Off the Road, In the ‘Hood

By Mordy Kurtz

This past Shabbos the “Bike 4 Friendship” cross-country team reunited for a Shabbaton in Brooklyn’s Crown Heights at The Shluchim Office, where the Friendship Circle International offices are located.

Held over 3 months after the cross-country ride, the reunion allowed the cyclists to get together and relive the memories of their amazing journey across the country to benefit children with special needs.

Shabbos started out with a warm heartfelt davening at the Chevra Ahavas Yisroel shul. The celebration continued on with singing, words of Torah, reminiscing, and a delicious Shabbos meal at the home of Rabbi and Mrs. Gedalyah Shemtov, director of The Shluchim Office.

The team had a truly amazing experience davening Shachraris with the Friendship Circle minyan led by Rabbi Berel Majeski, the director of the local Friendship Circle chapter in Crown Heights.

As recalled by one of the team, “I have volunteered before, but nothing equaled the experience I had here. In this minyan you can truly see how we are all equals at heart and Hashem hears us all the same.”

The Shabbos day meal was hosted by the Berel Kahan family of Kahan’s Superette, one of the big supporters of the 2012 cross-country bike ride.

The get-together was concluded on Motzoei Shabbos with the team members reunited over fresh pizza and “cold biker beverages” and later, a visit to Sweet Expressions.

They were joined by those who could not attend via Skype, and spent the time reminiscing about how the summer bike ride truly changed their lives.

To learn more about them or to apply for this year’s trip, visit Bike4Friendship.com