HANC program teaches Torah to disabled youths

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Sunday mornings at the HANC West Hempstead campus are busy with Torah learning, but the students are not the typical yeshiva audience. Each of the children has a developmental disability. So while their siblings are at home spending the weekend, these students receive an experience resembling a typical classroom. “We want to involve [each] child in the experience of being in a yeshiva just like their siblings,” said Annalee Ickowics, director of the Gottesman Learning Center.
Comprised of the Berkson Family Special Education Program, the Baruch and Sarah Heller Chavrusa Program, and the Pearl Greene Sunday Morning Smile Program, the classes meet every week for two hours, teaching parsha, davening and other Jewish subjects to children from Long Island and Queens who cannot attend a regular yeshiva due to their special needs.
Rabbi Dr. Moshe Gottesman, namesake of the center, said that it fits with HANC’s motto of “chanoch l’naar al pi darcho” (Teach a child according to his way). The program serves children across the autism spectrum, as well as those with Down’s syndrome and other developmental disabilities. “About 19 years ago, a group of mothers came to me when I was dean of HANC,” said Rabbi Gottesman. “They said that their children are in public school and don’t have a feeling of yiddishkeit, other than what they get at home- can we start a program for them?”
Despite a lack of funds at the beginning- mothers initially had to collect and redeem soda bottles in order to pay for a teacher- the program got off the ground, and has since touched the lives of countless students, parents and volunteers. “Annalee taught my son for his bar mitzvah. He said his haftarah in front of the whole shul, and did an amazing job,” said Drew Rosenfeld, whose son Tzvi, has participated in the Gottesman Learning Center for 8 years. “Our shul never saw anything like it.
Rabbi Gottesman said that small classes with one-on-one attention are the program’s hallmark. By focusing on each child’s unique strengths, the team of teachers and volunteers has helped all of the children to develop their own abilities. “She knows all of her brachot,” said West Hempstead resident Barry Schneps of his daughter, Fraida, who has been attending the program for the past 9 years. “They make the most unbelievable projects every week. It’s incredible to watch. Rabbi Gottesman gets a lot of zechus for what he has done.”
Beyond the classroom, some graduates continue to impress with personal and profesisonal accomplishments. “[There is one] child who used to go to this program who is now married and has a degree in accounting,” said Rabbi Gottesman. “We were all invited to the wedding.”
This past week, in honor of Parshat Vayera, the children built tents like Avraham and baked challah like Sarah. Avraham was known for his love of hachnasat orchim, of inviting in guests, and the children learned all about this important mitzvah. “We try to relate parsha to real life, make things more concrete, and bring it close to them,” said Ickowics.
Through the fun and safe environment provided by the Gottesman Learning Center, the children were able to soak up in just two hours what their peers spent days learning about in school. “The day flies,” remarked Yonatan-Moshiach Besanelov, a teenage boy who attends the program. Ickowics nodded, adding that the satisfaction gained in the classes is a fitting start to their week. “Children come here with a smile on their face, and leave with a smile that’s even bigger,” she said.

To find out more information about the Gottesman Learning Center, contact Mrs. Annalee Ickowics at 516-486-0918