To succeed in business, “you have to be persistent and know what you’re talking about.”
By MOJI OHEB GERSHNathan Charles(photo credit: Courtesy)
It’s never too late. He is not just saying it. He’s done it: He’s been a crop duster, fencing instructor, sold shoes, real estate, owned a chocolate factory, fudge stores and, in between, climbed and spent Shabbat on Mount Kenya, one of the highest mountains in Africa. And not long ago, he got married again.FAMILY BACKGROUNDNatie Charles’s ability to adapt may in part have been inherited from his parents, both immigrants from Kiev, Russia. Unlike Charles, they had to make changes not always out of choice but out of necessity. His father, a Kohen, came from a line of military officers in the Russian army, a rare privilege for a Jew. Upon immigrating to the US he became a milliner and later an auto salesman. Losing all he had following the stock market crash of 1929, he and his second wife moved to Pennsylvania and opened a grocery store.In his book, Charles, Prince of Tales, Charles writes: “In the old country my parents had been very Orthodox.When they immigrated to the United States, they wanted to act very American, and so they became nonobservant.” His father was an active member of his synagogue, knew the prayers by heart and yet worked seven days a week, except for Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur.Later on, when Charles married, he also worked nonstop.But he notes, “On Fridays I was always home for Shabbat to recite Kiddush and eat a Shabbat meal with the family.” As an adult, he attended Conserative shul.“Not to daven but to make deals.”Charles was 19 when he fell for his future wife. He saw “a pair of legs encased in high heels descending the stairs... wearing a dark tan velvet dress.” He writes, “Much to my delight, I was introduced to Irma Ruth Lieberman... I was enamored with Irma’s long fingernails, her dark wavy hair and her thick dark eyelashes.”They married soon after, around the time he began taking flying lessons. He had thought that Rosh Hashana would be a great day for him to practice his lazy eights and spins. Since the holiday fell on a regular weekday, he figured most people would be at work and there would be no lines. In less than an hour, however, he “became deathly ill with motion sickness.”After he landed and the motor was still running, he opened the door and threw up, realizing, “Flying on Rosh Hashana was not the way the holiday was meant to be spent.”On December 7, 1941, Charles was driving home from a flying lesson in Virginia when he heard that the Japanese had bombed Pearl Harbor. “I was enraged and determined to fly for my country.” Although neither he nor his Jewish or black friends were accepted to the navy, he was accepted by the US Army Air Corps, where he was needed for only a few months.LIFE AFTER MARRIAGE During all the years Charles was running his grocery store, supermarket or successful sewing machine chain, he always yearned to move to Palestine. The Jewish underground almost recruited him as a pilot, but since he would be entering the land illegally and risking being caught, he gave up on the idea because of his wife, now called Wings. She had threatened to divorce him if he decided to leave.LIFE IN ISRAELIn 1971, regardless of the high commission he was earning selling real estate, the couple finally moved to Israel. Charles was somewhat worried about what he was going to do as a career. After his friends suggested they open a store in the Lod airport, he spent nine months driving from Netanya to the airport trying to get a permit. The airport management did not make it easy for him, so his wife suggested that since he was a great look-alike of Ezer Weizman, he should contact the Knesset member and ask him to help a new immigrant.Weizman, amused at the resemblance and enchanted by their mutual love of flying, called the airport staff immediately. His support, Charles notes, certainly helped speed up the process.“In all the years I have been living here, there has not been one day that I regretted moving to Israel. I may have experienced some trials and tribulations, but that is to be expected.”When the couple arrived, they received much more than they bargained for: They were “housed, fed and taught Hebrew.” With government assistance, they bought a $65,000 apartment for less than half that amount.WORK In 1972, Charles opened a chocolate factory in Rishon Lezion whose products would be sold in their airport store and overseas. The factory flourished and was expanded. However, he became bored after a decade and sold most of his shares to his partners, who are now millionaires. He also sold his shares in Cowboy Fudge, a business he had opened with a friend in 1995 and ran for a couple of years.RELIGIONCharles and his father have walked the same path, just in opposite directions. Charles started as a secular Jew and became observant here, whereas his father started as an observant Jew in Russia and slowly parted with tradition.Upon moving to the Old City in 1985, Irma bought her husband a set of Torah Anthology, which he ignored for months, considering it to be “junk.” One morning, after he made himself a cup of coffee, for lack of interesting reading material, he picked out one of the volumes and started reading. To his surprise, he finished the entire book. “It was great! It’s the Bible, but the Torah Anthology series made it easy to read and comprehend.”He started to learn at Aish Hatorah, located just a few steps away from his home. When his daughter became pregnant after some years of difficulty, the family began to take Judaism even more seriously. His daughters and grandchildren, who live abroad, are all observant.Before Irma passed away in 2005, the couple would host two dozen guests every Shabbat, many of whom they considered their “adopted children.” The only help Charles claims he provided his wife was the baking of hallot.He met his second wife, Nehama, 63, at a Torah lecture.The couple has kept up the tradition of welcoming guests, although Charles puts off the baking from one week to the next.DAILY ROUTINE“My daily routine is up by six, exercise, go to shul, home for breakfast and then it’s off to school,” mainly at the Akiva Yeshiva for adults over 40. He says that Talmud study is so difficult, he’d rather do “shovel work.”LANGUAGEPart of the difficulty in learning may be due to the language barrier. After 40 years here, Charles claims that his Hebrew is still weak. “I thought I’d pick up Hebrew easily.” He guesses this didn’t happen because he learned the language much later in life. Japanese and Yiddish, which he studied in his youth, he picked up pretty quickly. About Russian he says, “I just know the bad words.”ADVICETo succeed in business, “you have to be persistent and know what you’re talking about.” To those reading his book who live abroad, he advises, “Stop reading and start packing!”
Related Tagsveterans
if(catID != 151){
var cont = `Take Israel home with the new Jerusalem Post Store
