Steve, Al, and - Chanan
Steve, Al, and - Chanan

One of the many morbid jokes making the rounds on the internet in the past weeks involves Steve Jobs, the recently deceased co-founder of Apple Computers, arriving in the next world and getting annoyed that he is delayed entry into heaven. He angrily approaches the head angel demanding an explanation. "These things take time," he is told. "You see, up here we deliberate on cases. There is no App for that."

The official Steve Jobs biography, written by Walter Isaacson, the former managing editor of Time magazine, was released yesterday, nearly a month early, after being rushed forward because of the Apple co-founder's death. Customer pre-purchases have already made it the number one bestseller at Amazon.

But earlier this month, when the world mourned the passing of Steve Jobs from cancer at the age of 56, I wondered why the media covered it so extensively.

Perhaps I am indifferent because I don't own an iPod, iPad, or iPhone. If I did, I might have joined the thousands worldwide who posted eulogies on their Twitter accounts and changed their Facebook profiles to various mournful photos featuring the Apple logo. True, Job's company changed the way people work, communicate and spend their leisure time, but what legacy did Steve Jobs personally really leave behind?

Steve Jobs wasn't the only northern California luminary to pass away in early October. The legendary Jewish owner of the NFL's Oakland Raiders, Al Davis, passed away on October 8th (Yom Kippur) at his home in Oakland, California at the age of 82. Davis, who owned multiple Super Bowl trophies, had also served as Head Coach and General Manager of the team as well as former commissioner of the old AFL. He ran the Raiders with the formidable slogan: "Commitment to Excellence".

I found it surprising that after these men passed away, accolades were heaped upon them. According to those who worked with Steve Jobs, he was successful in business because he was a total control freak. Al Davis, or "Mr. Davis" as he was called by those who worked under him, ruled the Raiders with an iron fist as well, often making player personnel decisions himself in spite of what his coaches thought.

Many who knew Steve Jobs from personal dealings said that in the pursuit of greatness he cast aside politeness and empathy. Al Davis was also known for foregoing niceties as he emphatically and relentlessly pursued victory, which he summed up succinctly in the famous Raiders' motto he coined: 'Just win, baby!'

My father, a PhD in Statistics who is an internationally-recognized expert in the education and application of statistical tools in process enhancement and optimization across a wide range of industries, works as a consultant to many firms in the Silicon Valley, the area where we lived before making Aliyah. Once, in the late 1980's, he was invited to a meeting with Steve Jobs after Jobs had left Apple and formed NeXT Inc. At the meeting, after my father heard about what NeXT was doing, he outlined a plan for an intensive one-day consulting and training program.

Steve Jobs asked my father what his fee was for such a day's worth of sessions, and he told him. Jobs immediately replied that the fee was too high and suggested a significantly reduced rate. My no-nonsense father simply began packing up his briefcase and got up to leave. Taken aback, (apparently Jobs was not accustomed to being told 'no'), Jobs stopped him and agreed to the original offer.

While former Raiders players and coaches spoke highly of the late Al Davis after his passing, one wonders if they were not simply being overly polite. This is the same man who drew the ire of hardcore fans when he moved his team from Oakland to Los Angeles and back to Oakland again and was then eulogized by those who worked for him and rooted for his team.

One wonders about Davis' stormy relationship with all-around good guy and Hall of Fame running back Marcus Allen, whom Davis once referred to as 'a cancer to the team' in the midst of a contract dispute. Allen, one of the finest players at his position, was quoted as saying, "I think he's tried to ruin the latter part of my career, tried to devalue me. He's trying to stop me from going to the Hall of Fame. They don't want me to play."

But Jobs and Davis were not the only public figures to pass away at the beginning of this month.

About a year ago, my family went to spend a weekend at Kfar Etzion. On Shabbat morning we arrived early at the synagogue and asked a pleasant- looking gentleman sitting in the front where we could sit. He smiled and pointed to seats just behind him. He asked us where we were from and showed great interest.

Later that afternoon that same gentleman gave a passionate Torah lecture tying in love of the land and its people. That man was former MK Hanan Porat.

Hanan Porat died on October 4th at his home on Kibbutz Kfar Etzion from cancer at the age of 67. Porat, an MK in the 1980's, who was an iconic leader among the religious Zionists and especially its youth, served in the Paratroopers Brigade of the IDF during the Six-Day War and was among the troops that liberated the Temple Mount. 

But more than being a politician or a fighter, Porat was an educator. Thousands of people came to his funeral. “Hanan Porat dedicated his life to building the Land of Israel and to educating generations of national religious students toward the love of the land of Israel and the people of Israel,” Prime Minister Netanyahu said.

Porat was among the founders of Gush Emunim, an organization committed to building Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria. He was respected even by his fiercest adversaries for his Zionism, leadership skills, integrity and modesty.

On the Shabbat of Sukkot we read the book of Kohelet (Ecclesiastes), attributed to King Solomon. Kohelet's mantra of "Vanity of vanities, all is vanity," is appropriate for Sukkot. Sukkot is a holiday where we leave the comfort of our homes and go outside to dwell in a Sukkah, a temporary, humble, simple dwelling that is susceptible to the elements.

Who better than King Solomon, who had wealth and power well beyond Steve Jobs and Al Davis, to remind us to get back to basics, that we can live with out all our vanities, without iPads, iPhones and yes, even Monday Night Football.

Perhaps the closing of Kohelet sums it up best, "The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God, and keep His commandments; for that is the whole duty of everyone" (12:13).

In simple terms, what does God really want from us? I believe it's all about being a good person. Treat others nicely.

As for legacy, eventually Steve Jobs' technology and innovation will certainly be surpassed by others. But one wonders about his personal and family life. In the biography being released this week, the author explains the main reason for the book: Jobs wanted his children to understand why he wasn't always there for them.

"I wanted my kids to know me," Isaacson quoted Jobs as saying in their final interview at Jobs' home in Palo Alto, California. "I wasn't always there for them and I wanted them to know why and to understand what I did."

Al Davis' Raiders may or may not stay in Oakland now that ownership has been passed on to his only child, Mark.

But Hanan Porat is survived by a wife, 11 children, many grandchildren and thousands of students who will pass on his legacy of love of the land of Israel and the people of Israel. There is no App for that!