Now 39 years old and serving as the rabbi of a Chabad center near Atlanta, Rabbi Minkowicz has done something he never expected: open a gemach that deals primarily with non-Orthodox Jews in a prosperous stretch of suburbia. The reason, quite simply, is the prolonged downturn in the American economy, which has driven up the number of Jews identified by one poverty expert as the “middle-class needy.”
The same phenomenon has appeared in Jewish communities across the country, albeit most often in those with existing Orthodox populations already familiar with the gemach system. This institution rooted in Biblical and Talmudic teachings and named for Hebrew words meaning “bestowal of kindness” (“gemilut chasadim”) is now meeting needs created by such resolutely modern causes as sub-prime mortgages, out-sourcing and credit-default swaps.
The same phenomenon has appeared in Jewish communities across the country, albeit most often in those with existing Orthodox populations already familiar with the gemach system. This institution rooted in Biblical and Talmudic teachings and named for Hebrew words meaning “bestowal of kindness” (“gemilut chasadim”) is now meeting needs created by such resolutely modern causes as sub-prime mortgages, out-sourcing and credit-default swaps.
A FRIEND OF MINE SEND ME THE ARTICLE IT IS SO TRUE AMONGST JEWS I AM ONE OF THEM. i TOO WAS RECENTLY WRITTEN UP IN THE NY TIMES UNDER THERE NEEDIEST CAMPAIGN UNDER SHARI ROBECK THAT ME.I AM LIVING IN A HOMELESS SHELTER IN HARLEM MY CHILDREN ARTE GREAT AND HAVE STUDIED WITH A WONDERFUL RABBI CHAYAM ALEVSKY WORLD KNOWN EDUCATOR. I AM OUT OF WORK, ANY JOBS.PLEASE EMAIL ME sharirobeck@gmsil.com
ReplyDeletethank you,
shari
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/13/nyregion/trying-to-keep-stability-with-sleepaway-camp.html