Summer 2015

Today on Michlelet was like every other day… Or so the girls thought! We started off our day with breakfast and learning, chaburahs and shiurs, activities and hanging out. We welcomed two new girls to Michlelet today who just joined us from TJJ Bus 7! The second half of the day was spent preparing for our awesome chessed activity that we will be running tomorrow. Dinner was delicious as usual, and night activity was great! The girls made “promo videos” for Michlelet and we showed them in the auditorium. Then, we had curfew, and the girls thought the day was over. Little did they know that their madrichot were preparing an amazing activity for 2 AM! Girls Night Out was a huge success, with dancing, ice cream and chocolate fondue. Don’t worry, tomorrow is late wakeup and another amazing day of the summer that the girls will be well rested for!

Yesterday was incredibly packed with fun trips! The first was a hike in the beautiful Nachal Prat. The hike itself was great, but the water at the end really made the trip worthwhile. Ice cream also added to the chavayah of the trip! We then headed to Luna Park in Tel Aviv to experience the thrill of Israeli roller coasters and carousels. The park had some crazy rides in it, and some girls even won some prizes! We headed back to Reishit for dinner, and ended the day with a madricha vs. camper basketball game. Tiyul days are great days, but we cant wait to get back to learning!

Zahava is from Woodmere NY. She went to SKA  for high school and spent a year and a half in Israel.  She is now a sophomore in Queens college majoring in Psychology. Zahava went on Michlelet as a camper for two summers and is so excited to be back as a Madricha! 

Click here to listen to our very own Mrs. Sara Leah Haber speaking to Michlelet about her own life and challenges:

http://www.yutorah.org/lectures/lecture.cfm/839210/Mrs.%20Sara%20Leah%20Haber/What%20My%20Autistic%20Son%20Has%20Taught%20Me

Wow, what a day we had! Our day was another amazing day on campus with learning and activities as normal. There was basketball and dance and tie-dye, along with other cool activities. The day became super special and exciting later on when one of the most exciting days on the calendar was finally here! Yom NCSY is a day where all NCSY programs in Israel join together for a night of dancing and singing and inspiration. We danced with fellow all-girl program GIVE and our friends from TJJA and TJJ 7! We heard from Rachel Frankel, who spoke about achdus and unity. Shlomo Katz came to perform and so did energetic drummers, and the night ended with an amazing fireworks display! It was truly a day to remember on Michlelet 15!

Tova Hammer is from Woodmere New York. After learning in Eretz Yisroel for a year, she is now in Stern majoring in Judaic studies and English communications (don’t ask her what that is … Sometimes she’s not sure). Tova has rejoined the Michlelet team after a fabulous summer here as a camper.

Tova’s Chaburah is studying leadership training in tanach. They are looking at the interactions of our leaders and those who trained them to be so great, and taking lessons for themselves on leadership. The girls can’t wait to delve deeper into these “rebbe” – “talmid” relationships and learn how to become leaders!

If you can meet any leader from tanach who would you want to meet?

Devorah Pinczower, (Riverdale NY): Shlomo because he was “chochom mikol adam” and he used this gift to be able to help others and improve society. He excelled in areas of the heart and mind.

Bracha Mindell, (Lawrence NY): Yosef because he was able to withstand the secular influences and continue to serve Hashem even in Egypt. We can look to him to learn how to also withstand the test of our time’s galus.

Rachel Gutmann (Passaic NJ): Yirmiyahu because learning about him in our Chaburah made me see that his struggles were very relatable to my own life.

Moriel Draiman (Chicago Illinois): – Dovid because even though he had such a hard life he was still able to always thank Hashem and even wrote Sefer Tehillim to fully express how thankful he was.

Part 2 of Week 3 Recap Video!

Tisha B’Av started on motzei shabbos this year, and the transition from shabbos to eicha was intense. The program for the night of Tisha B’Av was a walk through Jewish history and the Churban, with an incredible kumzitz. The morning was spent saying kinnos, with madrichot introducing them in meaningful and insightful ways. We concluded Tisha B’Av together with another powerful kumzitz, this one filled with uplifting songs transitioning us into Menachem Av. We had a delicious meal for break fast with bagels and salad and pasta! Tisha B’Av was incredibly moving, and will have an impact on us for the rest of they year. May it be the last time we sit on the floor mourning the Churban, and may we look forward to spending next year in Yerushalayim!

Part 1 of the WEEK 3 Recap Video

Dear Michlelet NCSY Parents,

As I take a few moments to reflect on the depth of so many of our experiences this week, I am deeply moved. I would venture to believe that no Michlelet NCSYer has encountered so many profoundly meaningful and powerful events, let alone in one week.

Of course, it was a week with our usual excitement and fun, with phenomenal activities to choose from such as aerobics, pioneering, baking flag football, volleyball, basketball, choir drama, zumba, fruit carving and jumproping, as well as highly entertaining and exhilarating night activities and a tremendous amount of positive spirit. We have come together as a united group of Michlelet NCSYers and Madrichot; a force of incredible energy and positivity.

