Sometimes in life we forget what brought us to where we are. It’s a very common phenomenon that usually leads to us to not caring about where we are or why we are there. This summer, for the first time ever, I forgot why I loved NCSY so much. I was so distanced from the things that made me love NCSY in the beginning that being an NCSYer felt more like a job than an opportunity.

On Yom NCSY 2013 I rekindled the flame that is my NCSY experience. The same flame that inspires me day in and day out.

I know this post is kind of personal, but this column is called reflections, so here is my reflection…

When the over 850 teens showed up in their various buses to Mini Israel, most of them were expecting a relaxed night where they got to see the friends they waited all summer to see. Many of them went the evening talking to old friends and making new ones, and many people had the best night of their lives to date. What most of the people that enjoyed Yom NCSY missed was the fact that for one short event, they were in the presence of the future of Am Yisrael. The students that dedicate their summers to learning and leading in Israel (occasionally with some stops in Europe on the way) have had countless opportunities to better themselves. These are the people that will one day lead us. Many of the teens on NCSY summer programs could have spent their summers in Hawaii or Tahiti or some other exotic country but instead chose to be in the Jewish homeland.

It wasn’t until I noticed that I was in the presence of some of the greatest teens in the world that I was able to fully comprehend why I love NCSY so much.

Yom NCSY is much more than just a fun night for teens on NCSY Summer Programs. It is a day for the future of the Jewish Nation to interact and connect and make bonds that will last a lifetime and strengthen Am Yisrael.

I know I speak on behalf of every NCSYer on a Summer Program this year when I say thank you to everyone who made Summer Programs, and especially Yom NCSY, as amazing as they are.

Coming back full of energy from our second free-shabbos, the week got off to a great start. Regular morning shiur and chaburas continued getting stronger.

We were fortunate to welcome Rabbi Micah Greenland, Interim International Director of NCSY, to Kollel. Many NCSYers had the opportunity to meet him and speak with him throughout the day.

In hockey we saw four goals in under a minute. In basketball there were overtime games and even double overtime games.

The highlight of the sports break was the culmination of the 3 on 3 tournament. It was Rabbi Lebowitz, Yaakov Richland, and Yitzy Weinberger against Corey Fuchs, Yaakov Hoffman, and Yoel Schreier. The game was back and forth with the lead changing multiple times. In the end, it was the team of Fuchs, Hoffman, and Schreier that took the trophy after pulling away at the end.

Wednesday was a big Tiyul day in Kollel. Most of the Kollel went to Eilat where there were a few options to choose from. One of the options was to hike up Har Shlomo.

Early departures may be hard at times, but they do mean that you will get the most of your day. And that we did.  Wednesday was packed from start to finish. Pulling out from Beit Meir at midnight and driving through the night, we arrived at Har Shlomo on Israel’s Southern tip when it was still dark. And in the dark we began our 2000 foot ascent to the peak of the mountain.

As we climbed, the difficulty increased and the sky got brighter and brighter. The NCSYers were incredible, bravely climbing and pushing farther and farther up the mountain. We made it to the top just in time for sunrise, enabling us to daven vatikin (the optimal time for davening) as we watched the sun climb over the distant mountains. This breathtaking view of the Red Sea and the Sinai Desert is one of the only vantage points in the world where one can view four countries at once (Israel, of course, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt). Now that the sun was out, and the temperature neared 100 degrees, the descent was even more challenging, but with the help and encouragement of the entire group “no man was left behind”.

Another option was to climb Masada for vatikin. This trip also got an early start to the day so as to make it to the top in time for sunrise. It was a great trek up the mountain and we did in fact make it in time. We toured the various building on top after davening and then hiked back down the snake path.

