Tamar Kwestel grew up in Cedarhurst, New York. After attending Stella K. Abraham High School she spent a year studying at Sha’alvim for women and is now a student at Stern College. Although Tamar never spent a summer as a camper on Michlelet, she is very excited to be a Madricha this summer.

Tamar’s Chaburah is called “Around the World in the Holidays: Machshava and Hashkafic Aspects of the Holidays”.  Each chaburah covers a different Chag or Yom Tov and explores a theme of the Yuntif or Chag through relevant sources, articles and video clips.  Tamar’s chaburah involves a lot of learning from the text as well as interactive activity and meaningful discussions. Each girl has been able to gain a new appreciation and deeper connection to the Moadei Hashana because of the meaningful ideas that have been discussed in chaburah.

The girls in Tamar’s chaburah are Aleah Salzhauer (Miami, Fl), Rena Weinberger (Philadelphia, PA), Shira Cohen (Efrat, IL) and Yael Itskowitz (Pittsburgh, PA).

What is your favorite Yuntif/Chag and why?

Aleah: “My favorite Chag is Purim. I love Purim because it symbolizes Hashem’s constant hashgacha in our lives even during times when we cannot see it so clearly. I also love Purim because I get to eat tons of candy!”

Rena: “My favorite Yuntif is Pesach. Pesach is the starting point of Bnei Yisrael as a nation. Yitzias Mitzrayim is a central part of our religion and everything else stems from there. Without it, we would not have been able to come to Har Sinai and get the Torah, which is so special to us. Another one of my favorite parts of Pesach is the seder and all the songs we sing. “

Shira: My favorite Chag is Chanukah. During the time of Chanukah there is a special feeling in the air that everybody loves, especially here in Israel. During this time, we are able to connect to our deep emunnah in Hashem because of the gratitude we feel for the amazing miracle that He performed before our eyes. I especially love going through the streets of Eretz Yisrael and seeing the menorahs in everyone’s window and on the sidewalks.

Yael: “My favorite Yuntif is Shavuos. Conceptually, I like the idea of Shavuous; even though we always have the Torah, Shauvous is a time to specifically renew our commitment to Torah and draw inspiration from Torah. I also love the fact that we count up to Shavuous. Cheesecake and staying up all night learning with friends also makes it such an enjoyable Yunif!”

Yesterday was our last tiyul day of summer 2015! The day started very early as we headed to rappelling. We hiked up to the rock wall and learned how to properly rappel. It was amazing, and everyone had a great time. We then headed up North to beat the heat. We hiked in Majrasa, where some parts of the water were pretty high. After splashing around and hiking through the water, we went to Kever Rambam to daven Mincha. We were treated to a surprise after davening- ice cream! It was the perfect end to an amazing day. It is crazy that we are heading into our last week, but we are making every day count!

Dear Michlelet NCSY Parents

It has been an absolutely phenomenal week here. There were so many exciting moments but to sum it all up, it was a week of incredible bonding, excellent spirit and lots of Michlelet pride.

After a beautiful Shabbos in Tzfat, where one can literally feel the spirituality in the air, we started off our week together on a boat ride in the Kineret. The girls danced the night away, with incredible ruach and enthusiasm. You could feel the energy as the girls danced together with music blasting in the middle of the Kineret; a perfect end to a wonderful Shabbos.

Sunday was no less exciting as the girls enjoyed Kayaking in Kfar Blum and then a delicious lunch, wonderful activities and camel riding in Kfar Kedem.

The incredible energy and excitement was felt most during our two day color war on Monday and Tuesday. The talents our girls have is unbelievable and it was touching to see each girl shine. Whether during sports, divriei Torah, choirs, apache races, cheering, skits, theme songs, dances or banners, the girls had a blast and the bonding and power was palpable. The girls wrote such moving theme songs about each of their teams; Torat Yisrael, Am Yisrael and Eretz Yisrael and you could tell from the beautiful words they wrote and sang with such feeling, how much they had connected to these concepts this summer and how much they have grown.  In the middle of it all, on Tuesday, we had the zchus of connecting to Am Yisrael and Eretz Yisrael by making beautiful packages and writing sincere letters to our chayalim and handing them out on an army base.

They are most definitely feeling a strong attatchment to Torat Yisrael this summer as well, and it is extraordinary watching them learn with their madrichot and teachers with such incredible excitement. The way they look forward to our evening speakers each night (Please feel free to listen to the shiurim we put up on our website) is truly inspiring. The opportunity we had this week of having a Question and Answer Session with Rabbi Tzvi Sobolofsky was a special hour for many this week.

