Jooish

Linked up with the founders of @tinder and @gopuff at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach. We wrapped tefillin together and had a powerful conversation about the importance of being proud Jews, observing Shabbat, and embracing Jewish pride. Thank you @justinmateen & @rafaelilishayev

Had a fun night at the Palantir Miami Launch Party!

Wrapping Tefflin with @scooterbraun and talking to him about what it means to him.

This is Yoav Ayalon, and he’s a 16-year-old behind a multimillion-dollar AI company. He co-founded Polifly with his fellow 16-year-old Israeli, Alon. They’re building an AI analyzer for prediction markets, that they started just 7 months ago. They’ve already crossed $100K+ in monthly recurring revenue. Yoav moved from Israel to America when he was 9 and has been hustling ever since. He sold his first web app at just 15. The next generation of founders are just built different.

This is daniel Jaffe ( @jafffe ) He’s a South African Jew who became a partner at 9 Yards Capital, a $1.5 BILLION New York-based venture capital fund, at just 27.

Literally only in NYC! And that’s why I love this city. I was getting on the train when I heard someone call my name. I turned around — “It’s Ryan!” It was @ryanjdaniels , founder of Crosby AI, the largest AI law firm. I said, “Let’s wrap.” He goes, “I get off at the next stop.” I said, “Perfect. We’ll be done before you blink twice.” We were actually scheduled to wrap the other week, but it got canceled at the last minute. By Divine Providence, we still ended up wrapping, just in time for Rosh Hashanah. Everything happens at the right time.

Just Wrapped Tefillin with legendary early-stage tech investor David Tisch, founder of BoxGroup, for the very first time in his life! David is one of the greatest early-stage investors in tech, with early bets on companies like Cursor, Ramp , Plaid, Warby Parker, and more. One of his biggest wins: BoxGroup invested $750,000 in Cursor’s seed round, a reported 1,300+X return following Cursor’s $60B acquisition by SpaceX. With Rosh Hashanah starting tomorrow, I couldn’t think of a more meaningful time for David to put on Tefillin for the first time and connect to the true source of our blessings. Mazel tov, David!

Rosh Hashanah message from Clavicular 🍎🍯 Alongside his Orthodox Jewish manager, @natekest , he shares how starting to wrap Tefillin this year has brought so many blessing into his life.

Today I met the legendary Joe Lubeck, founder of American Landmark Apartments, one of the nation’s largest real estate companies. Joe sold his company for billions and has given tens of millions of dollars to charity. As we enter the new year, Joe shared with me how giving has changed his life, and it reminded me of a powerful teaching from the Lubavitcher Rebbe. The Rebbe emphasized that the days leading up to Rosh Hashanah are an especially important time to increase in tzedakah and make a commitment to give in the coming year. The goal isn’t just to ask for blessings for ourselves. It’s to become a person who brings more blessing into the lives of others

On September 11th, @howardlutnick , CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald, should have been in his office on the 105th floor of the North Tower. But that morning was different. Howard was taking his sons, @kylelutnick and @brandonlutnick , to kindergarten instead of heading straight to work. That small decision made him late. At 8:46 AM, the plane struck. He wasn’t there. 658 Cantor Fitzgerald employees were killed, the greatest loss suffered by any company that day. Howard survived, but lost his brother Gary and many close friends. He made a promise to the families: “They became part of my family.” Cantor Fitzgerald ultimately gave approximately $180 million to the families of those who were killed, along with years of healthcare coverage and support. Today, Kyle and Brandon have taken on leadership at Cantor Fitzgerald and continue their father’s legacy of giving and supporting families affected by tragedy. This year, I had the honor of wrapping Tefillin with both Kyle and Brandon. A simple moment between a father and his sons changed the course of history. And today, those sons are carrying forward his legacy. Hashgacha pratis, divine providence, in its clearest form.

Just wrapped Tefillin with Edward Felsenthal, former CEO of @time for the first time in his life, at 60 years old.

This is @beraceituno He just sold StackAI to @asana for $150M+. That’s impressive. But what’s even more impressive? Before he even launched the company, while splitting equity with his cofounders, he gifted shares to several Chabads. And on the day the company sold, he wired over $1M to charity—Chabad. I hope his example inspires many more entrepreneurs to do the same.

