On Monday November 20, 2006, Congressman Jerrold Nadler paid a visit of support to Masbia, Brooklyn`s first kosher soup kitchen. He welcomed some patrons, served them a hearty dinner, and conversed with the administrators and founders. They discussed some pressing issues of poverty in the community, and ways to improve the situation. A national healthcare system was discussed; free trade versus fair trade, education, retraining middle aged whose jobs were lost to the China and India. And a gradual way to get people off government benefits and integrates them into a better income work force.

Alexander Rapaport, director of Masbia explained to Congressman Nadler that the majority of the funding for Masbia comes from people making a wedding for their children, and they would like to share their joy with the poor. As Nadler left, Mr. Mandelbaum quipped with him, if he will be making Chasuna any of his children, or grandchildren in the near future, as we can badly use the funds.

As Nadler left Masbia he related "In 1979 when I was at the assembly, [Mayor Ed] Kotch created a new kind of poverty board, in the Upper west side and we had a certain amount of money, 6 -7 hundred thousand dollars, I don`t remember. We had to give out to various groups, and it struck me then that nothing went to Jewish groups. That nobody knew that there was such a thing as Jewish poverty, nobody talked about it. (Joseph Rapaport, business editor of Hamodia newspaper interrupted - it`s like a taboo) And I insisted that…well, because people don`t want to admit it."

At the door he relayed to reporters, "This (Masbia) is a wonderful place, for the great mitzvah it is. It`s sad that it`s necessary to feed people like this. But it is necessary, and it`s a great shanda for our society; number one, that it`s necessary, and number two that you need private tzedaka to use, but thank g-d for this."