Today was another incredible on-of-a-kind day on NCSY Kollel. The day started on a bittersweet note as we said goodbye to Rav Schachter and Rav Twersky. Following one final Halacha Shiur, campers and staff joined together to dance Rav Schachter out of the beis.

A regular schedule followed, with the addition of a special mini-tiyul to Machane Yehudah. Sport schedule was cut in half to accommodate the special afternoon and night, which began with a game of chabura lineup, which was won by Shimon Benaroch’s chabura. Then, at 6:30, all of Kollel boarded busses and headed to Yom NCSY, the annual gathering of all 19 NCSY Summer programs for an evening of unity and ruach.

The festivities started with a BBQ dinner, followed by video presentations and a concert featuring both Shlomo and Eitan Katz. Campers had a chance to meet, talk to, and dance with their peers from across the country on the various NCSY programs. The dancing lasted late into the night, finally wrpping up and leaving NCSY Kollel with a night they will never forget.

Today marked the 3rd full-day tiyul of the summer and it was a smashing success. 4 trips left to four wildly different locations

The first (and earliest to wake-up) was one of the most famous Kollel tiyulim, and a true favorite of the program – Darja.  NCSYers left in the early hours of the morning and experienced one of the hardest and most thrilling hikes of the summer, spanning over 8 hours. The campers were left with an experience they will always remember.

The second trip, known only as the “Food” option, contained just that.  The day began with NCSYers visiting a kibbutz to make their own cheese from scratch including milking the cows, making their own chumus, and a visit to a bread factory to make some pretzels.  The most exciting part of that tiyul, however, came when the NCSYers got to learn the halachos of shechita firsthand.  They were able to witness the live shechita of a lamb, including the entire process of making it into kosher meat, and they ended by eating the meat fresh off the grill. The NCSYers left this trip with full hearts and fuller stomachs.

Option 3 took the campers to Wadi Qelt, a gorgeous water hike with a lesser degree of difficulty than Darja, while option 4, the self-proclaimed “lazy option” saw visits to the beach and go-carting, complete with leibadik music and some improvised competitions.

The day was an incredible way to continue the outstanding line of tiyulim this summer, and it certainly energized us for the rest of the week!!

Zvi Kaminetzky is a certified kollel veteran, having spent the last 6 summers with the program. This summer will be his second as a Madrich, and he couldn’t be more excited. Zvi was a star student at TABC and graduated with impressive merits. He chose KBY as his yeshiva of choice and backed up his talk by staying an impressive 3 years, developing a close kesher with his Rebbe, Rav Mendel Blachman. Zvi plans to attend YU next year where he will be learning in the masmidim program.

Zvi leads a true all-star group of guyss in his Chaburah. Avram Bernstein of Cedarhurst and Eli Wiseman from Woodmere represent DRS. Gavriel Majeski of YFR hails from Lawrence. AZ Sobolofsky (Yesodei Yeshurun) and Eli Spinowitz (TABC) come from Bergenfield and Teaneck, while Yedidya Blau from Fuchs Mizrachi adds some flavor with his roots in Beechwood, OH.

This summer, Zvi’s Chaburah is delving into an array of different “Shas Sugyas,” analyzing concepts in “Osek BiMitzvah Patur Min HaMitzvah,” and “Zeh Neheneh ViZeh Lo Chaser,” to name a few.

Zvi is looking forward to leading his crew to enormous heights this summer, and it looks like they’re already on their way.

Today was a largely standard day, punctuated by a historic afternoon on NCSY Kollel. Shachris was extra special, as it was led by Rav Herschel Schachter in honor of his father’s yorzteit. A normal morning seder was highlighted by a visit from Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin, the head of NCSY Education, who met one-on-one with madrichim to help up their chabura game.

After lunch, announcements were made early in order to accommodate the expanded afternoon schedule. Not content with the normally huge 42-team schedule which has most teams play once a day, the sports department designed a massive 38-game, 76-team schedule which allowed for every team to play once, and 34 teams to play two league games in one day. The Kollel shipped 18 league games to Shaalvim to expand to the 11 courts needed to run a sports schedule that large. Overall, the day was a massive success with campers returning to Moshav Bet Meir exhausted, but thrilled, with the experimental schedule.

The enthusiasm carried over into the last night seder of the first half of the summer, and an early curfew was called (in anticipation of our 3rd tiyul day tomorrow) which wrapped up a tiring, but epic, day on NCSY Kollel.

After a summer on the Kollel sports staff, Tyler Hod is back this year as a madrich. Tyler was at Frisch for 4 years and learnt in Yeshivat Reishit for another year. He is currently in YU where he starts at PG for the Maccabees. In addition to all the ball and shteiging, Tyler has given chaburas at Frisch for the last 2 years.

Tyler will be learning this summer with 5 all-stars from Teaneck, NJ. The group consists of Elie Goldberg from MTA, Judah Rolnick and Sam Bendheim from Frisch, and Yisroel Rothwachs and Yoni Mann who attend TABC.

Tyler’s ‘Buras will focus on areas of Torah he feels a strong personal connection to, such as why we learn Torah, Asher Yatzar and pieces from Olam Hamiddot. It’s clear that Tyler’s passion for the subjects he is teaching will help convey the messages behind the words. It should be a summer full of growth and fun!