Today I met Marc Benioff, founder of @salesforce . I asked if he wrapped Tefillin. “Of course. What’s the question?” He told me he’s been wrapping consistently for 30 years, every morning, and that it’s become a meditation that brings tremendous blessings into his life. He’s been doing it since before he even founded Salesforce. Marc thanked me for the work I’m doing with Tefillin and emphasized how important it is. It was also inspiring hearing about his legendary 1-1-1 model: 1% of equity 1% of product 1% of employees’ time Dedicated to giving back. That model has since been adopted by 20,000+ companies. A true example of building a company while building a culture of giving. Truly inspiring.

Just wrapped Tefillin with @joshuabrowder12 a 29-year-old Thiel Fellow alum, founder of DoNotPay, the $230M+ AI startup that’s helps millions fight traffic tickets, cancel subscriptions, and take on big corporations. He also runs Browder Capital, a $30M VC fund backed by Sequoia Capital, Marc Andreessen, and leading institutions.

Tonight we hosted the first-ever WrapFest in San Francisco Co-hosted with @joetep & Josh Sirota at the Eragon AI HQ, we brought together an incredible group of Jewish founders, investors, and builders from across the Bay Area for a special evening between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Apples & honey. Amazing kosher food. Honey cake. Honey sticks. And, of course, we blew the shofar. A beautiful night of Jewish pride, community, and connection.

Meet Jeremy Fraenkel, founder of Fundamental Jeremy is an @idf veteran who built Fundamental into a $1.5 BILLION company in stealth in under two years, all while wrapping Tefillin every single day. It was incredibly inspiring to hear how he never misses a day of wrapping Tefillin. Whether while serving in the IDF or working at Bridgewater Associates, he’s always made it a priority in his life. And He told me he feels the blessings from it every single day.

Wrapped the Jews at cognition today. Cognition is the fastest-growing startup of all time, and thank God, I’ve had a front-row seat to the growth. Five months ago, I was invited by the Cognition team in New York for a kosher lunch and a Tefillin wrap. At the time, the company was valued at $10 BILLION. Today, I visited their headquarters in San Francisco. Following last week’s $2 BILLION fundraise, Cognition is now valued at $48 BILLION. And it’s not for no reason. They have an incredible team — and they’re doing a lot of mitzvahs. Just a few weeks ago, Cognition hosted one of the largest Shabbats in Silicon Valley, organized by @sdanielpour . And so many of my friends and Tefillin alumni have recently joined the company, including @alevy1511 & @imjaredz . May the mitzvahs we did today continue bringing blessings to Cognition as they march toward $1 TRILLION. Thank you, Max Martin, for starting this trend and being a true trailblazer.

This is @zackrosen partner at Ribbit Capital, an $18 BILLION VC fund behind legendary investments like Coinbase, Robinhood & Cognition. But what makes Zack stand out is what he does every month: He and his friend @mgmazarakis , an honorary Jew , bring together 100+ incredible people from all different backgrounds in San Francisco for Shabbos. Tonight, we’re hosting a very special one for the first Shabbat of the year, co-hosting with dear friends @gabygoldberg & @noargamani . It’s going to be legendary. And for the first time, I’ll be making Kiddush publicly.

Last night, I had the honor of leading my first Shabbat. I co-hosted the first Shabbat of the year with @mgmazarakis , @gabygoldberg , @zackrosen , and @noargamani . We brought together an incredible group of young founders and investors from across Silicon Valley for a night centered around Judaism, meaning, and unity. For some, it was their first kosher Shabbat. We even put up a mezuzah before Shabbat to sanctify the home. We prayed together, shared a meal, and I had the honor of sharing a few words about Yom Kippur. One of my favorite moments: a CEO of a $3B+ company who is Shomer Shabbat walked over an hour each way with his nephew just to join us. Truly one of the most beautiful Shabbats I’ve ever experienced.

It was Neilah, the closing prayer of Yom Kippur, last year. The Chabad on campus was packed. Out of nowhere, Palantir CEO Alex Karp walks in and joins the students for the final prayers.

The greatest Yom Kippur scene in television history. Ari Gold. @jeremypiven . 🔥

This is Jake Adler He’s a 22-year-old Jewish founder building Pilgrim, a $150M Peter Thiel-backed defense company working to prevent the next pandemic. Jake is building America’s first biology prime, engineering, manufacturing, and deploying advanced biotechnology for defense and national security. I was truly inspired visiting Pilgrim’s headquarters and hearing Jake speak about how proud he is to be Jewish and how deeply passionate he is about protecting the United States.

