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Email Update from the Director: End of the Summer

NCSY Kollel August 21, 2014

Dear Parents,

We hope you are enjoying your sons’ return, and taking pride in their experiences this summer.  It is hard to believe that another year on the NCSY Kollel has come to an end.  This was truly a six weeks like no other, and we take this opportunity to offer our thanks and appreciation to those who helped make it possible.

Over the last days of the program, we established a renewed focus on prayer, both on the individual and communal levels.  This commitment was reflected in special shiurim, discussions, and, of course, during davening itself.  In many ways, tefila was an ever-present theme of the summer.  In a somewhat unexpected manner, the main catalyst for our tefilos were not only the times of anxiety and need, but the later periods of gratitude and thanksgiving.  We were fortunate and blessed in an abundance of specific instances, and the cumulative effect of this enhanced our prayer and drew us closer to spirituality.  One of the major lessons we internalized over these weeks was how to stop taking the most important gifts in our lives for granted.  For all of this, we thank God and offer a blessing of thanks for reaching today in the most extraordinary way.

We are constantly aware that our successes this summer, and our people’s continued prosperity on the holy soil of Israel, do not come without a heavy cost.  The funerals and houses of mourning that marked the landscape of the summer served as an extremely painful reminder of the heroism and self-sacrifice in our beloved IDF.  We will personally meet only a tiny percentage of these brave soldiers, but we have never felt more connected or indebted to them.

We cannot say enough about the inspiring behavior of each of our main hosts.  The people of Beit Meir, and specifically the wonderful staff of Yeshivas Ohr Yerushalayim, were faced with their own set of significant challenges this summer.  Remarkably, this never interfered with their prioritizing of our needs.  We arrived in Chispin and discovered an incredibly special community that went above and beyond the call at every opportunity.  The warmth and good nature of the kitchen staff was particularly impressive.  Both the Beit Meir and Chispin residents modeled the highest levels of Jewish hospitality and true building of Zion.

It has never been more valuable to be part of the greater OU/NCSY family.  The administrative staff in New York provided never ending insight and technical expertise.  The summer programs staff, headed by David Cutler, were the best team one could ever hope to put together.  The OU leadership was everything you could expect from the best of our community.  And the team at OU Israel represented our Orthodox Union and NCSY programs exceptionally well throughout difficult times.

Nothing this summer would have been possible without the performance of the great staff.  This includes the names you know (your sons’ madrichim, rabbeim, and chavrusas) and the names you might not (our tech staff and support staff).  Not one of these wonderful individuals encountered the summer or job responsibility he anticipated or prepare for.  Yet, each responded with professionalism and skill.  The madrich staff in particular, led by the incomparable team of Andrew Israeli and Marc Poleyeff, was outstanding.  Each of these young men had to first deal with his own frustration and discomfort associated with the pressures of the conflict, and then turn around and effectively deal with the physical and emotional needs of the NCSYers.  They did this with confidence and competence.  Special mention should also be made of the families of our staff who accompanied us throughout our travels.  They endured more challenging conditions with less support than in any other year.  Without their quiet efforts, it would have been a much different six weeks.

But we save our final words to address our most cherished audiences.  We refer to you the parents, and your most wonderful sons.

Your support over the summer meant the world to us.  We felt like true partners in both the education of your precious children and in the contributions to the Jewish State.  We were honored to communicate with you as part of this relationship.  We felt your emotions and concern.  We were humbled and uplifted by the trust you placed in us, and never took that responsibility lightly.  Not for the first time in the history of the NCSY Kollel, we were reminded of how special a group of families associate with this program, and how fortunate we are to make those acquaintances.

And ultimately, we thank the NCSYers for all that they did this summer.  Our accomplishments are all a tribute to them.  First, there optimism, ambition, and good character inspired all of our efforts.  More importantly, any positive developments over the summer started with the individual decisions that they made for themselves.  They were incredible to work with and a pleasure to serve.

For this and more, we offer thanks.

While this is the end of our regular and scheduledcorrespondence, we still welcome your feedback and communication.  This summer will not be soon forgotten, and we encourage you to share any thoughts you may have.

Like so many previous emails, we end with a simple prayer.  These past few days here in Israel have returned us to some of the more tense moments of the summer.  Israels soldiers and citizens are back to the front lines, and we wish them strength and success in all their missions.

With hopes and prayers for true peace and continued growth

Moshe Benovitz