Episode 11 - Lee survives another boardroom
Sean Yazbeck volunteered to join Gold Rush, but their losing ways continued. In a surprising move, Orthodox Apprentice candidate Lee Bienstock volunteered for his third stint as project manager. Lee reasoned that the task is about college and sports; it's what he knows best. Teammates Arinash Michael Laungani and Sean were surprised to learn that Lee was a recent college graduate, demonstrating how little fraternization there had been between Synergy and Gold Rush. Sean and Michael had each been PM just once, but they let Lee take charge without any resistance.While introducing the task to the teams, Trump teased "The Politician". He physically acted out his impression of Lee dancing around a question. It was better than Trump's dance to the Arby's jingle in Episode 6.
Speaking of Arby's, on that task Trump had said that he loves the fast food chain; it's his favorite. In tonight's epsiode, he proclaimed his love for Outback Steakhouse. "They're the best," he said. So which is it... Arby's or Outback?
Lee might have been deciding between Glatt 27 and Mei Garden Cuisine for his Shabbat meals. Both glatt kosher restaurants are in close vicinity to Rutgers University, and Shabbat was fast approaching as the task kicked off. Kosher sandwiches and salads were also available at Douglass Cafe on campus.
[On a side note, Season 4 Apprentice winner Dr. Randal Pinkett attended the game, but did not appear in the episode. He'll speak at the Rutgers College graduation next Thursday.]
Lee quickly gained the respect of his teammates and they planned an exciting party for gameday (Saturday, October 29, 2005). However they did not focus their efforts on sales and they priced their menu much lower than Synergy. Gold Rush fell short by $1000 and Lee went back to the boardroom.
Sean and Lee placed the blame on Michael. Lee told Trump that he had stepped up as project manager. Carolyn said he looked desperate, but Michael's performance was worse. Trump agreed. He fired Michael and told Lee and Sean that they were lousy too.
Lee now has a 2 - 1 record as project manager and all of his potential allies are out of the competition. Aside from this task with Sean, he hasn't worked with any of the remaining candidates. Roxanne Wilson remains a strong candidate. Allie Jablon and Tammy Trenta are looking good too.
Last week's religion debate can continue in the comments to this post.
Info on upcoming episodes and the finale is available here.
posted Monday, May 08, 2006
32 comments
32 Comments:
TRUMP LOVES LEE
Lee's a bit of a schmuck, I'm sorry to say it, but an eating contest is only a good idea if you're selling Alka-Seltzer, not food! And the money pit? I don't get it. That's more appropriate for a bank, the lottery or Vegas.
Now, I admit that at first I thought the boys were going to win. The girls were completely unprepared and they got lucky that food delivery idea worked. Which goes to show that underestimating women and saying "this is a man's task, women just don't get it" is pure stupidity.
Back to the boys, it's the project manager is the one responsible for his subordinates, and Lee did a terrible job. If he wanted the black guy to sell, he should have taken his microphone away from him and not put him in charge of the events.
I feel sorry for the black guy, too bad Trump didn't realize that in business you make promises and say "I'll think about it" when you don't really mean it. And why the hell would Trump like Lee? He had no problem firing Brent for being in the boardroom 4 times, Lee's been there 8 times. I think if someone should have been fired, it should have been Lee.
Michael is Indo-Portugese and Lee's not being fired despite being in the boardroom eight times is a testament to how much Trump likes Lee
walt, what the heck are you talking about?
I think Lee chose Michael to emcee the events as a strategic move. This way if they lose, they could easily blame Michael for not selling. And that's exactly what happened. Lee could have taken the megaphone himself but then he'd be the only person who could be fired in a loss.
Once again, Lee's strategy pays off!
i looked at the spoiler link and i saw a familiar name- how is that a spoiler though?
i just looked again, now i got it, but i still dont think its a guarantee
I don't understand how what the girls did qualified for the task. They did not have a tailgate party, they ran a take-out restaurant out of the parking lot. Their deliveries to other areas of the campus should have been disqualified.
