Gemach (, plural, , ''gemachim'', an abbreviation for , ''gemilut chasadim'', "acts of kindness") is a

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

free-loan fund that subscribes to both the positive

Torah The Torah ( , "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. The Torah is also known as the Pentateuch () ...

commandment Commandment may refer to: * The Ten Commandments * One of the 613 mitzvot of Judaism * The Great Commandment * The New Commandment * Commandment (album), ''Commandment'' (album), a 2007 album by Six Feet Under * Commandments (film), ''Commandments' ...

of lending money and the Torah prohibition against charging

interest In finance and economics, interest is payment from a debtor or deposit-taking financial institution to a lender or depositor of an amount above repayment of the principal sum (that is, the amount borrowed), at a particular rate. It is distinct f ...

on a personal loan to a fellow Jew. Unlike

bank A bank is a financial institution that accepts Deposit account, deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital m ...

loans, gemach loans are interest-free, and are often set up with easy repayment terms. Gemachs operate in most

communities. The traditional gemach concept — that of a money-lending fund — extends loans on a short- or long-term basis for any need, including emergency loans, medical expenses, wedding expenses, etc. However, many people have expanded the concept of gemachs to include free loans of household items,

clothing Clothing (also known as clothes, garments, dress, apparel, or attire) is any item worn on a human human body, body. Typically, clothing is made of fabrics or textiles, but over time it has included garments made from animal skin and other thin s ...

books A book is a structured presentation of recorded information, primarily verbal and graphical, through a medium. Originally physical, electronic books and audiobooks are now existent. Physical books are objects that contain printed material, mo ...

equipment Equipment most commonly refers to a set of tool A tool is an Physical object, object that can extend an individual's ability to modify features of the surrounding environment or help them accomplish a particular task. Although many Tool use by ...

services Service may refer to: Activities * Administrative service, a required part of the workload of university faculty * Civil service, the body of employees of a government * Community service, volunteer service for the benefit of a community or a ...

and advice. Even

small business Small businesses are types of corporations, partnerships, or sole proprietorships which have a small number of employees and/or less annual revenue than a regular-sized business or corporation. Businesses are defined as "small" in terms of being ...

loans may be obtained. Gemachs may be operated both on a communal basis (such as by treasurers of community funds) and an internal basis (such as by businesses, organizations, schools and families). The ideal of contributing to or forming one's own gemach was popularized by Rabbi

Yisrael Meir Kagan Yisrael Meir ha-Kohen Kagan (February 6, 1838 – September 15, 1933) was an influential Lithuanian Jewish rabbi, Halakhist, posek, and ethicist whose works continue to be widely influential in Orthodox Jewish life. He was known popularly as t ...

(the Chofetz Chaim), who addressed many halachic questions about the practice and lauded its spiritual benefits in his landmark book, ''Ahavat Chesed'' ("Loving Kindness").

Biblical source

Money gemachs fulfill the Biblical imperative, "You shall lend money to my people" (

Exodus Exodus or the Exodus may refer to: Religion * Book of Exodus, second book of the Hebrew Torah and the Christian Bible * The Exodus, the biblical story of the migration of the ancient Israelites from Egypt into Canaan Historical events * Ex ...

22:25) as well as the Biblical injunction, "You shall not give him your money for interest, nor may you give him your food for increase" ( Leviticus 25:37). Gemachs that provide other services, such as clothing, books and equipment, fall under the general Biblical commandment to do kindness, "Love your neighbor as yourself" (Leviticus 19:18).

Modern history

Gemachs, known as Jewish or Hebrew Free Loan Societies in English-speaking countries, were among the first institutions established by Jewish immigrants to the United States from Eastern Europe. Most gemachim were founded between 1880 and 1914 in communities where Jews settled, although some were established as late as 1940. The

Hebrew Free Loan Society of New York The Hebrew Free Loan Society (HFLS) of New York, also known as the Hebrew Gemilath Chassodim Association, founded in 1892, is the oldest money gemach in the United States. It spawned similarly named free-loan funds in many other cities, including ...

, the oldest gemach in America, was established in 1892 when 11 men pooled their savings to establish it. They initially raised $95, which they loaned out in increments of $5 and $10. The society is still in existence today. By the turn of the 20th century there were approximately 500 gemachs in the United States. One reason for their prevalence was that banks did not want to make loans to low-income Jewish borrowers. But with repayment rates exceeding 99 percent, banks eventually realized that Jewish borrowers were desirable customers, and began loaning to them in the 1940s. The

2008 financial crisis The 2008 financial crisis, also known as the global financial crisis (GFC), was a major worldwide financial crisis centered in the United States. The causes of the 2008 crisis included excessive speculation on housing values by both homeowners ...

sparked a resurgence of gemachim in some cities. Milwaukee, which had a gemach at the turn of the century, is in the process of creating a new free-loan society.

