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Dear NCSY Michlelet Parents, amush
I write this letter to you on our way back from the beautiful North. As I look out the windows, I see the glorious and breathtaking Golan mountains and serene and absolutely exquisite Kineret Water. May the peacefulness and calm felt when looking at the magnificent mountains and Kineret spread throughout the land to all of Am Yisrael. It has been a very special few weeks up here. We were taught resilience as a whole and that no matter what our expectations, and how much we plan, it is Hashem’s will that ultimately reigns and that is best for us. We were taught in practice to make the best of everything even when plans are altered and not the way we planned. Your daughters did this phenomenally, rolling with the punches with extreme positivity and energy, throwing themselves into every experience and gaining from it all.
At Michlelet NCSY, we have tried to maintain our commitment to excellence in every area, whether it be in the area of learning, chessed, touring and unity, no matter where we are. We are looking forward to continuing that experience at Reishit, b’ezrat Hashem.
Shabbos on Michlelet was actually a historical event. It was the first time, at least since I am here, that we had three in Shabbatot with everyone in a row. And, wow, did you feel it. The power and energy was palpable. The zemirot over Shabbos, our Tisch and all the seudos were so strong and lasted for hours. The programming and shiurim offered by Rabbi Avraham Willig and Rabbi Andi Yudin were inspiring and motivating. On Shabbos we were privileged to hear Divrei Torah at our meals from NCSYers, Tali Weisinger, Ana Lis and Rebecca Russo. A highlight of Shabbos was that we were able to hear from Rabbi Zinger, shlita, Rosh Yeshiva of Mekor Chaim, the Yeshiva that Naftali Frenkel Hy”d and Gilad Shaar Hy”d learned. He told the girls how meaningful and important it was to be in Eretz Yisrael at this time and how the women of Klal Yisroel were moser nefesh and offered encouragement all through the years, specifically Mrs. Frenkel, Mrs. Shaar and Mrs. Yifrach. It was such an honor to hear from him.
Motzei Shabbos, the girls played a large scale game of Capture the Flag across our beautiful Chispin Campus. You could hear the cheering, running and laughter everywhere. Following our activity, we had a pizza Melave Malka.
Sunday was an opportunity to help the community of Teveria in a meaningful way. We divided up into four groups and were able to paint an old age home, an absorption center for Russian People who have made aliyah, a Bayit Cham Center for children who need extra attention to spend time in for after school activities and homework help, and a soup kitchen. The girls had a great time painting and felt so accomplished when they were done. They did an excellent job and were happy to know they had lightened up the lives of so many elderly, young, immigrant and needy people who would come to a bright, cheery freshly painted center the following morning. On our way back, we had a delicious shwarma lunch. In the evening, we had the honor of hearing from Rabbi Moshe Benovitz, Director of NCSY Kollel and Dean of NCSY Summer Programs, as our night speaker. He spoke of rebuilding what we lost when the Beis Hamikdash was destroyed and about the concept of building ourselves with our summer at Michlelet. The girls left motiviated, encouraged and inspired.
Monday was a wonderful day of learning with teachers and madrichot. I love walking around watching everyone in their small groups learning throughout the building and on the grass. It is so inspiring for me to see teenage girls so excited about their Torah learning during the summer months. It was great to engage in fun activities, as well, and the girls participated in options of activities such as basketball, zumba, dance, art, softball, pioneering, jump roping and cake decorating. In the middle of the day, we were treated to a tasty falafel lunch.
Monday evening we had the tremendous zchus to hear from Rabbi Hershel Schachter, shlita, Rosh Yeshiva at Yeshiva University. Rav Schachter went through the special qualities and mitzvos of Eretz Yisrael and how the land belongs to Klal Yisrael. The girls felt so fortunate to hear from such a tremendous leader and posek.
Monday evening, the girls were completely surprised by color war breakout!! Rabbi Netanel Lebowitz, assistant director of NCSY Kollel, broke out color war with a big mussar schmooze directed towards our girls. It took them about ten minutes to realize he was kidding and that it was color war breakout. When everyone realized, the place was abuzz with laughter, cheering and excitement. The girls were immediately broken up into teams and quickly got to work preparing.
Tuesday was filled with a tremendous sense of ruach and achdus. The girls amazed us with their excitement for color war. They enjoyed the competitive panoply and apache races and excelled in all of their performances. We loved watching the girls shine with their different talents. In addition to the various competitions, artistic presentations and Divrei Torah, we watched performances of stomp, comedy skits, choirs, cheers and moving theme songs. The NCSYers really used color war as an opportunity to express their excitement about Michlelet and hopes for safety and peace in Eretz Yisrael. It was a very moving night and a beautiful day. They made choosing a winner a very tough decision. We were even more impressed when we walked into the dining room for breakfast and were greeted with a giant sign thanking us for the amazing color war with the signature of every girl.
