Beer Distributor to Donate ‘Mashke’ to 120 11 Nissan Farbrengens

By COLlive reporter

At their annual sale of Chometz ceremony, Manhattan Beer Distributors in New York has announced that it will be donating ‘mashke’ to 120 Chassidic farbrengens in Crown Heights celebrating the Rebbe’s 120th birthday on Yud Aleph Nissan.

For the fifth time, Manhattan Beer Distributors, the largest single market beer distributor in the country providing beer to hundreds of kosher stores and restaurants in the metropolitan area, has sold its Chometz ahead of Pesach.

The first time Manhattan Beer sold their chometz in 2018, it came about after Rabbi Don Yoel Levy obm, the late head of OK Kosher and Rov of Bais Eliezer Yitzchok in Crown Heights, urged Jewish consumers that they should avoid purchasing brands they distributed for a period after Pesach.

Hearing the speech compelled R’ Nosson Sternberg, a Lubavitcher businessman from Crown Heights, and Rabbi Kalman Weinfeld, executive member of the Vaad of OK Kosher and current Rov of Beis Eliezer Yitzchok in Crown Heights, to take action. After much effort, they succeeded in convincing Mr. Simon Bergson, the CEO of the company, to sell the Chometz according to Halacha.

After that first sale, each year ahead of Pesach, the company’s Chometz is sold, facilitated by Rabbi Kalman Weinfeld, his assistant Rabbi Yaakov Teichman, and R’ Nosson Sternberg.

Today, the delegation met with Mr. Simon Bergson and his son Mr. Alex Bergson, and they officiated the sale of the chometz.

Bergson father and son also used the occasion to don Tefillin, and received a gift of a new book written by Rabbi Weinfeld, as well as Shmura Matzah for Pesach.

Bergson then said that he will once again, as he has done for various Chasidishe Yom Tovim in the past, be donating “mashke” – bottles of whiskey to 120 Chassidic farbrengens taking place in Crown Heights Shuls and other locations, as Chassidim mark the 120th Yud Alef Nissan, the birthday of the Rebbe.

“In honor of the Rebbe’s birthday, I’m giving bottles of vodka and whiskey for 120 farbrengens, so you can have 120 simchas!” Mr. Bergson said.

“We are so grateful to Mr. Bergson for this generous gift, and are honored to be part of this yearly endeavor with the OK which benefits the entire community,” Rabbi Kalman Weinfeld said.

Information about the Mashke distribution will be available in the next few days. Shul representatives may contact Rabbi Weinfeld at +1 (347) 515-3232 for more info.