Eliana Feifel is from Chicago, IL and super excited to be on NCSY Michlelet for her third summer! She went to Hanna Sacks for high school and then continued her learning at MMY. Now she’s in Stern College for Women majoring in Mathematics. Her Chaburah is titled “Tanach’s MVPs (Most Valuable ‘Prayers’)” and compares different tefillot in Tanach to tefillot we say nowadays. The goal of this chaburah is to work on understanding various tefullot on a different level while learning Tanach as well.

The girls in Eliana’s Chaburot are: Dassi, Elisheva, Atara, and Tamar.

What’s something that you’ve gained or learned from Michlelet so far?

Dassi- “Happy people don’t have the best of everything, they make he best of everything.” One thing I learned on Michlelet this summer is that our lives are not about waiting for everything to be perfect, rather it is about taking what has been given to us and using that to grow. This summer on Michlelet is about making the most of every moment of our time in Israel and applying this idea that I learned in one of my chaburahs; in order to have the best summer ever, we need to make it the best summer ever- it is all about our perspective.

Elisheva- I’ve gained more appreciation for the land of Israel and I’ve developed more interest in my Torah learning over these past weeks on being a part of Michlelet.

Atara- I learned that you have to go out of your comfort zone in order to have fun and gain the most from the summer. For example, every time I get up in front of everyone and start to cheer.

Tamar- I learned from the speech with Rav Gav that when something hard happens to us, we shouldn’t be mad at Hashem becAuse the hurt should be overpowered by the love we feel towards Hashem.

Batya Bousbib is from Englewood, New Jersey, And went to SAR High School, followed by sha’alvim for Women for a year and a half, And is currently in Stern College majoring in Jewish Education! This is her first summer on Michlelet and she is having an incredible time!! 

The girls in Batya’s chabura are Leora, Dina, Shalvi and Elisheva. 

Batya’s chabura is called “Selfies: Creating the Best Version of Ourselves.” The chabura focuses on practical elements of life, such as time management, decision making, and self esteem that help each individual person have a well rounded relationship with HaShem and others. 

So far, what has been your most meaningful moment on Michlelet? 

Leora: In the three weeks we’ve been on michlelet so far, there have been countless meaningful memories and opportunities. One meaningful event I want to point out is the bridal shower michlelet made for a bride who comes from nothing. We spent half the day in the dining room setting up for the arrival of the bride. We made a special chair for the kallah and her mother, and made decorations that filled the room with simcha. We all greeted the kallah into the dining room with singing and dancing. The presents she opened up in front of us made her and her mother so grateful and amazed. This chessed opportunity was not only a blast but also extremely meaningful and emotional. The opportunity to bring simcha to a kallah in need was one of the most amazing experiences I’ve had in my life, and I can’t wait to have many more experiences like this one in the future on michlelet iyh!!

Elisheva:So far, the  most meaningful part of michlelet for me has been learning Living Emuna during homeroom. So far, the book has really helped me see  hashgacha pratis in my daily life. It has really been such an eye opening experience for me, and I’m excited to continue learning it!

Dina: So far the most meaningful thing on michlelet has been the Shabbosim that we spent together. I really enjoy the end of Shabbos when we sit and have a kumzits and sing together.

Shalvi: When the first Shabbos at camp was almost over the whole camp sat outside and we all sang, and had our arms around each other. That was the moment I felt at home 🙂

We went straight from breakfast to the busses where we split up for chessed. We visited soldiers, a camp for autistic children, Seeach Sod – a camp for kids with special needs, and made a soup kitchen in Reishit. After meeting back up for lunch, we headed to afternoon classes and had some free time. At 5, we all headed to a private pool and had our last BBQ before the 9 days started. Afterwards, we enjoyed a Shiur by Rabbi Katz from MMY and then watched our end of the week video. Hope everyone enjoys the off weekend! 

WOOO COLOR WAR IS HERE!!! We fought it out today, with activities, an apache race and plenty of team time. Of course, we made time for torah with regular chaburahs and classes, and a Shiur by Rav Wenglin. Finally, we presented our cheers, songs, banners, skits, alma maters and stomps. Congratulations to the YELLOW TEAM for winning!!!!! 

Eliana Gottlieb made Aliya 10 years ago with her family and lives in Ramat Beit Shemesh. After graduating high school Eliana did her volunteer National Service (Sherut Leumi) at Shalvas National children’s center. Eliana has spent the last two years learning at Midreshet Nishmat and will be entering Bar Ilan University this coming year, where she will be studying Educational Administration.

Eliana feels so lucky to spend her summer on Michlelet and is enjoying every moment of it!

The girls in Eliana’s Chabura are Hadassah, Rivka, Adina  and Leora.

