July 2015 - Michlelet

Rabbi Moshe Benovitz

We had the privilege of hearing from Rabbi Benovitz about Shabbos Nachamu and how we are supposed to internalize it:

http://www.yutorah.org/lectures/lecture.cfm/839290/Rabbi%20Moshe%20Benovitz/Shabbos%20Nachamu-%20Build%20Yourself

Sederot Carnival!

We had the Sederot carnival today and it was a blast! The gym was fully decorated and we wore costumes to add to the mood. We had carnival games set up and music to dance around to! We really enjoyed it, and everyone felt great about the event. The rest of the day was filled with learning, and we heard from Dr. Luchins about the current affairs in Iran. The guest speaker was Rabbi Benovitz and night activity was a crazy zumba party! Another amazing day on Michlelet!

Rabbi Mordechai Burg

Here is the link to the inspiring shiur that Rabbi Burg gave to Michlelet on the relationship between Tisha B’Av and Tu B’Av:

http://www.yutorah.org/lectures/lecture.cfm/839269/Rabbi%20Mordechai%20Burg/From%20Tisha%20B’Av%20to%20Tu%20B’Av:%20Restoring%20the%20Light%20to%20the%20Darkness

Chaburah Spotlight: Elana Kaminetsky

Elana Kaminetsky is from Boca Raton, Florida and attended Weinbaum Yeshiva High School followed by a year spent in Israel. She is currently a senior in Stern majoring in Math. This is her second summer as a madricha and she is excited to be back!

The girls in Elana’s chabura are Rivka Barnett (Teaneck, New Jersey), Shoshana Laufer (Lawrence, New York), Mala Lipson (Chicago, Illinois), Elana Niknam (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), and Zoie Wittenberg (Atlanta, Georgia).

Elana’s Chabura topic is “Emotions in Tanach.” After outlining and defining the emotion according to psychology and general knowledge/experience, the girls delve into different stories and places in Tanach that discuss the emotion. With the help of mefarshim and other sources, they come out with an overarching lesson about the emotion and how it is relevant to us as Jews. The goal of the chabura is to realize that emotions are so much apart of our avodas Hashem and to learn how to channel our emotions in order to make Torah and mitzvos personal and meaningful.

Which emoji would you use to describe Michlelet 5775 and why?

Rivka- ⌚️ (watch emoji) We pack so much into one day. And we really make the most of our time each day.
Shoshana- ? (speech bubble emoji) Words can’t describe how amazing this summer has been.
Mala- ? (squid emoji) Squidlelet is our mascot and no matter how much we all love learning we also know how to have a party and have fun together.
Elana- ? (tree emoji) I chose this emoji because we grow so much and Elana means tree.
Zoie- ? (hand emoji) On Michlelet, we focus a lot on connecting. Connecting to each other, the Land of Israel, and Hashem. I think that the set of hands emoji depicts an attempt to connect, and for me, that is what this summer has been all about.

Girls Night Out!

Today on Michlelet was like every other day… Or so the girls thought! We started off our day with breakfast and learning, chaburahs and shiurs, activities and hanging out. We welcomed two new girls to Michlelet today who just joined us from TJJ Bus 7! The second half of the day was spent preparing for our awesome chessed activity that we will be running tomorrow. Dinner was delicious as usual, and night activity was great! The girls made “promo videos” for Michlelet and we showed them in the auditorium. Then, we had curfew, and the girls thought the day was over. Little did they know that their madrichot were preparing an amazing activity for 2 AM! Girls Night Out was a huge success, with dancing, ice cream and chocolate fondue. Don’t worry, tomorrow is late wakeup and another amazing day of the summer that the girls will be well rested for!

Nachal Prat all the way to Luna Park!

Yesterday was incredibly packed with fun trips! The first was a hike in the beautiful Nachal Prat. The hike itself was great, but the water at the end really made the trip worthwhile. Ice cream also added to the chavayah of the trip! We then headed to Luna Park in Tel Aviv to experience the thrill of Israeli roller coasters and carousels. The park had some crazy rides in it, and some girls even won some prizes! We headed back to Reishit for dinner, and ended the day with a madricha vs. camper basketball game. Tiyul days are great days, but we cant wait to get back to learning!

Chaburah Spotlight: Zahava Kunstler

Zahava is from Woodmere NY. She went to SKA for high school and spent a year and a half in Israel. She is now a sophomore in Queens college majoring in Psychology. Zahava went on Michlelet as a camper for two summers and is so excited to be back as a Madricha!

The girls in Zahavas chabura are: Tzippora Topp (Los Angeles, CA), Kayla Landau (Woodmere, NY), Shana Blisko (Chicago, IL),

Tovah Weiskopf (Teaneck, NJ), and Malkie Rubin (Teaneck, NJ).

Zahava’s chabura learns about middos through the lense of Tefilla, enabling us to then apply them into our daily lives. For each chabura, they focus on one specific tefilla, connecting each one to a corresponding middah. Through exploring the texts, various hashkafa topics, and stories from Tanach, the girls gain a deeper understanding of the practical connection between Tefilla and middos. With this, we are able to take our experience of Tefilah with us, and internalize it’s lessons as we go on with our day.

Which Tefilla do you relate to most and why?

