To those who see a problem and solve it
I
have a particular soft spot for those who identify problems facing the Torah community and take responsibility for solving them. Paysach Freedman is one of those people.
When I first met Paysach nearly two decades ago, he was all of 26 and busy setting up a network of 18 night kollelim, Linas Hatzedek, focusing on mitzvos bein adam l’chaveiro, under the direction of Rav Yitzchak Berkovits. While overseeing Linas Hatzedek, Paysach also became involved in large-scale tzedakah distribution, working closely with the legendary Rabbi Chaim Goldberg ztz”l.
In the course of that work, he identified some unique needs facing the English-speaking community in Israel — whether it be as tourists, yeshivah and seminary students, young kollel couples, new immigrants, or older retired couples. Those whose Hebrew is not fluent frequently feel incompetent and misunderstood. (I often tell bureaucrats with whom I’m dealing that I went to Yale Law School, hoping to establish that I’m not as dumb as I sound.)
But the struggles of English speakers are cultural no less than linguistic. Americans, for instance, who are told that there are no appointments available with the recommended physician or health professional for three months are likely to simply resign themselves to the situation. Native Israelis will beat down the doors until they get an appointment.
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