July 2016 - Michlelet

Rafting, Tzfat, and the Chetzbani!!

We began our amazing day with rafting in Kfar Blum! Each raft rowed down the river and had a blast splashing and going down the rapids!! We ate a delicious lunch in the park, after which we divided to two different trips.

Two busses visited the holy city of Tzfat to tour, shop, and daven by some kivrei tzadikim!!! Such a special opportunity! The third bus went to an amazing water hike in Nachal Sapir/the Chetzbani River where we cooled down under waterfalls, walked through the river, and swam in the pools!

We all headed back to Reishit for a delicious dinner and a good night’s sleep!!

Each day just keeps getting better! Stay tuned for more posts. Make sure to check out our pictures!!!

Teveria Boat Ride!!

What an AMAZING shabbos we had together in Chispin!!! The weather, singing, achdus and more were all beautiful! We heard amazing Divrei Torah, played fun games, sang a ton, learned some new songs…the memories go on.

After shabbos ended, we went on a beautiful boat ride in Teveria with pizza and a kumsitz!

Looking forward to a fun day tomorrow!

Stay tuned and check out our pictures as usual! 🙂

Raft Building on the Kineret!

We woke up early today to drive North for the weekend!

We spent the afternoon on the Kineret, where we worked so well together to build rafts and then actually go on them in the water!

We ate lunch, had a blast, and stopped at a supermarket to buy some pre-shabbos treats!

We are now at the beautiful Midreshet HaGolan in Chispin, getting ready and so excited for another shabbos together!!!!

Thank G-d for an amazing week!!! We’re looking forward to an amazing shabbos full of singing, bonding, learning, and fun!

Stay tuned! Check out all our pictures! 🙂

GOOD SHABBOS FROM MICHLELET 2016/5776

Chesed galore and more!

We woke up bright and early to go on our chesed trips! Some of us volunteered at the Blind Factory in Ramat Gan. When the instructor said goodbye and asked if we had any questions, the only question the girls asked was, “can we come back again??” The rest of us went to Moadoniyot in Tel Aviv to play with the children there! We had so much fun and real simcha from helping others the whole morning!!!

We returned to Reishit for and resumed an on campus afternoon schedule of learning and activities. We were visited by Dr. Luchins from Touro College with a Burgers Bar dinner!

We heard an inspiring shiur from Rabbi Burg at night, and then baked delicious challah! Madricha, Ariella Weiss, led our very first Mishmar of the summer!

What a great day! We’re so excited for our trip up North tomorrow!!!!

ONE MORE DAY TIL SHABBOS!

Remember to check our blog again and look at our pictures!

Zoo and iJump!

We were privileged to begin our day with an inspiring speech by Lavi Greenspan.

We continued the day with chaburahs from our madrichot and teachers, and the best activities!

We visited the gorgeous Biblical Zoo in Yerushalayim during free time!!

After dinner, Mrs. Smiles addressed the girls about having meaning in our actions. We then took a mystery bus ride to….iJump!!!!! We bounced, flipped, dunked, and jumped the night away!

As we head to bed wiped out from our full day, we can’t wait for our morning chesed trip tomorrow!

Stay tuned and check out our pictures! 🙂 #BESTSUMMEREVER

Chaburah Spotlight: Shana Weiser

Shana Weiser is so excited for her first summer on Michlelet as staff! Shana is from Lower Merion, Pennsylvania (woohoo! Represent!) and after her H.S years at Kosloff Torah Academy, she spent an incredible year of Torah learning at Michlalah in Israel. She is currently studying biology in Lander College for Women in Manhattan and is a proud advisor for Atlantic Seaboard NCSY!!

The fabulous and energetic girls in Shana’s chaburah are Eliana Feifel (Chicago, IL), Ellie (Potomac, MD), Bayla Zohn (Clifton, NJ) and Shana Farber (Lawrence, NY).

Shana’s chaburah focuses on Jewish songs with English lyrics that have a message to teach us. Many of the songs are meshalim from which one can then extract nimshalim that are relevant to a teenage girls life. The first chaburah discussed the power of song (learned from the song, “Touched by a Niggun” by Baruch Levine) and how song can elevate our Neshamos so that we can learn Torah on a higher level!

Question: “If your were to be an element on the periodic table, which one would you be?”

Shana Farber- “neon because it is bright and I am bright!”

Ellie- “gold because I’m number 79!”

Eliana Feifel- “Copper and Tellirium because I’m CuTe!!”

Bayla Zohn- “krypton because it makes up lasers and I’m laser sharp!”

Chaburah Spotlight: Ayala Cohen

Ayala Cohen is from Chicago, Illinois. She attended Hanna Sacks Bais Yaakov High School, then went to Michlalah for 1.5 years, and is currently a junior in Stern College, majoring in education. Having gone on NCSY Michlelet herself, Ayala is extremely excited to be back as a Madricha!

