The word “Legendary” gets thrown around a lot but is rarely properly applied. Yet, today on NCSY Kollel was nothing short of Legendary. From morning until late at night there were non-stop unprecedented and “can’t-miss” moments.
The action began at shachris when Max Felix Ashkanazi and Jason Levine celebrated their hanachat tefillin as they received their first ever pair of tefillin. All of Kollel joined in the singing and dancing, after Max delivered some heartfelt word about his personal journey which led him to the moment. After a seudat mitzva, Kollel began the day of learning with a strong morning seder. After lunch, TJJ Ambassadors and engaged in some joint Olympics with Kollel, followed by an All-Star game between the two camps.
After the game, both programs celebrated a joins siyum, celebrating the Ambassadors completion of Prkei Avot and Yis Richter completing Masechet Taanis. This was followed by more singing and dancing and the second seudat mitzva of the day.
At night, the normal night seder was replaced with a special Leil Iyun, where NCSYers heard special shiurim on character development and becoming their best selves. Entire rooms were packed with attentive campers as they heard from Madrichim, Rebbeim, and Roshei Yeshiva. Rav Mayer Twerski concluded the evening with a few brief words, which were followed by Maariv.
The official schedule had ended, but there was one final surprise of the day. An impromptu kumzitz broke out in the auxiliary Beis Medrash which lasted for over a half hour. This brought the busy day to an end leaving the campers with more highlights than they can count.