A frank discussion of, and some expert advice on what the average person needs to know about the real-life legal implications of everyday financial dealings.
Some in our community fall prey to fraudulent schemes due to a positive characteristic we Jews possess: Our emunah is a trait embedded in our metaphysical DNA. We believe in Hashem and we also believe in our peers. Those are good things and they have helped carry us through a very difficult national history
A lthough high-profile criminal cases involving Orthodox Jews generate charged emotions and controversy both inside and outside the frum community many people aren’t aware that even far lesser offenses — like driving with an expired license a little fib on a tax return or even running an unauthorized private gemach — could mean jail time.
Orthodox Jews who’ve gotten into trouble with law enforcement or are already incarcerated have learned that there are dedicated community members who can help them. They work under the banner of Dror an eight-year-old organization founded with a mission to assist people in navigating the legal maze advocate for rights a person might not know he has provide basic religious necessities and help soften the blow for the families of those in prison. Of course avoiding jail to begin with is incomparably better than being helped out once you’re there. The “system ” say community askanim dealing with incarceration is unbearably tough — demeaning and destructive and never worth the risk. Some people can withstand it and some break.
Dror would prefer people don’t find themselves on the wrong side of the law in the first place. Recent media headlines have made us realize that for all the progress our community has made in ensuring that we uphold high standards of ethical and legal probity there always remains a need for educational programs to raise communal awareness. To that end Dror has recently held a number of events in different Jewish communities that have brought together a group of highly regarded judges leading attorneys and financial experts to address a wide array of fiscal and legal issues ranging from mortgages and foreclosure to how to respond to subpoenas and police investigations to the parameters of governmental benefits like Medicaid and food stamps. What follows is based on one such event which featured a frank discussion of what the average person needs to know about the real-life legal implications of everyday financial dealings.
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