In the article headlined “JFCS educational funds turning dreams into reality” (Education and Camps supplement, Jan. 20), the author delivers a complimentary piece about a highly respected and accomplished organization, Jewish Family and Children’s Services.
JFCS has been an integral part of the fabric of our Jewish community for generations, and they have done a tremendous amount of good in those years, helping people in truly dire straits. But an article focusing primarily on JFCS’ loan activity overlooks a fundamental part of the history, and the present state, of lending within the Bay Area Jewish community.
Hebrew Free Loan has been the central Jewish lending institution in San Francisco since our inception in 1897. We are a single-mission agency, meaning that helping people become self-sufficient through interest-free lending is what we do.
Hebrew Free Loan currently has more than 1,000 loans out in the community for more than $6 million. We have helped hundreds of thousands of people overcome stressful financial circumstances and achieve lifelong dreams such as home ownership, adopting a child and pursuing an education. In fact, we know that many of the same people who have taken loans from JFCS have large loan balances with Hebrew Free Loan, as well.
When the nine founders of what became the Hebrew Free Loan met in a small shul, south of Market Street, they made a plan that would change the story of the Jewish people in the Bay Area forever. With a fund of $50, they made small business loans of $10 or less. A horse and buggy. Goods to sell. Equipment.
As the loans were repaid, they made more loans, and over the decades, as the needs of the community changed, the agency responded and expanded. Student loans. Personal loans. Lifecycle loans. Adoption loans. Unemployment loans. Health care loans.
Because more than 99.5 percent of our loans are repaid, we like to think that the initial $50 is still a part of Hebrew Free Loan, much in the way that the blood of Abraham and Sarah still flows through us all.
JFCS and Hebrew Free Loan have a similar goal, to help people get through times of hardship, but we pursue different models. From the very beginning, all of our loans have been completely interest-free. Hebrew Free Loan is guided by the mandate in Exodus 22:24 that states, “If you lend money to my people, to the poor among you, do not act towards them as a creditor; exact no interest from them.”
We have always pursued Maimonides’ highest level of charity, of teaching someone to fish rather than giving them a fish, because we feel that the act of repaying a loan promotes fiscal responsibility and allows the client to maintain his or her dignity.
Just before the turn of the last century, when Hebrew Free Loan began and the Jewish community in San Francisco was largely composed of recent immigrants in need of help as they tried to set down roots, Jewish agencies worked collaboratively as peers and partners. We still believe that to be successful in providing comprehensive services, especially to those in the greatest need, it must be a coordinated effort.
We take pride in our work and we have put great effort toward being known throughout this Jewish community as the place one goes to when they need a loan. Any article about student loans in the Bay Area Jewish community that omits Hebrew Free Loan, especially in a publication such as j., is truly unfortunate and lacks the collaborative feeling that was a hallmark of those early years.
JFCS, j. and the Hebrew Free Loan are some of the crown jewels of Bay Area Jewry, and we should all be recognized for the core services that we provide, and have provided, to strengthen and benefit our clients and our community.
Ed Cushman is the executive director of Hebrew Free Loan in San Francisco.