Sheva Hamaoui is from Lawrence, NY, and is currently studying psychology in Lander College for Women. She attended SKA High School before she spent a year and a half in Darchei Binah. Sheva is so excited by the opportunity to return to Michlelet as a madricha and be a part of the program that benefitted her so much as a camper.

The girls in Sheva’s Chabura are Ahuva Greenbaum (Far Rockaway, NY), Fayge Leah Bistritzky (Flatbush, NY), Ayelet Pfeiffer (Bergenfield, NJ) and Tehila Rothbort (West Hempstead, NY).

Sheva’s chabura is called “Getting to Know Yourself.” The goal is for each girl to reach a higher level of self-awareness and to become familiar with her individual strengths and weaknesses. By understanding who we are, we can then work on developing the kochos within us and take the proper steps towards becoming the person we want to be. Throughout the summer, the girls learn about how different middos come up in the Torah, challenges associated with obtaining it, and practical ways to apply the lesson to their lives and improve in the middah. Each chabura ends by posing both a “reflection question” to think about, helping the girls become more self-aware, as well as a “challenge” to work on regarding the specific middah.

What would you tell a future Michlelet girl?

Ahuva Greenbaum: “Come to camp excited about the learning. As scary as it might sound that we learn a lot, the madrichot make it exciting.”

Fayge Leah Bistritzky: “I would tell a future Michlelet girl to be open-minded to learning even if she hasn’t appreciated learning beforehand. Learning on Michlelet is more enjoyable than learning in a typical classroom setting because instead of being taught information for a test, we are taught in an environment that makes Torah personal and encourages us to grow.”

Ayelet Pfeiffer: “Enjoy every minute of learning and being in Israel.”

Tehila Rothbort: “I would tell a future Michlelet girl that she is going to have one of the most inspiring and incredible summers of her life. Everything about Michlelet is amazing, from the singing on Shabbos to the touring and learning. She just needs to take advantage of and appreciate every moment because it goes by so fast.”

Shana Rosenberg is from Chicago, Illinois. She went to Ida Crown Jewish Academy for high school and spent a year in Shaalvim for Women. Shana is currently studying at Stern College for Women and is having an amazing time on her first summer on Michlelet!

Shana’s chabura is about the Yud Gimmel Midot Shel Rachamim (the 13 attributes of mercy). In the chabura they learn about each midah and learn practical ways to emulate that midah in everyday life. The girls learn that through exemplifying each midah of Hashem, they can improve their relationships with and come closer to Hashem.

The amazing girls in Shana’s homeroom are Daniella Kluk (Chicago, IL), Emily Shamalov (Queens, NY), Shoshana Farkas (Cleveland, OH), and Eliana Hirsch (West Hempstead, NY).

What’s one thing you’ve learned on Michlelet that you’re going to take with you for life?

Daniella Kluk: The importance and necessity of doing Chesed. We made a carnival for almost 150 kids from Sderot. At the carnival, the gym was filled with the sound of laughter and young children running hand in hand with Michlelet girls. This carnival had the biggest impact on me because i saw directly the results of my chesed and enjoyed myself while making the kids happy. Michlelet has given me the opportunity to learn as well as do chesed and we learned that you cannot do one without the other, both are needed.

Emily Shamalov: Reaching out to others. On Michlelet, we have the incredible privilege to do chesed projects and trips. Either packing food for soldiers or painting a house it always feels amazing to reach out to others and give them help that comes from our heart. The best feeling is when you come out of there and feel like you completed such an amazing Mitzvah and it feels so good in your heart. That definitely made a very big impact on my life and I will hopefully take it with me for the rest of my life.

Shoshana Farkas: Respecting others even if they are different from us. Michlelet has ingrained in me that the Jewish people are one and we as a nation are responsible for each other. In order to be responsible for each other we need to first love each other. On Michlelet we love each other and care for one another and as this summer is coming to a close we need to use that love for the Jewish people and see how we can incorporate it back at home.

Eliana Hirsch: I learned about different people’s stories and how it impacted them in life. I think it’s cool that people are able to learn and grow from their struggles and I hope to be able to learn from every experience I have in life and grow as a result.

