Charlie Harary Broadens His Reach

On any given day you can find Charlie Harary in a million different places doing a million different things with a million different people. Like many dads, you may find him at his kids’ bus stop one morning, at the local minyan in Woodmere or at his desk at his day job. You may also be fortunate enough to be sitting in a classroom listening to him teach a class at Yeshiva University Syms School of Business. One day he may be speaking in Chicago or L.A., giving a lecture or a shiur for O.U. or N.C.S.Y., or producing one of his numerous videos for Aish.com or his personal website. Now, you can also find him on the airwaves.

As founder and president of Milvado, Charlie works to develop methods to teach spirituality in modern and innovative ways. To that end, his latest platform is his new nighttime gig as a radio show host. On Thursday nights from 6-7 P.M., Charlie heads to the Radio Hidabroot studios to host The Charlie Harary Radio Show. The focus of the show is to help people grow spiritually and find their own personal greatness through Torah lessons and through the actions of inspirational community leaders. In connection with the Israeli outreach organization Hidabroot, Radio Hidabroot features informative and inspirational Jewish programming and songs 24 hours a day. You can tune in to Radio Hidabroot in Brooklyn on 97.5 FM or listen online at www.radiohidabroot.com.

Charlie, who is a CEO of H3 Capital, LLC and a graduate of Columbia University School of Law, is well known in the Jewish community as a dynamic and talented motivational speaker. He has reached hundreds of thousands of people in 15 countries through his speaking engagements and videos. Charlie has become an iconic figure to the young people whom he has reached through his regular visits to summer camps such as Morasha. It is rare for a speaker to be compelling enough to connect so deeply to listeners of all ages. Charlie’s enthusiastic style of storytelling keeps his lessons entertaining and engaging. It often seems as if he is discovering and developing his ideas along with the listener, which helps keeps the connection strong and the message memorable. He takes his audience along with him on his journey of discovery and growth.

Now into the eighth week of the show, Charlie has been fortunate to interview a succession of powerhouse guests, such as Rabbi Simon Jacobson, Rabbi Avraham Sutton, Rabbi Mordechai Tokarsky, Zisha Novoseller and Chesky Kaufteil, each bringing his own special brand of expertise and insights. On Yom Hashoah, he was joined by Egon Pfeifer, who shared his personal story of losing his parents to the concentration camps, growing up an orphan in Hungary and surviving to raise an Orthodox family. There wasn’t a dry eye in the studio when his daughter Suzie called in to thank him for being a loving father and a role model for his children and grandchildren. The message of that show was not only to remember the tragedy of the Holocaust, but also to realize how resilient and determined our ancestors were. We need to remember their challenges and their strength in the constant face of adversity, and internalize their traits of perseverance as we go through our own lives. On Yom Haatzmaut, he spoke with Rabbi Chanan Kaufman who has sent over 18,000 people to learn in Israel. Whether he is talking to the philanthropist who gives out his personal cell phone number and takes calls for help in the middle of the night, or Sony Perlman, the young father who works tirelessly to help “at-risk” youth, Charlie extracts the unique traits of greatness from each of the guests in order to reframe and deliver a message of empowerment to his listeners.

Future shows will aim to highlight our everyday heroes alongside the rabbinical leaders and philanthropists. We can learn great lessons from the women and men who do deeds that touch another person in a profound way, or young people who overcome personal adversity and obstacles. The act of gratitude is also a recurring theme of the show, as a simple “thank you” can have a tremendous affect. Charlie seeks to provide the listeners with the knowledge that we can all be great in our own way, big or small. Plans are in the works to expand the show nationally and via podcasts. Currently, you can listen to any of the past shows, as well as future broadcasts, on the Radio Hidabroot website.

I have the privilege of joining Charlie each week as one of the show’s producers, along with co-producer Ari Werth. Being a part of this inspirational and impactful production is truly a high point in my week. The guests we’ve been fortunate to welcome to the studio possess a wealth of wisdom and spirituality, and most of all, humility, and we find we have barely scratched the surface of their knowledge and generosity as the hour flies by. As the powerful and positive messages come through over the airwaves, Charlie always leaves the audience with food for thought. He entreats his listeners to internalize these valuable messages to help bring greatness and gratitude into their everyday lives. As he closes the broadcast, Charlie makes sure to thank our executive producer, G-d.