5 Dangers of the Minimum Wage Mentality

When I was a student, I was aware of the concept of minimum wage from the point of view of human rights. It is important not to pay someone below a certain amount. That part I understand. However, after making Aliyah, a different angle was introduced to me which is actually very dangerous and rather troubling. The idea is that of pushing Olim into minimum wage work. Actually, I have seen it also with the orphan Chatanim and Kallot that we assist, even those who are born in Israel. Most troubling is the extent to which someone who comes to Israel with a profession or a skill and have a desire to strive towards earning a decent income will be encouraged or even pushed into minimum wage in general and very often this will be menial tasks such as cleaning houses.

This ideology is very damaging and I often wonder if this is what has contributed to the high percentage of unemployed and poverty in Israel. 

Let us take a look at some of the dangers:

1) A person who earns minimum wage will have a limit to his or her income. This means that if anything arises (which happens in life) that requires more than the very basic minimum, the earner is unlikely to have the means to pay for it. 

2) Many food items that are necessary for a healthy, balanced diet do not fit into the budget for a minimum wage worker which can result in health problems. This can lead to other expenses or loss of earning potential and a risk of becoming a strain on the community.

3) Someone who is earning a minimum wage is often unable to afford courses to be able to improve his or her situation in life. This then becomes limiting and has detrimental psychological or emotional consequences.

4) A person who earns a minimum wage will probably be unable to afford a down payment on an apartment. This forces the person to rent and can result in the person moving frequently. Moving is one of the highest stressors. Stress has a direct negative impact on health and can negatively impact many aspects of the persons daily functioning.

5) If someone remains in minimum wage work once they have children, the expense of providing for a child or children can become too much for their budget. As a result, a vicious cycle can and often does arise of poverty for the next generation. Items that low wage earners often begin to scrimp on are toys and educational materials, amongst other items, which can then lead to limitations on the learning potential of the child (children). 

These are the first five dangers that come to mind, it could be there are more. If you can think of others, please do share them in the comments below. Though there is a role of minimum wage to make sure that the general population is not taken advantage of, there are risks of forcing people into minimum wage. One of the biggest dangers is creating a society that believes that earning adequately to cover all of ones needs is anything from wrong, impossible, not accepted etc. The truth is that everyone has not only a right but an obligation to determine for themselves what their budget is to cover their daily expenses and to strive towards obtaining an income that will enable them to meet these goals and needs. 

If earning above a minimum wage is important to you, do be in touch for the occupational therapy services of Shoshanah Shear with a special interest in empowering widows and orphans.

Have a blessed day

Shoshanah Shear

Chessed Ve'Emet

Occupational Therapist, Freelance Writer

Author and Aliyah Coach

Know How to Answer an Israeli

Adjusting to a new country is never easy. Getting to know new people is part of the process that can at times be very challenging. There are some questions that you need to learn how to answer.

Israelis love to ask how much rent you pay or how much you paid for X or what your salary is and yet if you turn the question back to them, the answer seems to be the Mechutanim paid for it. The truth is that no one has the right to ask what you earn, how much rent you pay or any other financial question. OK, one exception would be a lawyer for a specific reason or an accountant. Other than that, no-one, certainly not someone who you do not yet know, has the right to ask such personal information.

How should you answer? Good question. Some like to change the subject, some say they do not want to answer. You can simply say that such information is private. You have every right to keep the information to yourself. Unless of course they are offering to pay your rent for 6 months or a year or more, then certainly let them know how to give this gift in the easiest way possible.

Another question I hear quite often is "why did you come here Bechlal?" Bechlal being Hebrew for at all, but in context it has a strong accent on the sentence. Every Jew can come up with all manner of reasons as to why they came to Israel. The truth is that every Jew belongs in Israel and does not need any other reason for having come here. If you are a Jew, you have every right to live in Israel and to enjoy your life in Israel. The correct response from others should be "Welcome, it is wonderful that you have come, how can we help you to settle in more easily and effectively" If you are not receiving this answer then take it as having been given through this blog. If you need to hear the welcome again, come back and re-read this post or any other one. Or you are welcome to post a message or even send an email, we would love to hear from you and to hear how you are progressing with your life here in Israel.

There are several other questions that sometimes irritate me. Right now, I cant think of them, but the message is the same. Every Jew who is hallachically Jewish has every right to live in Israel and to be respected. That includes your privacy. If you don't want to provide personal information, don't. Keep it to yourself and enjoy your self-respect. Am Yisrael is all one big family but you don't even have to tell your closest family everything. You are entitled to keep information quiet. That includes whether you are getting married and when, whether you are having a baby and when, how old you are, how much you earn, who you are dating, or any other personal information.

