Names That Ring a Bell
What’s it like to have a last name that rings a bell with everyone who hears it?
Do you ever dream of being famous? Do you ever imagine what it would be like to walk around and have everyone recognize your face and your name, and be constantly bombarded by people wanting you to sign autographs and take pictures with them? What if you’re just a kid, but it’s your father who has celebrity status in your community? What’s it like to have a last name that rings a bell with everyone who hears it?
Let’s talk to some kids whose last names may sound very familiar to you and see what life in the limelight is like:
Eighteen-year-old Yehuda Pollack is the son of the famous illustrator and author, Gadi Pollack. Yehuda, who lives in Eretz Yisrael, says that his last name brings an extra level of responsibility to his life. “I’m representing my father in a certain way, and I need to make sure he is represented with a shem tov,” he explains.
Nechama, Tova, and Yisroel Levine — 15, 14, and 11 respectively — are the children of the talented composer and singer, Baruch Levine. In Waterbury, Connecticut, where they live, their last name doesn’t get much attention, since everyone’s used to living with the famous personality in their midst. But outside of their relatively small community, they are often given celebrity status.
Mrs. Esther Wolf, of Lakewood, New Jersey, is the youngest daughter of Rabbi Chaim Dovid Zwiebel, the executive vice president of Agudath Israel of America. Esther explains that her father “works for Klal Yisrael to advocate for laws that help our community.” Growing up, Esther recalls that she had a lot of exposure to politics and people’s personal struggles. “It gave me an appreciation for America, and taught me not to take things like school lunches and busing for granted. I realized how much went into it,” she shares.
Nineteen-year-old Faigy Herzog has a last name we all associate with wine. Her father is the president of Kedem Wines, and when any of their Monsey neighbors are short on grape juice or wine for Kiddush, they know whose door to knock on.
Yitty Klein is 16 and lives in Brooklyn, New York. When people hear her last name they think of summer. That’s because her family owns and runs the Klein’s ice cream business. The freezer in her house is always stocked with delicious, cold treats.
Your last name is...?
When your last name is an uncommon one like Herzog or Zwiebel, people are bound to associate you with your famous relative. But what happens when your last name is a common one like Klein or Levine? Yitty Klein says that people aren’t quick to associate her with the ice cream brand. Nechama Levine relates that she doesn’t usually tell people who her father is, and one year at camp, a girl finally figured out who she was on the last day. Another time, when someone asked her if she was related to Baruch Levine, Nechama responded, “Yeah, somehow!”
Are you related to...?
Once, the Levine family was eating at a relative’s home in Toronto, and another guest, who said he was a big fan of Baruch Levine but obviously had no clue who was sitting at the table, shared that he had eaten at a different cousin of the Levines the night before. The kids’ grandfather gestured to Baruch and told the guest, “This man can do a great imitation of Baruch Levine!” Baruch started singing, and the man told him, “You even look like Baruch Levine.”
Finally, the family revealed to their guest that the performance was no imitation. The guest couldn’t believe it, but soon all of the men were singing and dancing around the table.
The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. Or does it?
Do a celebrity’s talents and abilities get passed down to the next generation? Not necessarily.
The Levine kids all sing, Tova plays the piano, and Yisroel has performed on a couple of his father’s albums, but none of them have composed anything on their own (yet!).
Although Esther Wolf is not involved in politics like her father, she decided to become a teacher because she learned from her father not just to live for herself, but to try to make a difference and give back to the world.
Yehuda Pollack says that although he enjoys art, he only draws a little bit. His sister, on the other hand, seems to have inherited their father’s talent.
Faigy Herzog reveals that she actually doesn’t even like wine! When her father gives her a wine to taste and she reacts by making a face, her father will tease her, “So tell me again, what’s your last name?”
Famous Favorites
Let’s see which of their fathers’ contributions are considered favorites by these kids:
Nechama Levine
The Touched by a Niggun album
Yitty Klein
Nougat Bar
Yehuda Pollack
The Hebrew book Bamachshavah Techilah
Faigy Herzog
Grape juice, not wine
Celebrity Challenges
aving a father who is a public figure can be challenging when you’re just a kid. Mrs. Wolf remembers having to “share” her father with others all the time. “I was never able to go anywhere with him without instant recognition, whether it was a Chol Hamoed trip or Visiting Day. I was proud, but there were times that I just wanted his attention and he was too nice to turn anyone away.”
When Rabbi Zwiebel would get stopped by various people, he would often say to his children, “I should have brought along my sunglasses and false mustache!”
Another common challenge for the children of these busy men is that their fathers are often busy traveling and not at home. Faigy Herzog’s father travels at least once a month to places like France, Spain, and China, where he meets with suppliers and buyers. Yitty Klein’s father often travels to factories in Europe, Israel, and all of the US, to arrange packaging for his company’s products. Baruch Levine travels all over the world to perform in concerts, and Rabbi Zwiebel often travels to Washington, D.C. and other places to meet with politicians and government officials.
