The second day of Kollel is in the books. The Morning began with Orientation as Rabbi Benovitz continued to familiarize the NCSYers with the day-today life of Kollel. at 11:45 the first interactions between NCSYers and their Morning shiur Rebbeim with a short session which laid the foundation for the relationships which will grow over the summer.

The afternoon saw an exciting chaburah-vs-chaburah tournament of “Time’s Up” as each ‘bura competed to see who was the quickest to the punch. After that, the first real sports action of the summer took place as scores of NCSYers and staff took to the courts for an extended pick-up basketball session.

After an early dinner, the NCSYers loaded onto buses for the main attraction of the day: a trip to the Old City of Yerushalayim. The group spent some free time in Mamila Mall and the Rovah, before gathering on the breathtaking roof of Aish Hatorah to tear Kriah and hear some words of inspiration from Rabbi Binyamin Kaminetsky.

After an inspiring maariv at the kotel, the group headed back to Beit Meir where another amazing day was ended.

NCSY Kollel 5779 is officially underway! Our group flights of NCSYers landed this afternoon from Newark, JFK and Los Angeles with incredible enthusiasm. As they exited the airport, the boys were greeted by the directors of the program welcoming them home and to the “NCSY Kollel family”.

We proceeded to Bet Meir to begin the unpacking and acclimation process. Dinner was served on campus and our bais medrash, the centerpiece of the program was introduced by Rabbi Turetsky. He highlighted how every NCSYer’s “makom kavua” would impact his summer.

Afterwards, chaburas met for the first time. The excitement was tangible as our NCSYers met their madrichim for the first time and were introduced to their chaburah learning this summer.

We are looking forward to another incredible day tomorrow, as the best summer ever continues to unfold!

Today was the last full day of normal Kollel and it certainly packed a punch. Morning seder was cut a little short for a special presentation thanking the morning shiur rebbeim for all their fantastic work this summer. Every Rebbe received a standing ovation and Rabbi Isaacson shared a few words of what Kollel means to him before everyone went to get lunch.

After mincha, Kollel started a brand-new initiative, where every chabura went around Beit Meir cleaning up garbage. For every garbage bag filled, the chabura received 40 shekel in food to buy sometime over the upcoming weekend.

The sports schedule was packed with the play-off semifinals and many All-Star games. One of the play-off games as well as the Rebbe-Talmid game were decided by buzzer beaters setting the stage for what is sure to be a thrilling conclusion to the sports league.

The final night seder of the summer was laden with emotion, and it was followed by one of the last chaburas of the summer. Rabbi Lebowitz then made a siyum on Seder Nezikin, continuing the Kollel tradition of finishing a seder of Mishnayot every year. He then announced that he will be learning Seder Kodshim and that all of Kollel was encouraged to do the same. After some cholent, mishmar continued late into the night with a guest shiur from Rav Reuven Taragin which concluded the amazing day.

As the summer winds down, Kollel keeps getting better and better, determined to end the summer maintaining its excellent standards of learning and programing. Morning seder has been strong all week and today was no exception. The afternoon contained the Playoff quarterfinals as well as an amazing trip to the beach where 2 busses enjoyed football, spikeball, and the massive waves.

Dinner started later than usual and saw the entire Kollel enjoying Burger’s Bar under the same roof (or tent as the case may be). This dinner was, in fact, a seudas mitzva thanks to the siyum made by Yis Richter on Massechet Yoma. Dinner was immediately followed by the first half of thank-yous to the staff. Rav Benovitz highlighted the immense contributions made by the EMTs, Tech Staff, Sports Staff, Junior Madrichim, and Shoelei Umeshivim, all of whom received standing ovations from the NCSYers in recognition of their nonstop work and dedication to the program.

The day ended with the Kollel leaving campus to two locations. Half of the camp visited iJump, a trampoline park complete with facilities for dodgeball, basketball, and gymnastics all with a little more bounce. The rest went bowling a timeless classic which delighted those who wished to remain a little closer to the ground. Both trips were fantastic and the campers returned to camp happy and looking forward to the fantastic days remaining.

