Hi my name is Ahuva Oppen! Today was such a fun day. We started our morning off really early – we woke up at 7:00 to prepare for our action packed day. After we davened shacharit, we ate  a tasty and  healthy breakfast. We then split up into chaburas where we discussed what makes us happy. Following that, we headed on to the bus and went to the De Karina chocolate factory where we learnt how the make their delicious chocolate and then proceeded to design and make our own to eat! Next we stopped off at a park and ate lunch (schwarma!). Afterward, we went on a water hike. It was really fun! We got really wet and splashed around a lot. Then we went to the absorption center.  We talked with the Ethopian kids and let them do our hair, use our phones, watched music videos, and of course took selfies. Just seeing how they live and what they go through as immigrants was eye opening.  Now we’re getting settled and unpacked in Mevaseret!! Finally!

Hi I’m Shayna Kaskel from Boca Raton, Florida! I’m going to give you all a quick update on what we did this shabbos. So Friday night we davened at a lookout overlooking the mountains of Tzfat. The singing was very nice and inspiring. Then we had the Friday night meal and we sang some fun songs and ate some new foods. Tova Rosen gave a wonderful dvar Torah during the meal. After that we had a tisch and heard a cool story from Rabbi Felberman. Shabbos morning some girls went to the Ari Shul and some girls davened in the hotel together. After Kiddush we went with our families and had a learning session about the beauty of shabbos. Then we had lunch and played an ice breaker called “speed dating.” After that we had some time to rest. Then we had time to learn freely with our friends and advisors. Afterwards, we had a cool walking tour of tzfat. Though it was quite hot, we enjoyed every minute of it! After we came back and cooled down we shalosh seudos and ebbing. It was very beautiful and meaningful, especially because we heard one of our advisor’s speak really wonderfully! Then we sang our way to havdalah by the lookout again. 

Hey guys!!

Written by GIVEr: Eliana Pomerance 

Written by GIVEr: Julia Sherman

Written by GIVEr: Marnie Weingarten

Today on NCSY GIVE was EPIC!!!!! We began our spectacular day by setting up for the Sderot carnival which we had later during the day. After much preparation and anticipation the children from Sderot arrived. We were all so excited to make these kids who spend much of their time in bomb shelters (due to rockets from gaza) have the best day ever!!! The kids ran around from stand to stand, played the games, took part in several water fights ,  and chose prizes. The smiles were definitely priceless !!!!! Eventually the carnival had to come to an end and we said our goodbyes to the kids. The fun though, did not come to an end and after we cleaned up the carnival we all took part in an amazing challah baking experience where we learned  about the mitzvah of hafreshet challah and then were able to actually partake in the mitzvah. Once we finished making our challah we travelled to the old city for mincha, did some awesome shopping at Mamila, and had a yummy dinner. Another Chessed , fun filled , amazing day on NCSY GIVE has come to an end , But we can’t wait for the next one on the BEST SUMMER EVER!!!

Written by GIVEr: Rena Machinsky

As I reflect on all of my unique experiences from today, I have realized it was one of the most emotionally impactful days on GIVE for me, personally.

As we loaded the bus at 7:45 AM, I knew the long day ahead of us would be one filled with many different emotions. First, we headed to the Emunah center, an organization that helps underprivileged children by providing them with a safe, warm environment. There, as we learned about how the organization works, I was truly amazed by how much the administration of Emunah does for the children that go there. Following this eye opening sneak peak of the behind the scenes of the center, it was finally time to meet the kids! We split up into groups and entered the classrooms. Right away, we began to dance, sing, jump, and even made chocolate with the children. It sounds cliche, but it was magical. The biggest smiles consumed both the kids’ faces as well as ours, as the room was automatically filled with laughter. It was inspiring for me to see every GIVEr create a connection with each child in their own, special way. By the time we left Emunah, the bond between the children and us was unbreakable.

Next, we took off for an experience that would be drastically different from the one we had just had. Our next stop would be Yad Vashem, the famous holocaust memorial museum located in Jerusalem. After learning that it ranks as the third most visited site in Israel, I knew that Yad Vashem would have to be absolutely mind blowing. I was correct. For me, as a first timer, it was an emotional roller coaster. As I walked through the museum, I could not help but to analyze the tragedies and terror that were inflicted upon the previous generations of our nation, the Jewish people. It became so much more real for me as artifacts such as pictures, letters, dolls, shoes, train tracks, and posters surrounded me. Not just for me, but for everyone around me, Yad Vashem was definitely a memorable experience.

After Yad Vashem, we were soon on our way to our third activity of the day, Mt. Hertzel. There, we again had an emotional experience as we learned about the many soldiers that fell for our country, Israel. We spoke about a few specifically, learning of their bravery and heroism. A beautiful message that I learned from this cemetery was one of equality, as each soldier, no matter how high or low their rank may have been, is buried along side one another as equals.

Finally, we finished off our action packed day with a basketball game against our fellow NCSY summer program, Michlelet. Although they technically beat us by the end of the game, I believe we won by having fun!

I hope as GIVE comes to an end, the rest of my days here will be as incredible as today was.

Today was one of the most action packed days we’ve had on GIVE! The day began with us eating some yummy breakfast in the Bedouin tents, which prepared us for a fun and crazy adventure for camel riding! As a camp, we all packed up and got ready to head towards the one and only Masada!! Because of the heat wave, we were unable to hike up Masada. However, we took the cable carts up and down! Whoohoo! When we got up the mountain we were able to see the amazingly beautiful view. Learning the history of Masada and the life that the Jews lived there was also pretty amazing. As a group we all walked to different sections of Masada. In those sections were different advisors who prepared a little historical performance for the whole camp. This made it a lot more exciting to learn about the history! Afterwards, we got back on to the buses and headed towards the Dead Sea! All the girls were super psyched to go into the famous salty water! Girls cooled down in the water just a bit and even smeared some mud on their faces to smoothen their skin! 

We began our day traveling to Shafdan.