michlelet, Author at Michlelet

Chaburah Spotlight: Ayelet Shachar

Ayelet Shachar is from the royal village of Queens,NY. After attending SKA, she spent an amazing year and half of learning in Shaalvim for Women. She is currently pursuing a degree in Psychology at Queens College.

Ayelet is so excited to be on Michlelet for the first time and feels truly lucky to be spending her summer on such an special program.

The incredible girls in Ayelet’s Chaburah are Rachel Ash( Cedahurst,NY),Shira Galler(Woodmere,NY) Ayelet Rosenwasser(Chicago,IL) and Racheli Brunner(Woodmere,NY).

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 or the significance of washing Negel Vaaser in relation to our hands and so forth. Through learning together, they 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 our shmirat hamitzvot and connection to each mitzvah and middah in a practical way for our daily lives.

What is your favorite Kumzitz song and why?

Rachel Ash: אשא עיני:

This song is about realizing that Hashem is the source of everything in my life. Therefore if I am in a difficult situation I need to remember that Hashem is the one that placed me in this situation and He knows what I can and cannot handle. This can give us chizuk that Hashem gave this to me, but He has faith in my ability to handle it. Also knowing that the situation is from Hashem in the first place helps us because then we know that Hashem can also bring the Yeshua!

Shira Galler: אם אשכח ירושלים

I love the words describing the fundamental concept of always keeping ירושלים on your mind and in your heart. ירושלים is the focal point of the entire unvierse, meaning most of the kedusha in the world resonates there at the kotel where G-d is waiting for us to come back to Him. Therefore if this city and all of its Kedusha is forgotten we would be as lost as if we had “lost our right hands”. This is a very important concept and must be kept in mind and close to our hearts.

Ayelet Rosenwasser: ברכת הבנים

The reason I love this song is because the words in this song describe a beautiful tefillah of what we want for our future. It is a very emotional song that talks about how we are asking Hashem to allow us to raise children who are G-d fearing and עוסקים בתורה- constantly involving themselves in Torah. Not only this, but we also want to lead our own lives like this as an example for our children.

Racheli Brunner:Yisroel Yisroel

I love this song because I think it really makes you understand why we mourn the בית המקדש. We sing about HaShem asking us why we would stray from the Torah when he gives us everything we could ever wish for. This song really made me feel what we are missing now that we don’t have the בית המקדש and motivated me to really want to help rebuild it so we can bring משיח במהרה בימינו.

Chaburah Spotlight: Sarah Sklar

Sarah Sklar is from Cedarhurst, New York. She attended Stella K. Abraham High School for Girls, and was then privileged to spend a year and a half of learning and growing in Michlalah Yerushalayim. Sarah went on Michlelet as a camper and is so excited to be able to give back to the place she gained so much from.

The incredible girls that Sarah is privileged to learn with in Chabura are Nechama Tova Weis (Woodmere, NY), Hannah Feldman (Fair Lawn, NJ), Elisheva Lesser (Lawrence, NY), and Rina Levitt (Atlanta, GA).

Sarah’s Chabura is titled ‘Learning Something from Everything’ where she conveys the idea that Hashem is constantly involved in our lives, we just have to open our eyes to see it. Sarah gives real life examples and situations where we wouldn’t necessarily see Hashem, and describes how everything has something to be learned from, even if it is not so obvious. Sarah’s goal is to ultimately instill in the girls that Hashem is constantly involved in our lives, and He sends us reminders throughout the day.

What is your favorite quote from Chabura and why?

Hannah Feldman- “It’s ok to be a glow stick, sometimes we have to break before we shine”- This quote means a lot to me because it’s important to remember that a situation could be hard, but here’s always a light at the end of a dark tunnel.

Rina levitt- “Be happy with what you have while working for what you want” – I like this quote because if you’re not happy with what you have, then it’s almost impossible to look forward and accomplish anything else. Also, if you’re not satisfied with what you have, then it will be hard to look past what you’re lacking and try to get or become something greater.

Nechama Tova Weis- “what if you woke up tomorrow with only the things you had thanked Gd for today”- this quote made me realize how much Hashem gives us every day, and that we shouldn’t take it for granted. We should thank him for everything that we have because everything is a gift from Him.

Elisheva lesser- “Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass…. It’s learning to dance in the rain” This is my favorite quote because it shows us that when a nisayon/ something hard comes into our life we shouldn’t just give up and wait for it to pass but rather we should get up and face it. Every test that Hashem gives us is for our best and helps bring out all our potential. He never gives us a test we can’t handle.

