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By Rachel Gross
VOLUNTEERS AND VISITORS DEVELOP A DEEP , LIFE-CHANGING CONNECTION WITH SEEACH SOD AND KEEP COMING BACK TO RE-IMBIBE THE EXPERIENCE
We lead such busy lives with so many distractions and things that lead us away from our ultimate purpose in the world — to serve Hashem . Visiting Seeach Sod is the perfect antidote . When you see how our members serve Hashem in any way they can , you can ’ t help but come away changed ,” Rebbetzin Bergstein says .
Seeing every Yiddishe neshamah as precious is one of the cornerstones of Seeach Sod . “ We don ’ t think of our students in terms of their limitations , but rather , in terms of their spiritual capacity and their place in their community ,” explains CEO Rabbi Shimon Levy . “ Every Jewish soul has a path to serve Hashem , and we are facilitating that path .” Seeach Sod has long been a household name among chareidi families in Jerusalem , Bnei Brak , and Beit Shemesh . They trust it to provide highly professional education and care for their special needs children . For years , however , it remained unknown to visitors from overseas . That changed when Rebbetzin Rivka Bergstein got involved .
“ My late daughter had special needs . When Rabbi Levy asked me to join the team at Seeach Sod , I jumped at the chance to do something in her memory to benefit other people with special needs ,” she shares .
Who better to share this message with than the next generation ? Having worked in a number of seminaries , Rebbetzin Bergstein reached out to invite seminary and yeshivah students to tour Seeach Sod ’ s various campuses . These tours have developed into a volunteer project , with over 150 students volunteering on a regular basis each year . ( This year the program was enthusiastically reinstated after a Covidinduced hiatus .)
Many ways to be a ben Torah
The experience of interacting with Seeach Sod members is more than just another volunteering opportunity . The relationships that are developed and the life lessons learned from encounters between teen volunteers and Seeach Sod members are priceless . Prior to the COVID-19 lockdown last year , boys from Yeshivat Shaarei Mevaseret Zion volunteered weekly at Seeach Sod .
Rosh Yeshivah Rabbi Shimon Issacson shares their experience : “ Working with the Seeach Sod members teaches the boys to appreciate the uniqueness of every person . It gives them an understanding that there are ways of
being a ben Torah outside of the beis
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