Shana Weiser is from Lower Merion, Pennsylvania and is currently a senior in Touro College Manhattan studying biology to eventually become a physicians assistant. Before that, she was lucky enough to spend a year studying Torah in Michlalah. Shana is pumped to be on Michlelet for her second summer as staff and she is also loving being the Madricha for Shana Bet!
The amazing and inspiring girls in Shana’s Chabura are Mindy Lowy (Lawrence), Shana Schwalb (West Hempstead), Ariella Wolf (Atlanta), and Julia Blumenthal (Woodmere).

Shana’s Chabura is called “Wonder Women: Lessons from Jewish Women throughout History”. Shana goes through different women through Jewish history such as Esther, Rut, Chulda, Sarah Schenirer, and Rebbetzin Machlis and discusses the middos that each one embodies and the lessons we can learn from each of these giants. Shana loves to challenge each girl in her chabura to take a personal lesson for herself from each woman and hopes that the girls can internalize these lessons for life!

Who is your favorite Disney character and why?

Julia: Mickey Mouse because the way he planned his house so beautifully is just like how HaShem is the architect of our lives and plans it so beautifully.
Shana: Olaf because he loves hugs and we learn from him to have ahavas hoarsely and hug everyone.
Mindy Lowy- Lumiere from beauty and the beast because he is like an eved HaShem and lives to serve his master.
Ariella- rapunzel because boy can she paint and follow her dreams (I’ve got a dream I’ve got a dream ?) and her hair is super spiffy!

Color War 2017 was a huge success! There were two teams- pink which was Avar, past, and orange which was Atid, future. Color War lasted two days. The first was filled with activities and games, and ended with a night activity of Glodeball – glow in the dark dodgeball! Today was extra special, because it was Color War and chessed day. In the morning we left campus and split into three groups: one went to Yad Eliezer, one went to Ohr Meir U’bracha, and one to Hashomer Hachadash. We came back to campus right in time for a silent lunch and the rest of the afternoon was filled with Color War prep and games. It was team vs team and everyone had fun. After dinner were final presentations and scoring. Everyone’s banners and songs were amazing, and we are so impressed with the creativity and dedication shown by each team. In the end, Pink won, and all of Michlelet celebrated with them. It was fun having Color War, but we are ready to get back to being on one team- #Michlelet17!

Today was an amazing day filled with fun and excitement. We split into 3 trips: Masada/Dead Sea, Ein Gedi/Techeilet factory/ATVing for Shana Bet, and Shiloh/Sheep Herding. Ein Gedi was a splash with the beautiful waterfalls and rocks we hiked on. At the Dead Sea we got to feel the burn of our cuts but cure our skin at the same time! Sheep Herding allowed us to work together to get Sheep from one end of the farm to the other, it was such a cool experience. Shana bet enjoyed a bumpy ride through the beautiful views of the Israel desert as they went ATVing after the Ein Gedi trip.

If that wasn’t enough for the day we topped it off with color war breakout at dinner and our first team meeting along with a madrichot basketball game. We can’t wait for what’s to come tomorrow with Color War on our agenda. So overall today was an awesome day!!!!

The past two days have been incredible as we welcomed the TJJA girls to Michlelet! The girls arrived Sunday morning and were greeted by the energy and excitement of all Michlelet NCSYers. TJJA joined different chaburot and teacher shiurim to get a taste of what Michlelet’s all about.

This summer, Michlelet has the amazing opportunity to help make a wedding for a young couple and share in their simcha. On Sunday, the TTJA and michlelet girls helped make the kallah a bridal shower she’ll always remember. They decorated the dining room, wrapped tons of presents, and prepared to make this lucky kallahs bridal shower unforgettable. The kallah was shocked by the beauty of the shower and danced the night away with all the girls. 

Today, the TJJA girls came back for more learning and activities in the morning and went on a fun trip to the Stalactite Caves with Shana Bet. 

