Today will go down as the summer’s biggest activities day to date, with 3-on-3 tournament games, three different summer programs visiting, and no less than four all-star games.

Morning shiur was as intense as always, with Chaburahs at full strength after Mincha.  The afternoon was where things got extra exciting.  The Sweet Sixteen, Elite Eight, and Final Four rounds of both the advanced and intermediate brackets of the 3-on-3 Tournament were played in every other sports period – congratulations, by the way, to the Isaacs/Tripp/Lanner and Goodstein/Lurie/Migdal teams in the advanced bracket and the Elefeant/Gasner/Rosenthal and Gutenmacher/Steinberg/Rosenberg teams in the intermediate bracket for making it to their respective championship games, to be played on #ChampionshipFriday at the end of the summer.  In between those games were an epic dodgeball match pitting the Staff against the NCSYers, as well as an All-Star game slot.  That slot included basketball matchups between two 10th Grade All-Star teams, the New York/New Jersey All-Stars and the World All-Stars (won by the Metropolitan team), between the CIT’s and the small but skilled Sports Staff team (edged out by the Sports Staff), and between the 11th Grade All-Stars and the Madrichim squad (dominated by the more experienced Madrichim), as well as a thrilling Staff vs NCSYer hockey All-Star game (taken 2-1 by the Staff Legends).

Throughout the afternoon and into night seder, we were joined by three different summer programs.  NCSY BILT joined us for learning and on our Mini-Tiyul to Kraft Stadium for football and soccer.  NCSY Israel ID also paid us a visit for some exciting learning, and Mach Hach joined us in learning as well as in a spirited Kollel vs Mach Hach post-Maariv basketball game, which Kollel won by a hair.

Although today was more exciting than usual, we have no doubt that tomorrow’s regular learning and sports schedule will be just as enthusiastic, and we are looking forward to a great end to Week 4 before our second free Shabbos!!

Natan Siegel is loving his first summer as a Madrich on NCSY Kollel. Natan hails from Silver Spring, Maryland, where he attended Berman Hebrew Academy. After high school, Natan spent two wonderful years of learning at Yeshivat Hakotel and began studying at Yeshiva University after Pesach.

Natan’s Chaburah consists of the five nicest guys around (#outoftown). His guys come from across the country, which adds flavor to any sports conversation they have. They are blessed with Doni Miretzky and Ephraim Warso from Chicago, Avi Soclof from Cleveland, Akiva Finkelstein from Memphis, and last but not least, Shimmy Siev from Philadelphia.

They have been delving into the fourth perek of brachos and learning interesting topics related to tefillah in great depth. The Chaburah has been working on understanding halachic arguments through simple methodology. In addition, they have looked into the practical halachot that stem from the conceptual models they built. The cherry on top has been the hashkafic lessons they have drawn out of the sugyas that apply to their daily tefillot. They look forward to the rest of a summer full of fun, learning, and inspiration!

This summer is Zev Markowitz’s 5^th consecutive summer on NCSY Kollel, his first, though, as a Madrich. Raised in Bergenfield, NJ, he spent his younger days studying in RYNJ as well as a quick stint in Yavneh Academy. He attended MTA for high school and is currently studying at Yeshivat Sha’alvim.

Zev’s Chaburah is focused on an in-depth view of the 10 commandments. The Chaburah isn’t just focused on knowing the commandments, but rather understanding the deeper meaning and practical laws behind them. They have their Torah expert Avery Amster (Chicago, IL), always letting them know the exact pasuk and even sometimes laining it for them. Many times, though, a question is posed, which allows Akiva Aryeh (Woodmere, NY) to try and work his magic and give some insightful answers. A lot of times, however, that isn’t so easy when you have a friend like Yochanan Zupnik (Spring Valley, NY) always trying to challenge you. Neither one gives up to easily, but it pushes both to try to get the best answer possible. Always leading their chazara at the end of Chaburahs is Yechiel Keiser (Teaneck, NJ). His ability to say over the material with clarity (just ask him about havdalah and kiddush) and with a radiant smile is something to look forward to everyday. Chaburahs aren’t the only place where they interact as a group, though. A lot of the growth happens in different settings. Eitan Kwestel (Cedarhurst, NY) really leads the group in his maturity towards Judaism. Specifically, as a role model in davening, by always being on time and setting the proper demeanor. The best part about the Chaburah is how well they have integrated as a group. They already have a WhatsApp group overflowing with pictures of each other in trips and activities. Most of that seamless process is attributed to Fry Garfinkel’s (Chicago, IL) personality. His enthusiasm, energy, and ability to break the ice in any situation really brings the whole Chaburah together.

