Summer 2013

Esti, from Woodmere, NY, is a student at Yeshiva University Stern College for Woman after having spent one year at Michlalah. Esti is thrilled to be back as a madricha this summer having been a camper on Michlelet in 2010. She can’t wait to continue another incredible summer on the best program ever!

The NCSYers in Esti’s chabura are: Raisel Altman (Chicago, IL), Ester Panigel (Brooklyn, NY), Tamar Eisenberg (Lawrence, NY), and Chedva Wielgus (Brooklyn, NY).

Esti’s chabura is broken into 3 categories: bein adam leatzmo, bein adam lechaveiro, and bein adam leMakom. Within each relationship we tackle different middos or challenges we face on a constant basis. Some of the sub topics include: self-esteem, simcha, beauty, chesed, lashon hara, humility vs. haughtiness, tzniut, Yad Hashem, tefilla, challenges, and love vs. fear. By exploring these in depth we can apply them to our own lives to strengthen these vital relationships.

The main goal of the chabura is to come out of the summer with useful and applicable tools to help us with our most important relationships. B’ezrat Hashem we will carry this helpful advice with us for the rest of our lives!

Raisel: “I love Michlelet because I know the friends I make here are friends I will have forever.”

Ester: “I have come to love Michlelet because I figured out how to connect what I’m learning to my everyday life.”

Tamar: “Esti has taught me to appreciate life and my surroundings because everything that we are given comes from Hashem. In order to prove this concept, Esti has shown me numerous examples of Hashem’s greatness that help improve my spiritual growth every day.”

Chedva: “Esti’s chabura is giving me a new and fascinating perspective on relationships. I love it!”

Ayelet, born and raised in Monsey, NY (Ir Ha’kodesh), is currently a senior in Yeshiva University’s Stern College for Women, majoring in biology and planning to go in to high school science education. During the school year, Ayelet is a proud member of New England NCSY. Having attended Michlelet as a camper for two years, she is super excited to return as a Madricha!

The NCSYers in Ayelet’s Chabura are Batsheva Mammon (Monsey, NY), Devorah Meisels (Woodmere, NY), Aliza Pollack (Cleveland, OH), and Esther Rothman (Woodmere, NY).

The main focus of the Chabura is recognizing the importance of diversity within Klal Yisrael. Ayelet’s Chabura discusses the unique personality traits of each of the twelve Shevatim, based on their names, their actions, and the blessings they received from Yaakov and Moshe. The goal is to gain an appreciation for the differences found amongst Jews throughout the world today by looking at the different kochot of the original twelve tribes that make up the Jewish people.

Batsheva: “Michlelet has been an awesome experience, this program greatly balances chessed, learning, and fun in just six weeks.”

Devorah: “I love the environment that is created on Michlelet by the diversity of the girls and madrichot. Everyone came from different backgrounds but had the same reasons for coming; touring the land, learning Torah, and performing chesed.”

Aliza: “Michlelet was actually the best summer I had yet, because of how much we accomplished in such a short amount of time. Looking back, its crazy to see really how much learning, chesed and fun we had.”

Esther: “Michlelet has been the best summer yet-with a mix of chessed, learning, and tiyulim, it is the perfect balance for an amazing summer program.”

Tamar Singer is from Hollywood Florida and attended Weinbaum Yeshiva High School, then went to Midreshet Moriah and is now a junior in Stern College, majoring in Education. 

Danielle Koppel is thrilled to be back on Michlelet as a madricha after spending 2 years as a camper!

The Michlelet NCSYers in Danielle’s chabura are: Sarah Sklar (Cedarhurst, NY), Yonina Fireman (Cleveland, OH), Shoshi Trombka (Silver Spring, MD), and Miriam Isakova (Queens, NY).

Danielle’s chabura is based off of Pavlov’s experiment of classical conditioning. She presents the chabura with a secular source and then breaks it down to reveal the distorted values hidden within. Then she brings in Torah sources to counteract those bad values and teach the girls the right way – the Torah way – to live.

Sarah: “Our topics we discuss in chabura are so important and applicable that we can go on for hours. Literally!”

Yonina: “I love chabura because everyone has a voice and no one feels embarrassed to say their thoughts. We’re like a family!”

Shoshi: “I love the discussions we have in chabura!”

Miriam: “The discussions we have in Danielle’s chabura teach me about how I can balance being part of society but also maintaining my Jewish values. It is a very applicable topic for every day!

Talia is from Cedarhurst, NY, and attends Queens College. Talia is so excited to be a Madricha who can learn with and from the campers on Michlelet this summer!!!

The NCSYers in Talia’s chabura are Matti Fuld (Teaneck,NJ), Estee Sabbah-Dery (Fair Lawn, NJ), Shira Shitrit (Queens, NY), and Deena Stiefel (Atlanta, GA)!!!

Talia’s chabura focuses on the beautiful Tefilot we recite each morning. Starting off with Birchot Hashachar and ending with Aleinu, her chabura will be gaining an appreciation and confidence to WANT to daven each day; and to view Tefilah as an AWESOME opportunity to talk to our Avinu Shabashamayim!!!

Q- If you could bang into any DOOR in Reishis which one would it be and why?

Matti- Beit Midrash!! Because that only means that I was sooo excited to go in!!!

Estee- Talia’s classroom!! Because I know I’m going to be learning something that’s important to me!!!