Kobi Greenfield is enjoying his first summer on NCSY Kollel. An alumnus of Skokie Yeshiva, Kobi spent his Israel years in Yeshivat Hakotel, which included a stint in the army. Kobi is respected for his hardworking spirit and easygoing attitude.

Kobi will be giving chabura to some of Kollel’s best and brightest, from across the globe. From New York, there is Ari Krakauer (Woodmere) who attends DRS; Zanvy Lesnoy hails from Silver Spring, MD and is in Berman Hebrew Academy; Noah Roffe who represents the Midwest and Ida Crown Jewish Academy, is from Evanston, IL; finally, Saadia Seifaras is the resident Ben Tzion from Maale Adumim and attends Yeshivat Chorev.

The chabura will spend the summer learning how to connect to Hashem and how one can live a Torah life through the mitzvot and lessons from the Torah. The experience has been transformative so far and great things are expected for this crew for the second half of the summer.

Jacob Bach is a first-time Madrich and Staff member on NCSY Kollel. Jacob attended Yavneh academy for middle school, Yeshivat Frisch for high school, and Yeshivat Reishit for two years. While in Israel, he completed the Aish Destinations Kiruv training course, and was a Yavneh Fellow for college campus leadership sponsored by the OU and World Mizrachi. Jacob spent the past two summers at Camp HASC where he says he “probably learned the most of how to give of myself to others.”

Jacob is joined this summer by a group of 4 great kids from the Five Towns: Binyamin Kunstler (DRS), Dovid Amar (MAY), and Yoni Goldberg (HAFTR) live in Woodmere, while Yehuda Schwartz (DRS) hails from Lawrence.

Jacob and the boys will be working on “connecting to your inner child”. This consists of sessions on happiness, going out of your comfort zone, “build a ‘you’ workshop”, and the power of niggunim and zemirot. The goal is for the NCSYers to expand their horizons and give them the skills to chase what they want an the tools to recognize their greatness and fulfill their potentials in their lives!

Daniel Raykher is enjoying his first Summer as a madrich on NCSY Kollel. Daniel Attended Frisch for high school followed by Orayta. Daniel’s relatability and upbeat positivity make him an excellent madrich. Daniel will be focusing on learning different middos and Jewish ideas through Gemara and Aggadah. There will be an emphasis placed on making Gemara, and learning in general, feel like an indispensable and essential part of our lives.

Daniel’s chabura consists of 4 amazing kids: Coby Casden is from Woodmere, NY (DRS); Pesach Abrahams is from Bergenfield, NJ (TABC); Shlomo Pasternak is from East Brunswick, NJ (TABC); and Michael Mintz is from Cedarhurst, NY (DRS).

When not pounding it out in the Beis, the ‘Burah enjoys ball, slushies, chilling, and going on the amazing tiyulim that the Summer Kollel has to offer.

The ‘Burah is currently enjoying the Best Summer Ever.

Daniel “Dagger” Goldstein is in his 5th year as a member of NCSY Kollel, and his 3rd as a Madrich. Daniel spent his High School years in MTA before temporarily moving across the sea to Yeshivat Shaalvim. He is currently in YU studying psychology. In addition to his role as a Madrich, Daniel serves as Assistant Head Madrich, and is largely responsible for many of the initiatives surrounding dorm life on Kollel. He has also been described as “hands-down the funniest person on Kollel”.

Daniel’s chabura consists of 6 all-star campers: Dovid Mandel (Heichal) is from Clifton, NJ; Ephraim Warso and Ami Mashiach are both from, Chicago, Il, and attend Skokie Yeshiva; Abie Kupchik lives in West Hempstead, NY and goes to DRS; Eitan Kwestel and Akiva Aryeh are from Woodmere and Cedarhurst respectively and also attend DRS.

Daniel’s Chaburot revolve around the style and teachings of Rav Dovid Fohrman. Daniel will be focusing on studying how to ask good questions and improve one’s reading comprehension, while also increasing one’s exposure to tanach. The chabura goes through certain episodes in the Torah and analyzes the mefarhshim as well as the text itself to try to be as clear and comfortable with the material as possible.

When not pounding it out in the Beis, the ‘Burah enjoys ball, Pizza Hut, chilling, and going on the amazing tiyulim that the Summer Kollel has to offer.

The Chabura is currently enjoying the Best Summer Ever.

Aryeh Goldman is enjoying his first summer on NCSY Kollel. Aryeh grew up in the Boston area and attended Gann Academy. After High School, he attended Yeshivat Lev Hatorah for 2 years and spent the previous year there as a madrich. He is looking forward to anttending Lander College for Men in the fall. Aryeh has made a name for himself this summer will his ferocious dedication to his campers and menchlechkeit.

Aryeh’s chabura consists of five of the best that Kollel has to offer. Andrew Jacobson (MTA) lives in Bronx, NY; Benzion Fiorino (SAR) and Uli Stechler (Heichal) come from Teaneck, NJ; Andrew Stein (Northwest High School) hails from Germantown, MD; and Chaim Mintz (Heichal) lives in Passaic, NJ.

Aryeh’s chabura will be sudying sugyas in avodas Hashem. This involves trying to build a personal connection to Hashem and dig deeper into what all of life and existence are about. A summer of growth and fun surely await. It should be the Best Summer Ever!