Michlelet had an extremely early start today…. And by early, we mean 5:30 AM early! We woke up and boarded the busses so we could be on our way to Ben Gurion Airport! We were going to greet the olim coming to Israel on the Nefesh B’Nefesh charter flight! 220 new Israeli citizens landed and Michlelet NCSY was there singing and holding signs. After the excitement of the flight, we headed back to campus and had a late breakfast. We learned and had activities, and heard from Rabbi Nissel for our guest speaker. The day ended with a fun and crazy night activity of “Fear Factor”, “Minute to Win It” and “Are You Smarter Than a 10th Grader?” It’s another early morning tomorrow as we head down to Eilat for a trip!

Introducing a new feature on our blog! We will be showcasing our amazing madrichot and their chaburas. Enjoy!

Baila Bachrach is from Chicago, IL. She attended Hanna Sacks for High School, then spent a year and a half in Michlalah, and is now a Junior in Stern College. She is pursuing a degree in Mathematical Economics.

The girls in Baila’s chaburah are Esti Steinberg (Chicago, IL), Rivka Zimmermann (Cederhurst, NY), Elinor Babyoff (Brooklyn, NY), Michal Richland (Brooklyn, NY) and Sheva Greenberg (Teaneck, NJ).

Baila’s chaburah is called “Disney Gone Jewish.” The chaburah is centered around the incredible power of the imagination within personal growth. Throughout the chaburah Baila uses different Hebrew and English sources to connect stories from  Disney films to applicable and relevant Jewish concepts. The girls delve deeply into these ideas through activities, sources and open discussions. The goal of this chaburah is to assist the girls in gaining an appreciation for these many different topics in a fun and relatable way.

Question: If you could be any Disney character, who would you be and why?

Michal – Belle because she sees the beast for who he truly is. She is able to see past the outside and straight into the inside, which is what truly matters.

Elinor – Cinderella because although she had nothing in her life she managed to still appreciate everything she did have. She is shown throughout the movie as a girl filled with simchas hachaim. That even in her rags and with the people around her pushing her down she is constantly happy.

Rivka – Elsa because you can truly see her strength that she was willing to put her entire life down the drain just for the safety of others. She conceals everything she has in order to ensure the safety of her people. This shows us that we should always care about other people and if there is something we do that could hurt another we should be careful to conceal it. Any time we may unintentionally hurt another person we should hold ourselves back in this same way

Esti- Mulan because she fights for what she believes in (her family and country), although this means putting her life in danger. This connects to Judaism and the Torah because being a Jew we have something worth fighting for. We have the Torah, our religion, and our country. She was willing to give up everything for these things and so to we as Jews should aspire to be like this and be willing to give up everything for Hashem, our father who loves us so much.

Sheva- Wendy because even though she enjoyed her time in never land and had a fun side. She knew what was important and when it was time to go home and take care of the things she was needed for.

Today was our first full day on Michlelet! We followed the regular schedule which is jam packed with learning and fun activities. Davening, breakfast, Homeroom, Chaburas and Shiurim ran smoothly and set the day up to be a success! The first round of activities included aerobics, art, and basketball. After lunch and some more amazing learning, the second set of activities included jump rope, yoga and baking! We had a break before dinner, but for so many girls, the break was spent at an optional shiur given by Michlelet staff member, Ayelet Roller. It is always so inspiring to see so many girls choose to learn Torah during rest hour! After dinner, we heard from Lavi Greenspan, a motivational and emotional speaker. We ended the day with night activity, Iron Chef Michlelet and sign making! We have an early day tomorrow and we can’t wait!

Please follow the link to hear the incredible Rabbi Marcus who came to address Michlelet last night! Rabbi Marcus spoke about Jewish Pride and what it means to be a Jew:

http://www.yutorah.org/lectures/lecture.cfm/838638/Rabbi%20Doni%20Marcus/Jewish%20Pride

We had the tremendous opportunity to do chessed on Michlelet today. Our day started off with davening and breakfast as usual, which then lead into our first chaburahs and shiurim of the summer! The girls were so excited to start learning, and the Torah presented did not disappoint. We also had our first activities of the summer! Today, there was swim, aerobics, art, cake decorating and basketball. These activities change on a regular basis so keep an eye out for some interesting ones! We boarded the busses and headed to three different locations- Yad Sarah, Yad Eliezer and Chasdei Naomi. We helped out at these amazing organizations and headed back to campus. After dinner, we heard from Rabbi Dani Marcus and had a wild night activity based on farm animals. Another great day on Michlelet!

