Summer 2017

Check out our recap video of Michlelet 2017 – it truly was the BEST SUMMER.EVER! Thank you to everyone who helped make this summer possible!

After our last and most inspirational kumsitz, on Michlelet, we boarded the busses around 4 am and headed to the kotel. After one last meaningful Tefillah together there, we were off to the airport for our flight home. As the day unfolded, unexpected twists were encountered as the flight continued to be delayed, ultimately being delayed a total of 8 hours from our original departure time! Thankfully though, the NCSYers remained in good spirits throughout the day and dealt with the frustrating changes like true champs! The Madrichot kept the campers active and upbeat throughout, even joining them in a spontaneous flash mob in the middle of the terminal. Finally, all boarded the plane and are headed home. While the day was a long one, it was handled gracefully and patiently by all, and helped finish off an incredible summer on a strong and positive note! Wishing our NCSYers a safe return flight!

Orlee Rebibo is from Potomac l, Maryland. After attending Berman Hebrew Academy, she spent her year in Israel at Midreshet Amit. She is currently in Stern College for Women , majoring in Speech Pathology.

These are the amazing ladies in orlee’s Chabura:
Zahava Zuroff (Cincinnati,OH)
Abby Emanual (Vancouver , CN)
Michal lieter (Passaic, NJ)
Kayla Silverman (Woodmere, NY)

Orlees Chabura was based on kabbalat shabbos, but used famous social media posts to help explain the concepts. Every day she would begin with a post or a video clip and use that as base for a topic. At the end it would always tie into a lesson seen in the text of shabbos teffila

“What is your most meaning ful memory from micheleet”

Michal Leiter: The part of michlelet that really meant the most to me was the environment. It is such a warm and caring environment that is really balanced between Torah, chessed, and fun. You are surrounded by people who really want to learn and grow but at the same time have a lot of fun. It was a special environment that you won’t get many other places.

Abby Emanuel: I dont have one favourite memory. Michlelet provided me with an everyday experience that i can never get anywhere else. I remember on the first day, at ths airport, gila golstone came over to me and a bunch of other girls. She asked us our names, to which I responded, Abby Emanuel, never thinking she would remember it. She proved me wrong. When we got to reishit, she called me by not only my first name, but she managed to remember my last name too. This is just one example of the time and effort every madricha and camper put into knowing and caring for everyone.

Kayla Silverman :For me the most meaningful experience was actually going on all the different hikes because even though it wasn’t meant to be an inspirational activity at all for me seeing all the beautiful wonders of HaShems creation. Was overall the most meaningful thing for me I went on a lot of different hikes and one that sticks out to me was the water hike every time I think of it I just thank HaShem for making something so beautiful

Zahava Zuroff:My most meaningful part of michlelet was by far the wedding we made. The fact that we were able to throw together a wedding like that all together shows so much achdut and then the happiness on her face and her shock was so beautiful and that was so amaizng.

Tamar Kranzler is from Teaneck, NJ. After attending Manhattan High School for Girls, she spent her year in Israel at Michlalah. She is now currently in Touro college, majoring in Judaic Studies. Tamar feels privileged to be able to spend her summer on Michlelet!

The amazing girls in Tamar’s chaburah are: Yaira Lightman (Lawrence, NY), Ella Kurtz (Lawrence, NY), Goldie Goldberger (Flatbush, NY), and Becky Masar (Flatbush, NY).

The chabura is entitled:

Achieving Greatness:
“The Ball is in Your Court. Take the Shot.”

Throughout our lives, we avoid confronting challenges and embracing new opportunities. Although we instinctively want to do what is right, we are nonetheless scared of the unknown or insecure about failing. Hashem, however, is the ultimate coach that knows our strengths and weaknesses and pushes us out of our comfort zone in order for us to reach our potential. If we would only trust that Hashem purposely placed us in this difficult position because He knows that we can succeed- we would quickly rise to the challenge and SHOOT!
The greatness of the people in Tanach was their ability to trust Hashem and set aside personal interest or doubts. By delving into the text and appreciating the drama and challenges faced by characters such as Esther, Yosef, Ruth, Moshe etc., we can inspire ourselves to overcome obstacles and achieve greatness.

What was your favorite trip on Michlelet and why?

