Kosher McDonalds Day in Brazil
Sao Paulo, Brazil — Sunday, Brazil history will be made, as the congress “Har Sinai” directed by Rabbi Ilan Ende the brother of the Rosh Yeshiva of the Chabad Yeshiva in Sao Paulo transformed the “McDonalds” branch in the heart of Sao Paulo into a Kosher restaurant for a day.
More pictures in the Extended Article!
The organizers told us that it was unbelievable and that they don’t ever remember in the history of Brazil nor in the history of the entire continent that 13,000 McDonald dinners strictly kosher were sold in 11 hours alone to over 5000 people who flooded the place.
The venture was initiated to promote a capmaign of making Jews aware of the importance and significance of eating only Kosher food. It started over a month ago when Rabbi Ilan Ende, a teacher in the Talmud Torah Lubavitch in Sao Paulo and director of the project “Atid” in cooperation with the shaliach Rabbi David Azulai, Rabbi of the Har Sinai synagogue came up with the idea of opening a branch of the giant American food chain McDonalds in accordance with the strict kosher requirements so Jews would be able to eat kosher even for one day only.
With the help of the Jewish owners of giant companies in Brazil – Mr. David Cohen, Mr. Elias Victor Nigri, Meir Nigri, the Cohen family and others this endeavor started to take shape and develop. It didn’t take long before it became the talk of the town in the Jewish community, they was very excited about it.
Rabbi Shamai Ende, the Rabbi of the Chabad community in Sao Paulo and head of the the Lubavitcher Yeshiva in the city who is responsible for issuing the Kosher cirtificate had seven G-d fearing supervisors working for him, the leader of the team is Rabbi Yosef Levaton.
A month before the restaurant opened the supervisors checked and double-checked the most minute details that concerned the opening of the new kosher branch: cleaning and “koshering” the utilities, making sure that the salads, bread, shechita and all other ingredients met the strict standards of a kosher certifcate.
Finally, last night 10 AM, the first kosher McDonalds on Prime Lima Street in Sao Paulo, Brazil opened its doors to customers. It didn’t take long before what started out as a regular working day turned into an unbelievable site in Brazil.
Hundreds of Jews, Chassidim, non-chassidim, religious as well as secular Jews stood on line to buy a kosher Mac. Even Jews who normally don’t eat Kosher were seen waiting patiently in line to buy kosher food.
Police directing traffic and EMS were at hand to maintain order. But the Lubavitcher, bochurim of the yeshiva took advantage of the situation and set up booths alongside the long lines and put on Tefilin with thousands of Jews.
The owners of the store compared their sales with the sales of the non-Kosher McDonalds and found that 8000 Big Mac kosher sandwiches were sold in just the first few hours after opening. One customer ordered 59 sandwishes and the owners were forced to announce that they won’t sell more than 10 to a customer.
Outside a big container of water was placed for people to wash before the meal. Even at 8 PM before closing the lines were still big.
After closing the owners found that in the course of 11 hours 13,000 kosher meals were sold to 5000 Jews in Sao Paulo.
His brother , Rabbi Ilan Ende added “today’s success proved itself and it looks like they will open the Kosher branch every Sunday and within time it will turn in to a daily kosher branch.
unbelivable
i dont think that its a good idea kuz thats
a- trying to be like goyim
b-non frum people will start to think that all mcdonalds are kosher!!!!!!!
OPTIMIST
Helloooooo it was publicized as kosher for a day! Why would anyone think otherwise? It a beautiful thing and look how many people put on tefilin and were expodsed to kosher!!!!!!!
You cant go wrong.
WILL SMIITH
Y ARE VV COPYING THEM? THAY SHOULD COPY US ..THAY SHOULD MAKE A NON KOSHER ESTAERS DELI,OR A NON KOSHER MENDYS
Trach Gut !
OPTIMIST is right.Try to see the positive things of this day, many people put on tefilin, many non-frum might have change their mind about kosher AND about frum, besides that, it was an event that we were able to unite all different types of jews.
PS:They made sure that people don´t get wrong the announcement, that´s why they wrote in hebrew,and that it was only for a day(as Optimist said)etc.
The great Sofer
MOSHE, YOU ROCK!
All the other bochurim are FRESING HAPPY MEALS while you did Mivtzoyim!
Feigie
AMAZING! And Mivtzoim TOO!!!
re: unbelivable
there’s a kosher mcdonald’s in israel so why are you saying they’re trying to be like goyim- kosher jews also eat at mcdonalds.
fraida
someone wrote they should make restaurants to copy us
trust me you dont want that
i just came back from thailand and there they have a glatt kosher restaurant
anyone who came in i had to know where they were from etc…
one person came in and said oh i ate in Haleloya yesterday… it says hebrew words
guess what trief it was 100% trief
so you dont want a jew who doesnt understand to eat in such a place thinking its kosher
Sara
This is one of the most incredible ideas of how to be mekarev yidden that I’ve ever heard. Look how many Jews were there and how newsworthy this event was. That’s the other amazing thing, it is so newsworthy that even for those who didn’t go the word “kosher” probably made it into their homes through newspapers and television. I’m completely stunned. Yasher Koach to all the Rebbeim and bochurim involved.
the isrealis
treif mamesh treif
moshe i see your the only one doing mivtzoyim, ronald would be very proud of you,
did you atleast get a happy meal for all your hard work
niece
Yay Shamai!! cant wait 2 come visit sao paulo now ;)!
sem girl
i think this is so beautiful!, really moshiach times!!!!!!!!!!
we elevated that mc donalds for a day,
think, that place was probably never elevated before , and we filled it with kosher food, people making brachos and benching!!!!!
amazing work!!!!!!
keep it up!!!!!!!!!!
bob
hey moish, lippy and shmuly
great work guys
you continue to change over the world though your devoted shlichus
blaa blaa blaa…………raptors suck
conc
true, it brought new yidden there, but the kids saw a mac donalds sign and that will be in their minds. they won’t know if it was kosher or not, they’ll just remember the color and design of mac donalds, which is not good. also its a way of showing that we like their food. this isnt our food, and also many goyim don’t even eat that junky food anymore. lots of goyim are into health food vegetarian and thats whats the coming trend surely is. I don’t vote that this was the best thing to do.
Chaim G.
Moshe, I see your a “chip off the old block” – You clearly got what it takes to be a great and successful shliach .. like your parents. Hatzlacha Rabbah
unauthorized dept - ok kosher
I am writing from the OK Kosher – there is an unauthorized OK symbol on the store.
Menechem Shaul
In response to unbeliveable I must state I half agree! I know very, very many people who are not frum and know the difference between Kashrut certified places and not! I think you are being ignorant! My Reform Jewish Friend is Glat Kosher but Liberal in otherw ways! There are some of course who do not know! What about Veggie Bergers that are served with cheese to mimmic cheesebergers? What about the Fake Cheese [I say fake only because it is parve and not Chalev] (that is absolutly wonderful if you get the right stuff) served with meat?! or what abouth a wonderful invention known as Coffee Rich, to use in Coffee or other dishes to make them Pareve?! What about the fake shellfish that one can eat without breaking Kashrut?! Unbelieveable, Wake Up, We have so many Possiblities now that we should rejoyce, and enoy!! We are Still Kosher, but, We can enjoy a samle of “Treyfe” foods but still be Kosher!
Menechem Shaul
In Response to Sara, CHAZAK U’VARUCHA! I FULL HEARTIDLY AGREE WITH YOU!