Our first Shabbos on Michlelet was incredible! On Friday, we heard from Rabbi Schneider and went to Geulah and Meah Shearim to get ready for Shabbos! We took some Erev Shabbos pictures and then went to daven Mincha and kabolos Shabbos as the sun set over Beit Shemesh. Shabbos was relaxing and inspiring, filled with delicious meals, divrei Torah and zemiros. After Shabbos, we saw the weekly recap video and had an amazing night activity. Pizza was served and everyone had a blast! Week 2 on Michlelet starts…. Now!

Dear Michlelet NCSY Parents,

 

We are off to a phenomenal start here at Michlelet NCSY.

 

Yesterday morning, we had Orientation where the girls got to learn all about and look forward to all the exciting things happening this summer, where they will G-d willing experience a summer filled with the balance of it all. I told the girls how in awe I am of each and every one of them for choosing a summer program where they will not only not compromise on any components of fun, but also one where they will experience meaning and fulfillment.  The girls were eager as they looked at the calendar and the daily schedule, as they will experience the excitement of learning Torah in Eretz Yisrael,  doing chessed in Eretz Yisrael, touring this beautiful land and having tons of fun. Of course, it always takes time to adjust, but we have had a really great first few days.

 

They then got to connect with our holy city of Jerusalem with a tour of Ir David, walking through Chizkiyahu’s water tunnels, cheering and splashing as they walked through in the dark and then having the absolute privilege of davening at the Kotel, the place where all our tefilos go to from all over the world, on their first full day in Eretz Yisrael.

We ended the day with a delicious Holy Bagel dinner at the Tayelet Haas Promenade, with its breathtaking view, where you are literally overlooking all of Yerushalayim, the place where Avrohom and Yitzchok were as they looked up and saw the place where the akaida would take place. It was truly an amazing first full day!

 

This morning, we had the privilege of hearing Rabbi Avi Schneider speak to us about the tremendous opportunity it is for them to spend a summer here in Eretz Yisrael. We then got to experience being part of the Erev Shabbos hustle and bustle in Meah Shearim with a fun picture scavenger hunt.

 

We are looking forward to getting to know each other and spending Shabbos together on Michlelet. There is really nothing like it!

 

I am so thrilled to spend the summer with your daughters. Please feel free to be in touch with any questions or feedback you may have!

 

Have a wonderful Shabbos!

 

Rivka Yudin

Director

Michlelet NCSY

Today was an amazing day on Michlelet! Our first full day in Israel started bright and early with davening in the beautiful Reishit Beit Midrash. After breakfast, we had summer orientation where we heard from Mrs. Yudin and the rest of the head staff. The day only got better with the first tiyul of the summer! We put on our water shoes and headed to Ir David to learn the history of the beginnings of Yerushalayim. Chizkiyahu’s Tunnels were the perfect place to hold our first kumzitz- the acoustics were great! We then headed to the Kotel for the first of many visits this summer. The first time is always the most special, and we tore kriah as a group. The day ended with a delicious meal on the Haas Promenade Taayelet overlooking Yerushalyim. Erev shabbos, here we come!

Dear Michlelet NCSY Parents,

We are off to a great start!
Your daughters seem wonderful and I can’t wait to get to know all of them!
We arrived here at the beautiful Reishit campus at approximately 5:00. There were refreshments waiting for us, we got our bags and then had a delicious supper. After dinner we had a great time getting to know each other with some ice breaker activities.
We have a really packed and exciting day planned for tomorrow with Orientation and a beautiful and exciting tiyul to Yerushalayim.
Follow our amazing summer journey here:

michlelet.ncsy.org

twitter.com/ncsymichlelet

facebook.com/ncsymichlelet

instagram.com/ncsymichlelet

Looking forward to an incredible summer with your daughters.

Rivka Yudin