NCSY Michlelet 2016 Greets Nefesh b’Nefesh!!

Last Tiyul Day!

If you thought we already did as much as possible to do in one day, think again! Today was such an amazing busy day!

We woke up at 5am to greet a Nefesh b’Nefesh flight of hundreds of olim chadashim!!! With flags, posters, and dances, we welcomed and congratulated the new olim on their aliyah to Eretz Yisrael!!! Such an amazing and inspiring experience!

Then we went to Luna Gal water park where we splashed around and had a blast in the pools and on the water slides!

Then we went to Kfar Kedem where we learned in a very hands on way about how they made food back in the day. Dressed in our ancient garb, we ate delicious pita, milked goats, and rode donkeys! We had so much fun!

We accomplished so much today and had the BEST.LAST TIYUL DAY.EVER!

Check out all our pics and stay tuned for the last few blogs left of summer 2016!

Sdeirot Carnival!!

We started off the day with a crazy fun carnival in the gym for children from Sdeirot. Fun booths included activities like apple bobbing, face paint, and various relay races, to mention just a few! The smiles on everyone’s face definitely out shined our bright tutus!

Today was our second to last day of learning on Michlelet 🙁 We love every chaburah and class, and we can’t believe how fast the time is flying! We keep singing “we don’t wanna go..”

We prepared for the talent show and hung out with out friends!

Shana bet had a special BBQ dinner at the Yudin residence.

We were privileged to hear Rabbi Yosef Mendelovitch speak to us tonight.

The grand talent show was amazing, entertaining, hilarious, and so fun!!! Campers and madrichot performed various songs, drama scenes, skills, impersonations…the list goes on! We have such talent on Michlelet!

We ended off the night by making WELCOME HOME SIGNS for the Nefesh b’Nefesh flight that we plan on meeting at the airport early tomorrow morning!

WHAT A GREAT DAY! Thank Gd! Can’t wait for tomorrow!

Stay tuned and check out all our pictures online!

NCSY Michlelet Week 5 Video!

MICHLELET WEDDING!

Yesterday on Michlelet, we had the opportunity to do an INCREDIBLE chesed. From set tables and decorated mechitzahs, to centerpieces and shtick, we made a wedding for a chosson and kalla from start to finish!

The beis was alive as we learned with our madrichot and teachers for our third to last day of learning on Michlelet. We spent the rest of the day preparing for the wedding and then celebrating with the kallah! We set, served, cleared, photographed, danced, and shared in the amazing simcha! What an incredible feeling to know we were able to give in such a significant way to this new couple in Klal Yisrael!

The wedding was long, but the memories will last for longer.

MAZEL TOV!!!

Guest Speakers

On Michlelet, we have had the INCREDIBLE opportunity to learn from amazing guest speakers throughout our summer here! These shiurim have been uploaded to YUTorah.org for your easy access.

To listen to any of these amazing speeches, click HERE and you will see the list of recordings available for online viewing or download.

Enjoy! Learn well!

Tisha b’Av

We had a very meaningful tisha b’av program here on Michlelet.

Rabbi Yudin read Eicha for us, and then led the kinos along with our Madrichot in the Beis. We went out to the beautiful porch and continued our program with a moving skit and choir by the madrichot, and a beautiful kumsitz.

Today we had a kinos program in the morning until mincha.

We heard a shiur by Rabbi Chaim Marcus. We then had optional movie showings, followed by an inspiring shiur on respecting our friends by Mrs. Yudin. We ended off the day with a kumsitz as we watched the sunset on the Beit Shemesh hills, and then we broke our fast on a delicious dinner.

We had an inspiring day, and we hope that next year, we can celebrate together in Yerushalayim with the Beis Hamikdash!

But the day was not over- we had an auction to raise money for the wedding we are making on Michlelet tomorrow!!!! If you’d like to donate, please click here: https://ncsy.org/michlelet-wedding-sponsorship/

STAY TUNED! ONE MORE AMAZING WEEK LIES BEFORE US AND WE’RE GONNA ROCK IT!

Weekly Update #5 from Mrs. Yudin

Dear Michlelet NCSY Parents,

This has been an incredibly strong and powerful week in so many areas. The experiences we are having are extremely bonding and the energy and connection felt here has been equally strong! I have been moved so many times this week – watching the girls connect in so many different venues and seeing how we have really come together with a connection that is hard to describe, as a real Michlelet Family. The bonds we are making here, and the excitement that is so alive, are extremely wholesome and part of the growing experience of Michlelet.

