Shlomo Stark is Assistant to the Assistant Director and a long-time kollel legend.

1.       You’ve been with Kollel for a while. What brings you back year after year?

I think it is a couple of things. The staff is amazing, there is an incredible ruach, all-star rebbeim, great basketball… It really Is the complete package.

2.       If you could have dinner with any four staff members who would you pick?

I think I would go with Rabbi Benovitz obviously. If night shiur rebbeim count I have to pick Rav Blachman. I think my third is Rabbi Lebowitz, and I’ll throw [Jonothan] Gibber in there just to mix things up

3.       What do you think is the key to Kollel’s success?

I think they do a great job in hiring the best staff to fit the needs of the campers. Its not just about hiring the most talented people. You need to find the best staff to meet your specific campers needs, and I think kollel does a great job of that.

Watch this truly inspiring Tisha B’Av event. Participants from NCSY’s Kollel and NCSY’s 12 other summer programs gathered at the Kotel. This is guaranteed to lift you up.

An amazing day on NCSY Kollel wrapped up today with so much too talk about! Today began with orientation as campers and staff alike familiarizing themselves with the norms of the program. The orientation ended with the campers meeting their Morning Rebbeim for the first time. Following lunch and mincha, Kollel split into no less than 7 seperate tips, giving each camper the opportunity to craft the trip of their desire. Campers chose from trips to basketball courts, laser tag, soccer or football in Kraft Stadium, the world famous blind museum, mountain biking, or water skiing.

The campers all had an amazing time and the day was just getting started! Following dinner, everyone came to the Beit Medrash for the introduction to chaburas offered by Josh Fagin. This was followed by the first chaburas of the summer with each Madrich learning with his chabura for the first time. After, the chaburas engaged in a friendly battle in Time’s Up and trivia , with the top chaburas winning prizes.

Following Maariv, the first Thursday night Mishmar and learning began. The NCSYers and Staff were offered the opportunity to start a chavruta with someone they hadn’t met yet, forging countless new friedships.  The Beit Medrash was filled with learning until 11:30, when everyone enjoyed a delicious late night snack courtesy of Burgers Bar.

It was an awesome conclusion to the day. Stay with the NCSY Kollel blog for the latest happenings and photos from Summer 2018 as we head towards the first Shabbos together of the summer.

NCSY Kollel 2018 is officially underway. All 4 Kollel flights have landed and all 280 NCSYers from across the globe are now at the Kollel campus in Moshav Beit Meir.

NCSYers arrived at Beit Meir and began check-in, which involved getting their room keys, learning who their morning Rebbe is, and meeting their roommates. NCSYers were given the chance to deposit money and other valuables in the Camp safe, and met with a representative from Talk n’ Save to ensure their phones would be working.

After the campers unpack, we will be meeting for dinner, followed by some preparatory announcements regarding our trip tonight to the Old City of Yerushalayim. All the campers will get to experience the breathtaking view from the roof of Aish Hatorah where the program will be formally introduced by associate director Rav Yehuda Turetsky. 

Following maariv at the kotel, the campers will be given their first real taste of Eretz Yisrael with supervised free time in the Old City. A bus back to Beit Meir will conclude the first of many thrilling days on the NCSY Kollel this summer.

This is the location for the latest news out of NCSY Kollel for the summer of 2018.

We will be posting a daily blog, detailing the various activities that take place on NCSY Kollel, as well as features and spotlights on all the things that make this program so special.

Make sure to check the website often for posts, pictures, and videos from Kollel.