I notice that Lee did not shave. Was that his concession to the day being Shabbos?
QUOTE:
Last week's religion debate can continue in the comments to this post.
----------------------------
I do not know what there is to debate. being "frum" or "orthodox" has always been known as being "shomer Shabbos" because Shabbos is the manifestation of our beleif in g-d and his torah. If you put yourself in a position where you are tempted to be mechallel Shabbos, and then are. Then you have demonstrated the you view working for Donald as being more important than serving Hashem.
and although I am far (very far)from being perfect I was always told that a jew who keeps Shabbos and kosher is frum. That does not mean that all other sins are inconsequential it simply means that when forced to categorize people those two items are not negotiable. You can not eat treif or be mechalel Shabbos and be called Orthodox.
This task took place on Shabbos and although I did not scrutinize the footage to see if there were any noticeable d'oraysos being done it would not matter even if you can not see any because the task lasted for hours and the show does not present it all. For maaros aayin alone he should not have been there.
Lee should be classified like Jew Liebern]man as "observant" not orthodox. That is almost the same as "conservative" was when it first started. the official position was to keep halacha unless it impeded on something perceived to be more importnat like earning a living.
Sorry for rambling
I agree with the last post. Lee is obviously not "Orthodox" unless Orthodox has no meaning whatsoever.
that spoiler is huuuuge!!! the preview says the reward is a chance to be in a movie... that movie comes out next week and two people from the same apprentice team are listed in the cast.... can't be a coincidence.
Anonymous wrote; I feel sorry for the black guy, too bad Trump didn't realize that in business you make promises and say "I'll think about it" when you don't really mean it.
I think that Michael did mean it when he negotiated with the cheerleader captain. When he realized how damaging that concession was going to appear, he tried to salvage what he could and pretended that he was just making an empty offer. If he was not serious about the offer he would not have bothered to call Lee for his input.
But it is not a simple mistake. After all Trump is looking for an apprentice and volunteering to give away an asset is not what I would expect to see in the type of person Trump would have run one of his companies. So, even if Michael goof did not contribute directly to the loss of this specific task, he still exhibited a quality that is a no-no for Trump.
To all you Choshed B'Kosherim'nikkers:
I suppose it was also forbidden for Lee to be present at the task b/c there was treife food present. Even if you argue that we didn't actually see Lee eat any of that tarfus on all the shown footage (remember it was a whole day event and a lot of the footage is not shown) it was at least maris ayin.
Furthermore, it was a college campus and that is worse than just maris ayin - it's pure assur.
I would appreciate it if the discussion could instead turn toward the kiddush Hashem Lee is making. Did nobody notice how Trump was impressed at the acquisition Lee made - he got the Real cheerleaders. And then Trump teased him about him hooking up with one of them, or being attracted to one of them and Lee played it very classy and very frum. I was impressed. Even Religious Tarek would have responded with a remark of how he would have liked 2 or 3 of the cheerleaders in bed with him. Lee showed that he is a cut above the rest and his time off on R'H and Y'K was deserved.
Trump has a ton of respect for religious Jews. I heard that a few work for him. Lee could be the next one.
sorrybut being near the food is not the same as working on Shabbos.
I know lots of people (including me) who have sat in treif restaurants and had coke while others fressed chazer, it sometimes can not be avoided. I would always assume that a frum person seen coming or going from a treif restaurant with a group of people was not eating there but merely attending a meeting.
it stretches the imagination to think that he was out there for five hours on Shabbos and was not mechallel Shabbos.
Furthermore, he chose to be there. I never go to a lunch meeting unless it can abolutely not be avoided.
as far as the college thing. you are going from to stupid so I will not comment.
it should have said "you are going from wrong to stupid"
it stretches the imagination to think that he was out there for five hours on Shabbos and was not mechallel Shabbos
Nobody asked you to imagine anything. Give the man a little respect. If you didn't see it then it didn't happen. Whatever happened to giving someone the benefit of the doubt? And who asked you to create doubt, on a public messageboard no less. You're scum unless you apologize. That's right, we all make mistakes.
