More on Gedolim Cards: The socialists among us

Many seem to feel that the manufacturer of the "Gedolim Cards" should not view his enterprise as a business, but rather as a chessed project. Apparently, the manufacturer should dedicate his time to producing the cards for little or more profit so that we can all benefit from the education they may potentially provide. This letter grandmother writes:

"If these stickers are truly a vehicle for our children to educate themselves and have fun at the same time, then the business-minded individuals who are selling these stickers should make each sticker more readily available." And, "If these stickers were meant to educate our children, then perhaps the individuals who thought of the idea would come up with a better plan. It is blatantly apparent that these stickers are systematically released and certain gedolim are a rare find. After a reasonable amount of time and for an appropriate price why not sell the set and then release a new series? Or, simply play fair and release enough of each sticker to keep the children interested and, most importantly, not consistently asking their parents - or grandparents for that matter - for money to support the pockets of others."

Michelle of My Humble Jewish Opinion also seems to feel the same way and writes

"I would think the goal of [collecting gedolim cards] is to have the kids focus on people that truly contribute to society and Torah, and once they have the cards, they can learn more about them, and consider them role models. But this twist in the system is typical of the Jewish money-hungry mind. He makes the parents spend a lot of money buying packages of cards."

Michelle continues:

"He's abusing the fact that the Yeshivish community is more willing to spend money on Jewish themed products. So these mothers are shelling out the big bucks...and it's completely against what it stand for itself. These Gedolim are for simple lives, involved in Torah-not immersed in materialism and all that. I just don't get it."

Many of the commentators of My Humble Jewish Opinion agree and call the manufacturer a "bastard" or "greedy."

A few things:

1. The manufacturer of the cards is "business-minded", which is exactly why he chose a successful business model that has proven successful since the advent of the first baseball card. If it wasn't for the profit-motive, he wouldn't be pursuing this idea.

2. The manufacturer has as much of a right to make money as any of us. He has bills to pay and kids to raise. The fact that he came up with an idea should be to his credit, although if I was a gadol, I would not want my picture on a card.

3. There is no exploitation going on. The business model is well-known and any kid can explain it to you.

4. If a child is "making" his parents buy him cards, then it is clear who is in charge (not the parents). These parents (and grandparents) should set some limits before they get run over by all of the demands their children will "force" upon them as they get older.

5. And, most importantly, you do NOT need to buy your children Gedolim Cards or any other item their heart desires. It is quite all right to say no to your child. And, if you see the value of them owning these cards, than tell your cleaning lady (in our house, that would be me) to take a day off and let the kids scrub the floors and the toilets to earn some extra money.

Every time I see people whine and complain about the Gedolim Cards, it becomes quite quite clear to me that we, as a group, are a weak set of parents and grandparents. I'm glad my parents had no problem saying no to many of my requests (Cabbage Patch Kids, Teddy Rumpskin, a Nintendo). They were not weak and I was the beneficiary.