“The Greatest Bracha I Got”

By COLlive reporter

Mishpacha Magazine’s mega Sukkos issue was a showcase of the glossy weekly’s defining elements – people, places, ideas, graphics and, this year, a special bonus- the Kumzing 2 music CD.

It includes unique visits with leading rabbis, behind the scenes with musicians and activists, a visual project involving the top photographers in the frum world, and a special supplement highlighting Then and Now, the way things change, the way they stay the same.

An article by Refoel Pride profiles Rabbi Nochum Stilerman, described as a legendary fundraiser who raised over $400 million for various causes over the last 50 years and who has developed a plan to internalize discipline, make a rigorous regimen into routine, and actualize dreams.

Apparently, he has Lubavitch roots. Here is a excerpt of the article:

In 1951 Rabbi Stilerman’s family reached American shores. His father opened the first shomer Shabbos grocery store in Crown Heights, and employed his precocious son as delivery boy. The enterprise quickly nabbed a notable customer.

“I was told that I was the only person for whom the Lubavitcher Rebbe stood up,” he says with a glint in his eye. “I frequently delivered the groceries to his apartment. Sometimes he had to get up from the table where he was learning to open the door for me.”

His relationship with the Lubavitcher Rebbe continued for years. Reb Nochum can still recall the bracha the Rebbe gave him at his bar mitzvah: “The Ribono shel Olam should have nachas from you, your Tatte and Mamme should have nachas from you, and you should have nachas from yourself.”

“I learned from this that you should always be able to look in the mirror and take pride in what you’ve done,” says Reb Nochum as he remembers that night 58 years ago.

“To me, that’s the greatest bracha a person can receive.”

Although the Rebbe’s brachah took several years to reach fruition, young Nochum quickly proved his perspicacity.

“I wasn’t a very quiet kid — despite my name, ‘Shtillerman,'” he admits. “You could fill a book with my escapades. But the Ribono shel Olam was very kind always to send me great role models. More than the numerous other gedolim whose paths I was zocheh to cross, these specific gedolim shaped the course of my life: the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rav Avigdor Miller, and Rav Avraham Pam, zichronam livrachah.”

Reb Nochum put in some serious hishtadlus to meet some of those role models. It gave him the chance to hone the skills he would use so adroitly later in life.

“I had my first organized fundraising campaign when I was just after bar mitzvah,” he says. “All the schools were holding a campaign to raise money for Chinuch Atzmai in Israel. To anyone who raised more than $650, they were offering a set of Rambam. Fifty-seven years ago, $650 was a lot of money. I was in Torah Vodaath at the time, and I really wanted those Rambams.”

Young Nochum Stilerman began shaking the pushke and pounding the pavement, hitting up everyone he knew for donations. Before long, he had widened the scope of his campaign and found himself knocking on the front doors of some noteworthy personages.

“I went to the Satmar Rav,” he says. “I just introduced myself and explained what I was raising funds for, and that whoever raised more than $650 would receive a set of Rambam. Nobody had bothered to tell me that he might not be so pro-Chinuch Atzmai. But in fact, he gave me the largest gift of anybody: ten dollars.

“So naturally, I told everyone else I solicited that the Satmar Rav had donated ten dollars. The Bobover Rebbe gave me a very nice donation after that. And of course, so did the Lubavitcher Rebbe.

“In the end, I managed to raise all the money,” Rabbi Stilerman recounts. “I brought it in to Rav Nesanel Quinn ztz”l — he was in charge of the campaign for Torah Vodaath.

“He was very impressed with my collections. He gave me the set of Rambam — which I still have to this day — plus he gave me a surprise gift: a copy of Dale Carnegie‘s How to Win Friends and Influence People.”