The girls in Ayala’s chaburah are Chana Rivka Herbsmen (Washington Heights, NY) Bassy Reisman (Monsey, NY) Yael Beylus (Woodmere, NY), and Penina Rubin (Silverspring, Maryland).

Ayala’s chaburah focuses on various maamarei chazal that teach us important values and middot that can be applied to our daily lives. During each chaburah, the girls delve into the deeper meaning of the specific chazal for that day and learn how to apply it outside the Reishit walls. The fun activities they do together during the chaburah help them internalize the important messages being taught.

If you were an animal in the forest what would you be and why?

Penina- a bird so I could fly away from any awkward situation

Bassy- I would be a bird so that I could fly across the whole world and see Hashem’s creations.

Chana Rivky-a parrot because I like to talk to people!

Yael- a monkey because I’m crazy!!!!

Ayala- a deer, living up to my Hebrew name 😉

Chaburah Spotlight: Cayla Gold

Cayla Gold is from Great Neck, New York. She attended North Shore Hebrew Academy High School, and then went to Harova for seminary. Currently, Cayla is a junior in Stern College, majoring in industrial psychology.

The girls is Cayla’s Chabura are Talia Guttman (Woodmere, NY), Malka Edery (Norfolk, Virginia), Ahava Sheer (Passaic, New Jersey), and Aliza Mosenkis (Cleveland, Ohio).

The main focus of Cayla’s Chabura is recognizing the importance of Shabbos through understanding Shabbos Zemiros. In this Chabura, they go through each Zemer and explain the meaning of the song and which Halachos can be derived from them. After learning the meaning of the Zemiros, the songs become more meaningful to sing, transforming a catchy tune to a special Shabbos experience. The goal of Cayla’s Chabura is to enhance Shabbos by understanding the beautiful meaning of Shabbos songs and ultimately strengthening the campers Shabbos Ruach.

Which season best describes you and why?

Talia : I’ll go with winter because it is just chill (no pun intended). There is a very relaxing feeling- everyone’s always dressed comfy and there’s no problems with tznius.

Malka: I think summer describes me most because it’s a time of being outdoors and with family and friends. I love enjoying the weather and being with people I love! Also- I was born in the summer 😉

Ahava: My favorite season is winter because in the winter it’s cold, and to stay warm you need to stay inside and have more family time!

Aliza: The season that best describes me is spring because it’s after the winter and everyone is so happy that the cold is over! It is a happy season and I try to be happy always!

Chaburah Spotlight: Rebecca Aryeh

Rebecca Aryeh is from Woodmere, NY. She went to SKA for high school, spent a year and a half in Israel at Shaalvim for Women, and is currently in Stern College studying psychology. Rebecca is super pumped to be on Michlelet this summer and to be able to learn from and with the inspiring campers.

The girls in Rebecca’s chabura are: Shoshana Farkas (Cleveland, OH), Elianna Rubin (Jerusalem, Israel), Michelle Weingarten (Holliswood, NY) and Rachelli Benoff (Bergenfield, NJ).

Rebecca’s chabura topic is Lessons from Leaders in Tanach. Each chabura focuses on a different leader and goes through a characteristic or lesson that we can learn from them. It then goes through how to practically work towards attaining that characteristic or middah. The goal is to show the progression of middot in our great leaders and to show how each leader had different kochot, and that there’s no one way to be a leader. By the end of the chabura, the girls should feel empowered to take action and make an impact on Klal Yisroel and to always strive to be their best selves.

Q: If you could be any ice cream flavor, what would you be and why?

Shosh Farkas: Very berry extraordinary (it’s a Cleveland thing)- there are a lot of pieces to it and there are a lot of pieces that make me, me. And I’m out of the box, they don’t have this flavor in many places..

Michelle Weingarten: Cookie dough because it has sweet ice cream and hard chunks of dough, so despite the hard things that I may encounter in life, I try to be sweet and nice to everyone.

Rachelli Benoff: Mint chocolate chip: mint is, well, minty. And I like to bring sweetness to every situation and place I go!

Elianna Rubin: Vanilla and chocolate because sometimes we are in the darkness and we must always look for the light!

TIYULIM! Water Hike, Zipline, Jerusalem, Shepherding, and more!

What an exciting day of trips we had on Michlelet!!

We divided between 3 busses for a full day tiyul!! One bus went to Psagot, Shilo, and sheep herding! Who knew how much skill it takes to shepherd?! The second bus went to a beautiful water hike in Ein Prat and a thrilling zipline in Gush Etzion! The third bus spent the day in Jerusalem doing a dig, tunnel tours, and visiting the Israel Museum! A packed day full of fun and bonding for everyone!

We returned to campus and were privileged to hear Rabbi Benovitz speak to us.

Night activity was an amazing game of Truth or Dare!! We’ve never laughed so hard before!

With smiles on our faces, we end the day, looking forward to what tomorrow has in store!

Stay tuned! And remember to check out our pictures!