Exhileration. Adrenaline. Rush. Excitement. Determination. Accomplishment. Fullfillment.

These are words, which certainly come to mind when describing running in a marathon.

Well, I feel like this week on Michlelet NCSY, we all ran a marathon! Although when running a marathon, there is a certain sense of fatigue on the one hand, we too feel it greatly overshadowed by the feeling of accomplishment and pride on the other hand.

When running a marathon, there is an incredible amount of hype, preparation and training that happens before the run itself. We know how much the Michlelet NCSYers have been anticipating, preparing and looking forward to their summer on Michlelet. And then, suddenly, before you know it, you’re at the big day! Up and running!

We hit the ground running with a week of non-stop excitement, energy and thrill in every area and you can definitely feel the incredible momentum building up and going full speed.  The girls continuously went from being involved in phenomenal learning, enriching Chessed, thrilling tiyulim (trips) and exciting activities. 

Shabbos was magical! It was literally a marathon of one special experience after another. The singing, ruach, optional shiurim with Rav Moshe Tzvi Weinberg and Rabbi Andi Yudin which were packed, Friday night Tisch, kumzitses, learning, programing, laughter,   and unity felt was tangible and is hard to describe to anyone who didn’t witness it themselves. What was even more noteworthy was that it was only our first Shabbos together! Who can imagine what our last Shabbos, G-d willing, will be like if we have started out this strong? 

After a Shabbos like that, with the energy climbing, our Motzei Shabbos Melave Malka was literally rocking!!!  The dancing pulsating, dressed up in all kinds of shtick, you would think we had been running together forever!!

Sunday, the marathon continued, with a packed day of learning, inspiration, chessed and fun! 

Their learning started off with remarkable ease and the excitement of the Michlelet NCSYers for really immersing themselves in it in a real way was noticeably seen and felt.  While watching them learn with their top-notch teachers, in smaller settings with their incredible madrichot, or at our evening speakers, you can see their earnestness and sincerity. It felt like we had been training for this forever. I loved walking around, watching their interest, enthusiasm and involvement and listening to the sounds of Torah reverberating in the air.  

Chessed on Sunday was no less of a dash as the girls prepared food packages at Yad Eliezer, Chasdei Naomi and Yad Ezra Shulamit and packaged gift packages at Yad Leah for the poor in Israel.

Who can describe the exhilaration and rush as we moved from fun to more fun, from jumping to splashing, from magnificent to breathtaking.  To experience two days in Teveriah, the place with such holiness and connection to our ancestors is unimaginably touching. Water hiking in the Majrasah, Working the land, Jeeping, Repelling, ATVing, 4 am hike and watching sunrise and davening at the top of Har Arbel, banana boating and water sports on the absolutely gorgeous Kineret.. We kept picking up momentum, sprinting from one activity to the next, walking on the land of our history.  How can I possibly articulate the feeling of being home, of wholeness, of calm when all this occurs with the backdrop of the tranquil stunning Kineret surrounded by the gorgeous scenery and hills. We ended our two days in the North praying at the kever of the holy Rambam.  We left feeling like we certainly ran; a sense thrill, exhaustion and satisfaction.

Wednesday the motion continued with full force! A full morning and afternoon of learning and exciting activities.  The adrenaline reached an all time high when we arrived at Yom NCSY. What an evening! The girls wore their Michlelet NCSY shirts with pride and cheered and danced the night away, enjoying the electric concert with Ohad Moskowitz and Simcha Leiner.  It was amazing to feel like we were part of something larger, seeing the incredible impact NCSY has on so many teens from so many varying backgrounds.

Often, when running a marathon, you start off with a lot of strength and energy and then as you get to the middle, one’s strength wanes and peters out. But when one nears the end, there is renewed vigor and drive. The end of our marathon week, Thursday, had just as much vitality and oomph! During their special morning of learning and then volunteering either with terror victims at One Family Fund, or visiting the elderly at Hod Yerushalayim, running programs in community centers for underprivileged children, or dancing and singing at Siach Sod with special needs children, the girls did it with their heart and soul! We entered the finish line with hearing from Rabbi Lashak as our night speaker, an awesome night activity and a packed optional mishmar.

At Michlelet NCSY, after much anticipation, we have started our run! The destination is one that is unbeatable; a summer of deep experiences and  connections to our most sacred values and beliefs.

It certainly has been a week of exhilaration, adrenaline, rush, excitement, determination, accomplishment and fulfillment.

Can’t wait to continue our run on the glorious stones of Eretz Yisroel together with your very special daughters!

Good Shabbos!

With love from the Holy Land,

Rivka Yudin

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