Israel missed many things, such as blogs, Napster, Wikipedia, Facebook and Twitter. Like many other orthodox Jews, most of his education was spent on studying the Five Books of Moses and the Talmud law.
Israll, 46, said, "I never went to business school or university, and I hardly finished high school. "I didn't know how to turn on a computer until I was 35."
This alone makes him unlikely to be the founder of the multi-million-dollar Amazon business.
Outside Yisroel's office, several Latin Americans and an Orthodox Jew stood at the table, opening and repackaging Scottish packaging tapes. The shelves of wrought iron trays are filled with school supplies, ready to be packed and transported. A man wearing a cap and tassels squatted in front of the computer in the open cubicle office, and the Amazon shopping list was displayed on the screen. The Bluetooth speaker is playing cumbia sonideras, and the music fills this 10000 square foot space.
Israel grew up in Boro Park in Brooklyn. Most of his education was in Beth Medrash Govoha, a school in Lakewood, New Jersey. This school is called "Harvard for Jews" and is the largest school outside Israel. He hopes to be a rabbi. However, after getting married and having eight children, he decided to find another way to support his family in 20 13 years.
"I got these skills from Jewish studies," he said. "I soon understood."
With the expansion of the third-party online market, the threshold for entering the retail business is lower than ever, which means that orthodox Jews like Yisroel, although many of them lack formal degrees, have found a career that can balance their religious life with the modern market through Amazon. More than 20 sellers interviewed said that while promoting e-commerce, it also guided the inner spiritual pull. Even in the secular world, this is a common question: how do you make a living while maintaining the tradition of life?
"Most traditional religious groups have this dynamic change," said Nathaniel deutsch, director of the Center for Jewish Studies at the University of California, Santa Cruz. "This way of coping with the pressure of life is something they have to do. To some extent, we all have to face it, but such behavior is very extreme in these communities. "
The prospect of establishing a business on Amazon has led to the prosperity of orthodox Jewish communities in New Jersey and new york. In March this year, some Amazon sellers based in Lakewood spoke at an event about Amazon sales, and about 500 Orthodox Jews attended the event. Ed Rosenberg, who runs a consulting firm for Amazon sellers and Facebook Group, held an annual event in Brooklyn to let sellers know about new rules, networks and information. He told the media that about 1000 sellers participated, mainly orthodox Jews. He is far from the only one who has done so. In July, Labille Hoshua Wade held an event in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. More than 600 people from the Orthodox community participated in this activity and learned about online sales. Werde, who runs a non-profit organization called Crown Heights Young Entrepreneurs, said that during a business conversation on 20 14, he noticed dozens of young people crowded into the booth of Amazon sellers and organized the meeting.
"Some changes are taking place here," Werde said. "It's like the gold rush of 65438+1940s. As long as the economy changes, it will bring opportunities. "
James Thomson, manager of Amazon's commercial service department from 2007 to 20 13, said that he noticed that the customers of third-party sellers were mainly concentrated in several blocks-Brooklyn, Fairlawn, New Jersey and Lakewood. There are a large number of Orthodox Jewish communities in these neighborhoods. "Before I left Amazon, some of my clients were orthodox Jewish sellers, and I saw very mature entrepreneurs and business models that business schools didn't teach," he said. "We are happy to do everything to ensure our cooperation with them."
Thomson is now hosting the Prosper Show, a three-day Amazon seller conference. He expects to attract about 2,000 sellers to Las Vegas in March next year. In view of his experience in Amazon, his meeting schedule is very orthodox. The timetable revolves around orthodox Jewish prayers, and the meeting also provides Jewish food.
"If you want people to leave their homes and spend two or three days in activities, and they need extra accommodation, then do it. Simple and clear, "he said. "If I want to build a good enterprise, I must take customers as the center."
Being in a diverse community, orthodox Jews share core principles, but they are far from just a monotonous life. Outside Israel, Orthodox Jewish communities tend to be concentrated in cities such as new york and LA, and split into modern Orthodox communities (often more integrated into secular society) and more traditional communities (often more independent). However, due to the high cost of real estate, traditional orthodox Jews were driven out of new york, and some people chose to settle in the Hudson Valley in Pennsylvania and Lakewood in new york.
