Sid: So many Orthodox Jews are having revelations of the Messiah. I’ve got a Jewish man on the telephone I’m speaking to him at his home in Dallas, Texas his name is Peter Hirsch. He spent his whole life in traditional Orthodox Judaism. He went to a Yeshiva that’s a religious school his whole life. He even ended up in Israel in a Yeshiva. He even went to a Jewish law school. Peter Hirsch paint me a picture of the best financial moment and your lifestyle and your life.
Peter: Sid (Laughing) that’s really easy for me to do because it wasn’t too long ago life was grand. If you can picture this my wife and I were living in a 4000 square foot home on the beaches of Kauai just to give you a picture of what that looked like my office was in my home and my office over looked through the glass doors that led out to the 90’ balcony it over looked both the ocean and the mountains of Kauai just absolutely beautiful. A couple of times a month I would travel give a talk on success on motivation on sales training to a generally a Fortune 500 or a direct sales company. Taking in more money I had ever thought possible and I was a lawyer before that. So life was just grand financially.
Sid: What’s the largest audience you spoke before?
Peter: That was easy and it was a few times it was about 80 to 85,000 people.
Sid: Your best month your best money you were making a month?
Peter: The best month was $100,000 a month.
Sid: I would say you were doing very very well, but one day your wife Diana it was one evening she said to you “We should thank Jesus for all of our blessings.” What happened inside of Peter Hirsch?
Peter: Well that did not sit well and the scene was perfect. It was such a glorious late afternoon early evening was sitting on the deck holding hands watching the sunset and she whispers to me Sweetie we’re so blessed you really need to thank Jesus. And you could just imagine how quickly her hand dropped from mine it was more of a throwing action then I let go.
Sid: Well you loved this woman why would you react like that?
Peter: You know what inside there was no way in my mind a Jew could ever thank Jesus.
Sid: Now your wife was raised Christian?
Peter: My wife was raised Christian.
Sid: And that didn’t bother you when you got married?
Peter: You knew it did but she knew this is an area you just don’t budge with me. I had left traditional Judaism but there is something called the “Pinto of Yid,” I still had the Jewish spark in me that nothing could get rid of. And my wife had a love for Judaism and all of that and it was fine as long as she didn’t bring up Jesus.
Sid: Alright she brought it up what emotions describe to me what happened inside of you when she said “We should thank Jesus for all of our blessings?”
Peter: More than anything I was furious I was furious I saw her giving credit to an invisible false false god false prophet for all of my work. And I actually said that to her I was so angry and I just said “Sweetie!” in a very harsh tone I said “Not only shouldn’t you thank Jesus but you should thank me because I’m the one that worked my butt off for all of this.”
Sid: In retrospect Mishpochah when he made that statement everything in his life began to fall apart. But before we even get there Peter I want of find out with such a wonderful traditional Orthodox Jewish background being in Yeshiva all of these years even in this school of higher education Jewish school of higher education in Israel Yeshiva what caused you to take a step back from the Orthodox Jewish lifestyle?
Peter: It’s a good question and I’ve asked myself many times because it wasn’t that I was rebellious as much as I was just unsatisfied. You know I had done all of the rituals I had grown up doing all of the rituals and I still respect them it’s just something inside me was completely unfulfilled. So I rested and said “There has just got to be something more.”
Sid: Now did your parents want you to be a Rabbi?
Peter: Yeah and it was somewhat expected that I would I had gone for Yeshiva training my whole life and I’d gone to Israel for a number of years and I was certainly headed in that direction. But there was something in me that it became more routine, if I can put it this way there was no passion in it.
Sid: Now speaking of passion you actually developed a passion for a New Age Humanistic type of teaching tell me about that.
Peter: Yeah and I have no idea where this came from but I became after I left law school I had no passion for the practice of law either. For many years about 8 years after that I became a sales trainer, motional speaker, speaking on and I would never use the word humanism I would never use the words New Age but it was those types of concepts that I would teach to audiences all around the world not just the country but around the world. Concepts that whatever you want you can get it’s all within you can set the goals, you can focus, you will literally declare when you set a goal your mind will act like heat seeking missile and instead of saying “Thy will be done” you will be declaring “My will be done.” That was the kind of thing that I taught all around the world.
Sid: So that was new reaction that came out of your mouth when your wife said “Let’s thank Jesus for all of our blessings.”
Peter: Oh at that point I was very consistent.
Sid: But after that your life it just changed it radically changed tell me about it.
Peter: Radical radical change. What happened was my wife was very smart that after I said “Don’t thank Jesus!” she just stepped back to avoid the lightning.” Well the lightning didn’t come right away it came about a week later at the advice of my intuition which is not a word that I use much anymore and the advice of friends I was offered a position in Dallas, a 5 year old company was being purchased by new investors. It was…they were turning it into a .com taking it public and I was going to be able to retire with more money than my grandchildren needed and I was only 33 years old. It seemed like just an incredible deal…
Sid: I mean you were going to do what you were teaching people all over the world that they could accomplish these great goals you were about ready to actually prove it.
Peter: Absolutely I mean this was this was it.
Sid: Okay at that time you had a bestselling book on success.
Peter: Hm hm.
Sid: How many copies did that book sell?
Peter: About a half million copies in many languages.
Sid: And you’re about ready to become have more money that anyone deserves or could even spend in a life time this is a big bonanza, but when did you realize it might not be as good as it looks?
Peter: Well I was there for about 3 or 4 months and I see that this not clean that this is not kosher the new owners the new investors are not acting in any way that I would want to be associated with. It’s very simple I made a mistake I take the responsibility and I leave I resign. I’m there 3 to 4 months my integrity in tact I leave big deal. In fact it was a very big deal because the Federal Trade Commission, the FTC, powerful branch of the US Government sues the owners some of the new people, some old employees and they name me. Now this stunned me.
Sid: But you’re out why should they come after you?
Peter: That’s a good question for this day we don’t have an answer to that I don’t know. But I’ll tell you…
Sid: But you have lots of money so you could hire good attorneys.
Peter: There was no question, but you know what when you’re sued for $85 million.
Sid: Eighty-five million dollars?!
Peter: Eighty-five million dollars at some point that lots of money can go very quickly.
Sid: Peter hold that thought we’ll pick up right here on tomorrow….
Tags: It's Supernatural, Sid Roth