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Shabbos is a time to reflect on what really matters, and there is no better place to do so, explained Rav Matisyahu Salomon, Mashgiach of Bais Medrash Gavoha of Lakewood, than by spending Erev Shabbos in Camp HASC, the Hebrew Academy for Special Children. On Friday afternoon, in the middle of a beautiful Catskills summer day, Camp HASC had the honor of hosting the Mashgiach. The campers and staff gathered around our front lawn to hear his words of Torah and Chizuk and to bask in the glory of a Gadol Hador’s presence.

The Mashgiach’s heartfelt words rang true for campers and staff, young and old alike. He spoke about the need to distance one’s self from the physical world and to spend Shabbos focused on one’s neshama and on one’s relationship with Hashem. This world is just a hallway preparing us for Olam Haba, he explained, and one’s outer self is not what matters- rather it’s the tayereh neshama that really counts. Rav Solomon then smiled as he looked up at the crowd around him and said that Camp HASC was the place where people got it right. This Shabbos, the Mashgiach said, will be a totally different Shabbos for him because of his visit with the special people here in Camp HASC.

Camp HASC prides itself on being a place where people ‘leave their disabilities at the door’ and where a person is recognized and celebrated for their inner beauty and their potential. The Mashgiach’s words could not have rung more true with the message of the Camp HASC mission.

Perhaps, one of the most touching moments in his words of chizuk, was when Rav Solomon started to give a bracha to the group and then stopped mid-sentence and said that it is really the people of HASC who should be sharing their blessings with him! He then proceeded to bentch everyone with wishes for happiness, health and success and that Hashem should fulfill the requests of each person’s heart according to what each person needs in their lives.

After his closing words, amidst pre-Shaabbos ruach, Camp HASC style, Rav Matisyahu Salomon made his way around the circle stopping at each and every camper. He shook many hands, caressed many cheeks and gave and received hugs and kisses that clearly came from the heart. He was generous in his giving of brachos and gracious in his receiving of the many well wishes that the campers and staff alike, had for him. 

Throughout his visit, the Mashgiach wore a gentle and sincere smile and the warmth that he radiated was felt by each and every person who came out to hear him and greet him.  As the camp escorted him to his car at the end of his visit, there was a heartwarming parade of children and adults, walking, running and being pushed in their wheelchairs, who were thankful for the impact that Rav Matisyahu Solomon’s visit would have on their Shabbos.

(Dr. Shulamis Pollak – YWN)