At the end of the challenging and tiring hikes, there was no better place to relax and cool off than a triple-decker boat sailing upon the Red Sea. So off to sea we went. All of the trips joined together by the port of Eilat where we set sail on and drifted off into the Reed Sea. The boat was a triple-decker cruise ship, packed with fun from stern to bow. Each NCSYer was offered the thrilling opportunity to take a ride on a “banana” boat or an “aboov” tube. (Some NCSYer even earned a second ride ticket in return for pledges they made for extra Torah learning.) Meanwhile other NCSYers took the opportunity to jump off the boat and take a refreshing dip in the beautiful sea. For those who wanted to spend their afternoon relaxing, there was also many options to choose from. Lunch was served inside the cabin, lounge chairs were available on the decks for relaxing, and Madrich Asher Becker delivered a shiur about the Halachot of Eilat. The party got going on the upper deck where we played an intense game of musical chairs. Thank you to DJ Zev Kahane for mixing up the tracks. When we got down to one final chair, and two remaining players, we decided to settle the match with a dance-off. Madrich David Weitz and NCSYer Jay Karon faced off in three rounds of a head to head dance off where they busted out the “funky chicken”, the “worm”, and the “sprinkler”; three of the most impressive dance moves ever seen in Kollel history. Ultimately, the judges chose Jay as the victor and crowned him “King of the Boat”. Before we knew it, we were heading back to the ports of Eilat.

Some of the NCSYers continued their day at a ropes course. The course was over 50 feet in the air and we were challenged to make it through all of the obstacles and make to the end. Ropes, bicycles, and zip lines are some of the things we had to work with while up in the air. After eating dinner in Eilat we all headed back to Kollel after an amazing day.

Mordy Dubin is spending his 3^rd summer on NCSY Kollel, but this is his first as a madrich.  He attended the Kollel after 10^th grade and then took a 2 year detour working in Camp Mesorah as a counselor. He came back to the Kollel last summer as a Jr. Madrich. Mordy hails from Teaneck, NJ, where he attended TABC for high school. In TABC, Mordy was involved in the Chessed Committee and the hockey team. Following graduation, he took his talents to Jerusalem where he spent 2 years at Yeshivat HaKotel. That lasted until this past Pesach, following which Mordy began his collegiate studies at Yeshiva University. Mordy is an avid hockey fan and practicing goalie (if you want to score, aim for his glove side). In addition to his athletic pursuits, Mordy is captivated by multiple areas of Torah, specifically Gemara and Tanach. The latter are the focus of his Chaburot this summer based on the teachings of Rabbi David Fohrman.

The Most Interesting Chaburah (MIC) in Beit Meir hit the ground running and hasn’t stopped. Composed of Ari Zwiren (Newport Beach, LA), Yonatan Cohen-Melamed (Pittsburgh, PA), Alex Kupchik (West Hempstead, NY), Ilan Yehuda Schnitzer (New York, NY), and Shlomo Stark (Ranana, Israel) and led by Mordy Dubin (Teaneck, NJ), the MIC is spending Chaburahs this summer analyzing stories and themes in Tanach. So far, we’ve covered the Aseret HaDibrot and Akeidat Yitzchak. Currently, we’re taking a look at Birkat HaMazon, specifically through the prism of “Shir Hama’alot” (Psalms 126) and “Al Naharot Bavel” (Psalms 137).

Shlomo Stark said, “Although everyone in our chaburah comes from different backgrounds, the way we learn together, we all merge as one. We’re like brothers.”

The annual Kollel 3 on 3 tournament is always a highlight of the summer for a variety of reasons. The 3 on 3 tourney is a hit for a variety of reasons. It starts with the overwhelmingly high level of participation. Over 95% of NCSYers and staff joined either our advanced or intermediate brackets. The event serves as a very effective unifier. New teams are formed (beyond our league teams), and there are always plenty of spectators and cheering. The competition itself is thrilling, with the unique rules creating a fast moving and frenzied game.  Tuesday was the first day of the tournament and along with it, for the second year now, we had the 3 on 3 festival. The festival included free slushies, popcorn, cotton candy and other giveaways from Yeshiva University.

With sixteen games taking place every hour there was always something to do. To add to the excitement there were special “Golden Ticket Games” where those in attendance had to guess the amount of points that would be scored. The winner received a slushy later in the week.

Win or lose, everyone had an unbelievable afternoon with everything that was going on.

