Queens, NY – Normally known for providing food for the hungry at its network of soup kitchens, Masbia is serving a more upscale menu at one location tonight, after being called in to cater sheva brachos for a Bayswater family.
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While power has been restored to the overwhelming majority of the area, locations that were particularly hard hit by Hurricane Sandy remain without electricity.
Bayswater resident Moshe Berkovics, one of the many people who have been volunteering their time in an effort to restore some sense of normalcy in the area, was approached by Rabbi Eliezer Feuer of the Young Israel of Wavecrest and Bayswater and asked to try to pull some semblance of a sheva brachos together for a local family who was still without power.
“Rabbi Feuer told me to just get some meals, nothing fancy, so that the family could have sheva brachos, but I wanted to make sure they had a proper sheva brachos,” Berkovics told VIN News. “I contacted Masbia and asked them if they could help us put together something really nice. I wanted meat, I wanted heimishe challahs and Masbia said they would take care of it.”
For Masbia executive director Alexander Rappaport, Berkovics’ request posed a little bit of a challenge, but in no time at all Masbia had put together a five course catered meal for fifty.
“I’m not a caterer but so many people were happy to join in this mitzvah,” said Rappaport. “Pomegranate donated food, including cut up fruit for a fruit cup, Strauss donated fresh challahs, we got frozen desserts from Sweet Choice in Flatbush and because Masbia has sent many meals of breaded fish to Far Rockaway and Bayswater over the last two weeks, we made sure we got fifty beautiful slices of beef from a Satmar supplier in Williamsburg.”
Also on the menu tonight at K’hal Chesed V’emes on Bay 24th Street, which got its electricity restored just yesterday, are cold salmon, knishes and vegetarian burgers.
For Berkovics, food has been one way of attempting to rebuild morale in storm ravaged Bayswater.
“People have really been hurt here and FEMA is denying every claim they possibly can,” said Berkovics. “But we found that once we started supplying residents with food, people started coming back home and trying to live as normal a life as they possibly could. We need to get our community back on its’ feet, because if we don’t pull ourselves together, then Sandy will have truly succeeded in destroying Bayswater.”
What a wonderful story! This is a true example of Jewish compassion and giving making a situation which was so wrong so right.
Moish Berkovics has been putting in 22 hour days for the past 2 weeks. He has been making sure all the families that were in Bayswater have had food for the past 2 weeks. We are proud to have him living here with us. M.B is a walking kiddush hashem.
P.S. If anyone would have wanted to know what Bayswatr is about, they should have been here for the past 2 weeks. Nothing but chesed was seen. A unified neighborhood working day and night to protect, feed, comfort etc each other. I have never been prouder MB you are the man.
Nice to see the Satmar Kehilla as it really is instead of the negative stories.
Yasher Koach to all of those helping with Masbia’s efforts to gladden the hearts of the choson and kalah!
It’s really great how everyone has chipped in because of the storm. Not only has tons of food and clothing been donated But stores such as Glatt Mart gave up their freezer space so that those that lost electric would still be able to salvage their perishables. Mi keamcha yisroel
So beautiful!!!!! MB udaman!!!!
PS does the Bayswater Kehilla need clothes?
Moish Berkovics has been putting in 22 hour days for the past 2 weeks. He has been making sure all the families that were in Bayswater have had food for the past 2 weeks. We are proud to have him living here with us. M.B is a walking kiddush hashem.
P.S. If anyone would have wanted to know what Bayswatr is about, they should have been here for the past 2 weeks. Nothing but chesed was seen. A unified neighborhood working day and night to protect, feed, comfort etc each other. I have never been prouder MB you are the man.
wow what a kiddush hashem
“I wanted heimishe challahs”
Can someone explain what the difference is between “heimishe challahs” and ‘non-heimishe challahs’?
I mean you go into some frum stores/bakeries and see, in the same store, some challahs labelled as ‘heimish’ and some not. Baked by the same people. So what is the difference?
I’m very concerned that there has been no publicity of the good deeds done not only by Masbia, but also by the Israelis, and other Jewish organizations, which have provided relief to ALL victims of Hurricane Sandy. I haven’t seen an iota of news on Fox, CNN, MSNBC, ABC, NBC, CBS, or in any local NYC area papers, about the relief efforts which have been accomplished. The media only delights when they have negative news to report about Yidden. Then, such news will appear on page 1!