Living in Israel can be a challenge on many levels and one of the greatest is the lesson that we really need to master Pirkei Avos just to know how to survive the culture here. Some have the attitude to just tell what they want to hear, or just go with the flow or just pack it in and leave or just accept that in Israel you get paid late or ..... None of these are the Torah way. There is a way to talk to others and the correct Jewish approach is in keeping with Pirkei Avos. There is a way to behave in business and there is even a way to treat new comers.

We are taught that every day we should remember that we were slaves in Egypt. That does not mean in order to treat all new comers like slaves, it means to make their lives a little easier.

We do hope you are benefiting from these posts. Please do send us feedback and let us know how you are progressing.

What's That Music? Where Is It Coming From?

Israel is an interesting place in so many ways. Yes, the title is accurate. What is that music? Which music you may well ask? The music that sounds like nursery rhymes, happy birthday and sometimes other songs not quite suitable to a Jewish Land.

Where does it come from?

No, I have not gone crazy. In various areas at certain times of the day, you will hear what is very literally the music of nursery rhymes, yes even happy birthday. Never the words, just the music.

At first I thought it was an ice cream van like I had seen near the parks in summer in London. But I could not find the van. After some time I figured out the music is instead of a bell at the schools to indicate some break time.

I don't know why that kind of music is used. Perhaps they want the Olim to feel a little at home. Often I wonder whether those who play the music realize what they are playing. The amusing part is that the more religious the area, the more secular the music is.

Takes someone having lived outside of Israel to recognize the music. Yes it is an adjustment. It seems to be the school bell. Why, I don't know. But I hope now you will understand what the strange music is that plays for a few seconds or minutes at regular intervals during the day.

Personally I look forward to hearing a Niggun or music appropriate to a Jewish State. For now, at times I find myself singing the words to an old nursery rhyme, wondering why I am singing this when I would not want to teach it to my kids.

There are times that good tunes are used, which is always a joy. Music like the start of "It's a world of laughter a world of..." then the music will stop and you are left to fill in the rest.

Welcome to Israel. There are many areas still to work on in building or re-building the real Israel. So if you know anything about music. Come and educate the Ministry of Education or schools or whoever puts out this music as to appropriate music to use.

In the meantime, may it somehow bring a smile to your heart as you go through your day.

Isru Chag - An Adjustment

We showed the beautiful images of Sukkot, now to turn to a different adjustment for our Isru Chag falls on a different day to those outside of Israel.

I dont remember being aware of Isru Chag outside of Israel, even though it does occur. However, using a diary that includes all the days, Chagim etc, suddenly I became aware of Isru Chag. As "Ask Moses" defines it; Isru Chag is the day after a chag (holiday). Isru means to bind. The day after the chag enjoys an afterglow of the chag and is therefore "bound" in some sense to the chag.

The term comes from a verse in Psalms 118 which refers to the festival offering as a chag and mentions that it was bound to the altar. The words that are used in that verse are Isru Chag.

We have just completed the Yom Tov of Sukkot, finishing with Shmini Atzeret and Simchas Torah. That is for those of us in Israel. For those outside of Israel, today is still a Yom Tov, Simchas Torah.

For many it takes some getting used to that the 8 day festivals shorten by a day. Therefore Pesach and Sukkot are 7 days in Israel. Some enjoy this, other miss that extra day of Chag.

For some who make aliya and then visit their family outside of Israel during Yom Tov, the question arises as to what to do on the day that is Chag in Chul and regular day in Israel. On the other hand, for those whose family comes to visit them, what does one do to accommodate the extra day of Chag that they need to observe.

There are different customs as to how to handle those in Israel on "Isru Chag" and Olim - now Israelis, outside of Israel during the extra day of Yom Tov. I would recommend talking to your rabbi about this.

For those who talk, skype, Face Book or Twitter to / with family in Chul, another consideration comes into play. Although Israel now enjoys Isru Chag and those in Australia probably are too by now, for those in South Africa, America, England Europe and other parts of the diaspora, they still have Yom Tov and we need to respect this. It takes a little getting used to and a bit of discipline to refrain from making Havdala and reaching for the phone to greet ones family. Whether or not they observe the mitzvos, we still have a responsibility not to cause them to stumble, and it is therefore advisable to use the international clocks to make sure when their Chag comes out.

Aside from this, the question arises as to what one does on Isru Chag. Do we return to work? Do we clean our home and get everything back in order and then return to work the following day? Again there are differences. Some places of work have a half day work on Isru Chag. Schools typically return the following day. For some places of work, Isru Chag is work as usual.

For all of us, both in Israel and outside of it, an important change occurs during the Musaf prayers of yesterday. We now change our focus to praying for rain in the right season, as we turn from summer to autumn and winter. This focus one will come across often, for the Land of Israel, rain is very much intertwined with our prayers.

Enjoy your day of Isru Chag and remember to pray hard for a winter with plenty of rain.