The Working Poor Crisis

HSS, I agree with some of our points about living out of town but keep in mind that small communities have disadvantages too. I lived in a small Jewish community in the central US for several years. This town has one kosher bakery, a kosher deli, & had a kosher pizza shop during some of the time I lived there. A significant portion of the frum community was klai kodesh, which meant increased tuition for the working poor/ middle-class/ rich to subsidize them (since klai kodesh paid almost no tuition). Kosher food was very expensive, & selection was limited–many people bought kosher food in other cities.

I worked outside the home during this time to support my family, & some people criticized me for this, because I was not a teacher. Also, some people thought we were odd because we did not give our little boys an upsherin, since that was not our minhag. We did not run a business, so we weren’t concerned about frum people patronizing our business (although my husband did provide free professional services to members of the community). Some frum businesses, including a deli & pizza shop, failed while we lived there because they didn’t get enough business.

When my husband finished his training he looked for a job in the area, but there were only 2 big employers hiring in his area of training, & neither paid very well.

Now we live in the NY/ NJ area, in a wonderful, frum, accepting neighborhood. Our house here cost twice as much as our house in the central US, & taxes are definitely higher. However, kosher foods costs less here, & other foods are the same price or cheaper. Peer pressure & competition are not a problem here either.

Of course small communities can be great places to live. My brother lives in one (different region) & is very happy there. But it’s important to make sure it’s the right fit.

Artchill, the Rambam says the best tzedakah is to get someone a job. Make sure they dont’ give up, and they keep looking for parnassah.