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