I have been watching the girls grow and bond through the learning that takes place here. With so many pressures of tests and the like nowadays, it is so refreshing to see young women, learning to really love learning Torah and with only positive associations. Our learning here has been strong and powerful. It is so special to see how much the girls enjoy learning with each other and from their teachers and madrichot. This week, we had a priceless opportunity to have a question and answer session with Rabbi Sobolofsky, Rav in Bergenfield, NJ, Rosh Yeshiva at YU and NCSY’s posek. The girls were awed by his breadth of knowledge and his ability to answer questions in all arenas. It is amazing how you could literally have heard a pin drop as our speakers this week, Rabbi Yamin Goldsmith, Rabbi Avrohom Willig, Rabbi David Katz and Rabbi Noam Fix spoke. The girls have really come to appreciate each and every opportunity to learn. When I spoke this week when we hosted Give NCSY and when Rabbi Willig spoke this week when we hosted Sulam, both for some learning and basketball, it was beautiful to see the pride our girls took in the learning that takes place here and how excited they were to share that pride with our guests!

Of course, just because they learn strong, doesn’t mean they can’t have great fun! If anything, each enhances the other! The bonds created through the fun we had this week were equally touching to see. They laughed in sheer delight as they ran around the mall on Sunday night, in search of their madrichot who were dressed up hysterically and blended into the mall for a Madricha Scavenger Hunt. You had to see the way they cheered the night away, with such pride, energy and excitement at the basketball games against Give and Sulam this week. Who can describe the cheering, ruach and unbelievable talent shown on Wednesday and Thursday during Color War! How special it was to watch the performances Thursday night, and see each girl shine and so involved! How beautiful it was to hear their theme songs, sung with such sincerity about how much they have learned and grown on Michlelet and how much they have come to love it.

A different type of connection was built through the meaningful tiyul we experienced on Tuesday, during the nine days. The girls had the opportunity of connecting to their past by going to Yad Vashem and hearing from Rabbi Hanoch Teller and others. They then had the privilege of going to Har Herzel, where our soldiers are buried, and to daven there and to learn about them, and be connected to them by hearing from Rabbi Michael Olshin and Rabbi Moshe Hamburg. After that moving visit, they had the ultimate bonding experience ending the day in Rose Park in Jerusalem doing ODT, team building activities where they had to work together as teams to accomplish certain fun and interesting activities. They had a fabulous time!

Our chessed this week was another opportunity for the girls to form attachments through meaningful, chessed activities. On Sunday morning, the girls had a three hour professional training on how to be medical clowns. They then had the distinct chance to go to either Shaarei Tzedek or Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem, and medical clown there. What a profound opportunity- to enhance the lives of the sick and their families, and bring smiles to their faces and joy to their hearts. What better a feeling can one have than to be a part of that enhancement of a fellow Jew’s lot and what better way can there possibly be to perform that chessed than to bond with each other through that experience? On Thursday, we had another moving experience and slightly different twist of a chessed trip. The girls had the opportunity to go to either the Dialogue in the Dark, otherwise known as the Blind Museum, or the Invitation to Silence, otherwise known as the Deaf Museum. Another really connecting experience, as each group worked together as they were led through different interactive encounters to help become more sensitized to what it must be like for someone who is deaf or blind. It was very touching and will hopefully be something we take with us as we encounter people with many types of disabilities and challenges throughout our lives.

And who can describe the awesome experience of going to daven at Kever Rachel today, erev Tisha B’av? What an unbelievable z’chus to daven at Rachel Imainu’s kever, our mother who Hashem has promised, “in your merit, Rachel, your children will return home.”

So this week has been an incredible one, with unique and special experiences shared. We have really come together as a unit and formed ties which can only be built here, through such a rich combination of uplifting and exciting experiences.

We are looking forward to another beautiful Shabbos, filled with singing, bonding and ruach and pray that this Tisha Bav will be one in which we do not sit on the floor and cry, rather one in which we dance to the Beis Hamikdash!!

Once again, if you would like to donate to be part of the beautiful wedding we will be making this Monday, you can do so at https://ncsy.org/michlelet-wedding-sponsorship/

Please feel free to be in touch with any feedback you may have.

Good Shabbos,

Rivka Yudin