Yaira Lightman: Aqua Kef and Kfar Kedem- That day I got to connect with the roots of my ancestors. I went out of my comfort zone and rode a donkey, milked goats, and made pita exactly how they did it thousands of years ago. It gave me an extra appreciation for what they went through in those days and how easy household chores are for us nowadays.

Ella Kurtz: One of my favorite trips of the summer was visiting Tzfat. Everywhere we went you could feel the intense spiritual atmosphere and Kabbalistic approach towards Judaism. I loved seeing beautiful handmade art and walking the streets of our ancestors especially the Ari Hakadosh. The Ruach on Michlelet added so much to my experience and I how to visit again soon:)

Goldie Goldberger: My favorite trip this summer was when we went to siach sod and played with the children who had down syndrome. It made me so happy to put a smile on their faces and watch them have a good time. It was such an inspiring trip and truly loved every minute of it.

Becky Masar: Kever Rochel- I was never the type of person that connected to kvarim and holy sites and I never thought I could be that person. Then by this trip I assumed it would be the same but someone encouraged me to go anyways so I did and I davened mincha and still nothing I thought I could probably even connect more in beit medrash because at least there it wouldn’t be hot and I could concentrate but then I just went to feel the kever and all of a sudden I felt this connection there that I never felt before

Sarah Levin is from Jamaica Estates, Queens. She went to SKA for High School, Michlalah for seminary, and is currently in the one and only Queens College. Sarah went on michlelet as a camper and is pumped to be back here as a madricha.
Sarah’s chaburah is called, “Footsteps of our Forefathers,” in which the girls learn about different characters in Tanach and then apply a middah to each personality. For example, Yosef and sensitivity, Yehoshua and growth, and Sarah Imeinu and simcha, just to name a few.
The fabulous girls in Sarah’s chaburah are Naomi Goldstein, (Cedarhurt, NY) Rikki Lowinger (Lawrence, NY) Talia Tarzik (Bergenfield, NJ) and Mikki Treitel (Monsey, NY).

What is your favorite Shabbos food and why?
Naomi- Potato kugel because it’s mamish heimush. It makes me feel part of klal yisroel, continuing on the mesorah of food for so many years which connects us most.
Rikki- Either soup because it’s so warm, tastes so good, and makes the house smell amazing, or kugel because it’s just really good.
Talia- Challah because it’s one of the special mitzvos for women.
Mikki- Basar v’dagim because eating them fulfills the mitzvah of Shabbos.

As the summer begins to come to a close, the feelings are bittersweet. We are so grateful to everyone who made this summer as incredible as it was; we have our amazing memories that will always be with us. However, it is hard to imagine that Monday morning we will be waking up at home, without our Michlelet Family. Yesteday, we had our last regular full day in camp, which included learning and activities. The girls had their last homeroom and chaburahs with their madrichot and the emotions could be felt all around. We concluded and reflected upon our summer at our banquet where many girls had the opportunity to share their experiences and express their hakaras hatov. Nava Israel, Elisheva Ismach, Ella Kurtz, and Aliza Rothman left the crowd inspired and motivated. We watched a video recap of our summer created by Rachel Meyer, which went through every moment of our awesome summer. We had the amazing privilege to be joined by David Cutler who emphasized to us the importance of Hakaras Hatov towards our families for giving us the opportunity to spend a summer of learning and doing chesed in Eretz Yisroel. The night ended off with an exciting concert by Shlomo Katz. We danced and sang together with incredible achdus, and concluded with a beautiful kumzitz. Today, we hopped on the buses and headed to Meah Shearim/Geulah. We are now back in Reishit and are looking forward to spending our last shabbos together. We can’t believe that the Best.Summer.Ever is coming to a close, and we will miss everyone so much!! Good Shabbos!

Dassy Domnitch is from Teaneck, NJ. She attended Bruriah High School and then Midreshet Moriah for a year and a half. She is currently in Stern College.

The amazing girls in Dassy’s homeroom are: Lily Lightman (Bergenfield)
Adina Lev (West Hempstead)
Hayley Tanzman (Hillcrest)
Sari Dubin (Lawrence)

Dassy’s chabura focuses on various Middos based on perakim in tehillim. These Middos can be applied throughout Avodas Hashem to enhance and strengthen relationships with Hashem, our friends and family, and ourselves.

