Rabbi Michael Hoenig – Wrapping up two days with TJJ Ambassadors

On Sunday we had the privilege of welcoming TJJ Ambassadors for the fourth year in a row. TJJ Ambassadors is made up of public schoolers from around the country who are spending their summer strengthening their connection to Judaism and the land of Israel. They are spending two full days with us.

To kick things off, Rav Zvi Sobolofsky spoke to the entire Kollel and the Ambassadors (which can be found here). Afterwards, they were enthralled by a shiur from Rabbi Moshe Benovitz as the rest of Kollel continued with regular morning shiurim. For chaburas, the ambassadors split up and joined regular Kollel chaburas which they really enjoyed.

The mini-tiyul of the day was mountain biking with TJJ Ambassadors which many Kollel NCSYers joined. It was a beautiful but challenging bike ride throughout the hills of Yerushalayim.

Sunday was also the start of a new basketball tournament on Kollel. The King of Kollel basketball tournament  has teams from every part of kollel: post 10th graders, post 11th graders, CITs, Madrichim, Rabbeim, and other staff. The tournament will span a few days and at the end we will see who is the “King of Kollel.”

Rabbi Doni Marcus once again came to give a shiur after ma’ariv and once again the room was packed.

We look forward to spending another amazing day with TJJ Ambassadors on Monday.

We continue our series of Reflections from Ari Zwiren on Summer 2013. You can view the first post of the series here.

Spending the morning of Tisha b’Av in Hadassah hospital was not exactly ideal, but it gave me the rare opportunity to have an amazing, uplifting conversation with one of the staff members of Kollel. As we drove through the golden hills surrounding Yerushalayim,, the staff member and I spoke about Tisha b’Av, and how distant many people are from one of the holiest days of the year. I thought about how so many Israelis are so blessed to live in the Holy Land but don’t follow even a few of the mitzvot of Tisha b’Av.

And then, the staff member reminded me of an event exactly a year earlier.  BILT, a program I spent the summer of 2012 on, spent the waning hours of Tisha b’Av with NCSY Kollel at the Kotel, sitting in a circle and singing zemirot as loud as we could. We spoke about how all around the world Jews fasted and prayed that they could be returned to Yerushalayim, and that is where we would be for the final hours of the holiday.

The modern world has made spiritual journeys into casual vacations. What used to be a pilgrimage to the Holy Land is now just an airfare away.

I can say from experience that the “Age of Technology” has caused a distancing from the realization of holiness. I used to think Tisha b’Av was just a day during summer to chill at home and watch tv so I didn’t get hungry. It wasn’t until last year that I learned the true meaning of Tisha b’Av, and as I sat in the Kotel singing I was able to see how beautiful such a sad day could be.

Sometimes we lose ourselves in the modern world, and forget how lucky we are to be surrounded by amazing people in a place as holy as the Kotel.

I am starting to think that maybe we should be using technology to our advantage instead of our demise. It is easier now more than ever for a Jew to visit the Kotel. B’ezrat Hashem everyone can come to Yerushalayim soon, but take one piece of advice with you: Recognize the importance of your surroundings. I have been blessed to spend the past two Tisha b’Avs at the Kotel, and it took a long conversation with a great staff member to realize that. I hope anyone who reads this learns from my obliviousness and takes to heart the opportunities they have in this modern age, and hopefully soon we can all return to Yerushalayim together.

Rav Zvi Sobolofsky – Welcome to TJJ Ambassadors

There were many wonderful ways to spend your Motzei Shabbos this week on the NCSY Kollel.

The twelfth graders went on a surprise trip to Yershalayim where they enjoyed Schwarma and pick-up basketball and football in Kraft Stadium.

Other NCSYers had the unique opportunity of a night hike where they were lead by flashlights through the hills of Jerusalem.

For those NCSYers who stayed back in Beit Meir there was a beautiful melava malka with music accompaniment lead by Rabbi Tani Cohen, Yonah Friedman, and Yehuda Meiteles. Others took the time to relax in their bunks or on the courts.

No matter how you spent your Motzei Shabbos, everyone is certainly looking forward to another amazing week on the NCSY Summer Kollel!

As Rabbi Benovitz addressed the entire NCSY Kollel right before Kabbalat Shabbat, and the beauty of  Shabbos was setting upon Beit Meir, he made the following remark: “Shabbos Nachamu is not something we experience. Shabbos Nachamu is something we are.” Although the meaning of this statement was not entirely clear at the time, after completing our second Shabbos together as the NCSY Kollel – Shabbos Nachamu – the truth of these words became apparent to all.

After Rabbi Benovitz’s inspiring speech we greeted the Shabbos with a lively Kabbalat Shabbat where the entire Kollel sang, danced, and davened together. During the meal which followed we continued the singing with beautiful zemirot and were privileged to hear a Dvar Torah from NCSYer Yonatan Plotsker.  The night closed with the much anticipated Shabbos Nachamu tisch lead by Rabbi Yisrael Kamenetsky. Rav Hershel Schachter spoke about different ways that a person learns Torah are also the ways that he can approach everything in life. The magical nature and high energy of the tisch is not something which can be transmitted to words, but it was felt by all the NCSYers and staff in the room as the singing and dancing continued into the night.