We woke up bright and early this morning to go on our chesed trips! Some of us volunteered at the Blind Factory in Ramat Gan. Another group went to Tel Aviv to package food for those in need. The last group went to Yad Lakashish, Lifeline for the Old. We had so much fun and experienced real simcha from helping others the whole morning!!!
We returned to Reishit for a yummy pizza lunch and resumed an on campus afternoon schedule of learning and activities. We heard an inspiring shiur from Mrs. Shira Smiles tonight, and Madricha, Rivka Greenberg, led optional Mishmar on the topic of learning torah and how we are so fortunate to have this tremendous opportunity in our lives. We had a fantastic day with a great balance of chessed, learning and fun! We are excited for our off shabbos this coming week and are looking forward to resting up and preparing for the excitement that is yet to come!!

The one and only Jennifer Silverman is from Los Angeles, CA. She had the privilege of studying at Bnos Devorah High School in LA and an amazing year and a half at Michlalah. She is currently a senior at Stern College for Knowledge, majoring in Psychology and minoring in Biology. She hopes to go on to study Occupational Therapy and better the world.

Jennifer was actually a camper on Michlelet once upon a time and is ecstatic to be back! She hopes to give all 132 girls the same life-altering experience she had!

The girls in Jennifer’s homeroom are Hannah Mendeles (Teaneck, New Jersey), Michaela Fiederer (Philadelphia), Eyliana Perkal (Woodmere, New York), and Gavriela Weindruch (Iowa).

Jennifer’s Chaburah is called “Shirim B’Tanach” which focuses on the different lessons one can learn from the different songs that appear in Tanach. She strives to inspire her girls with the different songs that are not necessarily covered in the school curriculum, such as the power of Shir Shel Yom and the different shirim sang by important female role models. Jennifer hopes that her girls will be able to gain many personal lessons from their learning together and understand these beautiful pieces of Tanach in depth.

What’s your favorite Israeli ice cream bar and why?

Gavriela Weindruch: Magnum Chocolate Cone because it’s the perfect refreshment after an amazing hike.

Eyliana Perkal: SpongeBob Ices because it’s delicious, the eyeballs are actually gum, and you can sing the SpongeBob theme song while eating it.

Hannah Mendeles: The Chip-Which because of the perfect ratio of cookie to ice cream.

Michaela Fiederer: The Chocolate Crunch Bar with Hazelnut Core because it hits the spot every time!

Today was the first full in day on Michlelet 5777! The day began with Homeroom learning in the Beis. Each homeroom madricha and her campers learn a small section of a sefer each morning for about 15 minutes to kick start their day with some kedusha. Next, the girls broke into their morning chaburot and teacher shiurim to enjoy some more learning. After morning shiurim were over, the girls had amazing activities run by their incredible madrichot. These activities included mask making, cake decorating, duct tape wallets, tennis, basketball and more! After lunch, the girls had afternoon learning with their afternoon madrichot and teachers. The madrichot have prepared night and day for their chaburot and are excited and eager to begin learning together with the girls. Today, the them for the next week was introduced during breakfast through a flashmob dance and skit. The theme for the week is Medieval times and we had a great night activity to connect the the theme: a horse riding obstacle course!

In addition to our fun filled day on campus, during free time, the girls were given the option of going on an optional tiyul to the Barkochva Caves.  It was a great turn out and the girls really enjoyed the trip. There will be many more optional tiyulim opportunities to come!

Today, the first full in day of many to come, was amazing and a complete success. The girls and madrichot can’t wait for what’s in store! 

This morning, we were given the option to go on a sunrise hike. Over 80 girls woke up at 3:45am and headed to begin our journey uphill. It was a truly magnificent experience, beginning the hike in the dark of night and ending in the light of day. Watching the view of the sunrise from top of the mountain was beautiful, and something new to almost all of us. We then hiked back down the other side of the mountain and met back at the hotel for a delicious breakfast!

We enjoyed our gourmet breakfast and continued with our day as we loaded the buses to go to the Eilat pier. There, the girls suited up in their life vests, excited to partake in the water sports! After many hours of cooling off in the water and enjoying the tubing and banana boating, we had a great pizza lunch from Big Apple Pizza! 

On the way to our next stop, we made a pit stop and we all enjoyed FREE ice cream from the camp. What a treat!

Last but not least, we had the best dinner ever: BBQ!! We enjoyed the food and the quiet shade as we rejuvenated from our fun filled two days. We had a great trip and can’t wait for the next one!