Wednesday was another chance to get to know and feel the land of Israel and become more attached to the Land of our heritage. The girls got to choose options of either hiking the Banias or Biking in the Galil. Those that chose to hike the Banias, hiked an enjoyable hike alongside a beautiful stream that ends beside a gorgeous waterfall. The girls had a wonderful time. Those that chose to go biking, travelled to a nearby yishuv, donned helmets and enjoyed an exhilarating bike tour. They worked up a real sweat as the biking was challenging, yet invigorating. Afterwards, each group enjoyed a lunch from either Café Café or from Pizza Pazzaz in a shady park. Both groups stopped at different times at Tzuk Menara to go alpine sliding! They had a great time zooming down the hills of the Golan in little go carts in pairs. On the way back, most of the girls had the distinct privilege of davening at the kever of the famous tana, Choni Hama’agal who had his tefilos answered in a very unusual way as he was considered a ben bayis (a regular guest) of Hashem.
When we returned on Wednesday evening, we enjoyed a wonderful shiur from Rabbi David Katz, director of MMY, who spoke about the mitzva of Shmita. The girls really enjoyed and were involved, learning about a mitzvah unique to Eretz Yisrael.
Afterwards, we had a special learning program to mark the shloshim of our three boys, Gilad Shaar, Naftali Frankel and Ayal Yifrach, HY”D. The girls learned together about the mitzva of Ahavat Yisrael and achdus, trying to perpetuate the feelings we all had those eighteen days as we joined together and prayed for the boys to be found.
Thursday, was another fulfilling day packed with so many meaningful experiences, glimpsing the depth and beauty of Torah with our learning, having fun with activities and being able to participate in a very special and unique chessed. With the help of our fantastic shana beters, we broke out the fact that we were going to have the opportunity of making a wedding and bridal shower for a poor kallah (bride) and that we would be making her a bridal shower that very afternoon in Chispin! The Kallah, Leah, is a ba’alat teshuva from Russia and her chatan is as well. She unfortunately was orphaned from her father at a young age and her mother is still in Russia. Her chatan is a chayal, serving in the army, and will G-d willing get out for the wedding. She is tremendously needy and has no money to pay for anything.
The girls got right to work, wrapping presents, decorating a chair for the kallah, and decorating the hotel dining room. The dining room looked absolutely gorgeous. You had to see the warmth and excitement with which the girls greeted Leah, whom they didn’t even know! The Ahavat Yisroel in the room was palpable- so so incredibly moving and special. Michlelet NCSYers came together to sing and bring joy to a fellow Jew who they never met before, simply because she is a Jew. They even prepared a beautiful song for her and video giving her brachos. It was so moving!!
Then came time to give the presents!! How touched and excited she was to get a whole table full of presents, including pots, towels, dishes, silverware and more. The kallah was so so touched not only by the actual presents, but by the warmth and love that the girls displayed. She spoke to the girls afterwards and told them how touched she was by their kindness, warmth and sincerity and said they acted to her as if they were close relatives. She thanked them profusely from the bottom of her heart and told them she is looking forward to dancing with them at her wedding. We are still collecting money to sponsor our wedding. If you would like to contribute to this very special need, please be in touch with me. Thank you.
Thursday after our moving and heartwarming bridal shower, we had the pleasure of hearing from Rabbi Yisrael Haber, a Chabad Rabbi living in Chispin. He started off by thanking the girls for the incredible carnival they had provided a few weeks before. He spoke about how down so many in the community were with their husbands called away to the reserves and with the war starting. He continued, saying that the carnival the girls made for their children, really gave them tremendous encouragement. They all left the carnival saying, “who are these girls who have come with such happiness and enthusiasm?!” It literally injected them with simcha and gave them a tremendous sense of chizzuk. They are still talking about it now. He then entertained and inspired them with his story of being a chaplain in the American Army in Alaska and then came to Eretz Yisrael.
In the evening, when I announced that we will G-d willing be moving back to Reishit, the girls literally erupted in cheers. It has been a wonderful stay in Chispin, but we are looking forward to moving back to our natural home at Reishit. We continue to pray for peace and quiet to all of Eretz Yisrael.
This morning, our first off Shabbos has begun . We will definitely miss being together for Shabbos but it is nice for the girls to spend time with family and see the various communities of Israel.
Please feel free to be in touch with any feedback you may have and to view our pictures and weekly recap videos at michlelet.ncsy.org
With hopes and prayers for safety and protection for all our soldiers on the front lines and all the families all over Eretz Yisrael,
Rivka Yudin
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