Chossid Sees Blessings Fulfilled

By COLlive reporter

On one of his busiest times of the year, R’ Nochum Markowitz made it a point to attend a Bris Mila ceremony in a private Sukkah in the Crown Heights neighborhood.

He was not a family member, yet was given a kibud honor at the simcha of Yerachmeal and Rivka Leah Jacobson last week.

The reason can be traced back to 1988 when the Rebbe announced at Simchas Torah that it was a time of mercy (“es ratzon”) for blessings. “The Rebbe said that people can ask for brachos from anyone,” recalled Markowitz.

“One guy came over to me for a bracha for a child. He said, if anyone can give a bracha – how much more so someone who has such a zchus to feed the guests of the Rebbe.”

Markowitz, who has been feeding 770 guests on Simchas Torah for 31 years now, gave the man a blessing and a baby was soon born, he says, and since then people have been asking him for blessings for children, parnasah, shiduchim and more.

Last year, with Shmini Atzeres and Simchas Torah falling out on Thursday and Friday – making it a 3 day yomtov, Markowitz turned to a few of his supporters to up their contributions to serve the growing crowd that comes to New York for the Tishrei month.

Yerachmeal Jacobson, a real estate broker with Bluejay Management, was one of them.

“We told him we want a baby boy,” Jacobson told COLlive on Wednesday. “Our first boy was born right after Gimmel Tammuz so we named him Menachem Mendel, but my father-in-law passed away at a young age and my wife really wanted to name (a boy) after him as well.”

What triggered the idea to ask for such a blessing, Jacobson said, was the story of the Alter Rebbe asking the Maggid for a boy and being told ‘bameh yezkeh naar, es orchoi” (in what merit will one have a boy – with guests) and the Mitteler Rebbe was born.

“So we thought the same, that perhaps in the merit of helping the guests we will have a boy,” he said. “We agreed to double our yearly contributon, and my wife asked for the bracha. Nachum said we should take out a new bottle of wine, and write on it that this will be served at our child’s bris. He then went to the Ohel to daven.”

Well, they soon found out that Mrs. Jacobson was to have a baby – with the baby’s due date on Yom Kippur 5773. And if a boy was to be born, the bris would be on Sukkos – a year after the blessing was given.

“I couldn’t beleive it,” Jacobson admits. “I said if this comes true, I’m actually witnessing a miracle.”

It was no wonder that Markowitz kept food vendors and his fleet of trucks on Eastern Parkway waiting for a while on Friday of Chol Hamoed Sukkos this year so that he could attend this bris. The baby was named Shloime Shmuel Aryeh after his grandfather.

Since then, another family gave a $10,000 check to Markowitz with a request for a blessing, helping him offer his annual spread of endless supply of food and drink during and after Simchas Torah for men, women and children.

In fact, this year breakfast was also served throughout the days of Sukkos, and hundreds of Crown Heights residents enjoyed hot meals as well, enhancing the Simchas Yom Tov of all. Markowitz and his sons stood on their feet for hours, preparing and serving soup, kugel, meat, hot dogs, sandwiches, salads and more.

Markowitz thanked the donors and Nati Abukasis of Mendy’s Delicatessen in Crown Heights for preparing the hot soup, meat and sandwiches.