XX. Grassroots Tzedakah Funds XXI. Free Services XXII. Educational Materials XXIII. Three Special Aspects of Our Work XXIV. A Brief Message From the Chairman    XXV. Ziv Financial Statement

2001 Report -Table of Contents Return to Previous Section

XX. Grassroots Tzedakah Funds

A. Philadelphia ($15,500)

Founded by Rebecca Gratz in 1819, FHBS is the only program dedicated solely to offering emergency financial aid to Jewish women in crisis, and is also the oldest Jewish Tzedakah fund in continuous existence in this country.  For women in need of funds for food, utilities, rent, medical supplies and other necessities, they are literally lifesavers.

[Female Hebrew Benevolent Society, 2125 Delancey Place., Philadelphia, PA  19103, Attn: Eileen Sklaroff,  215-545-3841, tikkun36@aol.com.]

B. Kavod ($500)

Rabbi Yoshi Zweiback started Kavod nine years ago. It is a very low-overhead Tzedakah fund that supports many front-line projects in the United States and in Israel.

[Kavod, 8914 Farnam Court, Omaha, NE  68114, Attn: Judy Zweiback, 402-397-1975, joshz@kavod.org, .]

C. Yad Chessed ($1,000)

Robert Housman’s organization works on the front lines, providing food, shelter and clothing to many of Boston’s poor Jews.

[Yad Chessed, 46 Columbia St., Brookline, MA  02446, Attn: Robert Housman, 617-738-8449, bobh@csports.com.]

D. Tzedakah Fund, Inc. ($200)

Stan and Betty Mayersohn’s Phoenix-based Tzedakah Fund, Inc. distributes much-needed funding to a wide array of domestic and international programs. Again, all is done with very little overhead so that the money raised can have its greatest impact.

[Tzedakah Fund, Inc., Stan and Betty Mayersohn, 7840 E. Camelback Rd., #301, Scottsdale, AZ  85251, phone: 480-945-5354, smayerso@concentric.net.]

Please note: We remind our readers of the innovative and exciting Tzedakah work being done by the Shefa Fund. Contact them for information on socially-responsible giving.

[Shefa Fund, 8459 Ridge Ave., 2nd Floor, Philadelphia, PA  19128, Attn: Jeffrey Dekro, 215-483-4004, fax: 483-4429, info@shefafund.org, www.shefafund.org.]

XXI. Free Services

A. Interest-Free Loans ($1,000): We cannot overstate the power of the interest-free loan to bring about economic security to people living on the edge. We have supported and publicized the good work of the Israel Free Loan Association and its founder, Dr. Eliezer Jaffe for many years. Since its inception, more than 11,000 Israelis (many, Russian and Ethiopian olim) have borrowed more than $15.5 million to bring them out of financial crisis. What is more astounding is that the default rate is less than 5%. We know that the nearly $25,000 Ziv has given to IFLA over the years has been turned into more than $140,000 in loans. This is an astonishing return on our investment.

[IFLA, c/o Dr. Eliezer Jaffe, 37 Azza St., Jerusalem, home phone: 02-563-7450, mselijaf@pluto.mscc.huji.ac.il, www.freeloan.org.il.  IFLA: 64 Azza St., POB 4579, 02-563-0248, fax: 566-9504.  Tax-deductible contributions through PEF-Israel Endowments.  See Section II:A above.]

Ziv is a member of The International Association of Hebrew Free Loans (IAHFL). To explore establishing such a group in your community, contact Bernie Granor at 215-885-2843, bgranor@aol.com, or visit the website www.freeloan.org.

Jewish Free Legal Services: We continue to emphasize the importance of free legal services for people who cannot afford to pay for such services. We are familiar with several free-standing agencies that provide vital legal services on a pro bono basis. They are named, most appropriately, Bet Tzedek, “The Place Where Tzedek/Justice Happens.” We suggest that you call Joy Rothenberg at 513-984-6768, endsja@aol.com to learn more about starting a Bet Tzedek in your own community, or Wayne Kessler, Boston Bet Tzedek, 617-558-1278, wkessler@jfcsboston.org.

XXII. Educational Materials ($780.47)

We cannot stress enough the importance of the educational materials we produce. These materials are an integral part of getting our message across to as many people as possible. Just as we consider the Annual Report an educational tool (more than a vehicle for raising funds) so, too, our printed matter and tapes serve to educate people in the ways of Tzedakah.

XXIII. Three Special Aspects of Our Work

A. Our Managing Director

As several founders of our projects witness considerable growth in their own work, they have come to realize that they need to find a director to manage many aspects of the program. What they really need is a Naomi. Naomi is the one responsible for our Mitzvah Heroes Conferences, our smashingly successful First Annual HeroIsrael trip to Israel, the sale and distribution of more than 500 copies of the Ziv Giraffe curriculum, and the recent grant we received to establish Mitzvah-oriented communities, to name but a few major items. This, besides the day-to-day operation: the hundreds of phone calls during the year when people call to consult on Mitzvah projects, the e-mails, and the snail mail. No less critical is her guidance, insight, and vision concerning the essence and future of Ziv. Some have said we “lucked out”; others call it “basherte-destined by a higher power.”  Whichever way one looks at it, Ziv has become what it is today largely because of her efforts in the last few years. I am personally grateful.  More important, thousands of people have benefited from her incredibly valuable Mitzvah work. A First Class (with Oak Leaf Clusters) Yishar Koach–All the more strength to her.

