Immigrant Success Stories
In the early twenties, three Jews emigrated to the United States. As
so often happened in those days, the American immigration officials
at Ellis Island simplified their complicated names on the official
records. In this case, the three were recorded as Diamond, Gold,
and Taylor. Many years later, they met and asked how each of them
had done.
Diamond: Oh, I've done very well. With my name I started a jewelry
store. Right from the start it was successful. Now there
are Diamond Jewelers all over the country.
Gold: Well, brother Diamond, I, too, have succeeded. Same idea.
Gold? So I started the Gold Ornaments Shop. The shop
succeeded wonderfully. The branches spread. Now, I'm a
millionaire.
Taylor: With me it wasn't so simple. My name is Taylor, so I started
a clothing store. I worked very hard, but it failed. So I
started another, but it also failed. My family, they were
starving. So what could I do but pray to Hashem. "Oh, Lord,"
I said, "help me to prosper. Lord, if you do, I'll promise
to give you 50 percent of the profits."
Diamond and Gold: Well, tell us. Did it work?
Taylor: Did it work? You never heard of Lord and Taylor?