We had a beautiful Shabbos Nachamu in Tzfat! We began our weekend early Friday morning as we loaded the buses and made our way up to Tzfat. On the way up, we split into two awesome trips! Some of us went to the kineret where we had a raft building competition and race. We were given wood, rope and barrels and had to create a working raft out of those supplies. It was a lot of fun working together and getting to refresh ourselves in the water on a hot day. The other trip for the day was a walking tour of Tzfat where we were able to walk around the incredibly city, experiencing the artist colony and getting a taste of the unique Tzfat culture.

Before Shabbos there was an optional tour of the kevarim of great tzaddikim buried in Tzfat lead by Rabbi Yudin. Many girls took advantage of this awesome opportunity.

Shabbos was brought in through a powerful Kabalas Shabbos with beautiful dancing, followed by dinner and zemiros. After dinner we had our Friday night tisch led by our famous Rebbe and Rebbetzin, Vilda and Chaya. Shabbos day we had a nice kiddish followed by a game of Melarky! We had an uplifting lunch, again filled with beautiful zemiros. In the afternoon, girls had the option to go on a walking tour of the old city of Tzfat, and to go to the “sound cave,” a cave with amazing acoustics where the girls had a kumzits. We ended off shabbos strong with shaloshseudos as we then ebbed shabbos away in a kumzitz overlooking beautiful Tzfat.

Motzei Shabbos we had a great time dancing and singing on a party boat!! We made our way to Teveria and borded the boat as we sailed out to the middle of the Kineret and danced the night away!

Today, we began our day with rafting down the Yarden and then had a delicious pizza, pasta and salad, picnic lunch. After that, we split into three trips groups, one group went to Meron and Amukah to daven at Kevrei Tzadikim, another to the De Karina chocolate factory, and the last group went on the Chitzbani water hike. Then we all met back home at Reishit for a delicious dinner! This has been a fun, uplifting, and connection filled weekend! Looking forward to an amazing last week with our Michlelet family!

Leora Weiss is from West Hempstead New York.  She went to HANC High School, and then headed over to Midreshet Moriah for Shana Alef and Shana Bet. She is currently studying in Queens College. This is her first year on Michlelet NCSY and she is having an incredible summer!

She is having the time of her life both teaching and learning with the amazing girls in her Chaburah: Elisheva Ismach (Great Neck, NY), Yael Scheinman (Woodmere, NY) Shirly Kapetas (Cedarhurst, NY), and Elisheva Monczyk (Far Rockaway, NY)

Leora’s Chaburah is called: “Opening our eyes to what’s already in front of us-‘טמעו וראו כי טוב ה.” The goal of the Chaburah is to take different topics in Yiddishkeit and learn a deeper and more meaningful way of looking, connecting to and experiencing them. Our guiding principle is as follows: it is one thing to see something with your eyes and it is another level to be able to taste it. For example, we learned the importance of disconnecting from the outside world on Shabbos in order to connect to the inner Kedusha of it. Another topic we covered discussed the important link between our physical body and the physical world; recognizing this link allows us to connect and see Hashem through the things that we already have. One last example, that might be Leora’s favorite, was her shiur on Eretz Yisrael. First they went through the sources in the Torah and then went on to focus on the Pnemuis in order to really make it apart of their daily Avodas HaShem!

Leora is sad to think that there is only one week left to this amazing summer, and is excited to make sure that every last second is taken advantage of until landing back in JFK!

Whats the most inspiring experience you had since being on Michlelet?

Elisheva Ismach: “The most inspiring and uplifting places I’ve experienced in the past 5 weeks was har hertzel. We went right after leaving yad vashem where we saw the names and pictures and stories of millions who were killed only because they were HaShems children, to a cemetery filled with fallen soldiers and generals who died protecting Hashems land. It was a beautiful place and it was extremely sad to see hundreds of those that were killed but at the same time is was hopeful and inspiring to see those who made so many sacrifices for us and risked their lives for the Jewish people and Jewish land. It made us ask ourselves, what do we want to do for the Jewish people and land? Just like each of those 6,000,000 that died in the holocaust each had their own story and we should look at each of them individually, each of these fallen soldiers had their own story too. It’s not about the whole number it’s about each person, where they come from, what they went though and what they accomplished. And at har hertzel we heard these stores and saw these pictures and it made a huge impact and inspired me to continue davening for those protecting us that they should come home safely.”

