July 2014 - Kollel

Email Update from the Director: Tuesday, July 29 2014

Dear Parents,

Today was yet another great tiyul day in the North, with much variety, excitement, and love of the land. Back in Chispin, the special programming continued, and the day concluded with a strong night seder.

This time the tiyul options included a challenging hike down the famed Arbel Cliff, spectacular off-road biking near the Jordan River, and a tour of ancient Katzrin and the Talmudic village there. The common thread in each of these very different trips was greater familiarity with the beautiful areas of the Golan and Galil. The Katzrin group had the distinct privilege of being accompanied by both Rav Schachter and Rav Sobolofsky, and their presence and contributions to the tour made it a true “Only on NCSY Kollel” experience.

Each group was also treated to ice cream to cap off the tiyul, and with temperatures rising this week in Israel it was most welcomed and appreciated.

Upon our mid-afternoon return, we took a break from the usual basketball leagues for a mega-tournament featuring some other sports. There were matches in soccer, ultimate frisbee, volleyball, 3 on 3 basketball, and even 4 team dodgeball. These games gave a chance for some new alliances to be formed, and for those who do not relate well to the basketball leagues to participate in the fantastic NCSY Kollel sports program.

Please note the following update to both out itinerary and our free Shabbos plans:

After careful consultation with our situation room, we are planning a day trip to Beit Meir on Thursday. This trip will allow for further interaction with our staff in the center of the country, a chance to play some hockey, another opportunity to bring personal items up North, and time to access the safe and ATM machine.

Because of this travel, we will begin the sign-out for the Free Weekend on Thursday night. We will again have a drop off in Yerushalayim at the OU Center, 22 Rechov Keren Hayesod, at approximately 8:30 PM.

The free weekend will again be extended to Sunday morning. Sign in will begin at the OU Center at 8:30 AM and the buses will depart at 9.

Please let us know as soon as possible if either the pick up or drop off times will be problematic for you.

Those who are staying with us for Shabbos will return to the North on Thursday. We are still exploring options for enhancing our next weekend together.

Thank you for your cooperation in filling out the new free weekend form.

With heartfelt prayers for a real and just peace,

Moshe Benovitz

Email Update from the Director: Monday, July 28 2014

Dear Parents,

Today was an excellent and safe day in Chispin. We settled into the rhythm of another week together, and enjoyed strong learning and outstanding ball.
There was also a mini tiyul exploring some of the incredible Jewish history in the Golan. The highlight of the tiyul was a stop at Gamla, often called the Masada of the north.

Night seder continues to be a real strong point of the program. Both the shiurim and the chavrusa hour are providing the energy and learning engagement that carry over for the better part of the rest of the day.

Tomorrow will be a tiuyl day. There are again multiple tracks being offered to suit all tastes. We also hope to return to Chispin for some leagues and other sports tournaments before resuming a learning schedule at night.

Outside of Chispin and beyond the NCSY Kollel, the news from the rest of the country was much more grim. We pray for the safety of our soldiers and the residents of Israel in the line of fire.

Moshe Benovitz

Chabura Spotlight: Ezra Zanger

Following his debut last year, Ezra Zanger is privileged to return for his second summer as a Madrich on the Kollel. After an unbelievable two years of learning in Yeshivas Netiv Aryeh, Ezra went to Yeshiva University where he is currently entering his senior year. He continues to have the great Zechus of attending Shiur by Rabbi Elchanan Adler. Ezra’s Chabura includes Phil Dolitsky (Philadelphia, PA – Kohelet Yeshiva H.S.), Daniel Feldan, Efraim Schachter (both from Boca Raton, FLA – Weinbaum Yeshiva H.S) and Aron Herman (Woodmere, NY – D.R.S).

Ezra’s Chaburos this year have been an outstanding success, as he gives Chaburos centered on the topic of Bris Milah. Topics include “Chiyuv Av Limo L’es Haben,” “Shlichus B’ Milah,” and “Ktzizas Baheres B’Makom Milah.” Ezra’s goal is to orient the NCSYers to the beautiful Lomdus of Inyanei Milah all contained within a warm, Leibedek Chabura environment, all of the perfect ingredients to complement an incredibly inspiring summer.

