Eliezer Feder is returning for his fourth consecutive summer on the NCSY Summer Kollel, and his third as a Madrich. His Chabura is comprised of six members: Akiva Fink from Woodmere, NY (DRS), Dovid Gelbtuch from Lawrence, NY (DRS), Tzvi Koenig from Spring Valley, NY (Heichal HaTorah), Jacob Minkin from West Hempstead, NY (DRS), Benny Persin from Passaic, NJ (Heichal HaTorah), and Tzvi Sabo from Bergenfield, NJ (MTA); all whom have shown tremendous growth and excitement for the learning so far.
Together, they are delving into the 6th Perek of Gemara Brachos, discussing the concept of making Brachos on food in general and different Brachos in particular. Faced with challenging questions and thought-provoking discussions, the Chabura together tackles each Gemara with much enthusiasm. The Chabura is finding the learning to be stimulating and engaging. One member in particular, Jacob Minkin, has risen to the challenge and has been soaking in all of the learning that he can get.
Besides the fun that the Chabura enjoys learning together with Eliezer, they are a mighty unit outside of the Beis Medrash as well. On Wednesday, when the entire camp split up to do different Chessed trips, the crew went with Eliezer to Shaare Zedek Hospital in Yirushalayim to cheer up the patients there. The guys dressed in bright and colorful clothing to make themselves look silly (for example, Benny Persin wore a neon orange t-shirt). They went from room to room turning frowns into smiles!
It was truly a rewarding experience. “I feel like a hundred bucks now!” Tzvi Koenig exclaimed after leaving the final room. Later, Dovid Gelbtuch eloquently explained that “the most precious think in the world is to make someone else smile,” and that is what they did so well today.
Before the trip, some members were hesitant about the idea. One such member, Tzvi Sabo, had such an amazing time that even after the group finished, he wanted to go back to a specific room which they had missed!
When moving through the halls, the Chabura was called into a room where the doctors were about to draw blood from a young boy. The boy’s mother heard the troop and called them in so to distract the boys during the shot. Akiva Fink knew exactly how to distract the boy by engaging him with a funny dance and skit. The experience was truly an amazing one!
Eliezer is looking forward to an amazing continuation of the summer. It is only the beginning with so much more to come!
