Summer 2014

Today was another day of regularly scheduled learning and activities, although nothing is regular here on Michlelet NCSY! We also had the privilege of having optional shiurim during free time by Dr. David Luchins from Touro College and Rav Yamin Goldsmith, Menahel of Shaalvim For Women. For our night speaker we heard from Rebbetzin Sara Leah Haber and then headed together towards the Reishit grounds to have a beautiful bonfire!

Looking forward to our last tiyul day tomorrow to Masada and Ein Gedi!

Rachi Goldman grew up in Queens, NY and currently attends Queens College. She was a camper on Michlelet for two summers. She spent last summer on Michlelet as a madricha and is happy to have returned for a forth year of Michlelet.

The awesome NCSYers in Rachi’s chaburah are: Aliza Frankel (Monsey, NY), Liba Kurz (Queens, NY), Huvi Rosenkranz (Queens, NY), and Zahava Rothberg (Teaneck, NJ).

Rachi’s chaburah focuses on powerful times of prayer. The first half focuses on what powerful prayer means and how one can work towards achieving it. Through concentration and preparation we understand how to make our davening more desirable to Hahsem. The second half of the summer, the chaburah focuses on more specific times that our chachamim tell us are powerful times to pray. This includes holidays, times of day, while performing certain mitzvot; in addition to how certain emotions effect our power in our tefilah.

Rachi: “I really enjoy learning together with the wonderful girls in my chaburah, I find it inspiring to see how every girls loves to participate and add insights to our sessions.”

Aliza: “In one lesson, Rachi told us to stop momentarily before the bracha of Ritzei in Shmona esrei and ask Hashem to desire our prayers, therefore creating an eis ratzon. This lesson helped me make a closer connection with Hashem, though my own eis ratzon.”

Liba: “I found it inspiring when we learnt about how Moshe asked Hashem to see his face and even though Hashem said no, He still answered Moshe with love. This taught me that although the answer to our tefillot is not always yes, Hashem still listens and always responds with love.”

Huvi: “Learning about tefilah in our chaburah encouraged me to take a few moments before I daven to recognize my creator- as we learnt preparation equals power.”

Zahava: “Being up north for four weeks and not being able to visit Yerushalayim, caused me to want to visit the kotel and Yerushalayim even more. My experience was completely different than it would have been if we went the first day. I have so much Hakarat Hatov to my parents for sending me on Michlelet, it truly is a privilege to be learning Torah in Eretz Yisrael at this time.”

After an amazing Shlomo Katz concert Thursday Night, we woke up bright and early to head up North for a fun morning of water sports by the Kinneret before heading to Tzfat! After an optional tour of the Beit HaKvarot, we ushered in Shabbat in the various minyanim throughout the holy city and enjoyed a Shabbos Nachamu of much Torah, spirituality and achdut. Motzei Shabbat we headed to Tiveria for our Melave Malka on a boat where we enjoyed pizza on the tayelet afterwards. This morning was another day of adventure up north as we went jeeping and rappelling and a great time was had by all!

What a beautiful in day we had here in Reishit! There was a beautiful atmosphere of Torah around, as learning did not just take place during Chabura and Shiur time, but the girls had time to take advantage of our Beit Midrash and the Kol shel Torah was heard all day! After dinner, (grilled chicken, finally!) we were privileged to hear from Rebbetzin Shira Smiles. We then ushered in Purim in August as we had an amazing night activity full of hamentashen, masks and dancing!

Elisheva Watson grew up in Teaneck, New Jersey, and made Aliyah with her family five years ago to Bet Shemesh. She attended Bruriah High School for 9th grade, and Chorev Yerushalayim for the rest of her high school career. Elisheva then spent a year learning in MMY, followed by a year of sherut leumi in Chorev as a madricha for the olot chadashot. Next year she is planning to go to Bar Ilan to study psychology and education. Elisheva had an amazing experience on Michlelet as a camper, and is super excited to be back as a madricha.

The girls in Elisheva’s chabura are Atara Benovitz (Ramat Bet Shemesh, Israel), Mindi Gelbtuch (Woodmere, NY), Sara Raizel Jedwab (Cedarhurst, NY), and Tamar Schwartz (Teaneck, NJ).

