Earlier this week we posted about the special two-day visit of Rav Avraham Levi from the community of Elad. While Rav Levi’s time with us was likely under the radar of the majority of NCSYers, his interactions with staff made a more profound impact.
In one of those exchanges, Rav Levi was reflecting on the 10 year commemoration of the disengagement from Gush Katif. He commented that the Hebrew term for the evacuation- hitnatkut– had a double meaning. The word is translated as “disconnection,” and describes the physical removal of the Jewish population from their homes in the Gaza strip. But Rav Levi suggested that it has a further implication of other types of detachments and estrangement. He posited that the architects of the disengagement were “disconnected” from the political and security realities, and that ultimately the decision to forcibly remove people from their homes reflected a further gap between heaven and earth.
Rav Levi’s broader and deeper definition of disengagement was a major key to our efforts in programming this week. Over the years, we have sensed a shift in the common challenges faced by our teens. There seem to be fewer passionate objections and challenges to religious life, and more lethargy and disinterest. Whether in issues of belief or the resulting Jewish practice, many young men seem to have no opinion or motivation at all, as opposed to a drive in an ill advised direction. There is less of doing the wrong thing, and more of doing nothing.
Already, this phenomenon employs language similar to that mentioned above. It can be called the disengagement of our youth. But the Hebrew terminology may be even a stronger analogy, and at the same time point the way to a remedy.
We believe that there is a fundamental correlation between this lack of drive and connectivity. The more a person connects to aspects of Judaism, the more passionate he or she becomes. These connections can be to people, places, things, or ideas. And each of those were central to our focus this week.
Throughout the week the NCSYers had the opportunity to meet- and interact- with some of our community’s most illustrious leaders. The Torah tour of Bnei Brak on Tuesday’s tiyul day was but one example. The trip began with a talk from Rav Yisrael Meir Lau, former Chief Rabbi of Israel, and continued with various other Torah luminaries all day. Keeping it in the family, we had the most remarkable chance to host the younger Rav Lau, current Chief Rabbi of Israel on Thursday. We continued to enjoy our two long-term scholars in residence, Rabbi Lavi Greenspan and Rabbi Arye Sufrin. Each of these rabbis has prioritized interactions with smaller groups that allow for great personal exchange and maximum impact. This is in addition of course to the now established daily interactions with Rav Schachter and Rav Sobolofsky. Other visitors this week included Mr. Allen Fagin, Executive Vice President of the Orthodox Union, Rabbi Micah Greenland, International Director of NCSY, Rabbi Glenn Black, CEO of NCSY Canada, and Rabbi Eli Storch, Associate Principal of DRS-HALB High School. They were joined by a steady stream of community leaders, educators, NCSY Regional Directors and other professionals, and parents visting the NCSY Kollel. All of this, along with the already blossoming relationships between Rebbe and NCSYer and Madrichim and NCSYer make for a far more elaborate network of torah relationships and role models. When NCSYyers are connected to flesh and blood people, and when those people embody certain values and traits that our religion is based on, there is a certain passion and excitement that is created. Without those connections it is very difficult to get too worked up about much of anything.
The kinds of personal connections that create enthusiasm are certainly not limited to vertical relationships between youth and mentors. This was a week of strengthening bonds between the NCSYers and to expanding that circle to include so many members of the greater Jewish world. Our tiyulim, mini-tiyulim, and sports leagues helped accomplish the former. NCSY Kollel is a very social environment with multiple planes and opportunities to create meaningful friendships. These platforms all channel back to the Beis Medrash, where the chavrusa and chabura learning is breathtakingly beautiful.
This week we had the added honor of hosting 4 different buses of boys from NCSY’s TJJ (The Jerusalem Journey) program. These young men from non-Yeshiva backgrounds provided an entire new range of opportunities to connect to a wider community. The TJJ groups did not just visit and observe- they fully participated with the NCSY Kollel in the beis medrash and on the courts. The climax of these days was the annual siyum, jointly made by Adam Benzaquen of TJJ and Yona Benscher of NCSY Kollel. The energy spilled over to the late night beis medrash. One of the TJJ bus heads described their nightly custom of singing on the bus a song that counts down the days to Shabbos. They led the entire group in this song. The “one more day to Shabbos” refrain was chanted hundreds of time in an inclusive and inspiring circle of NCSY Kollel members, TJJers, madrichim, rabbis, and Roshei Yeshiva. We suspect a new Thursday night NCSY Kollel tradition may have been born…
The connections were not only to people. We continued and intensified our efforts to foster a meaningful relationship with the land of Israel. Our tiyul day, uniquely designed for the 9 days, certainly helped accomplish this. Each group was able to see less obvious elements of the beauty and significance of Israel. Whether hiking through the Martyr’s Forest, visiting the Gush Katif museum, traversing the underground passages of the Yerushalayim’s Old City, participating in the aforementioned Torah tour, or exploring the rich history of the Shomron, the NCSYers were able to see a land as more than an idea or abstract concept. These tiyulim allow Israel come alive and create meaningful connections.
But even some ideas can be the object of these efforts to connect. We are actively preparing for Shabbat Chazon and Tisha B’Av. These efforts involve the attempt to have the NCSYers relate to churban/destruction in a way that is meaningful, heartfelt, and relevant. We were aided in this by a special presentation from Rav Ari Katz on Gush Katif, and numerous shiurim and discussions from Rabbeim and madrichim on how to mourn a building none of us have ever physically seen.
The sum total of this is a group of NCSYers who leave a summer more connected than before. They are more connected to their leaders and to each other. They are more connected to their history and to their land. The multitude of connections almost automatically breeds passion and vigor in religious pursuits. This was the source of the pulsating energy that marked the Beis Medrash (and courts, and tiyulim) all week.
While it is impossible to look forward to Tisha B’Av, we are confident that this energy will carry us through Shabbat Chazon, Tisha B’Av and beyond. It will allow us to observe these days with productivity and meaning. And we hope and pray it will grant us the opportunity to witness and be part of the ultimate redemption.
Wishing you a great Shabbos from the beautiful hills of Jerusalem,
Moshe Benovitz