After decades of successful business management and production in the private sector, Shalom Lamm has now made the foray into serving in the nonprofit arena to give back in a truly meaningful manner. Today Shalom serves as the executive director of Operation Benjamin, an organization dedicated to preserving the memories of Jewish American servicemen who made the ultimate sacrifice while defending the cause of freedom during World War II.
The objective of Operation Benjamin is to locate Jewish personnel in American military cemeteries all over the world who were never afforded a proper burial consistent with their religion and heritage. For a myriad of reasons, they were instead buried under markers incorrectly representing their religion. The organization seeks to correct these mistakes by providing comfort to the families of the fallen in a way few other acts can. There are no costs incurred to the families of those that are helped; and the organization works discreetly and comports themselves with an extraordinary amount of dignity in the process.
Shalom Lamm and other business leaders who have decided to make this transition from their commercial businesses to the world of philanthropy full time ought to be lauded for it , and held up as role models to our nation’s youth. Especially during these economically depressed conditions that the Coronavirus health pandemic have wrought, it’s increasingly important that we seek to hold up figures like Shalom who are devoted to philanthropy out of selflessness and a genuine desire to help the community. Such generosity and acts of kindness ought to be promoted; and frankly we need more of it in the world.
To be sure, Operation Benjamin is far from Shalom’s first involvement with ensuring the contribution of Jewish American soldiers is preserved and promoted. He also participated in the production of Jewish Soldiers in Blue & Gray, which tells the tale of the sacrifice of the over ten thousand Jewish servicemen who played critical roles on both sides of the battlefield during the civil war.
Indeed as the bible teaches us, there is no greater good deed than ensuring and participating in a proper burial. Our scholars teach us that part of this stems from the fact that a burial is a favor that indeed can never be repaid. As such, the act of goodness and kindness is viewed in such a favorable light. The work of the professionals at Operation Benjamin under Shalom’s leadership is imbued with the values of compassion, respect and love.
Such acts of kindness ought to be promoted; but the value of giving needs to be promoted on the part of those engaged in such laudatory and holy acts. Even while being modest and unassuming, Shalom recently began contributing his own thoughts on the importance of philanthropy on his blog on Thrive Global, which he will continue using as a platform to seek to promote the value of generosity, especially in these challenging times.
The versatility of Shalom’s professional and educational background is also noteworthy to readers. Having earned his bachelor of arts in philosophy from Yeshiva University and his M.A. in Military History from the American Military University where he earned the highest honors, Shalom has also served as a radio show host and is in the midst of researching a book on World War I aviation. In his professional life, he has owned thousands of apartments and literally millions of square feet of commercial space. That property has even included an airport. But Shalom’s drive for innovation is especially noteworthy.
Shalom serves as an executive consultant to Ambit Success where he hosts six public meetings a week, helping others achieve success, in a way that gives him tremendous gratification. “I take the most pleasure from helping people who are struggling, or new consultants trying to grow their business. I love the challenge of working with them and helping them build their confidence, so they can say “I can do this.” Bravo, Shalom. Thank you for all you have done for the community, and continue to do to make the world a better place.