In her chabura titled “A Letter in A Scroll” (stolen from the title of one of Elisheva’s favorite books written by Rabbi Jonathan Sacks), Elisheva focuses on the concept of how each individual person is in essence a letter in a scroll. Just as a sefer torah that is missing just one letter becomes invalid, so too if just one person is Am Yisrael does not live up to their potential, this is not just a personal failing, but is detrimental to the entire existence of Klal Yisrael and its ultimate destination. The goal of this chabura is to understand the purpose of Am Yisrael as an Or Lagoyim, and what it means to build our Mamlechet Kohanim Vgoy Kadosh, and then zone into the role of the individual in order to develop her unique responsibility as a part of a bigger picture.

After discussing what it means to build our Mamlechet Kohanim Vguy Kadosh in its most ideal sense, what is your next step in contributing to this reality?

Atara: “In Shemot, it says: “ואתם תהיו לי ממלכת כהנים וגוי קדוש”- meaning we have to be G-d’s nation and an or lagoyim- show everyone else the “light”. This is our destination as a nation. But how do we get there? How do we achieve it? What is my next step to make it to that point?
On a national level, I believe, the thing we have to work on the most is achdut. The pasuk clearly says “mamlechet kohanim” is singular. Hashem wants us to reach the point where we can form one mamlacha, one unit. So this is the next step we have to reach. But how do we get there?
This brings us to the yachid, the singular in klal yisrael. I believe that if we all work on בין אדם לחברו- loving and helping each other, this will cause achdut in our nation. By giving and being nice to others we are bringing the whole nation together. How can you not feel a connection to someone who did something nice for you? But still the question remains, how do we do this? How can we reach that point of loving each other that much?
The answer is to start small. Don’t suddenly decide to create the biggest and most wonderful chesed project, or anything like that. This of course is beautiful, but most likely won’t work. Start small. Decide maybe to smile and greet everyone nicely in the morning, or maybe to say thank you to your teacher at the end of every class. These things may seem small, but they really can make all the difference.
In conclusion, we can all help get to the point of ממלכת כהנים וגוי קדוש on a personal level. We can bring achdut by doing small acts of kindness to one another, and by that bringing the whole nation together. Once we all come together, we can make one big ״ממלכה״, and by doing that bring the Mashiach very soon.”

Mindi: “If you look back to why the bechorim of Yisrael lost the kahuna by the egel, it’s because they transformed something physical to spiritual according to their own will (even thought they had good intentions) instead of doing it al pi Hashem. What we learn from the kohanim is the idea that we must raise all physicality to a higher level of spirituality (according to G-d’s will). We, as Jews, should emulate this concept of elevating the physical, and infuse the world with kedusha.”

Sara Raizel: “My next step is to increase my Israel Advocacy to the next level. I think that that is the modern way of being an Or Lagoim and apart of the Mamlechet Kohanim. Israeli news is constantly being covered in the Media, and most of the time not in a good light. Why should we care what they think? We should care not because Israel depends on the foreign support but because of the opportunity to fulfill the mission of a Mamlechet Kohanim. When we will be able to show the world that Jews no matter how different are able to work towards a common goal of a homeland, each in own way, each person respecting the method of his brother then the rest of the world will see the light.”

Tamar: “In order to build our holy nation and spread it throughout the world, I would have to first work on myself. The best way to promote our people is to make a good name for them for the world to see. I would have to affirm my beliefs and make myself the best image of a Jew. If I can represent myself as a person who makes a kiddush Hashem, I can be someone who inspires and is a role model for members of Am Yisrael. Bringing our geula and the opportunity to let our mamlechet shine throughout the world is most certainly a group effort, and if each member of Am Yisrael makes his or her effort to be a proud member of our goy kadosh, we will have the privilege of witnessing the geula shelaima.”

Rikki Lewis was born and raised in Woodmere, NY. She attended SKA for her high school career, followed by a year of learning in MMY and a half a year in Michlalah. She is now a junior in Stern College.

The girls in Rikki’s chaburah are Atara Charnowitz (Woodmere, NY), Tehilla Ornstein (LA, CA), Orit Reiter (Staten Island, NY), and Matti Fuld (Teaneck, NJ).

