Dear Michlelet NCSY Parents, amu”sh
I cannot even tell you how UNBELIEVABLE our first Shabbos on Michlelet was!!! It was really incredible!! The singing, ruach, zmiros, tish, kumzits were indescribable!! Some highlights were…..the Infamous Michlelet NCSY Tisch led by our “Rebbe” (Madricha- Danielle Koppell) and “Rebbetzin” (Madricha-Gratzia Rose,) was literally rocking and you could hear the laughter and singing from miles away …throughout Shabbos more and more singing…zmiros… fun getting to know you programs… a beautiful performance by choir and funny performance by drama…beautiful kumzits surrounded by sunset and surrounding hills at Shalosh Seudos… The girls had so much spirit and were so into things. At the meals, we heard beautiful Divrei Torah presented by Michlelet NCSYers, Tani Kahan, Orly Ohayon and Shana Beter, Rebecca Sturm. It was a really beautiful Shabbos filled with bonding, good feeling and spirituality.
Optional Shiurim were offered at 2 different points during free time on Shabbos afternoon. The first was given by Rabbi Andi Yudin(my husband) who spoke about the centrality and importance of hakaras hatov, being thankful. The second optional shiur was given later on in the afternoon by Rabbi Benjamin Yudin(my father-in-law- keeping it all in the family J)who gave a great shiur on Pirkei Avos. It was amazing to see how many girls came to both of the optional shiurim!! It showed how exceptional and unique our group of girls are!!
As soon as our first incredible Shabbos ended, the girls headed back to their rooms to change and met back in the dining room a half hour later (many dressed in costume…just because!) for Make Your Own Pizza! Each girl got to make her own personal pizza with toppings and the works and had time to bond with new friends while waiting for them to bake and then sharing their Melava Malka together! It was a blast…and it tasted pretty good too!
Sunday morning, we were off bright and early and for an incredible Tiyul Day!!We started off at Mesadah where we climbed a bit (just to make us feel like we did some of it) and got to the top. There, we got a great tour and were able to see the breathtaking, magnificent view. Then we took good old cable cars down. From there, we went to the Dead Sea where the girls had a chance to float and have a great time at Yam HaMelach. Following that, we went to Ein Gedi, where we hiked Ein Gedi, through the water and all, and the girls got to go in the refreshing waterfalls there, splashing, singing and cheering. It was a blast!
In the evening, after dinner back at Reishit, Rabbi Andi Yudin spoke to us about the Halachot of the 9 Days, which had just begun. Here on Michlelet, we have really been trying to work on our Ahavat Yisroel and hope that this Tish’a B’av will turn into one of rejoicing instead of the day of mourning it now is.
Monday was an amazing day of learning with teachers, with madrichot, fantastic activities like dance, dodgeball, art, songsational, tennis, pioneering, sign language, cooking, basketball, volleyball, aerobics and exercise room. In the evening after dinner, we heard from Rabbi Avrohom Willig, one of our teachers and Rebbe at Aish HaTorah and Birkas Mordechai, as our speaker of the evening. He was entertaining and hysterical and left us with a powerful message of sensitivity and thoughtfulness towards others, especially in the time we are in.
Afterwards, we were off to our Build-The- Bais Hamikdash Night Activity!! For our first Night Activity of the Nine Days, the girls were sent to the dining room by Dirah to find tables full of very interesting building materials and were given the task of building a part of our very own Michlelet Beis HaMikdash! Each group recieved a picture and description of one of the keilim, bigdei kehuna or the structure of the Beis HaMikdash itself. It proved to be quite the challenge and the girls rose to the occasion with unbelievable creativity and unity!! The end result was an awesome display of their artwork!
Tuesday was such a fulfilling, fun, meaningful day. It is amazing how much we accomplish in one day here at Michlelet NCSY. It was a day filled with inspiring learning, fun activities and meaningful chessed, all here in our homeland of Eretz Yisroel. We started off the day learning with Madrichot and teachers. Then, we were off to activities and everyone went to what they liked- choosing from cake decorating, basketball, aerobics, dodgeball, tennis, art. Following lunch, we set out to Beit Elazrakhi, an Orphanage for children who either don’t have parents, or come from at risk homes where their parents can’t take care of them properly. First, Rabbi Kohn, Father of the children’s home, spoke to us about Beit Elazrakhi and the unbelievable way they take care of these kids, some abandoned, some orphans, some from difficult home situations- all with a story and pain-from infancy onwards….including walking them down the aisle and being like grandparents to their children. Afterwards, they showed us a short video interviewing some people who had lived there and were now adults. It was extremely moving and powerful. After that introduction, we were ready to meet the children, if only for a short time, to give them some love, compliments and warmth. The girls spread out as 80 children came down to make picture frames with our Michlelet NCSYers. They bonded and schmoozed and made them feel like a million dollars. I was so proud of how warm and amazing our girls were with them. After that, we all went to the hall where my six year old son, Tzachi, did an acrobats performance for the children of Beit Elazrakhi while they sat on our girls laps, enjoying, laughing, clapping and watching together. They had such an amazing time and when we left, our girls felt so good and were so touched.
