Summer 2018

Avrumi Schoenbrun is a Kollel alumnus who is returning to the program for his first summer as a madrich. Avrumi grew up in Cedarhurst, NY and attended DRS, followed by Shaalvim for 2 years. He has spent the last three years learning in Rav Rosensweig’s shiur in YU. Despite this being his first year, Avrumi has established himself as an excellent madrich and a valuable source of wisdom on the staff. In addition to his responsibilities as a madrich Avrumi also serves as the camp’s dorm counsler and is responsible for many of the indicatives in dorm life on kollel.

Avrumi’s chabura contains five incredible kids. Gavriel Aharon is from Woodmere and Ryan Broder is from West Hempstead. Both go to DRS. The remaining contingent consists of Gedalia Aeder from Kew Garden Hills and Moshe Loew from Highland Park, who go to MTA, and Ezra Seplowitz from Teaneck.

Avrumi and the boys will be learning the 4th perek of brachot this summer. Specifically, the group will be learning inyanei tefilla b’iyun. Through group discussion and an intense analysis of various Talmudic and sources the chabura will compare and contrast different topics in tefilla through fundamental questions with the goal of walking away from every day of Chaburas with a new exciting and more in depth understanding of many major concepts in tefilla.

A summer of learning and growth awaits. It should be the Best Summer Ever!

Matthew Mark is a former camper on NCSY Kollel who has returned this summer as a Madrich. Mattew went to DRS for high school and learnt in Israel in Yeshivat Torat Shraga. He is currently attending YU and is in rav Koenigsberg’s shiur.

Matthew’s Chabura is loaded from front to back with great kids. Chanan Weinstein is from Cedarhurst and goes to DRS. Also from DRS is Ari Salomon who lives in Brooklyn. Aaron Borgen and Yoni Ambinder live in Monsey and go to MTA. Akiva Feit attends Frisch and lives in New Milford, and Jake Rothenberg goes to TABC and lives in Teaneck.

Matthew has planed an extensive curriculum for the chabura this summer. Through group discussion and an intense analysis of various biblical Talmudic and halachick sources the chabbura will compare and contrast different topics in halachah through fundamental questions with the goal of walking away from every day of Chabburas with a new exciting and more in depth understanding of many major concepts in Halachah.

A summer of fun and meaning awaits this Chabura. It should be the Best Summer Ever.

A thrilling two-day period made up the middle of the 5th week of NCSY Kollel. Tuesday saw chaburas moved to 11:45 instead of after mincha.

In its place was a 5-hour sports break which was taken up by the 3-on-3 tournament and festival sponsored by Yeshiva University. Kollel invented its own fast-paced take on the playground classic which has turned into an annual tradition and summer highlight. Two brackets were created, a normal bracket with 33 teams and an advanced bracket with a whopping 82 teams. In total, around 95% of the campers participated in the tournament. Tables were set up with YU Swag and unlimited slushies and cotton candy which added greatly to the festive atmosphere. A lot of ball was played, laughs had, and food eaten in an incredible afternoon. The energy continued into a strong night seder which has been getting stronger as the campers try to maximize the few remaining.

Wednesday started normal until the sports break which saw the continuation of the 3-on-3 tournament and camper vs staff All-Star games in both hockey and basketball, both of which were hard-fought victories for the staff. At 5:45 the Kollel left for Yerushalayim for chabura trips. Chaburas decided together what activity they would engage in together. The chaburas spent 2 hours bonding and chilling until the kollel reconvened at Aish Hatorah for a speech given by the incomparable and hilarious Rabbi Gav Friedman who had the audience laughing and thinking in equal measure. After maariv, the chaburas met for a short session in the kotel plaza before busses took the campers back to Moshav Bet Meir, arriving shortly after midnight to wrap up an incredible day at NCSY Kollel.

