Last week, the head of the famed haredi Ponovicz Yeshiva, Harav Gershon Edelstein, welcomed students from Yeshivas Toras Yaakov in his home.

The Beit Shemesh yeshiva is one of the few haredi yeshivas in Israel geared to adolescents with special needs.

The students visited the Rosh Yeshiva (dean) in his home in honor of their completion of the Book of Exodus. During the course of the visit, the boys were tested on the material and received Rabbi Edelstein's blessing for success in learning and the strength to surmount the difficult challenges in their lives.

Rabbi Edelstein also signed the special awards certificates for the students. At the end of the visit, the boys met Rabbi Baruch Dov Povarsky, who also serves as the dean of the Ponovicz Yeshiva, receiving a blessing from him as well.

The trip to Bnei Brak to visit these rabbis' homes was part of an inspirational day in the yeshiva, intended to motivate students to strive to reach their potential. Yeshiva rabbis, including Rabbi Yisrael Miller, escorted them.

Yeshivas Toras Yaakov is a branch of Sulam, one of the first haredi organizations in the country geared to children with special needs. The yeshiva offers a variety of educational and therapy services for high-functioning students who possess strong cognitive skills but are diagnosed as possessing social issues.

The learning in the yeshiva, which is integrated with a special educational therapy approach, is done with the goal of trying to help the students later integrate successfully into regular yeshivas and educational institutions.

Yeshivas Toras Yaakov students and staff with Rabbi Gershon Edelstein
Yeshivas Toras Yaakov students and staff with Rabbi Gershon EdelsteinSulam

Yeshivas Toras Yaakov students and staff with Rabbi Gershon Edelstein
Yeshivas Toras Yaakov students and staff with Rabbi Gershon EdelsteinSulam