Ira Riklis Blog

Some people, through a combination of natural ability, skills, luck and circumstances, are blessed with a great deal of success—monetary and otherwise—in life. As long as they come by that success honestly and by playing fairly, they’ve earned their way. Others, for whatever reasons, find themselves struggling with little gain and need the support of others to raise themselves up. Ira Riklis knows that these are the facts of life.

But what is the nature of that help and of the obligation of those blessed with success to those who aren’t? For Ira Riklis, the issue is a spiritual one borne of his faith. A central tenet of Judaism is that all people have the right to food, water, clothes, shelter and—perhaps most importantly of all—dignity. Therefore it becomes the obligation of those that have those things in abundance to rightfully restore to those who don’t their basic rights in a way that helps them help themselves while maintaining their dignity.

You don’t have to look hard these days to find frustrations or things that seem unnecessarily annoying. Ira Riklis knows that we sometimes run into those situations even when we’re trying to something good for others. At those moments, when we perhaps expect a little gratitude and for things to be made easy, it can be even more off-putting to run into illogical demands or other impediments to our doing our “good deed.”

At times like that, when you think things aren’t going as smoothly as we think we should, Ira Riklis has found that the best way to stay calm is by having a good sense of humor about the situation. He’s learned to practice that philosophy at certain times when he’s donating blood—something he does on a semi-regular basis each year. An example is one occasion where the blood center was using a form he felt was unduly invasive of his privacy. When he pointed out they really didn’t need all that information in order to safely take his blood, the receptionist informed him that if he didn’t fill in all the little boxes, they wouldn’t take his blood. A counter argument seemed pointless, so he did the only thing he could do: grin and bear it.

It was the pictures that spoke a thousand words for Ira Riklis some seven years ago during his first visit to the Emunah Bet Elazraki Children’s Home in Israel. Attending the bar mitzvah there held for the son of a friend, he noticed that the staff took pictures of the children as they celebrated. Inquiring about what he saw, he learned that it was standard practice at the home and that when the children grew up and left the home, a collection of the many pictures taken over their time there went with them.

It was then that Ira Riklis realized that the Children’s Home really was a home for them, a place where they were cared for and loved just as most children are in homes with their biological families. Unfortunately, the children at Bet Elazraki all come from dysfunctional families unable to provide them with the care and love the need to grow into healthy, functional, loving adults. The Home gives them a fresh chance and provides the peace of knowing that they are loved—and the pictures they take with them hold those memories and that deep connection wherever they go.

If you could save the lives of three people and earn yourself a couple of cookies and a juice drink by spending less than an hour of your time, wouldn’t you do it? Most of us, in thinking over the proposition, would say Yes, sign me up! But in actuality, as Ira Riklis can tell you based on statistics, fewer than one in 14 of us actually take steps to do so?

We’re talking, of course, about donating blood. And one of the top two reasons (along with “I never thought about it”) people give for not doing so is that they “don’t like needles.” While, like most of us, Ira Riklis may not much care for needles, he can tell you—based on his many years of making regular blood donations—that the needles don’t hurt. In fact, nothing about the process hurts, any brief discomfort lies only in our anticipation of the event. So put that out of you mind and find a time—soon—to save a few lives. It’s the easiest way to be a hero with almost no effort on your part!

Ira Riklis and his wife Diane have left their mark on the University of Pennsylvania and plan to continue to do so far into the future. So far, they’ve endowed three scholarship programs as well as term professorships and have also funded the Dean’s office for the Graduate School of Education and a student lounge at the Hillel. Most recently, they’ve established the Dr. William Zucker Entrepreneurial Intern Fellowship at  the Wharton School of Business.

They do so because the University has left its mark on them. Both credit the experiences the had there and the graduate degrees they earned (Ira Riklis from the Wharton School of Business and Diane from the Graduate School of Education) as instrumental to the successes they’ve enjoyed throughout their adult lives and careers. Much of their support as grateful alumnae has been to the GRE since that’s where they perceive the greatest need lies.