Elisheva Monczyk: “My most meaningful and inspiring experience on michlelet so far was making the sderot carnival because it put smiles on so many children’s faces who are impacted with trauma sorrow in their daily lives.”

Shirly Kapetas: “The entire Michlelet experience has been an amazing inspiration for me. There was Yom NCSY when 1700 people united, no matter how religious, and danced the night away as one! There were people from all different parts of the spectrum and it was beautiful to see everyone united! Another amazing experience was going to Har Hertzel. It was a day which helped me realize that there are people daily risking their lives so my people can live in our home safely. I never felt that great feeling of gratitude for people I didn’t know. We also heard the stories of just a few of the soldiers which saddened me because I wanted to hear them all. Each of the people buried there had a unique story that touched someone.  We also had TJJ Ambassadors come to Michlelet to make a bridal shower. When we united together, no matter our differences, to do a chessed for a Russian bride-to-be  it gave me true simcha. I went to sleep that night, like I do most nights on Michlelet, with a smile and a lasting thought that today was a lm amazing day that will remain forever in my heart.”

Yael Scheinman: “One experience that really inspired me was when the TJJA girls joined us to make a bridal shower for an immigrant bride who cannot afford a wedding. As one of the Shana Bet trips, we had the opportunity to go to a Gemach in Har Nof to buy the presents for the bride. We got to dance with the bride and personally give her the presents that we purchased. Seeing the look on her face after she received every present was truly inspiring. It taught me to really take time to show my appreciation for things that I would normally take for granted. This is only one of them many inspiring experiences I have had over this past summer, but it stands out the most because it was also an opportunity for us to inspire others while being inspired.”

Tehilla Marcus is from Beit Shemesh, Israel and is very excited to be back for her second summer as a madricha!

The Amazing NCSYers in Tehilla’s chabura are:
Esther Dyckman (Queens, NY), Rivka Moskowitz (Bergenfield, NJ), Chaya Yehudis Neubergar (Baltimore, MD), Aliza Pfeffer (West Hempstead, NY).

Tehilla’s chabura focuses on the Climax of Tefilla – Shemone Esrei.  Everyday we delve into a new Bracha, understanding the words and exploring the topic of each Bracha so we can apply it’s messages to our Tefilla and to our lives in general. We try to gain a deeper understanding and connection to every bracha. The goal is to make us excited about davening, and make it be more meaningful, powerful- using the time to really create and strengthen our relationship with Hashem.

Choose 6 words to describe your experience on Michlelet:

Esther- The most inspirational experience and summer.
Rivka- Meaningful. Life changing. Inspiring. Growth orienting. Incredible. Uplifting.
Chaya Yehudis-Learning. Fun. Israel. Trips. NCSY. Reishit.
Aliza- Amazing, fun, learning intensive, creates connections.

We had a great day yesterday, with homeroom and morning leaning, followed by some fun activities. As soon Chatzos hit, music was blasting and the joy and excitement could be felt throughout camp! We received our super cool Yom NCSY shirts at lunch and danced as we got pumped for what was to come. After a regular yet meaningful afternoon of learning and fun activities, we boarded the busses and headed to Yom NCSY!!!! When we arrived, we entered the park with extreme ruach as we cheered for Michlelet! We had a delicious BBQ dinner and enjoyed seeing our friends from other NCSY programs. As the sun set, the high levels of incredible energy could be felt in the air. We headed to the stage and were blown away by the huge lights and words that read “Welcome to Yom NCSY 2017!” It was truly amazing! We had the best night ever, dancing the night away with Mordechai Shapiro and our brothers and sisters from all NCSY programs. It was a night that will not be forgotten! Thank you NCSY for allowing us to have the BEST.SUMMER.EVER.!!!!