Zev spoke to the guys on the first days of Chaburahs and told them that the goal of the summer is to grow not only as an individual but also as a group. Everyone has personal goals of what they want to reach and what they want to strive for. The Chaburah setting allows guys to reach those goals by challenging each other to get to that next level. Hopefully, through these friendships, they are just starting, and they all can’t wait to continue their growth for the rest of the summer and beyond.

David Sperber is from Randolph, New Jersey, went to Yeshivat Sha’arei Mevaseret Tzion, and is currently learning by Rav Eliyahu Soloveitchik shlita at Lander College for Men. This is his third year on the NCSY Kollel, his first as a Madrich. When not giving Chaburah or learning with guys b’chavrusa, he can be found with NCSYers all around the Yerushaliyim area, acting as the Kollel’s mini-tiyul extraordinaire!

David’s Chaburah this summer is stacked with a super smooth line-up of young men, including Bibi Ancselovics (DRS), Raymond Dusi (Mitzpe Yericho), Mikael Emsalem (Florida), Yhonaton Greenberg (Rambam), and Gavi Zahler (DRS). They have been learning all about the meaning of Shabbos via its positive mitzvos such as hachana for Shabbos, kabbalas Shabbos, zechiras Shabbos and more. Somehow, these topics emerged out of a debate: is one who throws a terrorist (rodef) off a bridge and thereby demolishes a car down below chayav to pay for the damages? What’s the connection? Ask the Chaburah members!

Outside of Chaburah time, the group has gone to Café Rimon’s Friday Buffet, has had post-tisch-tisch’s on the various in-Shabbosim, and (possibly) plans to have a musical performance…stay tuned!

Overall, the summer has been filled with a lot of Torah, jokes, and fun, and the Chaburah looks forward to the second half!

This summer marks Zvi Kaminetzky’s fifth on NCSY Kollel, but his very first as a Madrich. Zvi lives in Teaneck NJ, went to TABC, and just finished his Shana Bet at Yeshivat Kerem B’Yavneh.

Zvi leads a true all-star group of guys in his Chaburah. Effie Klein lives in West Hempstead, NY and attends Rambam Mesivta, along with Yitzy Lisker, who lives in Queens, NY. Moshe Schachter, taking after his beloved Madrich, lives in Teaneck, NJ and attends TABC. For our out-of-town contingent: Ezra Pomper lives in Miami, FL and attends Yeshivat Toras Chaim. Finally, Yisrael Wiener lives in Memphis, TN (in a house, not a farm) and attends Cooper Yeshiva High School.

This summer, Zvi’s Chaburah is delving into an array of different “Shas Sugyas,” analyzing concepts in “Osek BiMitzvah Patur Min HaMitzvah,” and “Zeh Neheneh ViZeh Lo Chaser,” to name a few.

Zvi is looking forward to leading his crew to enormous heights this summer, and it looks like they’re already on their way.

Our third of four full tiyul days of the summer was a little different, being that we are currently in the nine days.  For that reason, our four options, while still exciting, were somewhat more serious and educational, and certainly lacked some of the intensity of our hikes, for example, but they were nevertheless enjoyed by all.

