Restaurant Kashered for Simcha

By COLlive reporter

The Jews of Brighton Beach in Brooklyn, still reeling from the devastation caused by Hurricane Sandy, found a reason to be joyous this week.

Yisroel Mordechai Okonov, the youngest son of Rabbi Hershel and Zlata Okonov, was becoming Bar Mitzvah and a crowd came to salute his devoted parents who stood by them in good times and in bad.

Many notable guests from the Russian-speaking Jewish community came Sunday to Baku Palace, a popular restaurant and event venue in Sheepshead Bay which was kashered especially for the simcha.

The influence of the Okonovs, who direct F.R.E.E. of Brighton Beach, a synagogue and Jewish community center, was evident by the collective joy participants had, as if this was their own simcha.

And as they work to regroup after the November hurricane damaging their school, shul and 6 sifrei torah, participants vowed to rededicate themselves to ensuring a Jewish future for all local Jewish children.

The spectacular performance by FREE’s acclaimed Russian boys choir “M Generation” helped to make the evening a most memorable one.