Ari Gutenmacher is returning for his second summer on NCSY Kollel as a madrich. Ari grew up in Queens, NY and went to DRS for high school. After, that he spent a year in Yeshivat Hakotel and currently learns in YU in Rav Elchonon Adler’s shiur. Ari is respected amongst the staff for his intelligence and dedication.
Ari leads a stacked chabura full of amazing kids. From DRS there is Ephraim Schreck and Shuie Steinberg from Woodmere and Cedarhurst, respectively. MAY is represented by Gabi Waldman from West Hempstead and Eli Lightman from Lawrece. Finally, Zvi Wolff comes from Bet Shemesh and attends Yeshivat Chorev.
Ari’s chabura will be learning sugyas in the third פרק of שבת that relate primarily to Hilchos Bishul. Ari will also be occasionally teaching fundamental sugyot in hashkafa and machshava in order to broden the scope of the learning and NCSYers knowledge base.
Ari is looking forward to leading his crew to enormous heights this summer, and it looks like they’re already on their way.

Shmuel Rosenthal joined Kollel this summer for the first time as a Madrich. A resident of West Hempstead and former Rambam Raven, Shmuel spent two years learning in Torat Shraga and now attends YU, where he learns under Rav Aharon Kahn. Shmuel is respected amongst the staff for his intelligence and dedication.

Shmuel is joined this summer by six of the best and brightest Kollel has to offer. Eitan Dukas and Ethan Schechter represent Yeshivat Frisch and hail from Englewood and Teaneck respectively. Also from Teaneck are Yoel Jacobsen and Ari Kaminetzky of TABC. Tzvi Block attends HAFTR and lives in Woodmere, and David Rozehzadeh from West Orange goes to JEC.

The chabura will spend the summer learning a variety of topics which are fundamental to Judaism and Avodat Hashem. From tefilla to Shabbos, each day will bring something different, but will be the same awesome content with the same awesome crew.

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

Noah Schechter joined Kollel this summer for the first time as a Madrich. Noah spent his high school years in Yeshivat Frisch and then spent a year and a half learning in Yeshivat Reishit Yerushalayim. He is currently attending Touro College. Noah’s friendly demeanor makes him a popular staff member and aids him in forging strong relationships with his campers.

Noah’s Chabura consists of 6 amazing campers: David Bittton (DRS) lives in Woodmere, NY; Kobi Ciment (DRS) resides in West Hempstead, NY; Micah Eizen (Farber Hebrew Day School), hails from Southfield, MI; Billy Krause (Frisch) comes from Teaneck, NJ; Josh Wohlberg (SAR) lives in Stamford, CT, and Jason Zucker (SAR) calls Great Neck, NY home.

Noah and the guys will be spending the summer learning selected pieces from Olam Haavodah. The sessions will focus on why the mitzvot we do are important, how they can enrich our lives, and how we can improve our current level of Avodat Hashem.

While not pounding it out in the Beis, the ‘Burah enjoys ball, slushies, chilling, and going on the amazing tiyulim that the Summer Kollel has to offer.

The ‘Burah is currently enjoying the Best Summer Ever.

Mordechai (Mordy) Abittan is attending NCSY Kollel for the 5th summer, and his first as a Madrich. Mordy attended DRS for High school, followed by a 2 year stint in Yeshivat Sha’alvim. He is about to start his first full year in YU. In addition to running his chabura, Mordy is the Assistant Head of Sports, the Gabbai, and is one of the key contributors to the functioning of the various leagues.
Mordy has the privilege this summer to be a Madrich for the Mechina provram. Joining Mordy in Chabura this summer is an amazing group of teens from all over the country. Every member of the Chaburah brings something unique to the table, and the blend creates an amazing cohesive unit that loves to learn, chill, and spend time together as a Chaburah. Isaac Weiss is from Shaker Heights, OH- Isaac takes diligent notes and is always engaged and hungry for more Torah and growth. Sam Miller is from Roslyn Heights, NY- Sam brings an intellectual edge to the Chabura- he will challenge and ask many questions until he gets to the bottom of every topic discussed. Josh Rosenberg is from Toronto, ON- Josh gifts us with his quiet personality and little quick, witty one liners; last, but certainly not least, Ariel Rayhanian hails from Great Neck, NY- Ariel definitely brings some fun and life to the Chabura with his passionate feelings and love for the Sephardim in the world and strong debates on each topic we discuss.
Mordy and the crew are learning the fundamentals and basics of Judaism. Specifically, the chabura will be studying how Judasim mandates living an ethical life and striving to be the best person you can be. The chevra has been enjoying tremendously so far and look to keep up the learning and growth inside and outside the Beis Medrash throughout the remainder of the summer.

