It's 34 degrees this morning in New York City.
In Deal, NJ, the temperature is 28.
In Los Angeles, the thermometer is at 51.
Here, in southeast Florida the temperature, despite the rain, is 71.
Which means that we are blessed with schnorers, beggars.
Not local beggars, but beggars who spent enough to buy round-trip airline tickets from Lod to the U.S. and from whatever their port of entry onward to Miami.
I've been pricing tickets to Lod. The least expensive ticket is a little more than US$1000 via Moscow. (The ticket is US$600; the rest goes to taxes and fees. El Al will fly me from Miami to Lod, and back, for a mere US$1655.)
Over the last two weeks we have had two pairs of schnorers visit the congregation. Perhaps they have heard that southeast Florida's crime rate is similar to Washington D.C. If we have a day with out a murder it's a "nes."
These snowbird schnorers come armed with chutzpah, and then some.
The come late to the ha'netz minyan, armed with a blue form that indicates they have received approval to schnor from some local committee. At least they don't have to rent a car; they had a driver - one assumes a volunteer since the same car and driver was used by both sets of beggars.
Not content with letting the congregants finish their prayers and put away tefillin and tallet, they come, hands out, during Aleynu !" Stop what you are doing and grab you wallet."
Today's schnorers-du-jour were collecting, according to the chief rabbi, for "personal" reasons.
When I asked the first to approach me how much his ticket cost from Lod and how much it cost to schnor here, his answer was "משתלם" - "it's worth it."
Let's see, if we can assume the beggars paid what I will have to pay to get here via El Al, then the four tickets (for two sets of two schnorers each) is ($1655 * 4) US$6.620. At today's rate of exchange, that's NIS 24.6586. NIS 24.6586 that won't be used for whatever purpose the schnorers schnor.
Most of the schnorers have a U.S. (and Canadian and British and French and ...) connection. Why, then, can't they appeal to their "hutz-l'aretz" connections to schnor for them in the various countries? Save the air fare and "incidentals."
As for the chutzpah, that may easily be resolved. At my previous congregation, the rabbi would put a standard envelope out where people could put in whatever they wished. The schnorer knew not to interrupt people and, although most couldn't bother to "daven" with us, they at least didn't stick their hands in a person's face as he was finishing his prayers.
I have nothing against charity. I know times can be tough here and in Israel - my daughter, her husband, and my grand-daughter live there, as do my in-laws. I also know I'm hard-pressed to find the money to buy a ticket to see the family. Thanks to Skype, I can at last see my daughter and her family from time-to-time. Savta doesn't own a computer and wouldn't know how to use it if she did.
Even having nothing against charity, I am a little put off by beggars coming here and asking handouts for "personal" reasons - a son in yeshiva who is getting married and naturally cannot take any time for gainful employment; a girl who needs a dowry to catch a husband (who sits all day in yeshiva avoiding both gainful employment and either the IDF or national service). How about - true story - the fellow with 17 children who needs financial aid. At least when he came schnoring he was leaving his poor wife alone - alone with 17 children (at least a few of whom should be married and out of the house).
So why do they come, wasting money that could be used for whatever the advertised purpose? In a word, משתלם.
Sometimes it is difficult, but
הריני מקבל עלי מצוה עשה של ואהבת לרעך כמוך, והריני אוהב כל אחד מבני ישראל כנפשי ומאודי
