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Remembering Sami Rohr
April 4 | 20 Nissan, 1926 — August 5 | 17 Menachem-Av, 2012
Sami Rohr (1926-2012) was an international businessman and philanthropist, whose warm heart, vision, and financial success enabled him to fund Jewish community centers around the globe. He was proficient in Torah learning as he was in business and literature. Yet, he remained humble and unassuming, and was regarded by rich and poor alike as remarkably approachable. Few areas of Jewish renaissance today do not boast at least some aspect of the charitable support of the Rohr family—including Chabad.org.
The man behind these vast contributions was modest and humble. Don Sami was never a man driven by vanity or status. He did what he did because he loved G‑d.
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In spite of his very demanding business and growing family, Don Sami found time to study Torah
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My siblings and I were born and raised in Bogotá, far from the New York and Montreal communities where my parents grew up, so Don Sami and Señora Charlotte became our surrogate grandparents.
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Sami Rohr’s impetus for building Jewish community in the former Soviet Union
Whenever Reb Shmuel would hear about a synagogue that had been nationalized by the Communist government and that there was a chance to have it returned to the Jewish community—he’d exert all possible efforts to make it happen. That was his sweet revenge.
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One Shabbat morning, as sheets of torrential rain battered Miami and its surroundings, I spied the figure of a man walking briskly to our synagogue
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He asked us many questions about how we were adjusting, whether life was not too difficult. And then he asked me with concern, ”Mrs. Glazman, do you have any friends?” I can still hear his voice and see his kind face
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Video | 29:49
International Conference of Chabad-Lubavitch Emissaries 5767/2006
The late philanthropist Sami Rohr, who was a pillar of generosity throughout the Jewish world, addresses thousands of emissaries and their guests at the movement’s 2006 convention.
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Mr. Sami Rohr, 86
International businessman and philanthropist Sami Rohr, whose communal heart and financial acumen funded Jewish community centers around the globe, passed away Sunday.
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An Open Letter to Sami Rohr, of blessed memory
I hear the laugh. I perceive the joy in your eyes. I sense the emotion when you cry at a conversation we are having about family or a description that you intuit is sentimental.
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Books mattered to him and writers mattered to him. Sami Rohr believed in the unique talents of individuals and elevated the status of writers and Jewish writing.
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Sami was a cosmopolitan, debonair gentleman who spoke six languages. But in my mind, I will remember him always as the quintessential role model for enacting the Rebbe’s mission.
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I can’t say that I was friends with Sami Rohr; he was a full half-century older than me. And I was certainly not his rabbi. But I never could have asked for a better partner.
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There was something more significant for me that evening than being personally celebrated. It was how Sami Rohr treated my grandparents.
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Video | 4:34
Sami Rohr and the Feldinger Chabad House
Philanthropist Sami Rohr honors the memory of Shlomo Zalman and Recha Feldinger, who at the height of World War II provided a loving home to the young refugee. (April, 2012)
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Video | 5:27
A Tribute
The late philanthropist Sami Rohr (1926-2012) was a pillar of generosity throughout the Jewish world. This video highlights his special relationship with the Lubavitcher Rebbe and the support he gave to the Rebbe's emissaries and programs throughout the world.
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Remembering the life and deeds of a benefactor, mentor and friend
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