A rebbe has times when Hasidim (and other petitioners) may come for a private audience. A kvitel (Yiddish for "note", plural "kvitlach") is a note with the name of the petitioner and a short request for which the rebbe is asked to pray. The formula in which a person's name is written is one's own Hebrew name, the son/daughter of one's mother's Hebrew name, such as "Shimon ben Rivkah" (Simeon the son of Rebecca). Hasidim believe that rebbes read supernaturally "between the lines" of a "kvitel", and in every Hasidic movement there are numerous anecdotes relating how the rebbe saw things that were not written in the "kvitel". In most Hasidic groups, the "kvitel" is written by the rebbe's "gabbai" (secretary), however sometimes the petitioner writes it on his own. Usually, but with some exceptions, a "pidyon" (redemption) of cash is customarily handed to the rebbe under the "kvitel", but this is not obligatory. This is considered to be the conduit through which the blessing is given, and a redemption for the soul of the petitioner. ("A gift makes its receiver glad" is given as an explanation: a blessing only comes from a joyous heart.) It is also customary to tip the gabbai, although this too is not obligatory.