Talking with @davidghiyam about the deeper meaning of Sukkot. David co-founded MaryRuth Organics, the $1.5B supplement company, and now dedicates his life to teaching the deeper secrets of Torah.

Meet @alonrozii : The 16-Year-Old Israeli Founder Behind a Multimillion-Dollar AI Startup

Today I met @moshe.shalev , co-founder of @decart.ai , Israel’s hottest AI company, one that some of the world’s largest companies are trying to acquire! But that’s not what impressed me most about Moshe. Moshe is an observant Jew. Every Friday evening, he completely shuts down from technology for 25 hours. For someone building at the absolute front end of technology, I find that incredibly inspiring. He told me Shabbat is what helps him refresh, recharge, clear his mind, and reconnect with his family every single week. He also wraps Tefillin every day. As we were sitting together, he shared a Dvar Torah he had sent to his team before the holidays. It’s really inspiring to see someone building some of the most advanced technology in the world while making faith, Judaism, and his connection with Hashem such a priority. And we got to meet in Jerusalem, in the Sukkah, no better place. Thank you Shaun maguire for the introduction!

I asked @matan.adelson why he chose to buy a basketball team in Israel. ( @jerusalembasket )

Just wrapped @jonathanjacobi , founder of @enigma.ai_ . Jonathan’s story is wild. At just 17, he became Microsoft’s youngest employee, and today, at 26, he’s building one of Israel’s most ambitious AI companies. He just raised $71M seed to build the “brains” behind the next generation of robots. He’s backed by some of the world’s greatest investors, including Bill Ackman, @scooterbraun , and even @jakepaul . But one of the coolest things Jonathan told me: For some of his investors, including @saranormous of Conviction, this was their first-ever investment in Israel. Pretty incredible to see a 26-year-old Israeli founder bringing some of the world’s top investors into Israel!

Discussing with @zushamusic the deeper meaning behind his music 🎶

I just wrapped up 10 days in Israel. The main purpose of the trip was to spend Sukkot with family and friends in the Holy Land, and it was truly beautiful. Walking up to the Kotel with hundreds of thousands of Jews from every walk of life, all coming together to pray, was an experience I’ll never forget. I also had some extra time, so I spent a few days in Tel Aviv meeting some of the country’s greatest investors and most exceptional founders. It’s honestly mind-boggling to see what they’re building. I think Israel is entering a golden age. Not long ago, a founder being offered $100M meant it was time to sell. Today, I’m meeting founders who have been offered billions, and are choosing to keep building. That’s incredibly inspiring. And what makes it even more remarkable is the context. Less than a year ago, Israel was fighting a seven-front war. Today, you can walk through Tel Aviv and almost forget there was ever a conflict. Nearly every founder I met had served in the IDF. The resilience, ambition, and sheer determination are unlike anything I’ve seen. Israel is building something extraordinary. I can’t wait to be back very soon.

On October 7, I think about Ariel Zohar. Ariel was 13 years old when Hamas murdered his parents, Yaniv and Yasmin, and his two sisters, Keshet and Tchelet, in their home in Nahal Oz. He was the only member of his immediate family to survive. Two months later, Ariel celebrated his Bar Mitzvah. I was there. I got to dance with Ariel, celebrate with him, and watch him put on his grandfather’s tefillin—tefillin that had been recovered from the ruins of his burned-down home. I’ll never forget that day. A Bar Mitzvah is supposed to be one of the happiest days of a Jewish child’s life. Ariel had to celebrate his without his parents or sisters. And yet, he danced. He smiled. He put on tefillin. He read from the Torah. He said Kaddish. He celebrated his Bar Mitzvah with hundreds of people who came to stand beside him. In the face of unimaginable loss, Ariel chose to keep going. To celebrate. To live. Three years later, on October 7, I think about Ariel and his family. We remember those we lost. And we remember the extraordinary resilience of those who survived. Am Yisrael Chai.

I feel like Alex Karp doesn’t get nearly enough credit for how boldly he stood with Israel after October 7. The next day, October 8, Palantir took out a full-page ad in The New York Times: “Palantir stands with Israel.” At a moment when most CEOs were saying as little as possible, Karp chose to make his position unmistakable. And he didn’t stop at words. Palantir sent engineers to Israel, brought its board to Tel Aviv, and continued supporting Israel’s defense. That took conviction. And it paid off! stock is up 1100% in 3 years.