Traditionally, orthodox Jewish men are eager to study, not to work. Many people spend time studying the Five Books of Moses, seeking a spiritual experience in order to establish a closer relationship with God. Learning Talmud is more than memorizing and repeating. Moshe Krakowski, director of postgraduate courses at the Azrieli School of Jewish Education and Management at Yeshiva University, said that studying Talmud is equivalent to studying humanities for a master's degree.
However, according to the statistics of UJA Federation of new york, on the economic level, this religious commitment has made the poverty rate of Orthodox Jews in new york reach 28%. Many orthodox Jews look for jobs in religious schools and rely on welfare to support large families with an average of seven children. Although many of them don't feel poor, partly because of community charity and welfare, they still face economic pressure.
For more and more people, Amazon has become the answer.
About six years ago, Yisroel started his career at the dinner table in Lakewood's home. In Lakewood, visitors can find Yiddish characters on local street signs. Women in wigs and plain clothes gather in cafes, children lie prone on their legs or sit in strollers, Jewish restaurants line up in downtown areas of the town, and there is even a China take-out service for Jews.
Like many orthodox women, Israel's wife supported the family during his nearly 20 years of studying the Talmud. But by 20 13, the financial pressure for children to participate in yeshivos at a price of $25,000 per year becomes too heavy.
He said, "We have eight children, and one is being born. We need to do something big. "
An orthodox friend recommended Amazon to him. Some people in the orthodox Jewish Amazon seller community joked that what does the word "Amazon" mean in Hebrew? Am stands for country and mazon stands for feed. Israel said that the word "Amazon" can be simply translated as "feeding this country".
This friend gave Yisroel an hour-long crash course in platform sales in her mother's basement. Yisroel began to pack and transport some products from home, such as groceries and snacks. "Most people don't start a business at my age," he said. "Many people start businesses when they are young, but you have to do what needs to be done. I am very grateful for everything God has brought me. "
His housekeeper helped, and soon their sales performance began to rise.
He found two or three niche products, all groceries and snacks, called the suppliers and established direct relations with them. Two years later, his business couldn't satisfy the dining table, so he moved to a warehouse covering an area of 1800 square meters, and then moved to his present place.
Now, six years later, he is a direct supplier of Amazon products, including Melitta coffee filters and gallon-sized Clorox bottles. His former housekeeper is now in charge of his warehouse. So, if you buy a Melitta coffee filter and the product page says "Amazon for sale", it is probably the product of Yisroel warehouse.
"Amazon is a boon to our community because you don't need a formal business education," he said. "You can start this business in your own home."
Amazon's seller's market has also opened up a new path for orthodox women to carry out business. On the second floor of an obscure warehouse in Newark, New Jersey, there is such an enterprise. The front door leads to a small office. In front of the room, there is a desk for receptionists, warehouse managers and accountants, and an orthodox Jew is typing on the computer. At the other end is the owner of this multi-million-dollar online business, dressed in traditional and orthodox clothes, and the only sign of indulgence is a shiny necklace around her neck.
Sellers who asked not to be named said that it is not uncommon for orthodox women to work, but it may not be common for them to lead a business.
The 43-year-old boss said: "Many women do it at home and don't regard it as a complete career, which is why it seems that there are more men than women. In fact, there are many Jewish female entrepreneurs, but they rarely go out. "
She has been engaged in e-commerce business since 2009 and has always maintained a rigorous attitude. She hardly laughed when she talked about changing from an accountant in a construction company to the boss of a company with 10 employees. In 2009, she inherited the company after the death of her former boss. Six years ago, she moved the company to her current office, which covers an area of 8,000 square feet and stores electronic products, household and kitchen supplies and toys shipped to Amazon.
"Retail is hard to do. All the shops are online, so this is the market, "she said. "Jews are always trading, so this is a new form of trading."
Annette Cohen is a Hasidic Jewish woman who runs a clothing brand called Esteez on Amazon. She told the media that many people in her family are in the fashion industry. Five years ago, she began to open her product line on Amazon, because she realized that if she wanted to develop her business successfully, she needed to sell it in Amazon market.
"In my opinion, no matter what the cost, you need to appear on Amazon," she said. "I basically accepted and solved the problems in the Amazon market, and now we have become one of the five orthodox Jewish merchants in the Amazon market. I can easily say that our scale may be the largest. "
Cohen helped the owner of another orthodox Jewish clothing company learn how to sell on Amazon. A year ago, Wukogals just started selling on Amazon, and now their business has taken off. The company said that it does not expect to sell too many products on Amazon.
