A team of Israeli cyclists “Bike for the Fight” biking long-distances to raise funds and awareness for cancer research in Israel stopped for the night at Shabbos House on their journey between Toronto and Boston, and later down to NYC and Washington DC. Last year this group biked from LA to NY and raised $100K for Israeli cancer research.
It worked out great for them (they slept over and had meals here) and for us, as we asked them to speak at our first Torah-Tuesday of the semester. Tom, the passionate founder and leader of the group, who lost his own father to a rare form of cancer, talked about his personal journey through the Three F’s in dealing with crisis: Freeze (depression), Flight (escape) and Fight (take it on, combat it, turn it into a positive) and hence Bike for the Fight.
Our students learned from their stories, and enjoyed the time spent with visiting Israelis. On Wednesday morning Bike for the Fight had a special sendoff from the Maimonides School in Albany with Shofar Blasts, mention of bicycles (close enough anyways) in the prayers, Tefillin to give them strength, and a great talk about bike riding and life with the students of the school.