We got back to Reishit, had dinner and then got to hear from our night speaker, Mrs. Leba Schneider, Director of Student Activities at Tiferet Seminary. She was fabulous!! The girls really enjoyed her warm and endearing personality which shown through as she spoke about what crying is really about and how we all want to reach our potential.
After that, we got up and said to the Michlelet NCSYers… “Hey…Anyone notice that your Madrichot disappeared after dinner??? Let’s go find them!!” We all went straight to the buses for a surprise trip to the mall where their Madrichot were scattered around in disguise and the girls were told to go with their roommates to find them. From mannequins to store workers, casual pregnant Israeli women, cleaning ladies and homeless beggars…the Madrichot put on quite the show and the girls were super excited!! I’m not sure who had the most fun – the girls, the madrichot, the head staff watching it happen or the random people in the mall who were just as amused as we were!
Wednesday, it was great to stay home, here at Reishit. We enjoyed a fabulous day of learning with Madrichot and teachers and chose from the plethora of activities offered such as zumba, ultimate frisbee, pioneering, volleyball, baking, sign language, art, basketball, kickball, dance, cake decorating and exercise room.
During free time, an optional Shiur was given by one of our Head Madrichot, Aliza Saltzburg. At dinner, we had the pleasure of having a siyum which my son, Eli Yudin, and husband, Rabbi Andi Yudin, made together on Seder Mo’aid. Eli and my husband spoke, and it was really beautiful and moving and so special to share it with our Michlelet Family. We then enjoyed a meat, Se’udas Mitzvah siyum meal.
From there, we went to hear our speaker of the evening, Rabbi Dani Marcus, Maggid Shiur and Director of Student Life here at our hosts, Yeshivat Reishit. His speech was incredible and our girls were blown away with his passion and dynamism as he spoke about the unique mission of each and every person, that only they can fulfill.
For Night Activity, we gave the girls a chance to relax after a full day of learning and activities by putting on pajamas, grabbing their pillows, blankets, and nosh and piling in to the auditorium for “Movie Night”. They really appreciated the chance to take it easy and relax as a group!
Thursday, after a fantastic day of learning, activities and then lunch, we headed down to the buses for a unique chessed trip. We went to Cholon, to the Dialogue in the Dark, otherwise known as the Blind Museum. The Dialogue in the Dark is a museum, where one experiences what it must be like for people who cannot see. We all went into a special place for a tour of different types of places where you can see absolutely nothing! It is pitch dark. What is so incredible is that the guide who calmly and confidently walked each group through while we were stumbling and unsure was a blind person him or herself! He or she, who needs to usually be lead, was leading us!! The experience was extremely powerful and we all walked away with a newfound sensitivity towards those that are disabled and an extra appreciation for our ability to see. While the shana alef girls went to the Blind Museum, the shana bet girls, got to go to the brand new museum, the Dialogue in Time, which puts you in the place of what it must be like for elderly people and their struggles physically, psychologically and emotionally.
Now that we have this newfound sensitivity from this very impressionable and striking experience, we are looking forward to our next chessed trip on Sunday morning, where we will be volunteering with people who are blind, details to follow next week. Shana bet will be volunteering with the elderly.
When we got back and had dinner, we headed to our indoor gym for a camper vs. counselor basketball game. I am sorry to admit it, but the Michlelet NCSYers creamed usJ Afterwards we headed to see our Week #2 Recap Video. Then, there was an optional 15 minute Parsha Shmooze from Rabbi Andi Yudin.
This morning, everyone was off to their free Shabbos to get to see various communities in Israel.
We are looking forward to seeing everyone back here on Motzei Shabbos and looking forward to next Shabbos when we can all be together again!
It has been a really incredible, exciting week here at Michlelet NCSY!! It’s amazing how much can be accomplished in a day here, let alone a week!
As always, please be in touch with feedback and comments! My email is yudinr@ncsy.org
You can see our blog, pictures, weekly recap videos and listen to our shiurim on our website, http://michlelet.ncsy.org/
Have a wonderful Shabbos!!
Mrs. Rivka Yudin
Director
Michlelet NCSY