Another time one felt the strong unit we are and bond the Michlelet NCSYers all share, as well as their unbelievable energy was on Wednesday evening when we hosted Give NCSY for dinner, a shiur and a basketball game. They were once again phenomenal hostesses and had fun eating, learning and playing with the Give NCSYers. The cheering that went on on the courts Wednesday evening was reminiscent of our color war the night before. Everyone had a blast, with tons of pride for Michlelet. (The girls played really well, winning 28-10 and their flash mob was fantastic!)

On Thursday, the awesome energy we have here was felt once again. After a great, satisfying morning of chessed volunteering with the blind, a wonderful, fulfilling afternoon of first rate learning and then activities and an evening speaker, the Michlelet NCSYers were treated to their very own performance by the Ensemble women’s group’s show, The Art of Giving.  The laughter and energy in the room was phenomenal and the girls ended the play with more cheering, song and spirit.

It has been a most rewarding, gratifying and uplifting week!  This morning, we were all off to our free Shabbos and very much look forward to spending our last week together- bonding, growing and sharing together in unbeatable experiences.

Once again, if you would like to donate to help sponsor our wedding that we are making next week for a needy couple, you can do so at https://ncsy.org/michlelet-wedding-sponsorship/

Have a wonderful Shabbos,

Rivka Yudin

We had an amazing Thursday on Michlelet! The day started off bright and early as we headed to Ramat Gan to work in a workshop with the visually impaired. It was an extremely special and meaningful trip, and the girls enjoyed building things with the workers! We went back to campus to have lunch, and learning in Chaburahs and Shiurim. We heard from Rabbi Katz during our guest speaker slot, and for night activity we saw a play about chessed! The day ended with optional mishmar and learning in the library. It is so inspiring to see so many girls take advantage of every second that they can!

This shabbos is an out shabbos, and we are all missing each other and spending shabbos together. But we are looking forward to an amazing week! It’s our last, and is sure to be the best! Have a wonderful shabbos!

Ahuva Motechin lives in Bergenfield, New Jersey. After attending Bruriah High School and spending one year learning in Yerushalayim, she is now a junior in Stern College, pursuing a degree in biochemistry. Having enjoyed a fabulous summer as a camper, Ahuva is excited to be back as a madricha!

The focus of Ahuva’s chaburah is kumsitz songs. Through a variety of sources, both early and more contemporary, in Hebrew and in English, the girls explore the hashkafic principles embedded in these short excerpts from Tanach and Chazal. In this way, their kumsitz experiences become not just beautiful melodies, but also an opportunity to strengthen the foundations of their Judaism.

The girls in Ahuva’s chaburah are: Eliana Feifel (Chicago, IL), Laya Kaufman (Monsey, NY), Michal Moradi (Lawrence, NY), Batsheva Steinberg (Cedarhurst, NY), and Henna Storch (Woodmere, NY).

Which kumsitz song best encapsulates your summer(s) on michlelet and why? (Not necessarily a song that we have discussed).

Eliana- The kumsitz song that encapsulates my Michlelet experience the best is ובנה ירושלים. When all of Michlelet sings this song together, it is nearly impossible not to feel how powerful it is. I automatically feel a connection to ירושלים and yearn for it to be rebuilt. Not only does ובנה ירושלים provide me  with a real connection to ירושלים, but it also summarizes my summer on Michlelet. Throughout the learning, touring, chessed, and activities on Michlelet, I have gained a lot. I have a further understanding of what is truly important in life and how to become a better person. Just as ובנה ירושלים provides me with a passion to want to do all that I can  to help rebuild ירושלים, so too Michlelet propels me to want to live a life full of meaning and to be the best version of myself that I can be.

Laya- Being that this is my first time in Israel, everything I’ve experienced and seen so far on Michlelet has impacted me tremendously. A song I learned about and really connected to is (ענבים (בשעה שמלך המשיח בא. It speaks about the humble people of the time of משיח and their utter disbelief, as משיח בן דוד calls to them from the roof of the בית המקדש announcing their redemption. From the second I stepped off the plane in Israel and every second after that I have felt the קדושה of this land. I’ve learned so much on Michlelet and my love for Judaism and תורה has only flourished day after day. When I sing this song I can’t help but imagine being here in Israel בזמן משיח and being זוכה to hear him calling us to our ultimate גאולה.

Michal- “One day”- This song is showing that throughout life every person will have hardships and every person will “drown in their tears” but the only way for Mashiach to come is to fight as Jews for our people and go through hard times to show Hashem how much we love Him and how much we want to stay His nation.

Batsheva- “Anavim”- It really put things into perspective on how being humble is not thinking down on yourself just constantly being aware that Hashem has given you all you have. To always have in mind thank you Hashem for GIVING me these gift so that I can go on and use them for good.