Eliana’s Chabura is called “Middot in our Mesorah”. Each chabura focuses on a different middah and the girls learn about each middah through sources, starting from Tanach and going through Mishna, Gemara, additional sources of Jewish thought, and lessons from our gedolim. The goal of the Chaburah is for the girls to learn intensively about the different middot and to apply the lessons of these sources in their daily lives.

The chaburas include guided questions which help facilitate a group discussion. The girls have been great about sharing their personal opinions and giving examples of that day’s middah from their personal lives. At the end of each chaburah the girls take upon themselves a goal that they want to reach – relating to that day’s middah – and think about how to better integrate that middah in their daily lives.

What is something you have learned that has impacted your summer?
Adina -Happiness is a choice and in order for us to achieve true happiness we have realize that everything comes from hashem.

Hadassah Greenberg -Something that has impacted my summer is all the different kind of learning I am exposed to that helps me work on my personal growth.

Leora -One thing I learnt this summer that has really stuck with me was that happiness is a choice. you can be grateful for all the good in your life and that will lead to you finding happiness. happiness doesn’t find you, you make your own happiness

Rivka -One thing we learned in Chaburah which has impacted my summer is how doing a mitzvah with happiness gives you schar for both the mitzvah and the happiness you felt while doing it. It’s made me much more excited to serve Hashem knowing that the joy I feel while performing a mitzvah is giving me merit as well!

Eliana Antosofsky is from Teaneck, NJ. After attending Maayanot Yeshiva High School for Girls, she spent a year and a half learning at MMY, and is currently in Stern College. Eliana is excited to spend this summer in Eretz Yisroel with the incredible girls on Michlelet!

Eliana’s Chabura is called “The Sound of Torah”. Each day a different song from either Tanach or Judaism is discussed. The goal is to show how music fills a role in our lives that nothing else can fill, as well as to make all of these songs that we sing (or say) quite often relevant to our lives. For example, Az Yashir teaches about Emunah, and Hallel teaches about the avoda of simcha. Once we know what the songs we sing all of the time mean, we will be better equipped to have kavana while saying those shiros.
The girls in Eliana’s Chabura are: Ariella, Tamar, Noam, and Michal.

If you could travel to any place in the world, where would it be and why?
Michal: I would visit Israel because the Jews have so much history here and it’s a really pretty country.
Ariella : I’d go anywhere as long as it is with my family, because it doesn’t matter where we are as long as we are together.
Noam:I would visit Africa. I’ve always wanted to experience a different culture and try new food. The citizens in Africa are friendly and I believe they would teach me a lot about their lifestyle.
Tamar: I would go to Antarctica because I absolutely love the cold and I would love to see the Jewish communities in that area.

COLOR WAR BREAKOUT!!!! The theme of color war is Tefilah, with three teams. The Yellow team is Shacharis, the Green team is Mincha, and the Purple team is Maariv. Throughout the day, everyone competed in activities and worked hard during team time on the cheers, alma maters, and banners. We had some moments of achdus when we heard Shiurim from Dr. Luchins and Mrs. Haber, and enjoyed a delicious Burgers Bar dinner courtesy of Touro. MAY THE BEST TEAM WIN!!!!

Ariella Wiederkehr is from Teaneck NJ. She attended Bruriah High School before she spent a year and a half at Michlalah in Yerushalayim. Currently Ariella is a biology major in Touro College. Ariella is so excited to have the opportunity to be spending her first summer on Michlelet as a Madricha!!
Ariella’s Chabura is titled “Operations: Serving Hashem With Our Entire Body.” The goal is to examine different body parts and discuss practical ways they can help us become a better eved Hashem. Through learning about specific body parts each girl can learn how to elevate our body to best serve Hashem.  Throughout the Chabura, there are many guided questions to create discussion between the group and aid them in making the lessons applicable to their own lives.
The AWESOME girls in Ariella’s Chabura are:
Ally, Aimee, Chaya, and Tari.

How do you think you can use your body to further serve Hashem?

Ally- I can use my body to further serve Hashem by dressing tznius. My body is an outer membrane reflecting my Nishama on the inside. So by dressing tznius and modest, the way I dress should reflect my inner self.

Aimee-I really enjoy this chabura, operations serving Hashem with our whole body. I find the topic and lessons very relatable and applicable. We learn practical ways to serve Hashem using our body. It displays perfect examples of how to take gashmios and elevate it to ruchnius. We generally don’t think of our bodies as something Kadosh but this chabura shows that it really is.

Chaya- From our Chaburah, operations, I learned how to use my  body properly to serve Hashem.  The importance of having a positive outlook on life is one of the main things we focus on. I really enjoy the chaburah and now feel a deeper connection between my body and Hashem.

Tari- I learned from the Chabura that I’m serving hashem with my eyes by having a more positive attitude on life. I hope to use this in my life and hope it will help others.