Ayelet  Shachar is from Queens,NY. After attending SKA, she spent a year and a half learning at  Shaalvim for Women and is currently finishing up her degree at Queens College.
Ayelet is so excited to be back on Michlelet for her second summer as Madricha! She feels incredibly lucky to spend these weeks in Eretz Yisrael learning  with and from  the incredible girls  on Michlelet! This includes the fabulous girls   in Ayelet’s Chaburah:   Natalie Barbanel (Lawrence), Bracha Gewirtz (Monsey),  Vivvi Lewis (Woodmere) and Chavi Zelefsky (Monsey).

Ayelet’s chaburah is called “Build a בת Workshop”. The Chaburah is based off the idea that every mitzvah corresponds to a body part and that a person can only become an  אדם שלם by pursuing all types of  mitzvot and middot. Just as every limb and organ is essential,so too each mitzvah we have been given is essential in our service of Hashem and in becoming our best selves.Each day,the girls delve   into a different body part and  the corresponding middot or mitzvot related to it. Topics covered include the middah of Ayin Tova for the eyes,the importance of Torah learning in correspondence to the head, the significance of washing Negel Vaaser in relation to the hands and so forth.  Through learning  together, the girls hope to  better understand Torat Hashem, have a stronger sense of self awareness, cultivate a feeling of responsibility for the world around us and  to ultimately strengthen their shmirat hamitzvot and connection to each mitzvah and middah in a practical way for their daily lives.

If you could add one person from Jewish History to our chaburah, who would it be and why?

Natalie Barbanel: The Abarbanel because of his incredible insights on the tanach. I think that it would be cool to see what he can add especially because of what a Talmud chachum he is and because he is an ancestor of mine :).

Bracha Gewirtz: Chana  because she revolutionized tefillah and that’s a mitzvah that I really connect with and I would love to talk to her! Also because she was so emotionally strong and capable.

Vivvi Lewis: Moshe Rabbeinu – I feel a connection to Moshe because even though he has a speech impediment, he was able to become one of the biggest leaders to the Jewish people. His speech impediment didn’t stop him from doing what ‘ה had intended for him to achieve, and he was able to make the most of his life, and because of that he was looked up to for his rest of his life. Moshe inspires me because he taught me that even though I have a speech impediment I can accomplish anything I put my mind to, like he did.

Chavi Zelefsky: Shlomo Hamelech because he was and is the wisest person to ever exist and I would love to hear what he has to say!

Orly Ohayon is from Jacksonville, FL. She went to Samuel W. Wolfson Senior High School before spending a year at Tomer Devorah. Orly is currently a student at Women’s Institute of Torah Seminary- Maalot Baltimore.
Orly’s chaburah is called “Life is a Chaiway”. The chaburah explores 18 out of the 48 different ways to acquire the Torah based on Perek 6 Mishna 6 in Avos. The chaburah focuses on just like there are many different ways to get to a destination so too there are many ways to acquire the Torah.
Some examples of kinyanim that are mentioned in the chaburah, are b’talmud (with study), b’shmias ha’ozen (with a listening ear), b’kabbalas ha’yissurin (acceptance of suffering), hamekir es mekomo (knowing one’s place), noseh b’ol im chaveiro (carrying your friends burden).

“If you had to choose your favorite thing you learned on Michlelet what would it be?”

Menucha Lustig: “Everyone comes with a story, never judge just by looking. Just like I don’t want others to size me up for something I’m not, I shouldn’t do that to others.

Tzippora Felsenthal: “Yosef hatzadik was able to say no to the bad things that were normal in Egypt. So to we can stand up against peer pressure to say no to the bad even if it’s a normal thing to do.” – Rabbi Menachem Nissel

Talia Postelnek: “Words hurt everyone not just the one being spoken about but the speaker and listener, as well. We can say sorry and all but the wholes will still be there. The listener has the most power and is held the most responsible so don’t just not speak Loshon harah but stop others from speaking it as well.”

Avigail Goldberg: “We have obstacles in our lives, because Hashem wants us to daven to Him, to have a close relationship Him. He tests those He loves. Tzaddikim are tested because Hashem wants to hear from them.”