This is Yechiel Schreck’s first summer on Kollel. He has anticipated this summer for a few years already and is extremely happy to finally be here. He was the Head Counselor at Camp Kayitz in Skokie, Illinois the past two summers, and was an Advisor for Atlantic Seaboard for two and a half years. He’s currently learning in the Mir Yeshiva in Yerushalayim. And yes, his real last name is actually, factually, really really – Schreck.

Being from Skokie, IL, one might call his chabura a bit “out of town.” With Ari and Jay Karon (Vancouver, BC), Josh Goldschmidt (Toronto,ON), Sam Neft (Pittsburgh, PA), Jonah Rubinstein (Cleveland, OH) and rounded out with Kollel Shana Bett-er Max Pollack (Omaha, NE), it is hard to find a part of North America not traveled by this group.

Knowing and appreciating what hard work is, especially in Torah learning, this group is studying Pirkei Avot and is determined to finish it before Kollel ends. As well, they are focusing on different parts of davening and discussions about different aspects of life.

See below for the complete brackets from both our regular and intermediate 3 on 3 basketball tournaments.

Click on them to enlarge

This past Thursday afternoon, 26 NCSYers and staff headed out to Gezer field to play softball. The field is called Israel’s “Field of Dreams” because of its location in the middle of a Kibbutz. With the picturesque background of wheat fields and mountains the game was underway.

The game went back and forth as each team hit very well and scored many runs. Yitzie Scheinman made a couple of great catches in the outfield for the Octopi, stopping potential runs from scoring. As the game went on, those sitting on the side enjoyed popcorn and sunflower seeds, making it feel like a real baseball game. In the end, the Sea Monkeys defeated the Octopi 12-11 in a very close game. River Teles was named the MVP of the game as he went 3 for 4 with 5 RBI’s and 2 doubles. Sam Gelman pitched a complete game for the Sea Monkeys. Everyone had a great day at Gezer and we look forward to more sports opportunities outside of Beit Meir.

Please check the sports page for updated standings for both the hockey and basketball leagues and teams for both. The season is heating up with the playoffs on the horizon. Check them out here!

In other sports news, we congratulate the intermediate champions of the 3 on 3 basketball tournament: Roni Dulitz, Yosef Glatter and Mordechai Lis. Today, the advanced 3 on 3 basketball championship will be played. We wish both teams luck!

Shalom.

A little background information, after we got back from our free weekend, the girls spent the next two days at Michlelet while the guys spent the two days at Kollel. Michlelet and Kollel are NCSY summer programs for teens in grades 9-12 who come from religious backgrounds. At Kollel the guys spend most of their time studying Torah and playing sports.

As soon as we got off the bus it became apparent that the Kollel guys were one of, if not the most welcoming group I’ve ever met. We were all bombarded with handshakes left and right, “What’s your name? Where are you from?” and more. We started having conversations with each other and it was all great.

My time at Kollel was both very fun and very educational. I learned not only from Rabbis, but also from Kollel campers, many of who were younger than me. It’s hard to describe but it was a pretty awesome feeling for me to be taught by somebody who’s around my age rather than an adult. I met some Kollel guys that were quite knowledgeable about Judaism and so we had a good time debating about gray areas in Jewish law. This leads me to my next point.

The atmosphere in the Beit Midrash was unreal. Rabbi Benovitz pointed out to us how unique Jews’ method of studying is. Rather than studying individually or quietly in small groups as you’d see in a typical library, community centre, or school study hall, the Kollel Beit Hamisdrash was LOUD with large groups of guys discussing questions in order to find the best answer. We were taught by Rabbi Benovitz that studying with only one perspective is flawed; you need to have more than one perspective in order to find the real answers.

Other highlights while at Kollel include: Rabbi Benovitz teaching us about Rabbinic authority, a question and answer session with Rabbi Sobolofsky, making our own tzitzis, mountain biking, and a TJJA vs Kollel sports series consisting of hockey, soccer, and basketball.
We won the soccer game.
Also I may have scored a 3 pointer in the basketball game.

Thanks for reading.
Paul Freiwirth