Noam Posner is a former camper and now 2-time Madrich on NCSY Kollel. Noam went to YULA for High School and then Netiv Aryeh for three years. He is planning on attending Ner Yisroel. Noam has an unquenchable fire which he harnesses to maximize his teaching abilities. The chabura will have an emphasis on Nezikin sugyas such as אדם מועד לעולם, השבת אבידה, שאול שלא מדעת and a few others.

Noam’s Chaburah consists of five of Kollel’s finest: Dovid Boim, Yoel Rahmani, and Yisrael Loew from Woodmere, NY; Abe Wall from Westport, CT; and Akiva Erlbaum from Merion, PA.

Noam anticipates an amazing summer of learning, growth, and fun! It should be the Best Summer Ever! 

Shimon Benaroch is an alumnus of NCSY Kollel as well as a former member of the sports staff. Shimon attended YULA High School for Boys, followed by 2 years in Mevaseret. Shimon brings a cool, calm, demeanor to the position as well as his refined attitude. Shimon will be teaching his chabura about the moadim of the year, going through the Jewish Calender, trying to get a deeper understanding of the various festivals contained therein.
Shimon’s Chabura consists of five of Kollel’s finest: from Shimmie Kirsch Cedarhurst, NY; Andrew Shafer from Englewood, NJ; Ami Schreiber from Woodmere, NY; Noam Shapiro from Bbrookline, MA; and Yoshie Marcus from Boca Raton, FL.
Shimon anticipates an amazing summer of learning, growth, and fun! It should be the Best Summer Ever!

Ilan Kaissar is attending kollel for the first time, but he is eager to make an impact. Ilan attended Ia Crown Jewish Academy for high school, followed by a stint at Yeshivat Hakotel. Ilan brings a cool, calm, demeanor to the position as well as his refined attitude. Ilan will be studying various sugyot in Brachot with his chabura and will focus on developing an appreciation for what the Gemara has to say.

Ilan’s Chabura this summer is stacked with a super smooth line-up of young men, including a large contingent from Los Angeles consisting of Shaya Berkowitz (MBY), Elli Bobroff (VTHS), and Michael Bess (VTHS). Rounding out the group is Eli Heisler (Chofetz Chaim) from Brooklyn, NY, and Edan Bitas from Philadelphia, PA.

 Ilan anticipates an amazing summer of learning, growth, and fun! It should be the Best Summer Ever!

Eli Goldberg is a former camper and CIT on NCSY Kollel. He returns this year for his second year as a Madrich. Eli attended DRS Yeshiva for high School, and Yeshivat Shaalvim for 2 years. Eli has his signature quirky attitude and world-class hasmada which he uses to inspire those around him. Eli will be teaching this summer about the moadim and hopes to combine the chinuch styles of two of the camp directors, Rabbi Benovitz and Rabbi Lebowitz.

Eli’s Chaburah is comprised of six members: Ari Rosenberg from Suffern, NY (MTA); Baruch Berger from Far Rockaway, NY (DRS); Josef Segal from East Brunswick, NJ (TABC); Shlomo Schwartz from Lawrence, NY (DRS); Isaac Shapiro from White Plains, NY (TABC); and Ariel Retter from Bergenfield, NJ (MTA); all of whom have shown tremendous growth and excitement for the learning so far.

Eli anticipates an amazing summer of learning, growth, and fun! It should be the Best Summer Ever! 

Akiva Ackerman is no stranger to Kollel. This summer will be his fourth straight on NCSY Kollel, and his first as a Madrich. An alumnus of DRS Yeshiva High School, Akiva learnt in Yeshivat Shaalvim for 2 years, developing a kesher with many gedolim of Eretz Yisrael. Akiva will be learning and developing different themes in Pirkei Avot with his Chaburah.

Joining Akiva, is an amazing group of masmidim. Avi Cohen is from North Woodmere, NY; Jonothan Boxer from Hewlett, NY; Aryeh Pollack and Bentzy Klarfeld, both who are from Beechwood, OH; their fellow statesman David Benzaquen from Cincinniati; and Doniel Lasky from Valley Stream, NY.

Akiva anticipates an amazing summer of learning, growth, and fun! It should be the Best Summer Ever!

Today started out ordinary (or as ordinary as a day on Kollel can every be) and turned extraordinary, After an inspiring morning seder, lunch and chaburas, Kollel held an abbreviated sports schedule of  two periods. At 5:30, 7 buses packed with kids and staff made their way over to Cholon to Yamit Alpayim, a massive waterpark which Kollel rented out. Campers and staff enjoyed slides, footballs in the pools, countless pies of pizza and some great basketball and soccer.

After Maariv, the camp returned to Beit Meir for the final half of the World Cup semi-final match between England and Croatia. Around 100 campers stayed up to watch the nail-biting finish, in an improvised watching room, complete with a massive projector, speaker system, snacks, and hot food available. Croatia took the match 2-1 in extra time, as the breathless crowd watched on.

We are approaching the end of the week and the first free shabbos of the summer. Stick with the NCSY Kollel Blog for the latest from the Summer.

Menachum Pollack is the Director of Catchphrases and Enthusiasm

1.       What are your responsibilities on Kollel?

First and foremost, I see myself as a Madrich. I love hanging out with my guys, giving chaburas once a day, playing ball, developing relationships, and growing together. I am also involved with the head staff, which gives me the opportunity to have a role in technical issues, chinuch issues, and everything in between.

2.       What do you think is the most important trait for a Kollel staff member to have?

Good question. I think it comes down to caring. You have to care about the kids. You have to care about the campus, you have to care about what we are doing here. Because if you care enough about anything, everything you need to accomplish the job will come.

3.       Which Staff Member is the most efficient at making you laugh?

[laughs] Considering how much time I spend with him, [fellow head staff member] Daniel Goldstein has my vote for the most laughs per minute.

Today was the first full-length tiyul day on NCSY Kollel and, oh boy, did it deliver. NCSY Kollel organized three seperate trips to the southern beach-town of Eilat.

The trips ranged from extreme to chill to somewhere in between, and departure times ranged from 6:00 AM to as early as 11:30 PM last night.  That departure belonged to the extreme hikers of the Harei Eilat Tiyul, who drove all the way down to Eilat through the night to begin an intense hike up Eilat’s mountains in the early hours of the morning and daven shacharis at sunrise atop the mountain.  The second option, the Masada tiyul, left at 2:30 AM to do the same on Israel’s most famous mountain, climbing up and davening with the sunrise.  The final tiyul, fondly known as the “Ezra Teichman Tiyul” (paying homage to the creator of the tiyul option) was the most relaxed, leaving at 6:00 AM to go straight to Eilat and meet the other tiyulim for the second part of the tiyul day, after a visit to Eilat’s aquarium.

The buses made a quick stop in Dimona to spend some time in the mall before all three tiyulim made the trek back to Beit Meir, where they were greeted with Maariv and a BBQ dinner.

An amazing tiyul day capped off an incredible summer of tiyulim, and we are ready to take advantage of the rest of this week as we finish off a summer we will never forget!