“I and my former partner received the President’s Award for voluntary services as we were retraining foreign lawyers who had made aliyah and wanted to requalify here.”

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This training program, which took place in the kitchen of their small law office, was aptly named the Kitchen Academy.

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In 1993 Shmuel he ventured into oil exploration.

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“I joined two other people and together we started a company to explore for oil in Israel. The company is now quoted on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange. We have produced over one million barrels and are presently drilling two more wells, onshore, in central Israel. I am the chairman of the board and director of the company.”

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Shmuel actually tried quite hard to retire a few years ago.

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“I took a six-year break to try to retire during 2014-20, but have now returned to the profession and work all day and every day from home,” he relates.

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During Shmuel’s attempt at retirement, he got involved with a device called the Playchair, which a flight simulator engineer designed for physically challenged children.

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“I direct a start-up company planning to produce this innovative invention,” he explains. “The child sits facing a computer screen, uses the arm controls or pedals to simulate the joyous experience of a carousel ride or a playground slide, and the chair moves beneath them. We have the prototype ready and are looking for investment.”

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During the last three to four years Shmuel has been teaching Hebrew voluntarily to new immigrant English

How one Israeli man learned to seize the day

Shmuel Becker, 80, was bedridden and sickly as a child — But later became an adventurer.

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