Summer 2018

Today was a special day on Michlelet!! Our guests for the second day in a row, TJJ Ambassadors, made our morning of learning uplifting! They joined our awesome activities as well that included, ice cream making and Zumba with Shimi Adar!! Shimi was our second special guest for the day! After teaching her Zumba class she joined ua for lunch and chaburas and participated in the most incredible part of our day and maybe even the highlight of the summer: THE BRIDAL SHOWER!! Both TTJA and Michlelet girls spent the afternoon decorating the dining room for a beautiful shower. The Kallah and her mother were greeted at the door by girls singing and danced all the way up the stairs to the dining room. We opened presents had dinner together and were mesamach hakallah the entire evening. The energy in the room was AMAZING. The girls were ecstatic to be taking part in this huge mitzvah! The night ended with a great night speaker: Mrs. Haber! 

Today we had the ZECHUT of welcoming TJJ Ambassadors!! We started off with a train of Michlelet girls making arches leading all the way from the TJJA bus to the Beit Midrash that the TJJers ran through! Then, Rav Willig addressed us all together about what it means to have a relationship with Hashem. Afterwards the TJJers were split up into our Madrichot chaburahs and joined us in learning torah together all day. We had our amazing activities which TJJA was happy to be included in. We went on trips together in the afternoon to Kakadu painting, Ethiopian village and Stalactite Caves and a special stop at Rebar! TJJA joined us for all meals and our night speaker, Rabbi Burg after dinner. The day ended with an very fun night activity called Panic. We got dressed up as different people using only the items in our dorm rooms. Thanks to programming staff for a great night! The girls really enjoyed spending time with the TJJA participants and getting to know them. We cant wait to spend another day with them tomorrow! 

Gaby Stemp is from Queens, NY, went to the Ramaz Upper School, and spent 2 years in MMY. She just finished a year at Barnard College but will be making Aliyah in September and will study neuroscience at Bar Ilan University. Gaby is so excited to be able to give back to Michlelet, which had such a huge impact on her as a camper.

Gaby’s chaburah is titled “Ishei HaTanach: Role Models for Life.” With all of the negative influences and role models in today’s society, it is easy to lose sight of what is important and difficult to have any real character growth. But if we look to the figures in Tanach- their triumphs and tribulations, where they are successful and where they stumble, and their own journeys of growth- we can learn what it means to embody different middot and how to develop these middot in a practical way. Ishei HaTanach, in particular, are so important to hold as role models because they are perfectly imperfect, and teach us to embrace our own imperfections and to use them to grow. Each chaburah focuses on a different middah and uses instances where we see this middah in Tanach as a springboard for a larger discussion. Gaby’s goal is to help the girls develop their middot while simultaneously accepting their imperfections, using them to grow even further, and embracing their whole selves.

Gaby’s incredible homeroom girls are: Shira Friedman (Hillside, NJ), Tehilla Kornwasser (Teaneck, NJ), Chana Esther Schwartz (Teaneck, NJ), and Rena Vegh (Philadelphia, PA).

If you could have dinner with anyone in Tanach, who would it be and why?

Shira- I think I would meet with Aharon HaKohen because I would like to see how he is able to talk to and work with everyone with shalom.

Tehila- Yehonatan because he embodies what it means to embrace the ratzon of Hashem.

Chana Ester- Chana so I could meet the person that my name came from.

Rena- Avraham Avinu. Because first of all, I heard he prepares a mean meal for his guests! And second of all, I would love to have a conversation with him about how he always stayed strong and trusted in Hashem through his extremely difficult nisyonos.

Today started off great with a schedule of phenomenal chaburahs and shiurim which got us energized and excited for the rest of the day!! After lunch we loaded the buses and went to the Gush. First we visited a park called Oz Vgaon, a park dedicated in memory of the 3 boys that were kidnapped, Ayal, Gilad and Naftali. We heard about how the entire park was built by volunteers and keeps being added to all the time. In the last 4 years many benches, areas and tents have been built there. We had the ZECHUT of helping to prepare land for planting trees. The girls took part first hand in YISHUV ERETZ YISRAEL and had a blast doing it. After we finished our work there we went to ziplining! An amazing thrill of adventure to end off our time in the Gush. When we returned to Reishit we heard from Rabbi Katz and ended off the night with a an exciting night activity: FEAR FACTOR. Girls volunteered for crazy fun challenges and everyone had a good time watching and participating. More to come tomorrow!! 

