Carry this story with you for Shabbat. It made me smile.
A Jewish man who had no wife, no children, no family, and almost no connection to Judaism but his birth, left his fortune to Israel, and he is helping to make the desert bloom.
Mack Ness, a Jewish farmer and recluse, who lived his life in deprived circumstances in Watchung, New Jersey, willed a fortune to Israel when he died in January 2004. As a result, Ness is helping to make the Negev bloom posthumously.
In his 90s when he died, Ness never married or had children and had no connection to the local Jewish community until a short time before his death.
A non-Jewish attorney took care of his affairs, and never took a cent for his trouble. The lawyer had lived on the Ness farm as a student, but ran out of money and couldn’t pay the rent. He was about to leave when Ness offered him a deal that lasted for well over half a century. He told the young man that he could stay on the farm free of charge and continue with his studies, but that after he became a lawyer, he would have to give his services to Ness free of charge.
[…] Ness left more than $15 million to the Federation, with two provisions – that the money go to Israel and that a memorial be established for himself, his mother, Ann, and his brother Sanford.
The upshot is the Ness Loan Fund for the Negev, which in Hebrew is called Keren Ness, which translates back into English as the Miracle Cornucopia.
And indeed that’s what it is. According to the fund’s chairman, Gerald Flanzbaum, who lives with his wife, Marilyn, in Givat Olga, more than 85 business loans have been disbursed, mostly to people who were unable to get loans from a bank. The Flanzbaums travel to Beersheba every month to meet loan applicants. Some of the ventures have been so successful that they are repaying the loans ahead of time.
May Mack Ness’ name be long remembered. His memory is already a blessing.
O/T, but have you seen this, Meryl?
I know it’s Reuters, but I have no trouble believing the story, considering that my best friend was an agunah…
cool
Just wait, Reginleif, someone is going to brandish that story to show that with respect to treatment of women Israel and its enemies are morally equivalent. They’d have a point, too–some women are spat on, others are murdered, hey, who’s to say what’s better?
Meanwhile, the loan fund helps channel Israel’s skills in desert conversion. The Arab world has a lot of desert and yet again you have to wonder what improvements in the life of average Arabs would come if the Arabs genuinely sought peace with Israel…and were willing to accept help from Jews. Alas, I don’t see either as a likelihood.
So, Alex, because someone might use the story in a way politically unfavorable to Israel, that makes it OK and nobody should talk about it?
Reginleif, I don’t see Alex saying we shouldn’t talk about it.
However, I will point out that you have threadjacked this post. This post is about a great thing that a Jewish man with almost no ties to Judaism (save his birth) has done. It was meant to head us into Shabbat with a smile on our faces.
Thanks for making it about something crappy instead. Much appreciated.
No, Reginleif, quite the opposite. I think we should talk about it, loudly. I’m just pointing out that one of the tragedies of the Arab-Israel conflict is the lost opportunities. A smidgen of willingness to cooperate from the Arabs and the story of the Middle East would be much different.
It’s nice to see donations HELP a people and make the world a better place.
And not just to buy another painting in a golden palace in Italy….