Shabbos day began with another beautiful davening and a tasty kiddish sponsored by the Sobolofsky family. Next, we were given the option of choosing between two different Question and Answer Sessions, one with Rav Schachter and one with Rabbi Lebowitz. This gave the NCSYers the opportunity to hear these rebbeim address specific issues that they were curious about.

During lunch we had the privilege of hearing from another NCSYer, Zach Folkman.  The afternoon continued with a long break where many NCSYers took advantage of their free time catching up on their sleep in their rooms and others learned in the Beit Medresh. Later in the afternoon we had chaburas where we were able to continue all the amazing learning that we are doing during the week. Some chaburas even had a special opportunity of hearing from NCSY’s Director of Marketing and Innovation, Duvi Stahler. The beautiful singing which took place on the Kollel as we welcomed in Shabbos, was experienced once again during Seudah Shlishit, as we wished farewell to Shabbos.

Shabbos Nachamu is not only something we experienced. Shabbos Nachamu is something we were. During Shabbos we came together as a Kollel. We sang, danced, laughed, learned, and davened together. And we grew together. Our ability to grow, and to continue  to grow, makes us the greatest nechama possible. We realize that the Beit HaMikdash is not here, but we also realize our duty, role, and contribution as builders  of the third Beis HaMikdash. Nachamu Nachamu Ami.

Friday was an exciting day for NCSY Kollel. We had our first soccer tournament of the summer and it was intense. Brazil, Honduras, Spain, and Tahiti competed for the Kollel Kup (see the rosters below). Congratulations to Honduras for winning!

For those not playing in the tournament, there were buses to Yerushalayim. Fifty of these NCSYers took the opportunity to visit the 19th Maccabiah games, and watch Canada take on Greece in the open bracket of the basketball tournament. The highlight of the game was not the quality of basketball that took place on the court, rather the assistant coach sitting on the Canada bench. New York Knick all-star center Amare Stoudemire, is making his second visit to Israel and coaching the Canadian national team. We sat and cheered on the Canadian team hoping Amare would make some time for us at the conclusion of the game. Greece ultimately won the game however, the post-game meeting with Amare was a moment that we will not forget. Amare took a picture with the NCSYers and spoke to us after the game.

Today we begin the first ever King of Kollel basketball tournament. Post-10th Graders, Post-11th Graders, CITs, Madrichim, Rabbeim, and Other Staff make up the six teams competing. Stay tuned for results.

NCSY Kollel had an awesome, fun filled, packed day on Thursday. Picking from three different great trip options and then ending up all together at Givat Washington, the NCSYers had an unbelievable day.

The three different trip options included an adventurous hike at Wadi Qelt where the NCSYers hiked and swam on a beautiful nature preserve near the dead sea.

The other choice was to go the world famous blind museum and then bullet museum. The museum-goers were able to experience what it means to be blind while they walked through different amazing exhibits in the pitch black. They then learned about the different bullets used in the Israeli army. Afterwards, they were treated to a tour of the Ben & Jerrys factory.

If NCSYers wanted experience on how to survive if they were ever stranded, they were able to go on the rafting trip. The rafters were split into seven different teams and then had a raft building competition to see who could build the sturdiest raft that would be able to reach a destination in the Kinneret. They were supplied with bamboo, tin cans, wood, and lots of rope! Congratulations to team 2 for the comeback victory. After rafting, the rafters visited the holy grave of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai in Meiron for a spiritual Mincha davening.

All trips ended up in Givat Washington, a huge sports complex, where NCSYers were able to play flag football, soccer, outdoor and indoor basketball, and swim in an Olympic size swimming pool. A scrumptious, all you can eat shwarma dinner was served and then it was back to Beit Meir where the day kept on going. After Ma’ariv the beit medresh was packed as staff and NCSYers took part in an amazing Mishmar program, with chulent obviously. It was the perfect end to a great day on NCSY Kollel.

NCSY Kollel’s brother program, BILT, was warmly welcomed to our campus on Wednesday afternoon for the second annual BILT-Kollel get together. Before the sports games even began, many NCSYers had already made new friend.

We played BILT in both ultimate frisbee and basketball (see below for our rosters). The Kollel All-Stars featured a huge starting line-up, with Noam Posner, Moshe Schwalb and Yosef Mammon heading the front court, and Eli Goldberg and Ezra Quint leading the backcourt. Running the coaching staff was sports commissioner Marc Poleyeff and assistant coach Shuki Weinstein.

Kollel went out to a quick lead and never looked back. Kollel’s defense was tremendous as they only let up a couple of baskets throughout the entire game. In the end, Kollel won the game and continued its overall undefeated record in inter-camp basketball.

The MVP of the game was Moshe Schwalb. Unfortunately, we did not fare as well in frisbee as BILT defeated the Kollel 9-4. We enjoyed the experience with BILT and look forward to seeing them again on Yom NCSY.