In Memory of Robert Baker
By Rabbi Shmully Hecht
I called David Messer to convey that Bob Baker agreed to meet us. David helped conceive of and guide our members through the Yale 300 film project. He was the visionary and uber overseer of the entire enterprise. He loves human networks and particularly active ones that celebrate important causes. In observance of the Tercentennial a group of students spent much of 2001 researching alumni databases to identify the three hundred most accomplished graduates of Jewish descent. Multiple film crews then visited them across the United States to record their autobiographical narratives. Robert’s daughter Ashley was enrolled at Yale at the time and an active member of our young and new-fledged society. She is a no-nonsense intellectual embodying an equal measure of stamina and wit. A proud Jewish woman never shy to voice her opinion on matters dear to her heart. Ashley mentioned one day that her dad was an alum and great candidate for our oral history initiative. We sent the crew to Greenwich and as a follow up, Bob was keen on learning more about our efforts on campus. David and I scheduled to meet up with him.
“Well, I’m not quite sure what you are actually doing behind the closed doors of your posh brownstone,” Bob quipped. “… I had a hard time convincing Ashley to go to Israel for her bat mitzvah, and now she won’t even come home for weekends, claiming she’s busy spending Shabbat at a Jewish Society she joined.”
David and I explained how Yale had transformed itself from its antiquated Jewish quotas and historic banning of Jews from the Senior Societies, to a now fully open meritocratic admissions policy. Whilst these changes perpetuate an atmosphere of enhanced inclusion, they ironically foster a more intense assimilation of Jewish youth. “When Jews make up a majority of the class in Scroll and Key their unique Jewish identity becomes less prevalent, as ancient Hebraic traditions are swapped for meaningless rituals of Masonic Tombs and a new religion called diversity.” I was giving Robert Baker a sermon on the future of Jews at Yale and the importance of instilling specifically Jewish values in our youth at this modern juncture of Ivy league full acceptance. He was listening intently.
And then the pitch. “Mr. Baker we have the best Real Estate investment of your lifetime. The society would like to purchase the adjacent building to our brownstone as an investment for our endowment. Bob, we all know that the Law School won’t even give you an eponymous bookcase for the measly six-digit figure we still need to close on this building. Plus, the amount we are short is less than the annual cost of your private jet fuel from Westchester to Palm Beach. Whats a few hundred thousand dollars between friends. Where in America can you buy a building for that kind of money?”
Bob loved the Real Estate reference. He was the American Guru on the subject. At the time he had already assembled over twenty million square feet of outdoor mall space and later went on to assembling one of the largest high-end retail empires in the United States. It included Canada’s Hudson Bay corporation and the iconic Lord And Taylor and Saks Fifth Avenue chains. He asked a few detailed questions and said he wanted to think about it overnight.
The Baker family sent the funds and we closed. “It will serve the Jews at Yale for generations, and Ashley and I are proud to be modest partners in the large dream,” he said. “And Richard Levin and Tony Kronman only have good things to say about the society. Keep up the good work. And Shmully, keep on rebuilding New Haven, it’s got great bones.”
We are forever grateful.
But it wasn’t simply about the gift. Bob loved Yale, evidenced by his and Ashley’s time spent here and their lifelong commitment to strengthening the academic excellence of the University through seven decades of their lives. When called upon, the Bakers have always freed up their time, exhausted their energy, and provided wisdom to enhancing academic and Jewish life in the Elm City. Genuine, humble and gracious would best describe the family commitment to Jewish and Yale pride. Before all major Jewish holidays Bob and I would catch up on the phone and briefly discuss the significance of the festival and then exchange blessing for family peace, love and inspiration.
In 2018 my wife Toby and I attended the opening of Baker Hall at the Law School. We had been invited to the private dinner after the ceremony but declined the invitation. I explained to Deans Gerken and Post that we could not attend a dinner at Mory’s because it was not kosher. “But you don’t have to eat,” the faculty replied in their emails, rather surprised that we would turn down the honorable and kind invite. I then elaborated on the Jewish legal concept of Marit Haayin, “avoidance due to perception”. If the Yalies see the Rabbi in Mory’s they will either assume it is kosher, or that the Hechts no longer keep the dietary laws, neither of which are true. I then humorously suggested to Robert Post that it was time to acquire and reposition Mory’s to a kosher menu and rechristen it Moishe’s Deli. No takers yet.
As we stood on the lawn outside Baker Hall Toby and Ashley reminisced of the good times they had spent together on campus as I kibbitzed with Bob about his second-best Real Estate investment in New Haven. “You stole it for twenty-five million,” I joked. A grin formed across his face as he winked at me whilst placing his index finger to his lips implying that I keep my voice down. His eyes were rolling to the back of his head indicating members of the Corporation were standing behind him and may actually have second thoughts. The speeches were over, but the name Baker Hall not yet been unveiled. The last thing Bob wanted was a retrade. It was our internal joke. On one occasion he even expressed his regret of not putting the West Haven Bayer campus under contract to then flip to Yale. The university ultimately bought it and transformed it into Yale West Campus. The ribbon was cut, and the ceremony was over. It was Baker Hall indeed. We cocktailed and had a blast. Bob was surrounded by his friends, family and the people that loved him most. His sons were there accompanied by their children scattered across the lawn of the new University edifice that now carried the family name . Bob was on fire.
It was the last time I saw you Bob but you live on to eternity in this small town, that now carries your name and legacy for generations of Yalies, Jewish and otherwise.
Shmully Hecht is cofounder and Rabbinical advisor of Shabtai. He can be reached at: shmully@shabtai.tv
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