Vivian Henoch
metro »
Say Yes W
To The
(Gemach)
Dress
Finding true acts of kindness
in Jewish Detroit.
Vivian Henoch | Special to the Jewish News
Above: The Bridal Canopy — lending bridal
gowns and accessories, making dreams come
true — is a project of Aish HaTorah of Detroit.
hat is a gemach? You
may find your answer
searching in the heart
of Jewish Detroit through racks
of designer bridal gowns, bins of
baby toys or in a basement turned
storeroom for gently used furniture
and household items to borrow and
return.
“The concept is as old as the
Torah,” says Rachel Krakauer, who
started the Feiga Pia Gown Gemach
in a bedroom closet with 10 dresses
that friends came to borrow.
“Whether or not you know the
word, I believe every Jew knows
what a gemach is,” says Leah Tolwin
of the Bridal Canopy.
Gemach is an acronym for “gemi-
lut chasidim” — acts of lovingkind-
ness. Hebrew Free Loan is a gemach.
Everyone knows about the people
on the street who give money to the
can with the American flag. Or the
bell that rings around the 25th of
December. Those are all forms of
gemachs. But the origin of a gemach
is Jewish.
“In Jerusalem, there are gemachs
for everything imaginable —
postage stamps, shekels, phone
cards, even baby pacifiers,” Shula
Kantrowitz says. “Years ago, as a
student on tour in Israel, I was fas-
cinated to see how people thought
about what the next person might
need. I was inspired by that to start
my own costume gemach.”
Lainie Roth, busy mom of
four and founder of Detroit Baby
Drive, a donation program and
lending source for baby gear, says
her gemach has “taken over my
house … in a good way.”
Chanie Bodenstein, who runs
a gemach out of the showroom of
her own decorating firm, Decor by
Chanie, says, “Most people have no
idea what a structured, organized
gemach phenomenon we have in
our community. It’s amazing.”
A VISIT TO FEIGA
PIA GOWN GEMACH
“You name it: In Jewish Detroit, you
can find someone in town to lend it
to you,” Krakauer says.
On the heels of her brothers’ wed-
dings, and shortly after her own,
Krakauer started getting calls to
borrow her bridesmaids’ dresses.
It struck her that there was a need
to fill.
Born of necessity — one act of
generosity at a time — her gemach
quickly outgrew its storage space in
her home.
Named for a dear family friend,
a Holocaust survivor, the Feiga
Pia Gown (FPG) is now a well-
established enterprise. Located in
a storefront at Lincoln Towers in
Oak Park, FPG provides new gowns
and children’s dresses on loan from
a current inventory of more than
1,000 gowns. Think … Rent the
Runway.
“Our community is growing and
we have lots of weddings to cel-
ebrate,” Krakauer explains. “There
are large families, and many women
and girls need dresses. And that is
the reason I began my gemach eight
years ago.
“The way it works in most
Orthodox Jewish weddings is the
sisters, aunts and cousins formally
get dressed up. With sensitivity to
modesty rules, their dresses are
custom-made and not carried in
mainstream stores. These gowns
tend to be very expensive and are
not readily available; that’s where
we try to come in and help.”
Dresses have short lifespans.
They get worn. They must be
altered to fit. They go out of style.
Rachel goes on shopping trips three
times a year to replenish her supply
of adult gowns. She buys the chil-
dren’s dresses in sets of 12 or more,
starting from toddler sizes because,
“Most families like to match all
their little girls; it’s adorable,” she
says.
And the cost? Serving hundreds
of weddings each year, Rachel’s
gemach asks families to pay the dry
cleaning bills, $25 or $30 depending
on the dress. Donations are always
welcome and appreciated. There’s
continued on page 14
12 April 14 • 2016