Today was a day of friendly conflict and competition from start to finish. Immediately following Shachris, all off NCSY Kollel grouped into chaburas and headed to the center of Yerushalayim. Each chabura was dressed is a specific costume or matching theme.

Once in Yerushalayim, the Chabura Wars Scavenger Hunt began. Centered around Ben Yehuda and the Shuk, the competition saw the NCSYers completeing tasks, such as getting hired in local stores, performing acts of chesed, finding obscure products, and getting random strangers to dance. After a long morning of fun and excitement the chaburas of Matthew Wexler, Eli Goldberg, Jon Hurwitz, Zev Markowitz, Zev Jaroshow, and Avrumi Schoenbron emerged victorious.

Upon returning to Bet Meir, the playoffs resumed the next round which reduced each tournament from 16 teams to 8 as the season winds down.

After Night Seder, there were 6 independent shiur options for those who wanted to stay late to learn. The Beis was rocking late into the night once again as the day came to a close. 

The last week of Kollel continues with the camp constantly striving for bigger and better moments to conclude the summer. The day kicked off with an exciting visit from Rav Shalom Rosner, who spoke to staff and campers. Rav Rosner is both a former Kollel parent as well as a Rebbe and mentor to many of the campers and staff.

The excitement continued into the afternoon with the first round of playoffs. In addition to the 10 playoff and NIT games, several All-Star games were played which involved the post-10th graders, post- 11th graders, sports staff, madrichim, and Head Staff. Overall, it was a fun time which allowed for Kollel’s best players to share the court together and play some phenomenal basketball.

In lieu of traditional night seder, the Kollel had its 2nd and final Leil Iyun of the summer featuring a stacked line-up of speakers. There were 2 panels consisting of Rav Burg and Rav Bronfeld and Rav Blachman paired up with Rav Taragin. The action culminated with a schmooze from renowned speaker Charlie Hararay who was mechazek the Kollel with words of inspiration before maariv. There was a strong post-maariv learning presence in the Beis all the way up to curfew, which brought this amazing day to an end.

As the last week of NCSY Kollel 2018 begins, the finish line for the summer is very much in sight. This has infused the campers and staff with a sense of urgency as every moment and opportunity presented must be capitalized on before the summer ends and we are forced to leave the wonderful environment we find ourselves in.

This intensity could be felt in morning and night sedarim as well as chaburas as the learning opportunities become increasingly limited. In addition to the normally scheduled learning there was a noticeable uptick in post-maariv learning as campers and staff joined together to maximize the hours spent in the Beis Medrash.

There was also something extra out on the courts as the final day of the regular season concluded with several play-off spots still up for grabs. Several crucial games went down to the wire and as the dust settled we officially have a 22-team Play-off bracket and 20 team NIT. More excitement s sure to follow as the summer winds down.

Shloimy Eichler is returning to NCSY Kollel for his second year as a Staff member and first year as a madrich. After making Aliyah in 2008, Shloimy went to Sha’alei Torah in Bet Shemesh for high school. He just completed his fifth year in the KBY hesder program which included a year and a half in the army.

Shloimy is joined this summer by four of the best campers kollel has to offer: Avraham Frohlich (Heichal Hatorah) from Bergenfield, NJ; Zevi Cohen (Herzog Bnei Brak) from Raanana; Shuey Feierman (MAY) from Far Rockaway, NY; and Ethan Teigman (TABC) from Teaneck, NJ.

Shloimy and the ‘Bura have spent the summer learning about Chagim and Moadim. Specifically, the crew has focused on asking smart questions about each of the chagim as a springboard into broader discussions of Torah values. Shloimy really makes the torah come alive, and everyone leaves chabura with a memorable experience.

It should continue to be a summer of growth and fun. We wish the chabura haltzlacha going forward.