Email Update from the Director: Sunday, July 27 2014

Dear Parents,

We enjoyed a safe and excellent Shabbos.

In Chispin, a group of 200 strong stayed for Shabbos and experienced a “bonus” Shabbos on our summer schedule. While we designed a Shabbos with a more relaxed schedule to correspond to the originally scheduled free weekend, we were still fortunate to experience an uplifting and meaningful weekend. The majority of our staff was with us for Shabbos, and Rav Sobolofsky and Rav Kaminetsky in particular were active in giving a special feel to this Shabbos. One of the highlights was hearing some words of strength from Rav Dov Zinger, principal of the Mekor Chaim yeshiva. This is the yeshiva where Naftali Frenkel and Gilad Shaer learned. Rav Zinger has been a pillar of support for many here in Israel, and it was a tremendous honor to have him address the group. Overall, it was a beautiful Shabbos and an opportunity for reflection and recharging.

Early reports from those who traveled for the modified free weekend were also positive. Everything is arranged for the safe return to Chispin tomorrow, and we look forward to a strong start to our next week together.

With continued prayers for peace in our land,

Moshe Benovitz

Mid-Summer Recap!!

Check out the highlights of our amazing first half of the summer 2014!

Email Update from the Director: Friday, July 25 2014

Dear NCSY Kollel Parents,

Virtually all successful enterprises require a measure of balance. The world experiences we share are vast and varied, and our most ambitious and global endeavors must strive to effectively incorporate as many of these ingredients as possible. Furthermore, even the most positive and beneficial of elements we encounter can be less effective or actually harmful when taken out of a proper context and when denied a sense of balance.

This sense of balance was a dominant theme of the past week on the NCSY Summer Kollel. By most every objective measure, it was a fantastic week on the program. We enjoyed the best of learning, touring, sports, and “chevra” building. Many of our relocation and adjustment challenges were slowly but surely addressed, and we witnessed wide smiles and high energy return as the rightful default positions for the NCSYers.

But no reader of these updates needs to be reminded of the prevailing pressures and sobering national developments that encircled these accomplishments. This basic contrast created no shortage of strange bedfellows this week. There were waterparks and condolence calls, basketball games and tehilim sessions, heart wrenching farewells and exhilarating reunions. Above all, there was calm and concern constantly jostling for position. There was a successful effort at establishing an atmosphere of normalcy and predictability in a summer that has been far from normal and that continues to defy all predictions.

While we pray for a change to the circumstances around us, we do embrace the challenge to create this balance. We believe there is great educational value in presenting these unusual juxtapositions. Firstly, this balance is an important tool as a coping mechanism. We insulate the NCSYers from a pervasive sense of fear and worry. There is no doubt that the news cycles that you the parents have been watching are much more agonizing than anything your sons have been exposed to since we left Beit Meir. We never misrepresent the facts, and we surely are not oblivious to the events transpiring around us. There are daily updates and frequent recitations of tehilim. We have contributed to meaningful chessed projects, and had direct interaction with some brave members of Tzahal. But we know that we cannot cower or obsess over what is happening and what may happen next. So we run exciting sports leagues and run regular night activities. We visit chocolate factories and bungee jump off bridges. We advise our advisors to keep the tone light and fun, and we give the NCSYers a chance to exhale and enjoy their summer.
Secondly, the balance we attempt to strike relates to the effort to properly relate to dramatic events while still insuring that “life goes on.” We feel a responsibility to stand strong, as much as we can, and to not hand our enemies any victories in their campaign to disrupt our lives and to stunt our growth. It can not possibly be a summer of complete business as usual, but it also should not be a summer of forgetting our goals and excessive inhibition. This too is a call for balance.

