There’s something uniquely uplifting about a Motza’ei Shabbos in Queens. The leichter are put away, the Shabbos tablecloths are folded, and the streets come alive as pizzerias and restaurants fill with families easing back into the week. And among that energy, another kind of liveliness takes hold in the beis midrash of Bnei Yeshiva on 73rd Avenue, where fathers and sons once again gathered for the beloved Avos U’Banim program.
As I entered Bnei Yeshiva’s campus to deliver pizza for the program participants, I was warmly greeted by the Rosh HaYeshivah, Rabbi Ariel Baal-Lev. Inside, the hum of Torah filled the air, fathers and sons learning together.
With the clock change and Shabbos ending earlier, families were eager to return for this long-awaited weekly program. From the moment the doors opened, the beis midrash filled quickly, fathers and sons learning together b’chavrusa with focus and joy. Some studied Mishnayos, others reviewed Gemara or Chumash, and all shared the same ahavas Torah that comes from growing in Yiddishkeit together.
After learning, participants enjoyed the pizza from Naomi’s Pizza and Falafel. The familiar Queens flavor added a cozy, homey touch to an already beautiful night of Torah and togetherness.
The program concluded with short but powerful divrei chizuk from one of the yeshivah’s devoted m’lamdim, urging families to carry the spirit of Avos U’Banim into the week, to make Torah not only something we learn, but something we live.