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These adults with special needs, 19 of whom live in a Seeach Sod group home, are employed in various prospective jobs and have been taught to save their salaries responsibly. From the 248 adult men in the Ma'as vocational men's program, 65 of those members are employed and 35 of those men saved enough money to have the privilege of this trip. The idea behind the "Work Hard, Travel Far" initiative is to encourage our men to want to work and want to save money.
As a reward for their hard efforts, Seeach Sod has coordinated and minimally sponsored remaining costs for this trip, however, these men paid the expenses all by themselves.
They left on Nov 2nd, a Wednesday morning, after having participated in a grand breakfast at Seeach Sod before the vans left for the airport.
After arriving in Budapest, the first stop was a grand amusement park where they had fun all afternoon!
After a good night's sleep, the crew took off for Vienna, Austria to the Chasam Sofer's Kever. The Kever is in a Jewish "welcoming house" in an underground cave beneath the street. In the Tzion (Kever), the boys sang in a Kumzits and had a special ceremony with prayers and music.
After returning to Budapest the next day, the guys got on a "regular looking " bus which suddenly turned into a boat that started floating on the water! The Budapest mini-cruise took place on the Danube River – and there they enjoyed the water for over an hour in shock of the vehicle metamorphosis!
That night, the guys dined at the community's one and only Kosher restaurant; Chana's Place. After dinner, accompanied by the leader of the small religious Budapest community, they were escorted to the main shul which is no longer actively used for prayers. The shul is still a glorified, huge, beautiful building which was miraculously preserved through World war II. The splendor and glory of its exterior had a profound effect on its tourists and our men, after a brief tour, they partook in a loud, vibrant, energetic Ma'ariv which was followed by singing and dancing. The scene that took place in the shul surely managed to pierce open the heavens!
The next morning they went to Kerestir where the late Rebbe Yeshaya Steiner (1852–1925) was the Rebbe of the Kerestir Chasidic dynasty. In the village there is a Hachnasat Orchim (Guest House) which is where the visitors slept Thursday night all the way through Motzie Shabbos.
Friday was spent by the water on smaller boat rides and then they went back to their rooms to get ready! Before Shabbos started, the men were driven to the actual Kever and there they lit candles, visited the Kever and sang Kabalat Shabbat with incredible enthusiasm. Afterwards, in the dark, the group of 50 people (members and staff), walked back together in Shabbat glory. The Guest House is located in a forest and the entire 30-minute walk back, the Seeach Sod group sang and sang through the streets of Budapest. When they returned, uplifted and not at all tired, they had a grandeur Friday night Seudah. The entire Shabbat was displayed with a lot of kavod for our members with splendor and beauty! Absolutely nothing disposable was used; everything was served on china with the light of Shabbat glowing from the elegant set tables. With three kinds of fish and special meats served, the Seudah was fit for kings. Because there is no place to by Challah, the Hachnasat Orchim made their own fresh Challah's before Shabbos having our members perform the mitzvah of Hafrashat Challah!
Everything about Shabbos was beautiful! The davening and Zmiros (singing) was emotional and the boys couldn’t stop smiling! In the afternoon, there was a tour in the forest with the Madrichim of the trip. Each meal had one staff member and one working-adult share Dvar Torahs. The amazing feelings in the air continued to overflow into the Melava Malka where there was more food, music on loud speakers and hours and hours of dancing. The boys didn’t stop jumping up and down, singing until way past midnight. The night ended suddenly with a burst of gratitude, tears, and articulated thanks from the men, towards the staff of Seeach Sod, for everything they do!
Sunday, which was meant to be a sports day, had to have a change of plans due to heavy rains. Instead, the guys went ice skating and go-carting. They then returned back for a good bye lunch and packed their bags to travel home, already motivated for next year's trip.
As this trip becomes the second year of the men traveling abroad (last year, they flew to the Ukraine for a Kivrei Tzadikim trip), "Work Hard, Travel Far" might become an annual Seeach Sod ritual!
