For the former Israeli government official visiting His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Faisal Al-Qassimi of the United Arab Emirates, this uncomfortable question came as a stumper. There was an awkward pause in the sheikh’s immense meeting room overlooking Dubai.
The sheikh was asking this question because the day before, he’d met Rabbi Moshe Shapoff, a cheerful 51-year-old Brooklyn-born Karlin-Stoliner chassid, who was in Dubai as part of an American-Israeli business delegation. It was an opportune meeting, not just for the sheikh, and not just for Moshe Shapoff.
As Reb Moshe recounts the story, it’s clear why he made such an impression on the sheikh. With his unassuming demeanor, ready smile, and ability to form an easy rapport with colleagues across the board, Moshe Shapoff is a worthy ambassador for Klal Yisrael. Weeks afterward, he’s still amazed by the episode, and by the unusual relationship that was to follow.
“I don’t look for publicity, that’s not my nature,” says Moshe. “I’m a simple person, with nothing to hide. People today think that you have to lower your religious standards to go into the business world. But really, you can just be yourself, be who you are, and you can’t lose in the long run. All these Israelis were coming up to me afterwards, saying, ‘Oh, Moshe, how did you do that?’”
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