By Dovid Zaklikowski for COLlive and Hasidic Archives
Banker Edmundo Safdie was all excited. He had come to visit the Rebbe with the directors of many of his banks to request blessings for the opening of new branches. He spoke to the Rebbe in French and English.
“We are partners in everything we do all over the world,” Mr. Safdie said, referring to his support for Chabad institutions in countries where he did business. “We are always good partners.”
A warm man with a jubilant twinkle in his eyes, Mr. Safdie was originally from Syria. He moved from there to Brazil, where he founded Banco Cidade in 1965. In the 1980s he purchased Commerzialbank AG in Geneva, Switzerland, and rebranded it Multi Commercial Bank.
At that meeting in October 1991, he told the Rebbe about a new bank he was planning to open in New York.
The Rebbe gave him a blessing: “May G-d Almighty bless you to go from strength to strength, not only in matters of Judaism, but also in your financial endeavors.”
Mr. Safdie then introduced the director of the Multi Commercial Bank branch in Geneva. Someone informed the Rebbe that the man was interested in getting married. The Rebbe gave him a blessing for success and said, “It is good for the bank when customers see that the bank’s director has a happy family life.”
Find Hasidic Archives latest books on HasidicArchives.com Dear Rebbe and The Edifice: Dating, Marriage and an Everlasting Home, also available on Amazon Prime.