Dassy Domnitch is from Teaneck, NJ and is currently studying psychology in Stern college. She went to Bruriah for high school and then spent a year and a half in Midreshet Moriah. Dassy came on Michlelet as a madricha last summer and is so excited to be back! Dassy’s chaburah is called והלכת בדרכיו – Through their footsteps. The chaburah focuses on different gedolim and the extraordinary middos they can teach us. The goal of the chabura is to gain a stronger appreciation for Gedolei Yisroel and to find practical ways to emulate their middos in everyday interactions.
The girls in Dassy’s chabura are:
Chana Acobas (Great Neck), Rebecca Spitzer (Manhattan), Rivka Grosberg (Baltimore), and Kayla Miodownik (Highland Park)

What was your favorite part of the Eilat trip?
Chana: My favorite part of the eilat trip was the water sports. Me and my friends went on the pancake and it was really fun trying to hold on without falling in. After, we ate amazing pizza for lunch from big apple pizza.
Rebecca: My favorite part of the Eilat trip was definitely tubing !
Rivka: My favorite part of Elat was going repelling and jeeping. We got to see a beautiful view and gave us a chance to try new things. This was an adventure I will never forget!
Kayla: My favorite part of the Eilat trip was the tubing. It felt amazing to get into the water after a hot day. I also appreciated how challenging it was to hold on. Tubing will definitely be one of my favorite summer highlights.

Aviva Jacobs is from Teaneck, NJ and is now a senior in Stern College studying Jewish Education and English literature. She went to Bruriah for high school and then spent a year learning in Michlalah. After an incredible summer on Michlelet as a camper, Aviva is so excited to be back and give back as a madricha!

The amazing girls in Aviva’s chabura are Esther Dyckman (Queens, NY), Ayelet Wasserman (Yerushalayim, Israel), Goldie Walls (Silverspring, MD), and Tzivya Gross (West Hempstead, NY).

Aviva’s chabura is called “The Language of the Soul: Exploring our Shabbos Zemiros”. Each chabura is based off of one of the beautiful zemiros which we sing every week, and focuses on the main theme or midah connected to the zemer and it’s relevance and practical application for our own lives. Our goal is to develop a greater appreciation and personal connection to the Shabbos zemiros, and to use the ideas we learn to enhance our own avodas Hashem.

What was your favorite part of Shabbos on Michlelet?

Esther: The kumzitz at the end of Shabbos. When we were all singing together you felt very connected and felt the achdus.

Ayelet: The awesome Shiurim.

Goldie: The tisch with the Rabbi and the Rebbetzin and all the singing and ruach, it was uplifting.

Tzivya: The ruach and zemiros by the Shabbos table and everyone singing, it sounded really beautiful.

Aliza Hersch is from Woodmere, NY, went to SKA for high school, spent a year in MMY, and is now studying in Stern College. Aliza is back for her second summer as a madricha and is having an incredible time being able to give back to the program that made such an impact on her as a camper!

Aliza’s chaburah is called “Life is a Highway: Your Road Trip to Greatness.” The chaburah takes different aspects of a road trip and uses to them impart a variety of life lessons and values. Some examples include: checking the weather corresponding to the power of perspective, pot holes and the impact of the small things in life, patience through traffic, and car music teaching the value in every individual. Aliza loves getting to learn with and from the girls in her chaburah, and hopes the lessons they learn together can serve as guiding perspectives through each of their personal life journeys!

Aliza’s feels so privileged to have these amazing girls in her homeroom: Dina Amos (Staten Island, NY), Tova Adam (Passaic, NJ), Elisheva Glatt (Woodmere, NY), Aviva Itskowitz (Pittsburgh, PA), Huvie Travis (Baltimore, MD)

If you could take a road trip anywhere in the world where would it be?