As a Jew, it’s only natural that—among the many groups and causes he gives too—Ira  Riklis supports worthy Jewish organizations. But all-too-often when it comes to religious matters (as in many other areas of life), different groups have different perspectives and seek to convert those who come to them for help to their point of view. Fortunately, there are others, such as Aish HaTorah, who take a more open view and welcome all who come to them.

It’s that spirit of openness that has led Ira Riklis to become such a strong supporter of the educational organization which teaches Jews about their holy book, the Torah, and seeks to connect them to their spirituality. While the group does spring from a strict, Orthodox ideology, it doesn’t try to convert others to their perspective as a precondition for access to their services. Rather, they believe in the principle of “Your Life. Your Judaism,” where each person comes to their faith in their own way and at their own pace.

How often do you do your best, your very best? We all strive to do well every day of course. But at critical times when we really need to focus and perform, we want to be at our best physically and mentally. We want as much going for us as we can possibly muster. Ira Riklis knows that this holds true especially for the disadvantaged among us, the homeless working poor and those who are looking for work.

That’s why for the past twelve years, you can often find Ira Riklis lending a hand at the Central Synagogue Caring Committee kitchen on Friday mornings between 5:15 and 8:30. The kitchen is the only one in the area to serve hot breakfasts and sack lunches at those hours, which were chosen especially to give a boost to those seeking to boost themselves up from difficult circumstances. The meals provide them with the nourishment they need to stay focused on doing their very best throughout the day.

If you’re like most of us, you’re probably concerned about a wide variety of social and environmental issues. You support some and would like to do more if you had the available resources to give. While Ira Riklis has been blessed with financial success, he, like everyone else has limits to what he can give. He does offer support in the form of time and money in varying amounts. While each receives different levels of support from him, there’s the same meaning and intent behind every act of giving: a celebration and affirmation of life.

One symbol of this life-blessing approach is that Ira Riklis often gives in multiples of 18. Some causes receive large amounts. Some receive smaller amounts. Some receive a check for $18. While that may seem somewhat odd, it’s based on the ancient Hebrew tradition of Gematria. In that system, words are studied for their numerical equivalents. And the numerical equivalent for Chai—the Hebrew word for Life—is 18.

As an avid, expert skier, Ira Riklis’ favorite resort, hand down, is Vail, Colorado. He’s been going there for 35 years now, but he still remembers his first visit way back in the summer of ’75. But he also remembers the trip that brought him there: a cross country driving excursion from Philadelphia to the western mountains, the Pacific coast and back with his wife Diana. While she had traveled widely in Europe, it was her first exposure to the wonders of the United States.

Overall, it was a wonderful trip. And it did lead to Ira Riklis discovering Vail. But the method of travel left something to be desired. They undertook their long journey in a brand-new AMC Pacer. Those who remember this car, may recall it as a striking an unique design at the time. It looked something like a jellybean on wheels, wide and rather squat. Unfortunately, that small, wide body, surrounded by massive side, rear and front windows, made it a rolling solar oven, especially when traveling through the badlands and deserts of the Southwest. Add to that the fact that the car was woefully underpowered (think 5 mph top speed heading up the Rockies), and you can imagine some of the trials they faced on their 7-week, 8,000-mile adventure!

The motto for CityMeals on-Wheels—an organization dedicated to making sure poor, elderly New York City residents have enough to eat is “Nourish your soul. Feed elderly New Yorkers.” And that feels about right to Ira Riklis, who has been a long-time supporter of the group. The funding provided by his family has earned them the rank of “Very Grand Patrons,” but rather than feeling grand, they feel privileged to be able to help for while the money goes to feed others, it is their souls who are being nourished as well.

The group—which began operations 30 years ago—provided more than two million meals to disadvantaged seniors last year alone. For many of those people, it’s their main source of nutrition. But Ira Riklis knows that the meals are just part of the story. Those who deliver the meals to the often home-bound elderly also provide companionship and connection with the outside world. How about you? Is your soul being nourished? You might want to look for similar groups operating near you!