But there is a final, more fundamental, objective to the pursuit of balance. As we have consistently asserted, security is our number one priority. At the same time, it is not our sole objective. Our educational goals remain intact, and they go beyond physical well-being. This is a summer for your sons to develop their place in the world, specifically the Torah community. That world is not a place of fantasy or eternal bliss. It is real, with challenges and disappointments. We take seriously our responsibility to teach them to laugh and also to cry, as proud and passionate members of an unrivaled community and unparalleled nation. They should be sensitive to our times of crisis and need, and at the same time know that their future is bright and that we need them to help build a better and safer tomorrow. Their lives will be full of an endless array of good and bad, and we are proud to help them contend with all of it.

On numerous occasions over the past weeks I have impressed on the NCSYers the fact that their learning and summer experience is the ideal response to how our people are being challenged. This response starts in the beis medrash, but is not limited to it. We make no apologies for offering a summer of fun and growth, even in trying times. We pray for the continued strength to embody the response of “Am Yisrael Chai.”

With continued prayers for peace and security, and with heartfelt wishes for all of us to have a Shabbos of serenity and calm.

Moshe Benovitz

Chabura Spotlight: Eliezer Feder

Eliezer Feder is returning for his third consecutive summer on NCSY Kollel, and second as a Madrich. His Chabura is comprised of five members (Cameron Broder, Asher Gritz, Alter Klausner, Avraham Marcus, and Dovid Samuels), all of whom have shown tremendous growth and excitement for the learning thus far. Together, they are delving deeply into the super-famous Sugya’s in Kedushin, daf 29b, which discuss the Mitzvos that a father must perform towards his son. Faced with challenging questions and thought-provoking discussions, the Chabura tackles each Gemara with much enthusiasm. As Cameron said “I never knew that these Gemaras were so rich with deep understandings, much more than what first meets the eye!”

Alter, who had previously learned the Gemara, exclaimed, “The discussions and Torah fights that take place every day in our Chabura shed new light on the Gemara that really proves to be rewarding!”

Besides the fun that the Chabura enjoys while learning together, they are a mighty unit outside of the Beis Medrash as well. This past Friday, when the Kollel had a scavenger hunt in Tzfat, the Chabura worked together to decipher the clues, and ultimately finished second amongst the over twenty-five Chaburas that competed. Asher proudly stated, “The same way we worked together learning, we worked together solving the clues, and we are very proud of our accomplishments.”

Eliezer is looking forward to continuing an amazing summer. We are only half-way there, with plenty more to come!

Email Update from the Director: Thursday, July 24 2014

Dear NCSY Kollel Parents,

Today was a vintage NCSY Kollel tiyul day. The NCSYers were presented with diverse and intense options, and each tiyul provided safe fun and an amazing interaction with the beautiful land of Israel.

The setup of today’s tiyul was consistent with our overall philosophy of programming in general and our trip schedule in particular. We strive to be first rate, and to provide experiences that are authentic and fully engaging – never diluted or insignificant. If we offer a mountain to climb, it should be a tall one, not a slight incline that satisfies the interests of the lowest common denominator. If you don’t want a mountain, we will find something you might like more, and offer that option with the same gusto and enthusiasm.

Today there were two primary tracks. The first almost spoke for itself. We spent the better part of the day involved with extreme sports: Mountain Rappeling, Rock Climbing, Zip Lines, and most of all – Bungee Jumping off a bridge high above the Jordan River. It was unforgettable. It also fulfilled one of our primary tiyul mandates: To provide activities that few if any of the NCSYers have done before.

Our second track was altogether different. With a bus led by Rav Schachter and a second one led by Rav Sobolofsky, we enjoyed a “Food Tour” of the Golan. The NCSYers visited a spectacular orchard and picked plums, pears and nectarines. The farmers and Roshei Yeshiva explained the intricacies of the land-dependent mitzvos, and also discussed concepts like berachos and appreciation of food and the agricultural system. Each bus also toured the always popular De Karina chocolate factory, and again were enlightened about the different ways that chocolate and halacha can intersect.

