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A Torah-observant Jewish acquaintance of mine lives in the U.S. Mid-Altantic area, in a place where there are few observant Jews. There’s a Chabad House, and a non-Orthodox Jewish establishment.
He’s unemployed and past retirement age, and has limited finances. He’s in good health.
Are there observant Jewish communities, in the U.S., Eretz Yisrael or elsewhere, that would welcome him into their community, help him relocate and find a place to live, and help him find a job or other means of support?
Can you recommend specific individuals or organizations to contact?
He could readily move to Brooklyn, Monsey or Lakewood, become a member of any number of local shuls, be neighbors with dozens of very friendly frum Yidden and be easily accessible to dozens and dozens of frum chesed organisations.
The first place for him to look for is government help. Basic food and shelter will be met by state of local governments. The rest including food for Shabbos can be helped by local organizations. But unless he has a close relative within the community, I’ll need someone to take care of his needs and that may be a challenge.
Scranton, PA is pretty cheap
No. But moving means nothing more than getting an temporary apartment., as far as I know
Boro park JCC would probably be a good idea to start with
4912 14th Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11219
Phone: (718) 972-6600
They should be helpful and can probably connect you to other organizations if necessary. There are many warm communities there and all types of Yidden and shuls.I hate to be the bearer of bad news, nobody is going to help more than a few months of rent in Brooklyn, your friend is going to have to raise that $2000 a month or more rent by himself.
Zahava, noone needs $2000 for rent all his friend needs is a few hundred dollars a month to rent a room. Yes it would be nice if we could all have our own place right away, but sometimes you need to start small. Of course finding a job would be very valuable.
A single person can get an apartment for $500 – $1000 per month in Lakewood, Brooklyn or Monsey.
“Zahava, noone needs $2000 for rent all his friend needs is a few hundred dollars a month to rent a room.”
What year do you think this is, 1870?
Don’t let him move to Brooklyn! And probably not Monsey or Lakewood either. Brooklyn is impossible for housing and financially, not to mention that it’s very, very easy to simply get lost in the crowd.
He should investigate the various out-of-town communities on the East Coast. Just off the top of my head, there are Scranton and Philadelphia in PA, Baltimore and Silver Spring in Maryland, Richmond VA, and Atlanta. These are all normal-sized frum communities where each individual counts, not a human sea like New York. He could possibly contact the local Agudahs in these communities, who could give him contacts for information.
No, it’s not easy to get benefits moving in from out of state. Better not to count on it.
Good luck to him!
If you’re looking for a strong community of Torah Yiddishkeit where you can, if you want, almost fully immerse yourself in an all-Jewish life and lifestyle, then Lakewood, Brooklyn and Monsey are his best choices.
Plus those communities have, by very very far, the strongest, most pervasive and most varied frum Jewish chesed and help organizations, gemachs, etc.
Of the three places I mentioned, Lakewood is the most affordable. A single fellow can get away with only paying a few hundred dollars a month in rent.
He may get lost in the crowd in Brooklyn, but New York city has the best social service system.
“What about Israel? See my post above..”
Yes, a new immigrant gets financial assistance with things like housing, discounts on import tariffs, new purchases, ulpan to learn Hebrew, etc, for a limited time, and many communities are warm and inviting and take care of each other. I don’t advise showing up at the airport, but rather contacting Nefesh B”Nefesh state-side, they can advise on what benefits are available for his particular case, what communities might be appropriate, arrange for flight, as well as take care of the paper-work that is needed. I don’t think he would make it on a couple of hundred dollars though, even with assistance, and socialized medicine and other benefits. I know immigrants have come from Ethiopia and elsewhere with almost nothing and have been set up in Israel, but I think this sort of assistance depends on the country of origin, and I don’t know if an American would benefit. Nefesh B’Nefesh would know though.
In any case, do you think it is in his best interest to start over again in a new country/culture/mentality? Does he speak Hebrew?“What year do you think this is, 1870?”
-uh, no…it’s called renting a room in an apartment or more likely a basement in boro park. Yes it sounds about right.
I know people who rent out a basement for $800 a month so a room is usually cheaper than that.
DovidBT, of course these aspects make it challenging for anyone to make aliya.
Yet, despite these issues, people go because they have strong motivation to be there. The adjustment is rough, and one has to really want it to work. I am not sure that needing a safety net and community help is a strong enough motivation to overcome the challenges involved.
Yes, one can learn Hebrew in Israel- but keep in mind that not everyone is good at picking up a new language, especially when older, and at a level that will be good enough to get a job that requires fluent Hebrew. At retirement age, finding a job is hard for anyone, adding in a language barrier just makes it harder.
So while the opportunity for public and community assistance is probably greater in Israel than in the US, the challenges of moving to a new country might outweigh this.DovidBT, you have no idea how the aliyah process works, do you? One doesn’t just show up from America and walk up to Misrad Hapnim and say, “Here I am!”
One doesnt just show up on 13th Ave and 45th St in Borough park and say “Here I am” either
If someone wants to make Aliyah, they should contact Nefesh B’Nefesh
You have to prove you are a “Jew” (Not a Halachic jew, just a “Jew” meaning one jewish grandparent or converted (Reform and Conservative count for this). They have a system to figure out who is a jew or not
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