Antoyshung for Orthodox Jew on Season 5 Of the Apprentice

"ANTOYSHUNG"* FOR ORTHODOX JEW ON SEASON 5 OF "THE APPRENTICE"
*In Yiddish, "antoyshung" means disappointment by
Marjorie Gottlieb Wolfe

Syosset, New York

Lee Bienstock is a "gantse makher" (an important person) despite the fact that Donald Trump didn't hire him on "The Apprentice." Bienstock, 23, began the season with another Orthodox Jew, New Jersey's, Dan Brody; Lee beat out 16 other contestants.

I'm disappointed that Sean Yazbeck won for the following reasons:

Bienstock was raised in an aea of New York in close proximity to where I grew up. He graduated from the "Hebrew Academy of the Five Towns and Rockaway," and from Cornell University, with a 4.0 GPA. Such a " gelernter" (scholar) and business prodigy!

Lee has proven himself to be a " yungermantshik"--a young, vigorous lad. He has his own "vebzaytl" (Web site)-- Leebienstock.com. There's even a blog that has traced his progress: http://orthodoxapprentice.blogspot.com, as well as "I Love Lee Fan Clubs."

So, why would a nice Jewish boy with a Yidisher Kop--already employed at Merrill Lynch--want to be a contestant on "The Apprentice" and work for "The Donald"?

Was it the six-figure "skhires" (salary)? The Pontiac G6 convertible? A job in New York City overseeing a $370 milion SoHo skyscraper? A job building the Trump Int'l Hotel and Tower in Honolulu?

In Timothy L. O'Brien's 2005 book, " TrumpNation - The Art of Being The Donald," we read,

My name is Donald Trump and I'm the largest real estate ("grunteygns") developer in New York. I own buildings all over the place, model agencies, the Miss Universe Pageant, jetliners ("dzhet aeroplan"), golf courses, casinos, one of the most spectacular estates anywhere in the world ("di velt")...I've mastered the art of the deal and I've turned the name ("der nomen") Trump into the highest-quality brand.

When Donald gave the first group of contestants a tour of his Trump Tower triplex, he told them, "If you're really successful ("matsliakhdik"), you'll all live just like this." (Sounds like a "bobe mayse" to the writer.)

Let's look at the numbers: The first-season's finale drew 28 "milyon" (million) viewers; the second season's finale attracted more than 16 "milyon." Why business ("gesheft") school professors were even adopting "The Apprentice" into
their students' course work!

According to Timothy L. O'Brien,"To emerge victorious on The Apprentice, you should:

1) Grovel.
2) Be extremely innovative and industrious.
3) Call Donald "Mr. Trump," and mean it. (Lee violated this rule in the final episode on June 5. He answered Mr. Trump's phone calls with, "How Ya doin' Pal?")
4) Be smart and be on time. (Lee was late in meeting Mr. Trump in the final episode.)
5) Handle your boardroom grillings like Donald Rumsfeld handles press conferences.

What makes me proud of Bienstock? He kept Kosher food in a special mini " fridzhider" (refrigerator), He missed two episodes to observe Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.

Some of his non-Jewish teammates wanted his religious observance to get him fired from the show, but Trump was not in "haskem" (agreement).

Some viewers/bloggers seem a "bisl" (little) skeptical about how Bienstock spent the Jewish holidays. Elena Elbee wrote (4/4/06), " It's a rainy day in New York City. And it's apparently another Jewish holiday (already?) - Yom Kippur, which Lee eloquently calls 'the calendar.' While he plans to spend his day 'reflecting' (anyone care to take the odds that he was really headed to Zabar's for some nice gravlox?), while the rest of the candidates head to Trump Towers."

For those who are unfamiliar with the food word "Gravlox," it means "cured raw salmon." Michael Schneider said that Gravlox "is not only easy to make, but it impresses enough to elevate you to a kitchen high roller." Tom Dowdy says, " Gravlox is cured salmon with sugar, salt, and dill. The really interesting thing is that 'lox' means fish, and 'grav' means buried.' So, it's really 'Fish from the Grave.' Yum."

There's no question that "The Apprentice" achieved cult status when it first aired on TV (early 2004), as well as this year. I'm confident that Lee Bienstock will bring " naches" to his parents, Mark and Flora, and to his "zeyde" (grandfather), who flew in from Israel.

He fits the description of a "makher"--a " maker." A "makher" cuts deals, makes connections and hatches plots. A "makher" is a dynamic personality--and for this reason, he is both exciting and dangerous to be around.

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___________________________________________
Marjorie Gottlieb Wolfe is the author of
two books:
yiddish for dog and cat lovers

"Yiddish for Dog & Cat Lovers" and
"Are Yentas, Kibitzers, & Tummlers Weapons of Mass Instruction? Yiddish
Trivia." To order a copy, go to her
website: MarjorieGottliebWolfe.com

NU, what are you waiting for? Order the book!

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