last word
Jack Belitsky
ADVOCATES FOR NORTHEAST PHILADELPHIA
AT THE JEWISH FEDERATION
JARRAD SAFFREN | STAFF WRITER
I n 2010, leaders at the Jewish
Federation of Greater Philadelphia
asked Jack Belitsky to submit
some names of people from Northeast
Philadelphia who could fill a spot on
its board of trustees. The organization
that tries to help Jews throughout the
region thought it had a blind spot in an
area that was often forgotten.

Belitsky, a resident of the Northeast, was
president of the advisory committee at the
KleinLife community center and chair of
the Northeast Synagogue Council. He was
the right man for the task.

But when he submitted his names,
Jewish Federation leaders said no to
all of them. Instead, they came back
to him with a different one entirely:
his own.

“I was honored,” Belitsky said.

The man who was perhaps the most
active member of the Jewish commu-
nity in the area also became its repre-
sentative in the regional body. It’s a role
that Belitsky has played for 12 years
now, helping to increase funding for
programs in his neighborhood.

Jewish Federation money now helps
provide Belitsky’s neighbors with basic
needs like food, shelter and socializa-
tion, particularly through programs
at KleinLife. It also goes toward fun
activities like a soup and story hour, a
book discussion group and an art ther-
apy program.

Belitsky, 82, participates in many of
the activities with fellow seniors.

“I have been speaking for many years
to the people at (Jewish) Federation
about the needs of the Jewish popula-
tion in the Northeast, and the leader-
ship has agreed that we need to provide
these activities for people,” he said.

“This is where I live. This is where I
attend synagogue. This is where I have
grown old,” he added. “And I think I
have an obligation to give back to the
community.” Belitsky moved to the Northeast 57
years ago because it offered walkability
to his synagogue at the time, Ner Zedek,
but also to banks, supermarkets and
anything else he needed. He remained
at Ner Zedek for 50 years and walked
there on Shabbat and other holidays.

Today Belitsky is a member — and
a member of the executive board — at
Congregations of Shaare Shamayim,
which welcomed Ner Zedek into its
community in 2017. He’s also a congre-
gant at the Beth Sholom Congregation
in Elkins Park. And he says it’s his deep
faith in Judaism and the value of tik-
kun olam, or repairing the world, that
motivates him to help his community.

Belitsky first developed this faith
from spending time with his grand-
parents, Morris and Bessie Kaytes, who
were shomer Shabbos and who empha-
sized the importance of tzedakah. The
city resident even built his career as
an elementary school teacher in the
Neshaminy School District around
serving others.

“It has always been an integral part
of my life,” he said.

Belitsky never married and does not
have kids. But he still wants to help
future generations.

Belitsky likes to tell the allegory of
the old man who is planting trees when
some people walk by. They say, “You’ll
never see the fruits of these trees,”
according to Belitsky. And the old man
responds, “I plant these for future gen-
erations.” “Not only am I doing this for myself
but for others who will come along in
years to come,” he said.

Andre Krug, the president and
CEO of KleinLife, and Inna Gulko,
KleinLife’s director of support services,
described Belitsky as “a total pleasure,”
“a very low-key kind of guy,” “a mensch”
and “very personable, too.” Gulko men-
tioned that every time he meets with
someone, he asks about their kids.

“He cares,” she said.

But the KleinLife leaders also
explained that they rely on Belitsky
to help them raise money and get the
attention of the Jewish Federation, and
that he’s quite good at it, even though it
often brings out a different side of his
personality. “He could be tough when he needs to
be in terms of advocating his position,”
Krug said.

Jacques Lurie, the executive director
of Shaare Shamayim, has worked with
Belitsky for years and called him “an
institution in Northeast Philadelphia.”
The duo was able to get funding
from the Jewish Federation to start
the Northeast Philadelphia Kehillah,
which brings together the Orthodox,
Conservative and Reform communi-
ties in the area.

“We’re talking about ways to do
things and Jack will cut through it and
say, ‘Here’s the best way to do it,’” Lurie
said. “And you take a step back and say,
‘That was spot on.’” JE
jsaffren@midatlanticmedia.com JEWISHEXPONENT.COM
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