Gemach (Hebrew: גמ"ח, plural, גמחים, gemachim, an abbreviation for גמילות חסדים, gemilut chasadim, "acts of kindness") is a Jewish free-loan fund that subscribes to both the positive Torah commandment of lending money and the Torah prohibition against charging interest on a personal loan to a fellow Jew.
However, many people have expanded the concept of gemachs to include free loans of household items, clothing, books, equipment, services and advice.
The ideal of contributing to or forming one's own gemach was popularized by Rabbi Yisrael Meir Kagan (the Chofetz Chaim), who addressed many halachic questions about the practice and lauded its spiritual benefits in his landmark book, Ahavat Chesed ("Loving Kindness").
Gemachs that provide other services, such as clothing, books and equipment, fall under the general Biblical commandment to do kindness, "Love your neighbor as yourself" (Leviticus 19:18).
But with repayment rates exceeding 99 percent, banks eventually realized that Jewish borrowers were desirable customers, and began loaning to them in the 1940s.
The gemach concept has expanded to include free loans of household items, clothing, books, equipment, services and advice.
Following is a sampling of gemach services found in the Jerusalem telephone directory of 2002: Low chairs and other necessities for mourning; food for simchas; food for the needy; food for hospital visitors; moving boxes; used clothes; English and American stamps; Dead Sea mud; sewing patterns; hosting guests; hosting guests near hospitals; transporting invalids; wedding needs; wedding dresses; health food and vitamins; tallits; telephone cards; cell phones; form letters; burners; tools; banquet dishes; tables and chairs; playpens; fans; loudspeakers; baby paraphernalia; suitcases; mezuzahs; mattresses; partitions; computers; water urns; folding beds; microwaves; haircutting equipment; inhalers; sewing machines; tablecloths; cameras; blankets; projectors; fridges and freezers; toys; glasses; candles; segulot; ladders; pots; sifrei Torah; books; cribs; film; Shabbat hot plates; Shabbat candlesticks; furniture; vacuum cleaners; work tools and more.
Southfield, MI (Detroit) has a gemach[7] for baby items such as strollers, high chairs, and packnplays.