The Unexpectedly Jewish Legacy of Charlie Entenmann
Charles Entenmann, who helped to turn his family’s bakery into a baked goods behemoth, died this month at the age of 92. (“”He didn’t eat Entenmann’s cake,” his son is quoted as saying. “He just wasn’t a dessert guy.”)
Though Entenmann himself wasn’t Jewish, his family’s eponymous pastry company is known far and wide across the American Orthodox Jewish world.
Here in the U.S., the Entenmann’s brand is incredibly and immediately recognizable, but as a child growing up in Australia, I wasn’t familiar with it. I’d tried it once or twice on childhood visits overseas, but it wasn’t part of my upbringing. (after all, there’s no Vegemite flavor!) It wasn’t until my gap year in Israel that I first really encountered Entenmann’s.
My introduction came from my fellow 19- and 20-year-old Yeshiva students, soon to become my roommates and friends, who brought with them more packets of donuts than I did socks. In a literal sense, their donuts became prized possessions, like contraband in a prison. When parents, cousins, uncles, and aunts came to visit, what was my friends’ most requested item from the Golden Medina? A cherished box of Entenmann’s donuts. Powdered, frosted, or glazed, topped with crumb coating or sprinkles, each box was treated like treasure.
When I moved to New York and became fully enmeshed in Orthodox Jewish life, I soon learned that Entenmann’s simple but delicious products were a requirement at nearly all Jewish ritual affairs. From Chanukah parties to Sunday morning minyans to shiva minyans, they were everywhere.
Indeed, Entenmann’s signature white-and-blue boxes of sugary confections are part of the American Orthodox Jewish story. Kosher since 1981, Charlie Entenmann’s products — not just donuts but also cakes, cookies, muffins, and more — are a staple at kiddushes following Shabbat services across the country. Who could forget “The Great Pastry Scare of 2018”, as one major news outlet put it when it was rumored that Entenmann’s was going to lose its kosher certification. More common than anything else, they are a unique and unifying element of the Jewish experience.
In memory of Charlie Entenmann, I want to share some unexpected lessons from his life, his work, and the products he made so famous and so beloved. The crux of these lessons can be summed up, I think, as, “’Donut’ limit yourself to one thing” — and though Entenmann wasn’t Jewish, these lessons, much like the man himself, are somewhat unexpectedly reflective of Jewish values and teachings.
1. The importance of innovation, agility, and adaptability
Innovation is a key tenet of Jewish thought and practice. As soon as we complete the annual cycle of Torah reading, we begin it anew, never growing old, tired or uninterested. No matter how many times we have read, studied, and reviewed the Torah, there is a constant need to re-engage and to unearth new insights and ideas.
Entenmann, whose family started selling their signature baked goods to grocery stores following the death of his father in 1951, showed a penchant for creative innovation right from the start. Not content to settle for standard packaging that depicted simple product photos, the Entenmann’s brand was known for its clear packaging, which displayed the actual goodies within.
Elisha Fieldstadt writes for Today, “[Entenmann’s] packaging introduced see-through packaging, luring customers for decades to mini chocolate chip cookies, crumbly coffee cake and those classic chocolate glazed doughnuts.”
2. Sustainability and care for the environment
The Jewish concept of tikkun olam, or repair of the world, calls on us to create a healthier, more sustainable, and more equitable society for all. Entenmann was deeply devoted to environmentalism and sustainability, especially upon retirement.
His obituary tells of his “passion for advancing a limitless energy source,” which drove his support for research into cold-fusion science, defined as “the manufacturing of power utilizing the identical nuclear response that powers the solar, however at room temperature.” Though cold-fusion science is controversial and unproven, Entenmann believed in the power of its possibility — so much so that his obituary asks that any donations in his name be made to Infinite Energy Magazine, which calls him “our benefactor and friend.”
He also co-founded Biolife, a company that makes healthcare products to stop bleeding, and Biosearch, a research lab that developed a “self-sustaining power cell.”
3. The power of personal philanthropy
Jewish concepts like tzedakah (charitable giving) and tzedek (justice) compel our philanthropic involvement in the form of monetary donations, volunteer work, and advocacy efforts. Entenmann, whose family sold the company for $233 million in 1978 (about one billion dollars, by today’s standards), was particularly generous with his fortune.
Infinite Energy Magazine writes, “His financial support was anonymous to the outside world” — arguably, one of the most powerful kinds of financial support, driven not by name recognition or respect but by a true commitment to one’s most deeply held values.
In addition to cold-fusion science causes, Entenmann also supported multiple organizations and projects in his local Great South Bay, NY. With his brothers, he endowed the Southside Hospital in Bay Shore, establishing the Entenmann Family Cardiac Center — the hospital’s largest financial gift to date. He also gave generously to the Great South Bay YMCA and funded research to improve water quality and habitats in the Great South Bay.
Upon his death, it has been incredible to learn more about the man behind the brand, an innovator dedicated to family, community, and society. In short, Charlie Entenmann’s legacy is as sweet as the products he made so famous.