Henna- One song we learned in chabura that I felt really summed up my michlelet experience was Pischi Li. The song is from shir hashirim and tells of someones beloved knocking at the door saying wake up, wake up. In chabura we related the song to seizing the opportunity, which is something I have tried to work on this summer. Every day we have so many opportunities, whether it’s a chabura to learn from, a chessed that we do, a friendship we make or forming a stronger connection to the land of eretz yisrael. From when we wake up in the morning until we go to sleep our day is filled with opportunities, we just need to grab them, and when opportunity knocks I don’t want to be sleeping.

Yesterday we had the privilege of greeting another NCSY Summer Program to Michlelet! After a full day of learning and activities, including an amazing Q&A with Rabbi Sobolofsky, GIVE NCSY came to spend the evening with us. We enjoyed a dinner together, and heard from Mrs Yudin about the key to greatness. The legendary Michlelet VS GIVE basketball game was incredible, full of ruach and sportsmanship. We danced and sang, and the flashmob during halftime was awesome! Thank you GIVE for coming to hang out with us!

Elisheva was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois and attended Hanna Sacks there. Post highschool she spent two years learning in Israel. Elisheva will be making Aliyah this upcoming year (Hurray!!!) and will be studying education specifically in Tanach and English at Michlalah while being a Madricha at Midreshet Moriah.
She hopes to continue her involvement at NCSY whether it be through keeping in touch, summer programs, or perhaps even Israel NCSY as soon as it takes off!
Having attended Michlelet as a camper for two years, Elisheva is very excited to be able to give back and to learn with and from the girls on Michlelet.

The NCSYers in Elisheva’s Chaburah are Ayelet Stern (Chashmonaim, Israel), Carmielle Bean (Denver, CO), Meira Gurell (Teaneck, NJ), Ariella Benovitz (           ), Miri Minkowitz (Brooklyn, NY), Moriel Draiman (Chicago, IL), Sarah Last (Plainview, NY), Sima Alhadeff (Seattle, WA), Elisheva Greenberg (Teaneck, NJ), and Devory Berger (Upstate NY).

Elisheva’s Chaburah is about the importance and the transition between relationships Bein Adam L’Atzmo (Between Man and Himself), Bein Adam L’Chaveiro (Between Man and His Friend), and finally, Bein Adam L’Makom (Between Man and G-D). Some example topics in each of these areas are “Having a Lech Lecha experience, finding yourself”, “Your Best Enemy – Lesson on the Yetzer Harah”, “I believe I can and He can, a lesson on the balance between self confidence and humility” and more! The Chaburah is text based with a range of sources in Hebrew and English. Often including Tanach, the teaching of Rav Kook zt”l, Rav Ahron zt”l, Rav Soloveitchik zt”l, Mesilat Yesharim, and many more exciting Sfarim! Often there is also a story being told or a song or video presentation to drive home the lessons even more in an exciting way.

What lesson stood out the most to you on Michlelet in Chaburah or in general?

Carmielle Bean- That the Torah is literally the instructions for how we should live our life.
Meira Gurrell- Many people think that the yetzer harah is a figure to set one up for failure. However, a different approach that I learned in Chaburah, was that the yetzer harah is our coach and trainer. He tries to push us to overcome challenges and to strive to reach our potentials. We must r realize that our yetzer harah is here to assist us, and we must prove to him that we can defeat any obstacle standing in our way.
Miri Minkowitz – I really like the topic of Achdut and the Pirkei Avot describing the unconditional love between Dovid and Yehonatan.
Sarah Last- I really liked this quote – “We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give,”.
Sima Alhadeff- “This summer with Elisheva, I learned a thought about the Yetzer Hara (evil inclination)  that I liked a lot. I learned that I should not only think of the Yetzer Hara as my enemy, trying to get me to do the wrong thing. Rather, I can and should also think of it as a coach, my friend. My Yetzer Hara is training me and testing me until I reach my full potential as a Bat Yisrael. My Yetzer Hara is helping me to be the best me I can be,”.

Color War 2015 was a huge success! There were three teams- blue which was Eretz Yisrael, yellow which was Am Yisrael and purple which was Torat Yisrael. Color War lasted two days. The first was filled with activities and games, and ended with each team presenting a cheer! Today was extra special, because it was Color War and chessed day. The morning was filled with Color War prep and games, and in the afternoon was left campus to deliver care packages to an army base for soldiers. We wanted to show them our hakaras hatov for all they do for our country. Before we went back to Reishit, we went bowling! It was team vs 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, Yellow 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- #Michlelet15!