"Amazon is something we can learn slowly and keep trying. We are trying to make it develop organically, "said Sarah Mayberg. "It's hard to predict. I can only see how God planned this platform. "
In the19th century, Moses Sofer, a famous Jewish rabbi of the Orthodox Church, said that "all new things are forbidden by the Five Classics of Moses", but today, members of the Orthodox community have accepted many different technical methods. For example, modern orthodox Jews are proficient in and keen on the Internet, and keep an open mind to secular TV, movies and music. On the other hand, Hasidic Jews may refuse to watch TV or read newspapers unless they are orthodox publications.
Krakovski said that Orthodox Jews are often compared with Amish because of the way they dress. But this comparison is misleading.
"One of the biggest misunderstandings is that orthodox Jews are afraid of or shy away from technology to some extent, which is not and has never been part of orthodox culture," he said. "Although there may be some technical similarities, they have no objection."
Mordecai Si Tong is the founder of Tech Tribe, a technology and digital media group for young Jews, and also the Delabie of Chaba. He said that the orthodox Jewish community has a long history in using technology to meet needs. In 1970s, a group of Hasidic students pieced together an effective international telephone system, which could broadcast the speech of Rabbi ***Menachem M. Schneerson of Chabad-Lubavitch Movement. The reason why Schneerson popularized this new technology is that "everything is created by God, and the gospel is conveyed through creation".
Wright Si Tong said that orthodox communities, like many others, are trying to find out how the Internet can change them and reduce their harm. "This is a very powerful tool. The bigger question is how does the whole society access technology? How does it change our way of life? "
Since starting a business, Yisroel has been used to having one foot in the digital world and one foot in the religious world. But the needs of Amazon and the needs of Jewish life may conflict, especially on the Sabbath or holidays. As another orthodox Jewish seller said, "We would rather give our left arm" than violate religious rules, and they even voluntarily gave up their work and technical life. "This is unimaginable."
In fact, Yisroel's business was influenced by the Jewish Passover regulations. Amazon's algorithm will push down the seller's ranking when it is out of stock, which is part of the company's method to let customers order goods quickly. For a time, Israel was selling bread and biscuits, which Jews were not allowed to have during Passover. Because he has no inventory, his seller ranking has been hit. It took him two months to get back to his original position. Now he sells these goods directly to Amazon, so he never owns bread and biscuits during Passover.
Selling on Amazon's platform also means following Amazon's terms. This may mean an unexpected change in the seller's account, or in some cases, an unexplained suspension. 65438+February, 20 minutes before sunset on Friday, Yisroel received a notice that scared every Amazon seller-after he sent a message to his customers asking if he could get a five-star rating, his account was suspended because of alleged comment manipulation. In these cases, Amazon will completely close the account within an uncertain time. Before there was time to deal with the crisis of the Sabbath, the only thing Israel could do was to get dressed and go to the synagogue to welcome the Sabbath.
"I try not to think about it," he said. "Besides, you know, that week was a beautiful Sabbath."
But when night fell on Saturday, he ran to the office and worked all night. Three days later, Amazon restored his account. Although sales lost $70,000, he never worried.
"Everything has been decided, this is our belief," he said. "No matter what we want to do, we will do it. This was decided by God during the Jewish New Year. "
"This is a blessing," Israel said of his Amazon business. He will study in the synagogue in the morning, go to work at noon 12, then leave in the afternoon to pray and do it again before the end of the day.
On the day I interviewed him, he spent an afternoon negotiating freight with UPS. After the company learned that Amazon had changed the delivery address of the goods, it handled a minor crisis.
At about 6: 30 in the afternoon, his day will be over. He turned off the computer monitor, then held down four pieces of paper written in Hebrew and began to read.
He said that this helps to remind him of the power that really controls his business-God, not Amazon. "I don't like putting eggs in one basket," he said with a smile. "I have no illusions. I know that Amazon will not necessarily stay here. " He plans to use part of the company's income for other investments and expand the wholesale business to suppliers outside Amazon.
At present, he earns enough money from selling things on Amazon to support his family with ten children. He thinks that one day his son may join the industry. "He is very capable, more capable than me," said Israel. At the moment, however, his son is studying five books of Moses.