Meanwhile, our beloved CITs and returning 11^th graders had a tiyul track all for themselves. First they sampled the extreme sports stations. Then they were treated to an all you can eat festive lunch. From there it was on to water sports in the Kinneret.

All 5 buses converged on Tzefat in the late afternoon. There, there were options for guided tours, an opportunity to pair off with madrichim or other staffers for more Tzefat exploration, and free time to relax and enjoy dinner. Most of the buses had an additional special opportunity of meeting and hearing from Rav Shmuel Eliyahu, Chief Rabbi of Tzefat and an inspirational leader of large segments of Israeli society.

Did we mention the water park? After Tzefat, we ended the day in style, with a few hours at a great water park rented out for NCSY’s exclusive use. We made that a bit less exclusive by inviting some boys from Chispin to join us. These boys are mostly the sons of men who have been called up as reserves to join the fighting in the south. We were honored to host them. The park was a strong exclamation point on our memorable day.

Tomorrow our group will split, almost exactly down the middle. Many will join in Chispin for another great Shabbos. Others will have modified free weekend with sign out both on campus in the north and at the OU Israel Center in Yerushalayim (22 Keren HaYesod). We truly appreciate your quick cooperation in filling out the forms. Please be in touch if you have any additional questions.

Your sons had a great week of learning, and deserved every minute of meaningful fun they enjoyed today. We look forward to providing them with even more in the future.

On that note, we continue to pray for peace and security, and prosperity for all of the brave chayalim and for the great nation they are working so hard to protect.

Moshe Benovitz

Email Update from the Director: Wednesday, July 23 2014

Dear NCSY Kollel Parents,

We were privileged to have another outstanding day on the NCSY Kollel. The learning and sports continued to excite, and we were blessed with a very tranquil day in Chispin.

Without a doubt, the highlight of the day was the return of our medic and tech director Yair Moses. Yair had been summoned to Gaza earlier in the week, but was allowed home only a few days later. He is one of many “human faces” of the current conflict, and for many of the NCSYers represented their most direct connection to all that is going on. His return provided a great lift, and a much needed sense of relief and optimism for the future.

There was also tremendous excitement and build up for our mega tiuyl tomorrow. We have a combination of old favorites and brand new tiyul options, and the different possibilities are all intense in their own way. There will be trips led by Roshei Yeshiva, and trips featuring extreme sports. It will be a well deserved reward to the NCSYers who have put so much into creating a positive environment this whole week.

By now you have received the instructions for our modified free weekend. Please be in touch if there are any questions. We reiterate that we strongly encourage the NCSYers to spend Shabbos with us in the North, especially if they do not have close family or friends to visit.

Finally, Rav Schachter arrived in Chispin late this evening. Most of the NCSYers will only meet him tomorrow morning, but we look forward to interacting with him over the next few weeks.

With prayers for peace and security,
Moshe Benovitz

Another Amazing Day

As the NCSYers are finally settling in to the normal daily schedule, today was another amazing day on NCSY Kollel.

This morning, our incredible staff of Rabbeim once again joined us in Chispin. All of the Talmidim attended their regular morning Seder and Shiur from their usual Rebbe. Later in the day, the Rabbeim participated in leagues, making the games more exciting and intense than ever, with many games ending in overtime, and one even ending in triple overtime!!

During the break today, Kollel was presented with a unique Chesed opportunity. NCSYers and Madrichim helped pack bags and boxes of supplies to send to the soldiers serving on the front lines in Gaza. Every box contained a variety of items, ranging from toothbrushes and toothpaste to socks and other clothing articles, as well as a handwritten letter from an NCSYer on Kollel expressing their gratitude and other personal messages. It was a Chesed which allowed everyone a chance to reflect on themselves and to think about the sacrifices of the soldiers and really appreciate all that they do.

After another strong night Seder with amazing Shiurim and Chavrusas, the guys enjoyed another night of leagues under the lights. Heading to sleep at the end of another successful day, the NCSYers look forward to another great day tomorrow followed by amazing Tiyulim to come on Thursday!