Dear Matzav Inbox,
It’s not a blip. It’s not a temporary glitch. It’s a full-blown crisis—and it’s unraveling in real time across our communities, behind closed doors, in WhatsApp statuses, and in the silent shame of families who never thought they’d be the ones asking for help.
We’re watching middle-income earners—yes, those with degrees, jobs, and businesses—fall apart under the weight of today’s economic reality. People who used to donate are now requesting. People who once managed are now drowning. Rent. Tuition. Groceries. Car payments. Utilities. It’s all too much. And there’s no cushion left. No fund, no program, no miracle donor writing blank checks. Just pain, and people trying to hold it together.
Let’s be honest: living in NY/NJ today on an honest paycheck is nearly impossible. Inflation is eating away at dignity. Salaries that once stretched to cover the basics now barely last until the 15th of the month. And for those just above the income cutoff for assistance? They’re in freefall. The expectations haven’t changed. The obligations haven’t eased. But the math no longer works.
We see WhatsApp statuses turn into emergency fundraisers. We see people like Joel Wohl scrambling to raise $3,000 in 72 hours just to get food on the tables of friends, neighbors, fellow Jews. He’s not posting to strangers. He’s not chasing new names. He’s helping the same people he’s always known—and the list keeps growing.
Day to day. Shabbos. Yom Tov. Simchos. The requests don’t stop.
This isn’t just a money problem. It’s a communal reckoning. We cannot talk about thriving communities while our friends are quietly sinking. We cannot build beautiful institutions and pretend that the people who live around them aren’t gasping for air.
So yes, this is a cry. A cry for empathy. For support. For change. For a serious conversation about sustainability, affordability, and the widening gap between our ideals and our reality.
Let’s not wait for more families to fall before we wake up.
Sincerely,
A Concerned Member of the Community
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