The many people who came to Kever Rachel (Rachel’s Tomb) on Tuesday for her yahrzeit were given free drinks and refreshments.
The person behind this initiative is Rabbi Shlomo Rubin, who attends every public event of a Jewish nature with his refreshment truck.
The free refreshments are a long-time tradition which was started by Rabbi Shlomo Rubin’s father, as his assistant Yossele Rabinovitch explained.
“Rabbi Shlomo’s father was a Belzer Hasid and the rebbe told him that if he wants redemption, he should come to the yahrzeit of the previous Belzer Rebbe and distribute free beverages to the crowd,” Rabinovitch said. “It started with a small car with 1,500 to 2,000 cups and then it grew and grew. Then his son took on the job and bought a truck, and today we can serve more than 15,000 cups of drinks.”
There is absolutely no charge for receiving the refreshments, which include water, coffee, tea, or raspberry juice. All people have to do, says Rabbi Rubin, is say a blessing over the beverage.
If anyone insists on helping the cause continue, they can give a donation.
“We have a small cash box and if someone wants to donate they can,” Rabinovitch said, but stressed that “first of all they should just say thank you and say a blessing to G-d so that they’re happy and can concentrate on their prayers, which is what we want.”