Tzippora Topp-

I relate to the Tefilla of Modim because in Modim we thank HaShem for all of the seemingly insignificant things in our lives which make the biggest impact. When we wake up in the morning, it’s possible to overlook the little things such as having clothes in our closets, healthy bodies that work, and breakfast waiting for us. We need to thank Hashem for these things and so much more that He does for us in every minute of every day! Just like thanking Hashem for the small things is so important, “small” actions can also have an enormous impact. Instead of relying on others to do that tiny gesture to help a person in need, we need to take responsibility and do it. We never know the world of a difference we can make to that person and to the world!

Kayla Landau-

The tefila that I relate to most is aleinu because the theme of aleinu is always growing and reaching new heights. As Jews we should never be satisfied with our place in Avodas hashem. We are always striving to become better and better. In hallel we say הללו את שם ה׳ הללו עבדי ה׳ שעומדים בבית ה׳ בחצרות בית אלוקינו . Rabbi Yaakov Feitman points out that we stand in the courtyards of the house of Hashem and and not directly in his house. This teaches us that we have to know we have never fully reached בית ה. We are always in the courtyard of ה׳ . We need to constantly be striving to reach his chambers. Now, on Michlelet we are in an a growth oriented Torah environment. It is important to remember that when we leave we need to constantly review and continue to grow so that we don’t fall in our Avodas Hashem and iy’H we will be Zocheh to reach beis Hashem.

Shana Blisko-

I relate most to the tfilla “עלינו”. עלינו talks about striving to reach your goals in life and always growing in your emunah and betachon. Personally, growing in life is something I connect to. If a person is not growing- what are they doing? In life a person is on a constant escalator going down, if he is not trying to work on himself than he will slowly move down that escalator, but if the person is working on himself and he is putting in that hard work to fight against the difficult challenges he is faced with Hashem will help him and make that step up the escalator easier. When Zahava finished her chabura, she told us to make a goal for the summer. I made a goal for this summer which hopefully I will continue throughout my life no matter how hard it might be.

Tovah Weiskopf-

The tefila that I relate to most is ולירושלים in שמונה עשרה, that we say every morning during שחרית. This tefila points out that we have a greater goal in mind and are yearning for the בית המקדש constantly. ולירושלים reminds us that we are not comfortable in גלות and need to do everything in our power to bring משיח closer. Visiting yerushalaim numerous times on michlelet, and seeing where the בית המקדש should be standing, enhanced my understanding of our desperation for משיח, and made this תפילה more meaningful and important to me.

Malkie Rubin-

The tefilla that I relate to the most is hallel because it teaches me to make the most of my time. We have to use our time wisely and make every second count. We say hallel once a month, so it is a once a month reminder that we are in this world for a reason. On Michlelet, I feel like I am accomplishing my goal of making the most of my time on this wonderful summer program. Everyday is filled with learning, chessed, and bonding with friends. We need to make the most of our time because in an instant, the opportunity to make a difference can disappear. One of my favorite quotes is “seize the opportunity”. We need to use every second that we are in this world for good deeds before we lose our chance to make a difference in this world.

Mrs. Sara Leah Haber

Click here to listen to our very own Mrs. Sara Leah Haber speaking to Michlelet about her own life and challenges:

http://www.yutorah.org/lectures/lecture.cfm/839210/Mrs.%20Sara%20Leah%20Haber/What%20My%20Autistic%20Son%20Has%20Taught%20Me

YOM NCSY!

Wow, what a day we had! Our day was another amazing day on campus with learning and activities as normal. There was basketball and dance and tie-dye, along with other cool activities. The day became super special and exciting later on when one of the most exciting days on the calendar was finally here! Yom NCSY is a day where all NCSY programs in Israel join together for a night of dancing and singing and inspiration. We danced with fellow all-girl program GIVE and our friends from TJJA and TJJ 7! We heard from Rachel Frankel, who spoke about achdus and unity. Shlomo Katz came to perform and so did energetic drummers, and the night ended with an amazing fireworks display! It was truly a day to remember on Michlelet 15!

Chaburah Spotlight: Tova Hammer

Tova Hammer is from Woodmere New York. After learning in Eretz Yisroel for a year, she is now in Stern majoring in Judaic studies and English communications (don’t ask her what that is … Sometimes she’s not sure). Tova has rejoined the Michlelet team after a fabulous summer here as a camper.

Tova’s Chaburah is studying leadership training in tanach. They are looking at the interactions of our leaders and those who trained them to be so great, and taking lessons for themselves on leadership. The girls can’t wait to delve deeper into these “rebbe” – “talmid” relationships and learn how to become leaders!

If you can meet any leader from tanach who would you want to meet?

Devorah Pinczower, (Riverdale NY): Shlomo because he was “chochom mikol adam” and he used this gift to be able to help others and improve society. He excelled in areas of the heart and mind.

Bracha Mindell, (Lawrence NY): Yosef because he was able to withstand the secular influences and continue to serve Hashem even in Egypt. We can look to him to learn how to also withstand the test of our time’s galus.

Rachel Gutmann (Passaic NJ): Yirmiyahu because learning about him in our Chaburah made me see that his struggles were very relatable to my own life.

Moriel Draiman (Chicago Illinois): – Dovid because even though he had such a hard life he was still able to always thank Hashem and even wrote Sefer Tehillim to fully express how thankful he was.