Rivka Zimmermann is from Cedarhurst NY. She went to SKA high school for girls, spent a year and a half in Michlalah, and is currently in Queens college. She is so excited to be back as a madricha and give her campers an incredibly impactful summer like she had as a camper.
Rivka’s chaburah is about various English quotes through the lense of Torah, middos, and Judaism. Every chaburah focuses on a different quote that can teach us a powerful message. Throughout the chaburah we discuss the quote, find the meaning behind it in the torah, and relate it to our everyday lives in avodas Hashem.
Shlomtziyon- “I am in charge of how I feel and today I choose happiness”
No matter what happens in life, we can always remember that it is in our own power to choose how we will react and how we will feel. No one else can make us feel anything or make us upset if we remember that we always have the choice to choose happiness. If we can always control our mindset and perspective and always try to choose happiness, then we can be our best selves and serve Hashem in the best way we can every single day.
Sari- My favorite quote from this summer is “As I look back my life, I realized that every time I thought I was being rejected from something good, I was actually being redirected to something better.” It taught me that whenever I am in a situation that I don’t find ideal, I have to remember that everything happens for a reason. I may not know why, but I know that it’s what hashem wants and is what is best for me in the long run. Whenever I look back on something in my life that happened that I thought I was being driven away from something that I felt was right for me I realized, I was actually being pushed by hashem in the exact path I was meant to be on.
Layla – My favorite quote we learnt this summer is “the tongue has no bones, but is strong enough to break a heart.” What I took from this quote that helped me with my avodas hashem is everything we say counts. You can never take your words back, therefore I try to watch what I say so it prevents me from saying loshon hora.
Rivka – “ I am in charge of how I feel and today I choose happiness”
When we do mitzvot and serve Hashem, we must be in a state of simcha and happiness. We decide if we want to be happy or not. We all think that in Av we’re suppose to be sad but really we’re never suppose to be sad, were only suppose to lessen our simcha. Smiling at someone is the best and easiest way to make someone feel special and like they matter. Your smile can make someone’s day. The word simcha splits into two words, Sam and Moach, which means put your mind. You are the one that can choose to put simcha into your mind. The person that’s happy is someone that is happy with what they have and realize everything they have is from Hashem.
Leora -“As you grow older you realize it’s less important to have more friends and more important to have real ones” meaning it’s important to realize what a friendship actually means. Sometimes we think having a lot of friends will make us happy and feel good but at the end of the day it’s more important to have less friends who you feel comfortable around and can trust!
One thing that stood out from learning this quote is that we as Jews have the obligation to be there for our friends and always feel their pain. ״כל ישראל ערבים זה לזה״- Everyone in klal yisroel is responsible for each other and to be a good friend to a fellow jew.
As michlelet is coming to an end I’ve realized how important it is to have real friends and what a real friendship means. I can’t wait to continue to strengthen the relationships I’ve made on michlelet. This quote has helped me learn how to be a good friend and be there for others.