There are gemachs, and there are gemachs about gemachs, that
is listings. Then there is TELEGEMACH, which aims to be the
comprehensive information gemach which connects people to
whatever they need to be connected to - that is, each other,
information, counseling, shidduchim, furniture trades, car
pools, lost and found, buying and selling, professional
services of all kinds and a very big ETC. All for free,
interconnected with areas throughout Eretz Yisroel and
abroad.
Avrohom Ellis, who now runs it from Betar, calls it a People
Gemach. One of his newest projects is called, "There is a
Solution." He attempts to connect people who have been
through various problem experiences: health, emotional,
financial, legal, and have picked up good experience, and
have plugged into the right sources of help. And, yes,
TELEGEMACH has a whole list of professionals who will
willingly and freely give of their expertise in such areas as
taxes, psychology, medicine, therapies and so on.
Their motto is: "Dear Jew, you are not alone."
PHONE NO. 08-9412337 twenty-four hours a day. FAX: 972-8-
9411907.
*
SOME GOOD TIPS, this time. (Some by Yedida, Yated
Ne'eman)
Protect clothing from the sun: summer cottons should
be hung to dry inside out. This way, they will not fade. To
protect new cottons from fading: before the first wash, dip
several times in a solution of vinegar, one cup to half a
pailful. Rinse slightly and hang out to dry. To keep girls
dresses looking fresh and crisp: dip in a solution of Elmer's
plastic glue and water, about half a cup to a quarter pail.
Swish around and hang up.
Sheitels: discussing the care of sheitels with one
woman, she told me: "The one I am wearing is ten years old.
(It still looked fine!) I wash it and then soak it a long
time in conditioner, the longer the better. It comes out soft
and new looking."
Sparkling glassware: add a few spoonfuls of vinegar to
your dishwashing detergent.
Newspaper: after checking for material you'd like to
keep or things that require geniza, keep it on hand.
Nothing cleans windows as good as newsprint. Wet and crumple
and wipe the windows down. Line your garbage pails with
newspaper under the plastic bag to catch drips. Lay out on
the floor for children to do their drawing, painting,
pasting.
Learn how to make paper mache - wet newspaper in a solution
of water and Elmer's glue, mold into shapes, let dry in the
sun and then paint. You can create villages, farms,
schoolyards, playgrounds etc. with little figures etc. Not
clean but cheap fun, to be done on a porch.
Newspapers can be laid down on kitchen counters for your
dirty work. Peel vegetables, clean fish, sift flour etc. then
roll up and throw away.
Easy dusting: for shelves of knick-knacks or plastic
flowers. If you don't have a vacuum cleaner - aim your hair
blow-dryer at these shelves and see the dust fly. Also good
to fluff up velvets. (Also, for a quick-dry of babies-kids
after a bath on a cold evening. Remember those?)
Insomnia: hot summer nights keeping you awake. Here's
is a Bubbie-trick. In her time, the onion slices were kept
under the pillow. Nowadays, it is done this way: cut up an
onion, put into a closed jar and keep near the bed. When you
find sleep eluding you, take a deep whiff and close the jar
again. Within fifteen minutes, you should be etherized into a
deep sleep.
Please send in your own tips, handed down in your family
or discovered through your own or shared experiences.
Also, we are running low on material. Try your hand at
writing, whatever strikes you. Daily experiences, thoughts,
stories, even fiction, ideas.
HOME AND FAMILY EDITOR: Weinbach, Panim Meirot 1, Jerusalem.
FAX 02-538-7998.
