I
n July 2023, two Oak Park women
presented their emerging nonprofit
“
Ashir” to an entire board of the
Orthodox Union in Shark Tank-style
via Zoom. They explained why their
program was important and unique
and how it could help the Jewish com-
munity.
Their organization won a mod-
est grant, but according to Rivky
Rothenberg and Tsippi Gross, the con-
nections they made from the cohort of
other fledgling organizations and the
advice they received from professionals
and experts in the field provided the
most value.
“It was an honor and an incredible
opportunity to be part of this initia-
tive,
” Rothenberg said.
Personal finance is usually a topic
spoken about in hushed whispers, if at
all, but these two Orthodox mothers in
their 30s are aiming to change that.
Rothenberg was born and bred
in Detroit, attended Beth Jacob and
Wayne State and works as a CPA.
For years, she has helped community
members create basic budgeting plans.
“We’
d make these beautiful spread-
sheets and plans and then my clients
wouldn’t follow them. I could teach the
skill set but wasn’t seeing long-term
success,
” Rothenberg shared.
In the meantime, Gross, originally
from Dallas, who moved from Israel to
Detroit 10 years ago, was seeing similar
frustration. As a business consultant,
she was helping her clients grow their
businesses but at the end of the month,
they would have no idea where all their
hard-earned money had disappeared.
“My clients needed Rivky’s financial
knowledge and structure, and her cli-
ents needed my strategy and mindset,
”
Gross explained. “I turned to Rivky
and said, ‘You’re a money expert! I help
people make money for a living! We
should combine our knowledge and
skill sets.
”
PREVENTING FINANCIAL ISSUES
In early 2023, the two developed Ashir,
“wealth” in Hebrew, originally to help
families in financial crisis, and they
have since expanded to create a pro-
gram to help prevent financial issues.
The program is geared for young
adults and newlyweds and those in the
beginning stages of their relationships,
although they found many long-mar-
rieds want to learn from the program
as well. The program, called Marriage
& Money Mastery, is a self-study, cut-
ting-edge interactive game presented in
step-by-step modules or activities.
Topics include wages, taxes, social
security, interest, saving, investing,
compound interest and plenty more.
Some subjects weaved into the Ashir
curriculum might not sound partic-
ularly financial — such as self-aware-
ness, values, the ground rules of com-
munication and gratitude.
“If you’re grateful for what you
have, it’s easier to resist temptation,
”
Rothenberg explained. “Jews com-
monly live in mixed socio-economic
neighborhoods, and there can be jeal-
ousy, that ‘keeping up with the Cohens’
feeling, and we have to actively stop it
… Say to ourselves, this is my life and
I’m happy with what I have. You never
really know, just because someone has
a big, fancy house doesn’t mean they
can actually afford it.
”
Gross explained, “Our goal is to
teach young people before they’ve
developed bad habits. We teach them
how to have all those tricky conversa-
tions about money, and the best part is
it’s set up like a game so couples can do
it as a fun date night!”
Money issues can be very stressful,
whether a person has a little or a lot.
Ashir’s goal is to empower people with
the knowledge and mindset to weather
any situation.
“Stress and tension usually come
from not knowing what to do,
” Gross
said. “With Ashir, people develop a
process to answer ‘Do I really need
this?’ and trust themselves to be con-
fident and learn to make decisions
around money.
”
Gross and Rothenberg shared that
they’ve already seen how their program
has positively impacted people in the
community and beyond.
“We’ve had couples who contacted
us months later and expressed how
grateful they were at being able to
communicate with each other about
money in a calm way and shared that
they were able to manage their money
smarter, and they felt so good about
the direction they were heading in
together,
” Rothenberg said.
Many times, financial stress is inher-
ited by family dynamics. Yet another
important goal for Ashir is to set up
the next generation for financial suc-
cess and to teach parents how to be
good role models for their children.
“We get that talking about money
can feel awkward,
” Gross said. “It’s not
a fun topic. It’s not even really socially
acceptable to talk about it. But why is
it like this?! Money is such an import-
ant part of our lives. Money affects us
every single day. The more educated
we are, the better.
”
Rothenberg and Gross are also
working on initiatives for post-high
school students, college age, parenting
around money and women’s financial
literacy. They are eager for their educa-
tion to reach more people in the form
of classes or live workshops. Ideally,
they’
d love to make it affordable for
everyone; sponsorships are available
and appreciated.
“These workshops transform lives;
it’s so important,
” Gross added.
For more information or sponsorship
opportunities, check out ashir.info.
Two Orthodox women team up to educate people about finance.
Money Mastery
ROCHEL BURSTYN CONTRIBUTING WRITER
OUR COMMUNITY
28 | AUGUST 22 • 2024 J
N
Rivky Rothenberg
Tsippi Gross