Chaburah Spotlight: Ahuva Motechin

Ahuva Motechin lives in Bergenfield, New Jersey. After attending Bruriah High School and spending one year learning in Yerushalayim, she is now a junior in Stern College, pursuing a degree in biochemistry. Having enjoyed a fabulous summer as a camper, Ahuva is excited to be back as a madricha!

The focus of Ahuva’s chaburah is kumsitz songs. Through a variety of sources, both early and more contemporary, in Hebrew and in English, the girls explore the hashkafic principles embedded in these short excerpts from Tanach and Chazal. In this way, their kumsitz experiences become not just beautiful melodies, but also an opportunity to strengthen the foundations of their Judaism.

The girls in Ahuva’s chaburah are: Eliana Feifel (Chicago, IL), Laya Kaufman (Monsey, NY), Michal Moradi (Lawrence, NY), Batsheva Steinberg (Cedarhurst, NY), and Henna Storch (Woodmere, NY).

Which kumsitz song best encapsulates your summer(s) on michlelet and why? (Not necessarily a song that we have discussed).

Eliana- The kumsitz song that encapsulates my Michlelet experience the best is ובנה ירושלים. When all of Michlelet sings this song together, it is nearly impossible not to feel how powerful it is. I automatically feel a connection to ירושלים and yearn for it to be rebuilt. Not only does ובנה ירושלים provide me  with a real connection to ירושלים, but it also summarizes my summer on Michlelet. Throughout the learning, touring, chessed, and activities on Michlelet, I have gained a lot. I have a further understanding of what is truly important in life and how to become a better person. Just as ובנה ירושלים provides me with a passion to want to do all that I can  to help rebuild ירושלים, so too Michlelet propels me to want to live a life full of meaning and to be the best version of myself that I can be.

Laya- Being that this is my first time in Israel, everything I’ve experienced and seen so far on Michlelet has impacted me tremendously. A song I learned about and really connected to is (ענבים (בשעה שמלך המשיח בא. It speaks about the humble people of the time of משיח and their utter disbelief, as משיח בן דוד calls to them from the roof of the בית המקדש announcing their redemption. From the second I stepped off the plane in Israel and every second after that I have felt the קדושה of this land. I’ve learned so much on Michlelet and my love for Judaism and תורה has only flourished day after day. When I sing this song I can’t help but imagine being here in Israel בזמן משיח and being זוכה to hear him calling us to our ultimate גאולה.

Michal- “One day”- This song is showing that throughout life every person will have hardships and every person will “drown in their tears” but the only way for Mashiach to come is to fight as Jews for our people and go through hard times to show Hashem how much we love Him and how much we want to stay His nation.

Batsheva- “Anavim”- It really put things into perspective on how being humble is not thinking down on yourself just constantly being aware that Hashem has given you all you have. To always have in mind thank you Hashem for GIVING me these gift so that I can go on and use them for good.

Henna- One song we learned in chabura that I felt really summed up my michlelet experience was Pischi Li. The song is from shir hashirim and tells of someones beloved knocking at the door saying wake up, wake up. In chabura we related the song to seizing the opportunity, which is something I have tried to work on this summer. Every day we have so many opportunities, whether it’s a chabura to learn from, a chessed that we do, a friendship we make or forming a stronger connection to the land of eretz yisrael. From when we wake up in the morning until we go to sleep our day is filled with opportunities, we just need to grab them, and when opportunity knocks I don’t want to be sleeping.