B. Our Man in Israel

Arnie Draiman, “Our Man in Israel,” maintains contact with our projects, investigates new possibilities for us, expands the reach of our work by spreading the word to numerous individuals and groups, and advises us constantly on our place in the ever-changing world of Israel’s political, economic and social-needs situations. A Yishar Koach to him for his work on our behalf.

C. Interns ($6,046.63)**

Elisheva Gould, Michael Rotjan, and Sam Thrope served as Ziv summer interns this year, and what a fine time we had together in Israel! We made the rounds of our Mitzvah heroes and projects, studied Torah texts relating to Tzedakah and Tikkun Olam, and learned together how to teach it to others. We put all of this into action as we took 630 United Synagogue Youth Israel Pilgrims on their groups’ Mitzvah Days to meet the heroes and see the projects with their own eyes. It was pure pleasure working with them. Yishar Kocham, all the more strength to the three of them!

**A significant portion of this figure was covered by donor-advised contributions.

XXIV. A Brief Message From the Chairman 

1. This year’s word: Klughartzikeit. It is the abstract form of a Yiddish translation of a phrase from Exodus 31:1-5 and 36:1 Klug means “smart” and the  Hartz is the heart.  So I would interpret to mean something like  “putting all one’s talents into action only after they are filtered through the heart.” I believe this word is the key to all the good Tikkun Olam spelled out in this Annual Report.

2. This year’s particularly juicy quote: My teacher and friend, Rabbi Bradley Shavit Artson, states it succinctly, “Tzedakah is not about giving; Tzedakah is about being.” Expressed another way, Life is A-Life-of-Mitzvahs. Judaism encourages fine thinking, deep insight, wisdom, but ultimately, we as human beings are defined by what we do, how we live our lives and act for the benefit of others. A wonderful example is David Copperfield (born David Kotkin), clearly the world’s most famous magician and illusionist. Most people don’t know about his incredible Mitzvah work: In more than 1,100 hospitals in 30 countries, occupational therapists and physical therapists use his techniques for strengthening (and hopefully, in some cases, re-activating) fingers and hands through the use of magic. He calls his teaching, simply enough, “Project Magic,” and just as simply stated, he says, “There is nothing I do that is more important.”  Fame and fortune are his, and yet, his Mitzvah work is the essence of who he is as a person.

Our Mitzvah Heroes are, in truth, our teachers, and their message is clear: we must act, we have the power to change things for the good, we can repair the world of its disharmonies, pain, and sorrow. Hope, peace, and peace-of-mind will ultimately win out. In poetic form:

The Good People everywhere
will teach anyone who wants to know
how to fix all things breaking and broken in this world —
including hearts and dreams —
and along the way we will learn such things as
why we are here
and what we are supposed to be doing
with our hands and minds and souls and our time.

That way, we can hope to find out why
we were given a human heart,
and that way, we can hope to know
the hearts of other human beings
and the heart of the world. 

In another context — but most relevant here — the Chassidic Rebbi, Nachman of Bratzlav, said, “If you believe you can cause damage and ruin, you must believe that you can repair the damage.” So, in the final analysis, our real occupation is to strive to become a combination of what I call the Classic 13 Occupations: 1. Life-saver  2. Dignity-restorer 3. Everyday-miracle-worker  4. Mitzvah-magician  5. Hope-giver  6. Dream-weaver  7. Star-gazer  8. Solution-maker  9. Tool-user-for-Mitzvahs 10. Soul-repairer 11. Broken-body-fixer  12. Mitzvah-power-hungry-person 13. Creator-of-radiance. And that is the meaning of our name: Ziv — Radiance.

3. Some additional background on the development of Ziv: Since the summer of 1976, I have been the Tzedakah Resource Person for the United Synagogue Youth Israel Pilgrimage. This position allows me not only to return every summer to expand our work in Israel, but also gave me access to more than 13,000 teen-agers and staff members who have been exposed to our Mitzvah heroes and projects. It has been a most productive partnership for which I am grateful. 

4. We would like to mention that the printing of this report has been donated by one of our long-time supporters, and another has donated the paper for the printing.  These generous gestures, in turn, enable us to donate more than $10,000 to our Mitzvah Heroes and projects.

Finally, a look back: On this, our 20th anniversary, it’s all here in the report. All of it, except the emotion, the spiritual feeling, and the sense that we are engaged in a holy endeavor. From Naomi’s and my perspective, we can only say the days are filled with moments that can best be described as sublime and awesome, for which we are both grateful to you who have joined us in this work. We have done well together, and look to many more years of Tzedakah, Mitzvahs, and Tikkun Olam. 

Yishar Kochachem, all the more strength to all of you who take part in our work. It is a privilege to be your Mitzvah Messenger.

XXV. Ziv Financial Statement

Allocations to Ziv projects (including intern program):	$ 968,836.21
Expenses
Salaries*
Ziv Managing Director:	$ 44,799.96
Ziv Agent in Israel:  **
Administrative Assistant:	$ 954.00
*All money for salaries is raised separately and is not taken from Ziv general funds. **Our Agent’s salary was covered by a grant from an anonymous donor in Israel.
Design, printing, and mailing of Annual Report and November Update:	$ 14,565.35
Postage, stationery, telephone, permits and legal registration fees:	$ 3,362.74

2002 Annual Report | Curriculum | Books | Links | 116 Mitzvah Suggestions
top of page