This Sunday was a fast day, so we began with morning programming with Madrichot. We learnt about what happened on this day in history, what we could take away from those events and how we could apply these ideas into our lives practically. After this, Rabbi Goldsmith of Sha’alvim for Women came to speak about teshuva and the real purpose of a fast day. Afterwards, we had the afternoon off, with an optional trip to the Kotel to enhance the meaning of the day. We ended with a kumzitz right before break fast, which helped us break our fasts with the lessons of the day still on our minds. 

We spent the morning learning Torah, and then the afternoon doing chessed. We split up , and went to a program by One Family Fund, a school for underprivileged children, a school for children with special needs, and a nursing home. Together, we made carnivals, played games, and brought smiles to many faces, old and young. We ended the day with a Halacha Shiur and a Zumba night activity! 

We began the day with our usual incredible Chaburahs and classes, and offered activities such as calligraphy, cooking, volleyball, and art! Then, the excitement began to build as we all changed into our Michlelet shirts in preparation for Yom NCSY. We arrived and met up with all of our friends, enjoyed a delicious BBQ, and danced the night away with an awesome concert by Ohad and Simcha Leiner. We had the chance to meet and bond with Jewish girls from all different backgrounds and programs, and had an unforgettable night. 

At 4 a.m., many of us chose to go on the optional sunrise hike, and enjoyed watching the beautiful views by Kfar Haruv as we davened vasikin and learnt about where we were. After meeting back up with the group at the hotel, we all enjoyed a delicious buffet breakfast and then went down to the beach. We did water sports all day, with pancakes, banana boating, boating and swimming. After a quick pizza picnic in the park, we began the long journey back to Beit Shemesh from Tevaria (with some bathroom stops of course!) and made a pit stop in the woods for a BBQ dinner. 

We woke up extra early in the morning and boarded the busses. Half of us went to Hashomer Hachadash where we picked and pruned trees and became one with the land. The other half of us headed off to explore the Majrasa water hike, where we cooled off from the hot day. Afterwards, we all met up to go rappelling down mountains and jeeping near Safed. After a deli sandwich dinner stop, we settled down at the hotel where we prepped for another big day. 

Sunday was our first real day on Michlelet, and we loved every minute of it. We were introduced and began learning with our chaburah and teachers for the first time, and then had the option to choose between many activities including tennis, art, Zumba, baking and karaoke. In the afternoon, we headed off onto food packaging chessed trips. We enjoyed a Shiur by Rav Moshe Tzvi Weinberger as our first official night speaker, and ended the night with a super fun Apples to Apples: human edition game night. 

After an uplifting shabbos where campers and Madrichot got to know each other better and experienced the beauty of a shabbos in Israel, we had a late night pizza party chagiga. Everyone came in their best shtick and danced the night away, while enjoying the delicious, fresh pizza. 

We prepped on erev shabbos first mentally by hearing an incredible Shiur by Rav Dani Marcus, and then physically by going to a team building experience in the forest. We learnt a new language and worked together in small groups to overcome obstacles. After our outdoor training sessions, we headed back for some pre-shab pics and ended the day with a beautiful kabbalas shabbos.

After a short orientation by Mrs.Yudin, the girls headed over to Yerushalayim where we explored Ir Dovid, learnt about our history, and watch a 3D educational movie. After learning about where we were, we hiked through the water tunnels with only flashlights! We ended off our day with a beautiful view of sunset as we davened mincha and ate a delicious catered dinner in Yemin Moshe. Later on, Shana Bet enjoyed a special mishmar with Rav Moshe Tzvi Weinberg to prepare for Shabbos. 

The Michlelet group met on Tuesday at JFK airport to meet each other for the first time. Baruch HaShem, we landed safely in Eretz Yisroel and headed straight from the airport to the Kotel, where we started off our incredible summer on a high! After a meaningful davening, we bussed to Yeshivat Reishit, our official home away from home for the summer! After unpacking and getting to know our roommates, we had our first night activity- a questions game that turned into a full on chagiga.