Menachum Polack is back on Kollel for his 3rd summer as a Madrich. Menachum grew up in Bookline, MA and attended Maimonides School K-12. After high school, Menachum spent two years learning in Torat Shraga, followed by 4 years in YU in Rav Adler’s shiur, where he recently graduated. He plans on spending next year in studying for smicha. In addition to his role as a madrich, Menachum is also an Assistant Head Madrich and is responsible for many of the special activities which go on here at NCSY Kollel. Menachum is an avid SpikeBall enthusiast and enjoys the occasional fishing trip.

 Menachum’s ‘Bura is an amazing collection of future manhegei yisrael. Daniel Ritter (DRS) is from West Hempstead, NY; Yoni Savitsky (DRS) is from Woodmere, NY; Jeremiah Wolfe (Farber Hebrew Day School) is from Detroit, MI; Hillel Glick (JEC) is from West Orange, NJ; Noam Troodler (Kohelet) in from Bala Cynwyd, PA; and Ikey Gutlove (MTA) comes from Teaneck, NJ.

The chabura will be learning Masechet Tamid. Menachum took inspiration from the Veharev Na learning style and will have the NCSYers attempt to completely master the Masechet and make it a part of themselves, through consistent review and devotion. The idea is that by investing in learning sweetens it and gives the campers a feeling that they “own” the masechet. The learning also gives the campers some insight into what the Beit Hamikdash was and meant to Bnai Yisrael which has been a tremendously moving experience.

Jeremiah Wolfe is a post-10th Grader from Detroit, Michigan. He attends Farber Hebrew Day School

“I hear about Kollel when I was about 10 [years old] because my older brother [Joshua] was on Regional Board in our region. My Madrichim at Camp Stone would always talk about it and say how good of a program it was. Then my other brother, Yoel went on and told me I had to go.

People say they are surprised by how much learning there is on Kolllel. I was expecting the learning. I wasn’t expecting everyone to be so friendly I was expecting some of the guys to be a little cliquey and meaner, but everyone was been so nice to me so far.

My favorite part of the day has to be chaburas. My Madrich is Menachum Polack. He got someone to sponsor us all Gemarot Tamid. We are learning about the Beit Hamikdash. Menachum is a super fun guy to talk to and learn with. He makes learning fun and always seems to have a positive attitude. He inspires me to go to the Bein Midrash after hours and do chazarah on what we did that day and try to become better.

This past Tisha Ba’av was emotional and spiritual for me. The past couple of years, it has been very hard for me to be super into Tisha Ba’av. I was the kid sitting in the back of the shul counting the pages until we ended. This was the first year I stayed in for the whole shachris. I felt actually connected… it was completely different to what I have been used to.”

Aryeh Kaminetsky is no stranger to NCSY Kollel. As a child, Aryeh spent his summer as a Staff kid on the Kollel and is entering his 4th year as a staff member (3rd year as a Madrich). Aryeh attended DRS for high school and spent two years learning in KBY. He is entering his final year in YU where he hopes to graduate with a degree in Mathematics and become a teacher/basketball coach.

Aryeh leads a stacked chabura filled with amazing kids. AJ Bennet (Lawrence, DRS) is a focused learner who tries his best to make it to group chills. Dylan Broder (West Hempstead, DRS) is the chabura spark-plug and is responsible for most of the energy and food during chabura. Eric Dolitsky (Philly, Kohelet) is hard-working and motivated, none of which is surprising because he doesn’t live in New York. Jonah Fishbein (Woodmere, Rambam) dominates every group discussion with his sharp insights and quick wit. Benzion Kapustin’s earnestness and sincerity are tremendous assets and he is a natural role-model just by how he acts, all of which has earned him the role as “Chabura Captain”.

The chabura will be spending the summer learning Gemara B’Iyun. Many sessions deal specifically with the question of what it means to learn Gemara in-depth and how one can apply it to one’s own learning. There are a few random chaburot mixed in which deal with a variety of topics such as Tanach and machshava.

So far this summer the chabura has come together quite cohesively. The group loves hanging out together and have already learnt and grown a tremendous amount.

Things are looking good for this group of NCSYers and they all are looking forward to a fantastic summer on NCSY Kollel.