Books

Lessons in leadership, legacy, and belief from history’s greatest lives

108 World Leaders Prove That Faith Is the Foundation of All Success
Lessons in Leadership, Legacy, and the Power of Belief from History's Greatest Lives

What do Moses and Lincoln, Rabbi Akiva and Marie Curie, Golda Meir and John Wooden have in common?
Beneath every form of lasting success - in statecraft, science, business, art, and survival itself - stands the same hidden architecture: faith.

In this landmark volume, Josef Lapko examines 108 of history's most consequential leaders - a number chosen with intention: 108 is the numerical value of the Hebrew word manhig, "leader." Across eleven masterclass sections - from Overcoming Failure and Ethical Leadership to Mentorship, the Redemption Arc, and Faith in Crisis - the book documents, with rigorously verified quotations and unflinching honesty about contested legacies, how the bond between the Creator and His creation has been the true foundation beneath humanity's greatest achievements.

This is not a book of relativism. It is built on one conviction: there is one God, and every human being - not only the Jewish people - is called to closeness with their Creator, each along the covenant path given to them. Nor is it a book of mere admiration: it closes with a complete thirty-day foundation-building program, a study guide for groups, a cross-tradition glossary, and worksheets that turn 3,000 years of tested wisdom into a working plan for your own life.

Faith is not a supplement to success - it is the foundation of all of it.

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Honey from the Torah | דבש מהתּוֹרָה
Volume 1 - Bereishit / בראשית

What if the weekly Torah portion was the best leadership manual ever written?

Honey from the Torah is a parsha-by-parsha guide through the Book of Bereishit - Genesis - written for founders, executives, parents, educators, and anyone who wants ancient wisdom to speak to their real week.

Each of the twelve chapters follows the same rhythm: a Drop of Honey to set the theme, a Deep Dive through classical sources and modern application, Narrative Lessons, Discussion Sparks for your Shabbat table or team meeting, a personal story from the author, and One Action for the Week.

The sources are classical - Rashi, Ramban, Maimonides, the Zohar, Rav Kook, Rabbi Jonathan Sacks z"l, Rav Oury Sherki — and the application is immediate: how to lead through chaos (Bereshit), when to build an ark and when to argue for the city (Noach), how to leave what is comfortable to become who you must be (Lech Lecha), how to negotiate with integrity (Chayei Sarah), how to draw boundaries with a predatory partner (Vayetze), how to hold power ethically (Vayigash).

This is not a synagogue sermon collection. It is a field manual for the week ahead, grounded in the deepest library in the world.

Yosef (Josef) Lapko was born in the former Soviet Union, raised in Israel, and has spent his career at the crossroads of Israeli ingenuity and American scale - in venture, community security, nonprofit leadership, and team-building. He has led Torah-based leadership programs across Israel and facilitated cross-faith learning with Jewish, Muslim, Christian, and Hindu communities. This is his first book. A six-volume series covering the entire Chumash and the Jewish calendar is in progress.

"Sweeter than honey and the drippings of the comb." — Tehillim 19:11

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