The Perks of Prominence
Although being the child of a famous personality can sometimes be challenging, there are often perks involved. These kids often get to hear about new projects before the rest of the world, and sometimes they even get a say in the final product. Yehuda Pollack says that there is usually a big buzz in the community when his father releases a new book, but for his family there is no major surprise since they’ve seen every step of the process already. For one of his books, Gadi needed to draw a family setting, so the whole family dressed up and a photographer came to take pictures. Gadi used the pictures as a model for his illustration.
The Levine kids are also involved in their father’s albums. They often listen to a potential new release in the car and then vote on whether it should make the next album. “Once we were disappointed that a song we really liked didn’t make it,” says Nechama. Their five-year-old sister goes around singing the new songs before the albums are released, and the kids say that by the time the rest of the world is hearing a song for the first time, they’re already bored of it! They also sometimes get to travel to concerts and shabbatons with their father, in places like Chicago and Los Angeles. They even get to go backstage with Baruch at the HASC Concert and at a Chol Hamoed concert at Six Flags. Yisroel has performed on a couple of his father’s albums and feels especially honored that the famous song “Vezakeini Legadel” was written in honor of his birth. Since Baruch has a studio in his house, the kids also get to use it to record songs for camp and school.
Yitty Klein shares that she often gets to give her opinion on new packaging designs or ice cream flavors. She once even thought of an idea for an advertisement, using popsicle sticks to create a message, and her idea was actually printed! The Kleins always have ice cream in the house, including yet-to-be-released products, and Yitty says “it’s a given” that they supply ice cream for school parties and chagigahs. And in case you’re wondering, she hasn’t gotten sick of ice cream yet.
For Mrs. Wolf, one of the perks of her father’s job was hearing about all of the politicians, including famous senators and governors, that her father would meet. He often travels to Washington, D.C., and once brought Mrs. Wolf back a cloth napkin from the White House, stamped with a White House seal. When Mrs. Wolf’s class went on their eighth-grade trip to Washington, her father was also there. Mrs. Wolf was secretly hoping to meet him, but that dream didn’t materialize.
But Rabbi Zwiebel always stressed to his children that meeting gedolim was much more choshuv to him than any of the politicians he met. “The big stars in the world are gedolim, not politicians,” he would say.
Busy Season
What’s the busiest time of the year for these hardworking men? Let’s see what their kids say:
Rabbi Zwiebel
Before the Agudah Convention and Dinner
Mr. Herzog
The Pesach season, which starts before Chanukah!
Mr. Klein
Pesach and the summer
Gadi Pollack
During vacation; that’s when he gets the most work done!
Lessons from the Legends
One thing that all the children of these famous names have in common is their admiration for their fathers. Faigy Herzog is proud that her family is involved in providing frum people with wine for mitzvos and simchahs. She also admires her father greatly for his “heart of gold” and the tzedakah he is constantly giving. Before every Pesach, a truckload of wine is delivered to the Herzog home, and Faigy’s father distributes it to people who are struggling financially. And Faigy really appreciates that despite his many obligations, he always makes sure to put his family first.
The Levine kids says that despite his impressive talents, their father is extremely humble. “He doesn’t think he’s better than anyone else and he recognizes that it’s all from Hashem.” Tova appreciates that her father uses his talents to make other people happy, whether it’s singing with yesomim or special-needs kids. Lots of the campers from Kinor Dovid, a special-needs bunk at Camp Rayim, where Baruch used to work as a division head, still call him every Erev Shabbos, and Baruch is always happy to talk to them.
Esther Wolf also admires her father’s humility. “My father has no ego. He doesn’t think about his own kavod,” she says. Often, when people reach a certain status and are very busy, they feel that it’s okay to say no to people. But Rabbi Zwiebel always says, “Why say no when you can say yes?”
Mrs. Wolf also appreciates that her father uses his stature to help others feel good about themselves. And, “Although his job is very serious and there are often a lot of frustrations, he still tries to keep things light and upbeat and doesn’t get personally dragged down by what he sees.”
Powerful Points
If there is one common message that the children of these famous people share, it’s that you should use your talents and abilities to give to others.
When Yitty Klein’s great-grandfather established his business, there was no chalav Yisrael ice cream. “It’s amazing how a small idea became something so big,” says Yitty. “If you put your mind to something, look what you can do!”
“You’re part of something bigger than yourself,” says Esther Wolf. “Use your talents to give back to Klal Yisrael. Even if it’s not on my father’s scale, even if it’s not something huge, every person can give back to the world in some way.”
Having a last name that equals instant recognition in your community can sometimes be a challenge, and being a representative for your father can be a great responsibility. However, most kids are proud of their status and would never give it up!
(Originally Featured in Jr. Issue 655)
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