Anonymous said "If you didn't see it then it didn't happen."
I heard Lee say "I couldn't collect the money fast enough"
No doubt in my mind that he didn't eat the food. But he sure was trying to sell it.
It is what it is and he is who he is. Don't know if that makes any sense to you critics, but my point is if he was m'chalel shabbat, that's his problem. He didn't come on the show wearing a kippa and pretending to represent frum Jews. He can do whatever he wants and it shouldn't bother anyone but himself and Hasem. None of us are perfect and it's not fair for us to judge Lee, especially when he's not allowed to defend himself.
oh give me a break. who cares that he was near treif food. those of us in the real world are around it all the time.
i give him all the respect he deserves.
ever day in davening we ask not be be pu, lo liydai nisayon v,lo liydai bizayon.
He chose the nisayon and got the bizayon
John Doe, what's it matter to you? Does Hashem want you passing judgement and publicly criticizing another yid? Why don't you post under your real name so we could pass judgment on your life too?
[You'll say that I'm also posting with a pseudonym, but the difference is I'm not publicly criticzing or judging anyone.]
Did anyone else realize that Orthodox Lee was working, speaking into a megaphone and handling money on shabbos! the game and tailgate party was on Saturday! He is a faker. a Phony Baloney!
Wait, how do we know that the game was on Shabbos? I guess I missed that..
Each jew has the right to decide how religious he wants to be. If a jew insults me for eating pork, working on shabes or Yom Kipur, I'm sure I can find plenty of commandments he has violated. 613 laws is a pretty long list.
Lee is not going to work as the apprentice to a Luvabitcher. Lee is not joining a yeshiba. To judge him from yeshiba standards when the majority of jews in this country are conservative or reform is ludicrous. I don't care what other jews do. You want to dress in black and wear peyes? Fine with me. It's a free country. But there's no way in hell I'm gonna let another jew tell me how to live my life. And I'm sure Lee feels the same way.
again, the premise of this website (blog) is that Lee is Orthodox. most people end up violating one of the commandments. like you said with 613 it is not hard. it is even possible that some of us have violated shabbos. HOWEVER, being mechallel Shabbos b'farhesia precludes one from calling himself Orthodox.
If the shoe fits, wear it.
to Lee, who I'm sure reads or hears about everything that is on this website: Please ignore the people criticizing your every move based on thier belief of Orthodox Judaism. You have never claimed to be a rabbi, and I, along with many others are simply proud of the fact that you have represented the Jewish people admirably. I feel you have made a true Kissush Ha-shem.
for the record i think that for the most par he has made a kiddush Hashem as well. If you define Kiddush Hashem as casting a positive light on jews in general, and observance of mitzvos (like kosher and Rosh Hashannah and Yom Kippur).
Just for the record, I posted as "lee fan" a couple times yesterday, but someone else posted under my moniker today at 9:06 am.
I guess Lee has more than one fan! :-)
To the new "lee fan", please choose another name to avoid confusion. THX!
sorry lee fan i didnt know the name was already used, it was the first thing that came to mind after my first choice, "im still so happy that b*tch andrea is gone," which as you can see is a bit too long for a screenname, ill come up with something else
ok, so even if he broke shabbos...not saying its great. but really, i live in nyc and have guys with payous bask the shoulders coming out of the "peep o rama" (i was coming from old navy nearby...i was not in the peep o rama). ive seen them buying porn, at strip clubs. ive had married mashgiahs at resturants hit on my friends and i. ive seen smicha guy at yu doing things they REALLY shouldnt e doing. just because lee isn't trying to hide things doesnt make it worse. gimme a break. hes a young guy. what he is doing is so minor compared to what some others who claim to be much more frum do. what he does is between him and the big guy so let it go and get over your holier than thou selves.
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