Types of loan

Gemachs are best known for lending money on a short- or long-term basis. The size of the loan will depend on the lender's resources. A home-based gemach might offer loans of $100 and up, while a wedding gemach may extend a loan of several thousand dollars. Typically, gemachs also offer favorable repayment terms, enabling borrowers to repay the loan over a long period of time, in keeping with the imperative of "doing kindness." One

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

family offers loans of $750 with repayment of $150 per month. A wedding gemach offers a $3000 loan with repayment of $100 per month. The

Israel Free Loan Association Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

(IFLA) is the largest interest free loan association in the world, with loans from NIS 20,000 for individuals up to NIS 90,000 for small businesses (www.freeloan.org.il) and serves Israeli citizens anywhere in Israel. While poor families and individuals in debt are frequent users of gemachs, borrowers need not be poor. Money gemachs also cater to students, workers, or any individual in need of a loan. Internal money gemachs are common fixtures in

yeshiva A yeshiva (; ; pl. , or ) is a traditional Jewish educational institution focused on the study of Rabbinic literature, primarily the Talmud and halacha (Jewish law), while Torah and Jewish philosophy are studied in parallel. The stu ...

synagogue A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...

s, and workplaces, among others. The gemach concept has expanded to include free loans of household items, clothing, books, equipment, services and advice. Following is a sampling of gemach services found in the Jerusalem

telephone directory A telephone directory, commonly called a telephone book, telephone address book, phonebook, or the white and yellow pages, is a listing of telephone subscribers in a geographical area or subscribers to services provided by the organization tha ...

of 2002:

Low chairs and other necessities for mourning; food for
simcha ''Simcha'' ( ; , ) is a Hebrew language, Hebrew word that means "gladness", or "joy", and is often used as a given name. Uses The concept of simcha is an important one in Jewish philosophy. A popular teaching by Rabbi Nachman of Breslov, a 19 ...
s; food for the needy; food for hospital visitors; moving boxes; used clothes; English and American stamps; Dead Sea mud; sewing patterns; hosting guests; hosting guests near hospitals; transporting invalids; wedding needs; wedding dresses; health food and vitamins;
tallit A tallit, taleth, or tallis is a fringed garment worn as a prayer shawl by religious Jews. The tallit has special twined and knotted fringe (trim), fringes known as ''tzitzit'' attached to its four corners. The cloth part is known as the ''beged ...
s; telephone cards; cell phones; form letters; burners; tools; banquet dishes; tables and chairs; playpens; fans; loudspeakers; baby paraphernalia; suitcases;
mezuzah A ''mezuzah'' ( "doorpost"; plural: ''mezuzot'') is a piece of parchment inscribed with specific Hebrew language, Hebrew verses from the Torah, which Jews affix in a small case to the doorposts of their homes. These verses are the Biblical pa ...
s; mattresses; partitions; computers; water urns; folding beds; microwaves; haircutting equipment; inhalers; sewing machines; tablecloths; cameras; blankets; projectors; fridges and freezers; toys; glasses; candles; ''
segulot A segula (, pl. ''səḡulloṯ'') is a protective or benevolent incantation or ritual in Kabbalah, Kabbalistic and Talmudic tradition. Etymology In medieval magic, "sigil" () was commonly used to refer to talisman, occult signs representing v ...
''; ladders; pots; ''
sifrei Torah A Sephardic Torah scroll rolled to the first paragraph of the Shema An Ashkenazi Torah scroll rolled to the Decalogue file:Keneseth Eliyahoo Synagogue, Interior, Tora Cases.jpg">Torah cases at Knesset Eliyahoo Synagogue, Mumbai, India ...
''; books; cribs; film;
Shabbat Shabbat (, , or ; , , ) or the Sabbath (), also called Shabbos (, ) by Ashkenazi Hebrew, Ashkenazim, is Judaism's day of rest on the seventh day of the seven-day week, week—i.e., Friday prayer, Friday–Saturday. On this day, religious Jews ...
hot plates; Shabbat candlesticks; furniture; vacuum cleaners; work tools and more.

The

Neve Yaakov Neve Yaakov (; also ''Neve Ya'aqov'', lit. Jacob's Oasis) is an Israeli settlement in East Jerusalem, part of the Israeli-occupied territories, north of the settlement of Pisgat Ze'ev and south of the Palestinian locality of al-Ram. Establishe ...

telephone directory currently includes gemach listings for a

plumber A plumber is a tradesperson who specializes in installing and maintaining systems used for potable (drinking) water, hot-water production, sewage and drainage in plumbing systems.

and a

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

ist who offer free advice by telephone. Southfield, MI (Detroit) has a gemach for baby items such as strollers, high chairs, and packnplays. Chicago was the first city to create a gemach of educational materials and resources for teachers in Jewish education.

Repayment

To ensure repayment of a money loan, gemachs will typically ask the borrower to provide two guarantors as co-signers on the loan. (In

halakha ''Halakha'' ( ; , ), also Romanization of Hebrew, transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Judaism, Jewish religious laws that are derived from the Torah, Written and Oral Torah. ''Halakha'' is ...

this is known as '' areivut''.) Should the borrower fail to repay on time, the gemach owner can turn to these co-signers and demand repayment, a claim that will be upheld in a '' beit din'' (Jewish rabbinical court). Laws also pertain to the person who borrows clothing, equipment, or other items from a gemach. Goods that are damaged must be replaced or reimbursed. Although a Jew should lend to those in need, he is not obligated to continue to lend to someone who consistently loses things or returns them damaged.

References

External links

"A Lover of Kindness in Our Times" by Yonasan Rosenblum"Lending a Helping Hand" by American Jewish Historical Society
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120301010433/http://www.ajhs.org/scholarship/chapters/chapter.cfm?documentID=211 , date=2012-03-01 Jewish law and rituals Jewish community organizations Free goods and services Loans he:גמילות_חסדים#מוסדות גמ"ח