In an emotional and heartwarming ceremony, the Afikim center in Ramot was dedicated in memory of Moshe, Yaakov and Rachel Salmanowitz by their grandchildren Richard and Elizabeth Salmanowitz and their children.
In a heartfelt speech Richard Salmanowitz told the children and those in attendance stories about his grandparents and great grandparents in Latvia. Family legend talks of a family that was “in the business of human kindness.
He was very generous in helping out poor neighbors with short term loans to which he would request an article of worth for security. on Friday afternoon, before Shabbat, it was their children’s job to return the securities to the borrowers regardless if the loan had been paid back.
As Mr. Salmanowitz said: “it was a booming business for which interest was never charged and payment rarely received” They were very concerned not only to help people but to help them, maintain their dignity and self-respect.
That is why the connection to Afikim is important. One of the objectives of Afikim is to help young people face the challenges of life with self- confidence and self-respect and to reinforce their attachment to Hashem.
This is something our grandparents would have appreciated so we are grateful to have this opportunity to honor their memory, and hope that in our own way we will be able to be like them. “