The first tiyul option was the fan-favorite Gedolim Tour, led by our very own Rav Gordon.  This inspiring tour took NCSYers around Yerushalayim to visit an all-star list of Gedolim, including Rav Asher Weiss, Rav Gedalia Finkel, and the Mevakshei Emunah Rebbe, as well as touring two of the largest Batei Medrash in the world, the Mir Yeshiva and the Belz “Beis Hamikdash”.

The second option was the Tunnel Tours option.  NCSYers on this tiyul enjoyed a virtual reality Kotel tour before heading underground for the famous Kotel Tunnel Tours.  They then got a tour of Machon Hamikdash, where they saw many keilim that are said to be those of the third Beis Hamikdash, and they ended with the exciting Chizkiyahu Water Tunnels in Ir David.

The Sderot Tiyul took NCSYers on a powerful tour of Sderot, a town right on the border of Gaza that is constantly being bombarded with rockets.  They saw rocket-proof playgrounds, various locations of rockets falling, and the famous Yeshivat Hesder, as well as a lookout point that provided a close-up view of the Gaza border.

The final tiyul was the Gush Tiyul, although many are dubbing it the “Food Tiyul,” paying homage to a similar tiyul from previous summers with that name.  NCSYers visited a farm on the way to the Gush where they milked goats and made their own cheese.  This was followed by hot pretzel-making in Pas B’Melach before finally arriving in the Gush Etzion area.  Once there, they watched an informative video describing the founding of Kfar Etzion before the Independence War in 1948, after which they paid a visit to the memorial for Gilad, Eyal, and Naftali at the bus stop at which the three boys were kidnapped.

All four options met up in one of the holiest cities in Israel, Chevron, where they had dinner and got to daven Maariv inside the Me’aras Hamachpeilah, including a few pre-Maariv songs and a speech from Rabbi Lebowitz.

All of the tiyulim certainly helped capture the tone of the nine days while still being enjoyable for everyone, and they were no doubt a great segway back into tomorrow’s regular schedule, which is set to include the second half of the 3-on-3 tournament, some all-star games, and Staff vs NCSYer dodgeball!

Noam Posner is returning to NCSY Kollel after a four-year hiatus since being an NCSYer on the program his post-tenth grade summer. Originally from Seattle, WA and now living in Los Angeles, CA, Noam went to YULA for high school and is entering his third year studying at Yeshivat Netiv Aryeh in Israel.

Noam’s Chaburah consists of five of Kollel’s finest: Tzvi Berger from Cedarhurst, NY; Yoni Ciment from West Hempstead, NY; Akiva Gluck from Woodmere, NY; Jonathan Malove from Aventura, FL; and Rory Meyerson from Scottsdale AZ. For the first eight days, the Chaburah was not at full strength as they all eagerly awaited the arrival of Tzvi Berger, but Baruch Hashem they are now all here and have hit the ground running.

The Chaburah has been focusing on the reasoning behind why we do mitzvos and how specifically they connect us to Hashem, and now they are moving on to different ideas behind why we put on tefillin and wear tzitzis and exploring exactly what they represent. With a healthy balance between chilling, learning, and discussion, they are hoping to make things as enjoyable and interesting as possible, while having everyone contributing and being involved. As each day passes, the Chaburah is growing together and becoming even more of a tight knit group, and they are very excited to see what the rest of the summer has in store!

Many believe that the NCAA’s “March Madness” college basketball tournament is the biggest and most thrilling basketball tourney of the year.  Those who have ever heard of NCSY Kollel, however, know that Kollel’s annual 3-on-3 Tournament truly takes the cake.

Shortly after morning shiur this morning, the campus became abuzz with predictions and excitement as brackets were pored over and every person on the program was seen with a different colored t-shirt around their neck.  At 3:00 sharp(ish), after what was surely a very lively hour of Chaburahs, the basketball courts came alive with basketballs, slushies, and a rainbow of teams.  With 84 teams in the advanced bracket and 29 teams in the intermediate bracket, nonstop action was taking place wherever you looked between the hours of 3:00 and 7:00 PM.  With free slushies, popcorn, and cotton candy provided by Mak’s Cakes in the center parking lot between the courts, it was truly a festival to behold.  We finished the day having moved deep into the third and fourth rounds of the tournament, with the rest of the tournament planned for Wednesday’s sports period, tomorrow’s tiyul day giving tired players a much-needed day of rest before then.  A big thank you to Yeshiva University for sponsoring today’s tournament as they do every year.