Tova: I would like to take a road trip around all the 50 states because they are just beautiful places. The US is where I’m from and I want to see the places I grew up in

Dina: I would love to do a road trip all over America through Canada then finally go to Alaska to see the northern lights. I would love to tour America because I feel like every state is a different country, Canada because the people are probably very nice, and the landscape is clean and stunning. Then Alaska because I love the cold and the northern lights are probably awesome

Elisheva: I would want to go on a road trip around Europe because I’ve never been there and there are a lot of interesting things to see and do there

Aviva: I would want to take a road trip through Europe because I would want to see where my grandparents and my family came from and grew up/lived

Huvie: I would like to tour all over Asia because I’ve never been there before

What an incredible week on Michlelet! 

Atara Charnowitz is from Woodmere, N.Y and is currently studying in Queens College. Atara attended SKA high school and then spent a year and a half in Michlalah. She came on Michlelet as a camper, and coming back as a madricha has always been a dream of hers. Atara is so excited to be on Michlelet again and to participate in everything this amazing program has to offer.

The title of Atara’s chaburah is, “Your life starts now”. The goal of this chaburah is for the girls to learn the real meaning of time and make the most of each day. When learning about the value of every single day, the girls realize how important every moment in life is and how to utilize every day to the fullest. Through this chaburah, the girls will get the chance to learn about themselves on a much deeper level and find meaningful values and ideas which they can incorporate into their lives. Atara’s goal is to help them realize their potential through their ability of being proactive with each and every day.

The girls in Atara’s chaburah are:
Eleora Fine (Woodmere, NY), Anni Jacobowitz (Lawrence, NY), Rivka Loeb (Chicago, IL), and Yona Pamensky (Toronto, On ).

What is something you really enjoyed about the first week on Michlelet?
Eleora- This week, the first week on Michlelet I really enjoyed how we were able to make new friends while experiencing the combination of all different types of things that go on on Michlelet. There were such fun tiyulim, chessed trips, night activities and learning. I’m so excited for what else is to come on Michlelet iyH!

Anni- Michlelet so far has been amazing the trips chessed leaning etc…! One thing that really stood out to me was when we went to the kotel on the first day and how quickly we all connected and came together. Although we’re all from different places and from different backgrounds it didn’t matter we became as one.
Rivka- My favorite thing about michlelet this week was the super fun first day in Eilat! I first went to the salad trail and got to eat the vegetables of eretz yisrael which I thought was super cool! Then I went repelling down a cliff wich was a rare life experience. Then I went jeeping around Israel with all of my new friends that I met. Not one day goes to waste on michlelet!

Yona- Something I really enjoyed about the first week of michlelet was taking the Jeep tour in the Negev. It amazes me how I was looking at what was literally just sand and rocks, but somehow in Israel it is just breathtaking. I had the privilege of davening mincha at the top of a mountain while looking out on the beautiful view. I literally just kept saying מה רבו מעשך ה over and over, because seriously, how awesome are HaShem’s creations!!! This country never fails to amaze me with its beauty.

Meet Chanalee Elhyani who hails from Monsey NY. She currently attends Stern College for Women and is studying Jewish edu. She went to Bruriah HS and spent a year and a half in Tiferet in EY! This is her first NCSY summer and she’s so happy to be spending it as a madricha on michlelet!!
The girls in her chaburah are Sophie Greff, Indigo Paris, Devorah Frank, and Chani Wolfson.
Her chaburah is called “Putting the Yid back into Yiddishkeit” and the goal is to try and imbue some meaning into these girls lives/help them feel excited about their yiddishkeit (Judaism). We discuss different topics in chassidut and discuss how and what Gd used to create the world. We try to make everything practical and show how Judaism isn’t just something to learn, it’s something to live.

When she asked her chaburah what was the highlight of week 1- the responses were:
Sophie Greff: “I really love the activities, especially basketball league“
Indigo Paris: “the sunset every night has been absolutely breathtaking- always look forward to those views!”
Devorah Frank: “shabbos ebbing outside was amazing”
Chani: “I really liked the shabbos learning groups”