Our learning as well, was of the highest caliber, with our stimulating and inspiring teachers and madrichot. There were optional shiurim, chavrusa learning and phenomenal inspiring speakers.

However, this is not what I refer to..

We now stand towards the end of the nine days, a time period of sadness and mourning for our Jewish Nation. A time where so much suffering comes from the disconnect, we as a People had with each other, a lack of connectedness and love. Our Michlelet NCSYers have experienced and acted as true leaders, connecting in the deepest way to each other. If Mashiach will come, I am sure it will be largely a part to the magnificence of the actions of our girls this week.

But there are a few moments that stand out as especially moving and touching to me personally.

On Sunday and Thursday we had the privilege of hosting girls from TJJ Ambassadors, an NCSY Summer program for public school kids who have come for Israel Advocacy. The Michlelet girls learned with them, interacted with them and hosted them with such love and acceptance that I was moved several times to tears. To quote a TJJ Ambassador who came in worrying that the Orthodox girls from our program would be judgemental  “It’s so nice, nobody judges me here. Everyone is so nice and friendly. I was nervous because I knew some Orthodox people who weren’t nice to me, but being here totally proved me wrong. These girls are amazing!”

Or maybe to quote another “These people are the nicest, happiest people I have ever met! Is that what it’s like to be Orthodox?”

But the moment that stood out most in my mind, was the instant the TJJ Ambassadors walked in to our building, with shyness and trepidation. To accurately describe the scene would be impossible but I will try my best. The Michlelet NCSYers who were standing outside the Beis Medrash, formed arches with their hands and started singing loudly, joyfully and warmly, as they excitedly welcomed the TJJ Ambassadors whom they had never met before.  The Ambassadors, upon seeing this, ran through with looks of surprise and elation, coming out with huge smiles on their faces. As Rabbi Suffren, our keynote speaker said after witnessing a scene like that said, “What just happened in this room, is the truest form of baseless love.”(Ahavas Chinam) This same exact scene repeated itself when TJJ Bus 7 joined us on Thursday afternoon.

Our tiyul; tailor made for the nine days, was another highlight. Not only because it is a great zechus to be at the holy places we visited, but because it gave me another glimpse into whom your wonderful daughters are.

Connection is the word that best encapsulates our tiyul this week. Watching the girls ascend to Me’aras Ha’machpeila and pour out their hearts at Kever Rachel in the same morning was truly a sight to behold. The unbelievable sense of mission and purpose that was palpable at Yad Vashem and Har Herzl reminded me of the incredible caliber of girl that exists here in Michlelet. Although it could have been a lot to handle in one day, to see the maturity and focus that the girls showed, made me feel so lucky and proud to be involved with such a unique group of future Jewish leaders. It most certainly helped us feel the nine days in ways that we may have never felt them before.   

But perhaps the moment that encapsulated it all, was on Thursdaywhen we had the privilege of hosting TJJA again as well as TJJ bus 7.  Each year on Michlelet, we have had the honor of making a wedding from scratch, here at Reishit, for a needy couple. This year, as well, we will have that zchus and the wedding will G-d willing be the last week of camp. On Thursday, we made a bridal shower for our kalah, Sara.

In preparation, the Michlelet NCSYers, together with the TJJA and TJJ Bus 7 girlswrapped presents, decorated a chair for the kalah, the tables, made centerpieces, prepared a choir and transformed the dining room. The kallah was so touched when she received the presents, and even more moved by the beautiful choir. She was moved to tears as she thanked them for their love, warmth and presents.

The moments I refer to, that encapsulate it all, were ones that can only happen here; moments of complete ahavas chinam, of breaking down barriers and of feeling united with all of the Jewish People. Moments reminiscent of “vayichan sham yisrael neged hahar,” when Klal Yisrael was one, unified as they accepted the Torah and stood at Har Sinai.

After a day of learning Torah with TJJ girls, picture the scene. The backdrop is a room filled with young Jewish women from all different backgrounds from all over the world; a group of Michlelet NCSYers, a group of young ladies from public school from TJJA and TJJ bus 7, and a kalah and her family, a Sefardi, Israeli, French family. None of the groups knew each other before, yet the very second they met the kalah, they grabbed her, brought her in and were completely happy for her. The scene was one of pulsating energy. Of loud, joyful, singing and dancing , circles moving in and out of each other, voices strong, coming together to be mesameach this kalah. This is what it means to truly feel part of Am Yisrael.

To take the liberty to quote a Michlelet NCSYer, “This was the best day of my life!”

This was a week, that our Michlelet NCSYers learned, toured, had fun and did chessed. But most importantly, they experienced what it means to be true leaders and to lead with passion, warmth and commitment. They learned to be proud of who they are, and to love a fellow Jew, simply because they are a Jew.

May our week and beautiful Shabbos ahead of us, contribute to turning this Tisha B’av into one of true rejoicing instead of one of mourning and sadness.

Rivka Yudin

We are still collecting money to sponsor our wedding. If you would like to contribute to this very special need, please go to https://ncsy.org/michlelet-wedding-sponsorship/. Thank you.