Shira- The Kitchen!!! Because I know there very welcoming in there, they have great food, and I’m hungry a lot!!

Deena- The Entrance!!! Because I would be eager to see everyone and learn Torah!!!

Miri Korbman is from Elizabeth,NJ. She went to Bruriah for high school, then spent a year and a half in Michlalah and is now a Junior in Touro Manhattan majoring in psychology.

The girls in Miri’s chaburah are Atara Huberfeld (Woodmere, NY), Tani Kahan (Monsey, NY), Rebecca Sturm (Woodmere, NY), and Kayla Ghermezian (Riverdale, NY).

Miri’s chaburah topic is “menuchat hanefesh,” peace of mind. The chaburah focuses on what it means to have peace of mind from a Torah perspective; what is menuchat hanefesh? Why do we care? In what ways does having a sense of inner calm alleviate our worries and anxieties and enable us to be more productive, accomplishing, happy friends, daughters, and Jews? The girls in Miri’s chaburah learn about different factors teenagers in today’s society face which inhibit our sense of inner peace and make it difficult to feel calm and contented with life’s challenges, big and small. The goal of the chaburah is to learn how to tap into menuchat hanefesh in all situations, to transcend the chaotic hustle and bustle of the unsatisfied, anxiety-ridden world around us. Miri’s chaburah views the journey to menuchat hanefesh like building a house. Bitachon, trust in Gd, is the foundation of all inner peace and contentedness, while a true sense of humility and an ability to overcome jealousy are the walls that stand on that foundations; lastly, prayer is the roof which protects and shields us from worry and anxiety and keeps our menuchat hanefesh protected and intact. Through learning about these and other important midot and Torah values connected to menuchat hanefesh, such as shabbos, leadership, and self-esteem, we are enhancing our relationships with ourselves, with Gd, and with others. Our motto is: We are where we need to be- just breathe 🙂

What’s one thing you learned in our chaburah that you will carry with you through the year and one of your favorite menuchas hanefesh related quotes?

Atara: “Being ok with where you are because Hashem’s in control. ‘The way I see it, every life is a pile of good things and bad things- the good things don’t always soften the bad things but vice versa- the bad things don’t necessarily spoil the good things and make them unimportant.'”

Rebecca: “Menuchat hanefesh doesn’t mean being “chilled” at all times- it means reacting to life’s situations and challenges in the right way “football quote.”‘

Tani: “Relax, everything will be ok, you’re in Hashem’s hands!! “Everything I need I have and everything I have I need.”

Kayla: “It’s about being chilled- but not frozen; menuchas hanefesh isn’t about sitting by and letting life pass- it helps us be active participants in life- just chilled ones! “Keep calm and carry on- with menuchas hanefesh.”

Dena Lichtman, from Hillside, NJ, is thrilled to be back on Michlelet as a madricha after spending an exciting summer here as a camper!

The NCSYers in Dena’s chabura are: Sara Axel (New York, NY), Tehila Finkelstein (Teaneck, NJ), Nechama Deena Korenblit (Passaic, NJ), and Temima Kermaier (Baltimore, MD).

In Dena’s chabura, we learn the psychology behind different colors and find places in Tanach where those colors are mentioned. Then we learn about a middah connected to that color. It gives a totally new perspective on things we’ve been learning since kindergarten. We look back at the basics and with our new understanding of colors we see that it’s not so simple after all.

Sara: “I love learning things in my classes and chaburas that I’ve been taught in school but now have a totally different spin. I never looked at things in that way! It’s an awesome balance between crazy tiyulim and meaningful speeches! I love Michlelet!

Temima: “The accepting atmosphere in Michlelet is amazing. In Michlelet it doesn’t matter where you live or what you look like. Everybody is respected as a person who can be learned from.”

Nechama Deena: “I love the well balanced atmosphere of Michlelet.”

Tehila: “I love the balance on Michlelet of the learning, tiyulim, activities, and just having fun. The people really make the program great. The madrichot and staff are amazing and all the girls are so friendly and accepting. I love Michlelet!”

Davina Sagoskin, from Yardley, Pennsylvania, is currently in Stern College majoring in Jewish Education. Davina is having an awesome summer on Michlelet NCSY and loves learning with and from her campers.

The NCSYers in Davina’s chabura are Aliza Hersch (Woodmere, NY), Chaya Sarah Shippel (New York, NY), Tamar Rosenfeld (Lawrence, NY), and Goldy Weissman (Cedarhurst, NY).

Davina’s chabura focuses on how the Torah defines true simcha and how we can apply that to different aspects of our lives and become happier people.

We defined true happiness as a response one feels when they know they are doing the right thing and are connected to Hashem.

We explored different areas where we can find true happiness in our day to day lives such as the joy through achievement, appreciation, trusting G-d, tefilla, and resistance just to name a few!

Tamar: “Our chabura is learning about simcha and the environment on Michlelet where we learn Torah every day with such incredible people is truly the best place to achieve that goal.”

Aliza: “It’s not just about spending 45 minutes in chabura, but learning about simcha has made me want to apply all that I learned to my everyday life and share it with others.”

Chaya Sarah: “Learning about happiness throughout the summer has taught me to incorporate these ideas and apply them to everyday life. Michlelet has taught me to be happy and excited about learning whether in a chabura or in a teacher class.”

Goldy: “You’re never fully dressed without a smile. Michlelet has helped me to become a truly happy person.”