"Poor and Hungry? Start the New Year with a Free $80 Meal!"

While most Jews have spent the last few days preparing for the upcoming holidays, one organization is busy making sure that even the neediest in Brooklyn—the capital of Jewish poverty-- will have a "sweet" New Year.

MASBIA, NYC’s only Kosher soup kitchen open regularly five Days a week, will be serving lavish meals throughout the Jewish New Year to meet the needs of some of the city`s poorest Jews.

"MASBIA won`t be taking a holiday vacation," said Alexander Rapaport, one of the founders of the soup kitchen. "As the holiday draws near, the phones are ringing off the hook with people looking for a holiday meal."

Up until the last minute the organization wasn`t sure whether they would be able to open on the holidays, because of the costs involved. But an outpouring of support from people within the community has made it possible. In addition to regular clientele, a letter went out to 400 single mothers notifying them that MASBIA would be serving food over the holidays and Assemblyman Dov Hikind helped spread the word to those in need on his radio show last week.

MASBIA was founded by few individuals who believed that the rich in the community would jump to support an organization like this, and that`s exactly what happened, said Rapaport. "Donors pushed us to be open on the holidays, they brought the money forward to make us open on the holidays," Rapaport said. "We want to be open 24/7 we just need the money to be able to do it."

MASBIA has been known to go out of their way to help those in need. Just the other night, a woman who had been kicked out of her home called the soup kitchen looking for a meal. MASBIA had already closed for the night, but employees paid for the caller to eat at a local Kosher restaurant.


MASBIA is funded almost entirely through private donations. Among donors to this year`s holiday meals are; Strauss Bakery, who offered to serve baked goods, DAGIM who offered fish and EMI-YOSHI who is providing fancy dishes for the meals to be served on.

"Those who come for a hot meal will be getting the best of the best," said Rapaport. "Because there is often shame in coming to a soup kitchen, it should at least be worth it and we want people to feel very good coming here. But more than that our donors want us to go all the way—they don`t want to sponsor a skimpy soup, they want to sponsor the best."

An average holiday meal at MASBIA would go for roughly $80 at any New York restaurant.

Tradition has it that on Rosh Hashana, also known as “Judgement Day”, Jews are supposed to eat lavish meals that include meat and fish, honey and apples, round bread that has no ends. "We are told to prepare for judgement as if we were going to win," said Rapaport.
Meals will include Salmon and White Fish, Ribeye Steak, Chicken, and a variety of kugels accompanied by Herzog wines.

Many eat pomegranates so that the pros, symbolized by the fruit`s many kernels, will outweigh the cons on Judgement Day. Another tradition is to eat a "new fruit", so over the next few days, MASBIA will provide a plate full of exotic fruits.
"We want everyone who comes to feel better than if they had cooked themselves," said Rapaport.