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MembersWhat I learned from scrubbing the toilets of super-rich American Orthodox Jews

One moment, I was cleaning; the next, I was moisturizing and applying makeup to her face.

Photo by Yahav Gamliel/Flash90

We all need money, and sometimes, as an independent writer and video content creator, I don’t always make enough. In such cases, I pull myself up by my bootstraps and take on odd cleaning jobs that, although exhausting, pay well. 

Not too far from my house in the city center of Jerusalem is a “ridge” of high rises overlooking Emek Hamatzleva (Valley of the Cross) and the Knesset. There, swimming in excess, live some of New York’s finest and brightest Orthodox Jews, but mainly during the holiday season. Some are old money with apartments of outdated 80s-style wooden panels, flowered tile kitchens, and green appliances; others are new money with renovated apartments of single-slab marble-covered bathrooms, central air, and stainless steel sinks. 

My ‘cleaning boss’ inherited the job of managing their properties from his father and will eventually pass it down to his son in training, a true family business. He takes care of their payments, communicates with contractors, provides...

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About the author

Patrick Callahan

This is an example of author bio/description. Beard fashion axe trust fund, post-ironic listicle scenester. Uniquely mesh maintainable users rather than plug-and-play testing procedures.

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