(Courtesy of Fleetwood Synagogue) For the second consecutive year, Fleetwood Synagogue hosted the New York Medical College (NYMC) and Touro College of Dental Medicine (TCDM) for a shabbaton, aimed at strengthening the connection between the school, the students and the nearby Westchester community.

Fleetwood has always been an attractive community for NYMC students, being only a 20-minute drive from campus. There is a concrete connection with NYMC and TCDM and Fleetwood’s leadership, with Rebbetzin Eliana Cohen attending the dental school and Rebbetzin Gabrielle Dayan at the medical school. Head Rabbi Dr. Yosef Cohen joins two worlds, as Rabbi Cohen, a pediatric resident, deftly connects Jewish life and the medical profession.

Twenty-five medical and dental students and their families were hosted in the community for Shabbat, which began with a musical Kabbalat Shabbat and dinner together. Rabbi Cohen spoke to the group after dinner with a Q&A session on working in hospitals on Shabbat, something he experiences professionally and can speak to from a medical and halachic perspective. Topics covered the varying levels of danger to patients one must address and how to delegate or delay certain tasks until after Shabbat. A festive oneg with food and drink capped off the night.

Shabbat featured a communal lunch with the members of the shul. Seudah shlishit featured a shiur on caring for children on Shabbat as parents and medical professionals. This shiur provided an interesting contrast in levels of danger of illness for children; for example, a fever for a newborn versus a fever for a toddler. Different children are able to handle maladies differently, and Rabbi Cohen elaborated on varying views of illnesses causing pain against illnesses causing long-term damage.

Fleetwood Synagogue hosted a paint night activity on Saturday night to cap off the shabbaton. Students and community members ate and drank as they painted, finishing the night with stunning portraits.