As part of its restoration work, an Israeli rehabilitation center for multiple sclerosis patients and those suffering from other neurological disorders inaugurated an outdoor garden specially designed to assist patients in their therapies.

The new Kestenbaum Garden at the Grabski Rehabilitation Center in Migdal Ha’emek includes a covered air-conditioned space for year-long activities, raised flowerbeds for patients in wheelchairs, several landscaped pathways, a fish pond and a petting zoo. At an August grand opening ceremony, Israeli Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar added his own touch to the facility by planting a tree.

Run by Colel Chabad, a Chabad-Lubavitch social service organization founded in 1788 by the first Chabad Rebbe, Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi, the Grabski center recently completed an expansion project that saw the addition of 10 rooms and an outpatient clinic that can accommodate 25 people.

The garden was named in honor of the 50th wedding anniversaries of the parents of Alan and Deborah Kestenbaum, the project’s benefactors, and the couple’s three children.

At the ceremony, Alan Kestenbaum thanked his parents for teaching him “to do good deeds, to walk in the ways of Torah, and to live modestly,” and charged his children to remember the importance of charity and good deeds.

In his remarks, Colel Chabad director Rabbi Sholom Duchman stressed that the garden was meant to be enjoyed.

Said Duchman: “We hope that this garden will be a place of growth and pleasure for the residents.”