Students hosting students on the Sabbath

Mesivta Ateres Yaakov high school students hosted 23 developmentally disabled children and young adults from the Ohel/Bais Ezra Home in Brooklyn during the Sabbath of Dec. 17-18.

Students of the Lawrence-based school planned the entire weekend including catering, housing, a Friday night gathering, Sabbath services, recreational activities, and a Saturday evening Shabbaton party.

Hillary Zimmern, senior project director at Ohel Bais/Ezra, conducted in-service sensitivity training with the Mesivta Ateres students prior to the weekend’s events.

“Her workshop provided our young men with concrete strategies to help ensure that they engaged their guests appropriately,” said Rabbi Shlomo Drebin, assistant principal of Mesivta Ateres. “She spoke about simple yet important communications skills such as talking to the boys rather than about them, as well as more serious issues including recognizing signs of a seizure.”

Five residents of the Lawrence Ohel/Bais Ezra group home joined the Mesivta for Sabbath meals and Saturday evening festivities, making this a multi-community event. During the course of the weekend, the students learned to appreciate similarities rather than differences as they befriended their guests.

“It was our pleasure to be able to host Ohel/Bais Ezra in our new facilities,” said the Mesivta’s head of school, Rabbi Mordechai Yaffe. “Although we have been involved in staffing their Sabbath programs for several years, it was exciting for our students to have the entire program in-house. Our young men worked tirelessly to ensure that every last detail was arranged; we are proud to see them give of themselves so selflessly in helping children with disabilities.”