Before my recent trip to Israel, my niece asked me if I could bring coats for her son and daughter, both size 2T. I remembered that Ilana Smith has a collection of baby and children’s clothing that she stores in her basement and gives away for free. I went there to look for coats, but Ilana directed me to Sara Lea Wetstein.
At the Wetsteins’ house, I was amazed to see a room wholly set aside for coats. She has men’s, ladies’ and children’s coats, hats, boots, gloves, and snow pants. In less than five minutes, I found both a boy’s and girl’s jacket in great condition and perfect for my niece’s children. I also found a jacket and a protective car seat cover for my granddaughter here in Baltimore!
I was blown away that such a resource exists in our community. I had never heard of the coat gemach, but it seems that people know about it because Sara Lea gets lots of donations. “People do not like to throw away things,” Sara Lea says, “and this is the ultimate in recycling. It gives me nachas to be able to help others with a coat and boots, which are such basic needs.” The recipients are also happy when they succeed in finding a coat for the beginning of the season or are able to replace the coat their child lost for free.
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I should not have been surprised. Baltimore is full of gemachs, and I sometimes wonder what motivates the people who run them. Many gemach owners echo Sara Lea’s feeling of satisfaction from being able to help others. And one gemach manager said, “Running a gemach is purely leshma. There is no other reason than the desire to do kindness.” Whatever their motivation, these individuals feel a tremendous allegiance to their gemachs, which become a part of them. What a beautiful thing it is to provide others with something they need solely out of the desire to do chesed.
I understand the feeling, because I get enjoyment from the Jewish Used Book Collection that I have been running for about eight years. Even though it makes my porch messy, and it is sometimes an effort to sort through the books and take them to the Savings Center to sell, I still get a thrill when I come home and see a new batch of books waiting for me on the front porch. Sometimes, they are old books that I doubt people will want to read, but sometimes I get newish books that are still selling in bookstores. It is exciting to me to do something that every participant benefits from. The donator gets rid of books he does not want any more, the purchaser gets a great bargain, and the tzedaka to which I donate the money gets needed funds. It is a thrill to make money without spending a penny. We actually have raised more than $21,000 over the years that I have been running the Jewish Used Book Collection. An added benefit for a book lover like me is finding some books that I can read myself!
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When I spoke to Tova Jussim about her tichel and soft head-covering gemach, I could hear from her voice how much joy she gets from it. “I help women feel beautiful,” Tova told me with great enthusiasm. “I help people to recycle, I help women keep a mitzva that might be a little challenging for them, and I am able to raise some money for my shul, Tiferes Yisrael.”
Tova has hundreds of tichels, hats and other head coverings, which she stores in 10-gallon bins. She sells them for a dollar apiece and gives 10 free head coverings to any kallah who comes.
Tova explains where she gets her tichels: “Every woman who covers her hair with scarves or hats has some lying around her house that she doesn’t wear for one reason or another. She can donate them to me so others can enjoy them. Tova also gets some seconds from companies that sell tichels and scarves. She charges a dollar because things are valued more if you paid for them, she explains. All the money that she gets goes to tzedaka. “If I know that someone is looking for something in particular and I get it, I will sometimes set it aside and save it for her,” she says. Tova has all kinds of people coming to her gemach, from out-of-town and from Baltimore. Sometimes mothers and daughters come together. Once a rebbetzin came. She wanted to give a class on tichel tying, and she got all kinds of tichels to use for her tichel-tying class. Afterwards she was able to return the ones she did not need.
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Mrs. Chavi Horowitz has been running a wedding gown gemach for more than 20 years. She has over 200 gowns and helps between 40 and 60 kallahs a year. She also has all the other needs of the kallahs, including crinolines, shoes, head pieces, and veils. There is a suggested donation of $150, which Chavi uses to buy more gowns from rental places in Lakewood or New York. A kallah can choose a gown and can keep it until after her wedding. “I believe that the kallah should have the security of knowing that her gown is hanging in her closet ready to wear,” Chavi says. Many kallahs get their gowns from other locations but come to Chavi to get crinolines to wear under their gowns. Other members of the bridal party also come to get crinolines.
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Shoshana Fishkind and Chava Esther Tannenaum have medical equipment gemachs. Shoshana runs the Bikur Cholim medical equipment gemach, which is stored in a whole apartment devoted to supplies. Both gemachs lend wheelchairs, transport chairs, shower benches, canes, crutches, bedrails commodes, ramps, nebulizers, walkers, and c-pap machines. The Tannenbaums also have pack-and-plays, strollers, a double stroller, and high chairs.
The essence of the gemach is to help others. As one man said to Mrs. Tannenbaum when he returned a wheelchair after Yom Tov, “Your wheelchair allowed my father to come to shul on Simchas Torah and really enjoy the experience.”
Sometimes gemach owners are annoyed when people call at the last minute, on erev Shabbos or erev Yom Tov. “You would think that you would know that you need a high chair before the last minute,” said Mrs. Tannenbaum. “But I decided that this must be a test from Hashem – that He wants me to accept the last-minute person without getting angry. Once I made up my mind that I would listen to the message and would not get angry, the last-minute requests stopped happening! I feel like Hashem was sending me a message. He wanted my chesed to be perfect. Once I heard the message, I stopped getting the calls!”
This is just a small sampling of the many gemachs in Baltimore. There are many more, each one with its specialty. In the merit of this pure kindness from members of the Jewish community to each other, good things should happen in our city.
