Mineola, NY – Following the media frenzy that ensued when Florida Senator Mark Rubio lunged for his water bottle in the middle of his response to President Obama’s State of the Union address last week, a Chabad rabbi has jumped on the beverage bandwagon, with a custom designed water bottle created especially for rabbis.
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“When Senator Rubio had that water moment during his response, I identified with it because many times in shul I have had that same parched feeling when I am speaking,” Rabbi Anchelle Perl , director of Chabad of Mineola, told VIN News. “A rabbi shouldn’t be embarrassed if he feels dry and now he can take a beautiful balabatishe bottle and say l’chaim.”
Rabbi Perl said that the idea for his self described “meshugana idea” came to him as soon as he saw Rubio take a swig of Poland Spring during his address, a moment that went viral on YouTube, has been tweeted countless times and has been parodied on Saturday Night Live.
Rubio has taken the incident in stride, and a photograph of the Florida Republican laughingly bumping water bottles in Israel today with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has been posted on numerous websites including ABC News, TheHill.com, Yahoo News and The Huffington Post.
“The Lubavitcher Rebbe used to say in the name of the Baal Shem Tov that whatever you see and hear you can learn from and use in the service of Hashem,” said Rabbi Perl, who had two hundred water bottles printed bearing the words “The Rabbi’s ‘Water Moment’ Bottle, Delivering the Message, A Rubio Rabbi Perl Response.”
Most of the water bottles have already been mailed out as Purim gifts to rabbis in and around the Long Island area, but Rabbi Perl said that he does have additional ones available for anyone who would like to present one to their rabbi.
“I am doing exactly what the megilla said,” explained Rabbi Perl laughingly. “Achashveirosh made sure that at his seudah everyone had their preferred drink. I am sending my colleagues an empty bottle. Let them fill it with water, vodka or single malt, whatever they prefer.”
Rubio has also capitalized on the water bottle moment, with the senator’s own political action committee, Reclaim America, selling signature red and white Rubio water bottles. According to reports in The Huffington Post, over 4,000 of the Rubio water bottles have been sold and have already raised $125,000 for Reclaim America.
The dumb journalists of the mainstream media who tried to harm Rubio by playing up the water drink have helped his popularity enourmously. Kein yirbu. Which is something we can rely on, because there are plenty of dumb journalists out there, who will never miss an opportunity to inadvertently help a Republican in the course of trying to harm him.
The Baal Shem Tov also said that when you see water it is a good sign
You can only fulfill the mitzva on Purim with wine.
Rubio is a great American and a charismatic leader. We need him, in spite of his stance on immigration, but I am afraid that is an issue where the truth will remain unpopular.