Somewhat rusted but totally functional, the shovels found their meaning in assisting in kevuras Yisrael

I run a tool gemach.

Ever since I was a little kid in the bungalow colony, we were always building something. Old carriage wheels, loose boards, and rusty nails were all we needed to construct a go-cart. Home Depot? Better than any museum. I could spend hours going up and down the aisles just gawking at the array of gizmos we could use to build and fix things. One of my mottos is, “Why hire someone else when you can do it yourself (and save money)?”

The idea to launch a formal tool gemach in my neighborhood was the brainstorm of my friend and fellow rebbi — Rabbi Yehudah Mayerfeld. He established the Monsey tool gemach a number of years ago as an extension of his inclination toward DIY (do it yourself). When we would meet in the teachers’ room for a short breakfast, we often found ourselves sharing our most recent home improvement projects.

It wasn’t long before he urged me to start a similar tool gemach in Far Rockaway. I initially balked, as I simply didn’t have the room for more than the stash of tools I already possessed. Besides, I was already becoming an unofficial tool gemach, as the neighbors learned that my existing tools were always available for them. My resistance broke down when Yehudah offered to pay for the initial additional items to stock a real tool gemach. So it became official. The most common tool request, aside from the regular screwdrivers, hammers, and pliers, would have to be the pole-extending tree pruner around Succos time. Although not quite a tool, our bicycle pump has made our house the official pumping station for bikes and basketballs on the block.

I have had some really interesting requests — jackhammer?! I was afraid to ask what it was needed for. (We don’t have one!) Pick-axe to bury the pet bird?! (Yes, we do have one).

The gemach affords me the opportunity to find likeminded DIYers in the neighborhood. Quite a few big talmidei chachamim are part of the club. One new caller once wanted to come over to see what he could take. I had to explain that the tool gemach is for lending, not for keeping. On occasion I’ve had to field calls from people wishing to donate their old tools, mostly from children disposing of their parents’ estates. Unfortunately I have no real use for rusty saws or ancient hand-pushed lawn mowers. (I have bad memories as a teenager of using this on the hill in my parents’ front yard.) Maybe I should have these potential donors get in touch with the one who wants to take my tools. Besides, the limited space that I have in my shed precludes the growth of a bigger gemach.

So I was annoyed one day to find a batch of shovels and spades leaning on the side of my house. My guess is that someone assumed I could use them for the gemach and just left them. But room in my shed was at a premium, so they just sat there outside. For a few years. Occasionally, I would look at them and think that I should just throw them out, but procrastination got the better of me, and there they remained.