Looking back on Michlelet, what is your favorite chessed you have done and why?

Lily – I’d say the wedding because after a day of everyone working together to set up the simcha, it was amazing to see the bride’s face and how everything fit so beautifully and having that accomplished feeling of making a real wedding!

Adina – My favorite activity/ chessed was the Hashomer Hachadash trimming olive trees because I liked working the land of Israel

Hayley- When the Shana Bet girls went shopping for the kallah for the bridal shower. It was an amazing experience to pick out everything a couple would need in order to start a life in a new home.

Sari – My favorite chessed activity this summer was when we made a carnival for the kids of Sderot. When the children arrived at our amazing, fun filled carnival I saw the smiles that began to appear on their faces and it made me so happy. We played games with them, danced with them and we took pictures with them. For some reason, seeing them happy made me extremely happy. Knowing that these children go through so much really made me sad because they are all beautiful children who just want to live a normal life but they have so many challenges. I was so happy that I was able to show my gratitude by making a carnival and having a blast with them.

Rikki Turk grew up in Miami Beach, Florida and moved to Teaneck, New Jersey five years ago. She attended Bruriah high school and then spent a year and a half in Shaalvim for Women. Rikki is now studying psychology in Stern College. Rikki loved her experience on Michlelet as a camper and feels privileged to be back as a madricha.

The girls in Rikki’s chaburah are: Estee Ackerman (West Hempstead, NY), Miriam Cohen (Efrat, Israel), Talia Simpson (Teaneck, NJ), and Lauren Israeli (North Woodmere, NY).

Rikki’s chaburah is about leadership in Am Yisrael, where she and the girls explore different topics connected to leadership, such as, “Individuality” and “In a place where this is no man, strive to be a man”.

What is an only-in-Israel experience you had on Michlelet?

Lauren: going to the shuk and being surrounded by people who all speak the same language and have the same religion as me

Estee: Seeing ein gedi for the first time was truly amazing! I will always remember when we sat together singing under the beautiful waterfalls.

Miriam: I herded sheep!

Miriam Weintraub is from East Brunswick, NJ. She attended Rae Kushner Yeshiva High School, spent a year in MMY, and is currently studying biology at Stern College for Women. It is her first summer on Michlelet, and she is having an amazing time!

Miriam’s chaburah is called “How to Live an Awesome Life” and is based on Rabbi Noach Weinberg’s 48 Ways to Wisdom. The book is based on the Mishnah in Avot, which lists the 48 ways to acquire Torah, and it explains each method with beautiful insights and practical life lessons. Each chaburah explores a different way to wisdom and what it means to truly be great. The girls learn and discuss different ways to apply the lessons from 48 Ways to Wisdom to their own lives in order to reveal the great people they are inside.

Miriam feels privileged to learn with and from these incredible girls in her chaburah: Lele Book (Monday, NY), Avigail Schiff (Teaneck, NJ), and Aviva Marmer (Brooklyn, NY).

What is one thing you will miss about Michlelet?

Aviva Marmer: I’m going to miss the environment. Everyone here has a common goal and wants to learn and grow. When we go back home, we will have to challenge ourselves. Here on Michlelet we have true friends that only look up to each other and help each other grow.

Avigail Schiff: The Michlelet atmosphere is the thing that I will miss the most about my incredible summer. There are so many girls from so many different backgrounds with the same goal, to add growth and meaning to their summer. The pressures of grades are thrown away and the raw beauty of learning Torah lishma comes through. We learned about the beauty of Torah, how to approach many different situations in our lives according to its values, and the joy that Torah learning can bring. I will definitely take these and many more lessons with me as I continue to grow in my avodat Hashem. The atmosphere in Michlelet is something so special, pure and unique and I am so fortunate to have had this experience.

Lele Book: Michlelet was an incredible experience. But most of all it was an opportunity. It was a time to find out who I really was and who I want to become. I cannot believe I have to leave this place. One aspect of Michlelet that I will especially miss is the learning. Each homeroom, chaburah and teacher shuir showed me how to look at things in my daily life and elevate it to something much greater. Having this source of inspiration right in front of me daily, was such an amazing opportunity that I will treasure forever.