of the psychological marketing concepts I had taught had given them an insight into human behavior and would essentially guarantee them to grow in the ranks of Google or if they went on their own elsewhere, which taught me just how you can affect people even when you don’t know the exact issue they aren’t yet able to verbalize. It’s about empowering them to use when they are taught like play dough; that they can adapt it to the exact way it will work best for them. People are smarter than they are given credit for!”

There is more to Rabbi Ginzberg than just marketing; his work is also about improving the livelihoods of countless Israelis so that they too can thrive. He concluded by stating, “The main thing is to focus on helping each other, and however I can help make this land of ours into a safer, more beautiful, more profitable place to live in, the better off we are.”

By Rachel Avraham