The excitement for the day wasn’t over, though.  Maariv was immediately followed by the bittersweet departure of Rav Schachter, shlita, after three amazing and inspiring weeks of hosting him in our Beis Medrash.  The members of the Kollel danced him out of the Beis Medrash and sent him off to the airport.  The night came to a close with a siyum by Meir Yaakov Sobolofsky, accompanied by schnitzel and popper sandwiches from the Sack Shack, the hot food department of Yummy’s.

We’re looking forward to four amazing options for tomorrow’s 9-Days Tiyul!

Matthew Wexler is returning for his second summer on the NCSY Summer Kollel, his first as a Madrich. From Teaneck, NJ, Matthew attended TABC for high school, followed by two years in Yeshivat Sha’alvim in Israel, and he is excited to begin Yeshiva University in the fall. His post-11^th grade Chaburah consists of the six greatest NCSYers nation (world)-wide: Eric Abrahams from Boynton Beach, FL; Gavi Arnell, Dean Glover, and Zach Gray, all hailing from Las Vegas, NV; Ben Mizrachi from Vancouver, BC; and last but not least, Ari Rosenthal from Santa Rosa, CA (“Where cows outnumber people 5:2”).

This cross-country Chaburah has a diverse range of personalities, and after a few short weeks, their growth as both individuals and as a Chaburah is tangible. Together, they are learning about the various Mitzvos in the Torah, from Tefillah to Talmud Torah to Chesed. The conversations during Chaburah, though, span far greater than the particular Mitzvah being discussed, while they touch on a range of topics in Jewish philosophy and Halachah.

The Chaburah enjoys learning, chilling, and doing whacky things with each other both inside and outside of the Beis Medrash. They have already bonded over late-night chills (obviously involving great food), competition,s and tons of laughter, and the fun they have together is only on the rise. Matthew and his Chaburah are looking forward to continued success and awesomeness in the coming weeks!

Shai Kaminetzky is enjoying his seventh summer in NCSY Kollel, and his third as a Madrich. Shai, from Teaneck, NJ, went to MTA, followed by two years in KBY, and he is now entering his senior year in YU. Meshulam takes a lot of pride in being the only Madrich on the program who is a former champion of both the basketball leagues and 3 on 3 tournament here on the Kollel.

Shai’s Chaburah is comprised of six incredibly awesome NCSYers. Ben Antosofsky and Binyomin Schulhof both are from Teaneck and go to TABC.  Ephraim Landa and Eitan Warburg both hail from the Teaneck Area (shoutout to Bergenfield!) and go to MTA. Then to our out-of-town, and of course nicer, contingent of the Chaburah. We have Kalev Aranoff from LA, and he attends YULA, and Avi Samter from Modiin, Israel, and he attends Yeshivat Lapid. Together, these six guys have already gelled into one unit and look forward to accomplishing special things throughout the summer.

What makes Shai’s Chaburah particularly unique is that the learning is driven by the six great guys listed above. Each of their wide-ranging topics is essentially split into two. On the first day, the Chaburah focuses on tapping into their potential and building their confidence in delving into the texts hands-on. By reading the Gemaras straight from the text, and guided by the sheets and questions prepared by Shai, the six guys can really see themselves build their skills and excitement for learning every day. In the second session, the seven of them zoom out and look at the previous day’s topic in a broader bird’s eye view of the topic and its context in the rest of the Torah. Some of these topics include yeharaig v’al ya’avor and embarrassing someone publicly,  lifnei iver, dealing with machlokes in Halacha, and going shopping for an answer.

This Chaburah has already learned and grown together and can’t wait for the amazing four weeks ahead!