In her chaburah titled “Around the year with Tehillim at hand,” Rikki focuses on the special and individual significance that Tehillim has on our lives. Tehillim is the ultimate praise from Dovid HaMelech to Hashem and he begins the Sefer by expressing that G-d’s ultimate praise is man. By being the best person that you can be, you are epitomizing the essence of Tehillim ie; praise to Hashem. In chaburah, the girls explore themes of various chapters of Tehillim and relate them to the different time periods and holidays throughout the year. The lessons that are embedded within the words of Tehillim are everlasting and applicable to each and every one of us. Tehillim is the “bulldozing tool” that can help guide us through our lives if we tap into its’ tremendous power.

Question: What do you miss most about Chispin and why?

Atara: “What I miss most about Chispin would be the atmosphere. Something really special I took out of Chispin was the connection I had with the land. Now I really understand how my ancestors lived. Just like they traveled day by day in the midbar, never knowing when and where their destination would arrive. What got them through those times was their Emunah in Hashem. So too, through our trust in Hashem, we made it to our destination, Reishit!”

Tehilla: “First of all obvz the schnitzel! I mean, now that we don’t have meat, Chispin’s schnitzel seems pretty yummy…but for real, I’m going to miss taking long walks by the water. Just watching the gorgeous sunset with my friends and talking and making memories, I’m going to remember forever. I miss Chispin!”

Orit: “I’ll miss the dining room in Chispin the most. Although the food was…memorable, the picture perfect sunset that you saw through the window was breathtaking every night.”

Matti: “I loved that we spent so much time in the Gamla Room. The Gamla Room is a room where the whole Michlelet joined for davening (even though everyone davened in the lobby actually) and we had all of our homerooms there and all of our night activities there. But, the best part of the Gamla Room is that it was a bomb shelter, meaning that there was no service in there. So, whether it was Shabbos or even a weekday, everybody put their phones away while in the Gamla Room and we actually talked to one another. It was a beautiful room and I will really miss spending time there.”

On Monday we enjoyed our first regular morning back at Reishit.
We had wonderful learning (FINALLY in our beautiful Beis Medrash!) with our madrichot and teachers and exciting activities.
In the afternoon we had a special panel featuring our campers.
Tisha B’av on Michlelet was beautiful and inspirational as always, filled with achdus, gorgeous kumzitzes, meaningful kinnos, and special, thought-provoking programming. May this be the last Tisha B’av we ever have and may we celebrate next year’s together in Yerushalayim!

Hadassah Tirschwell is thrilled to be back on Michlelet once again, having come as a camper in 5769 and as a Madricha last summer. She lives in Teaneck now, but grew up in Boca Raton, FL, and is currently studying in Stern and Azrieli, while working at Bruriah High School! In the long term, Hadassah plans to pursue a life dedicated to Torah through a career in Jewish Education Administration.

The amazing NCSYers in Hadassah’s Chabura are Eliana Benoff (Teaneck, NJ), Racheli Cohen (Houston, TX), Devorah Greenberg (Woodmere, NY), and Michal Minkowitz (Flatbush, NY).

This summer, Hadassah’s Chabura is called “Nishmas Kol Chai: Hashkafic Symbolism of Physical Creations.” What does that actually mean, you may ask? Together, the Chabura studies various creations mentioned in Perek Shira, with the goal of learning the symbolic lessons and hashkafos that emerge from each, thereby leading to an understanding and appreciation of the unique shira of each creation.

In light of Tisha B’Av which is approaching, and will hopefully be accompanied by the rebuilding of the third Beis Hamikdash, what aspect of the Beis Hamikdash are you most looking forward to?

Eliana: “I can’t wait for Kibbutz Galiyos because I really want to make Aliyah, and that way I won’t have to leave anyone behind!”

Racheli: “My father will bring home the prime ribs of the korbanos because he is a kohen! On a more serious note, I can’t wait for there to be no more fear of our enemies.”

Devorah Greenberg: “I am looking forward to peace in the world, shalom among Jews, and no enemies fighting against us, which we really need at a time like this.”

Michal Minkowitz: “I am most excited for the Shiras Halevi’im because when we sing, it sounds beautiful, so I can only imagine the Levi’im sing to Hashem.”