Summer 2012 Archives - Page 2 of 4

Free Weekend

Awesome. Relaxing. Totally recharging.

The beach and Na La’gaat

This afternoon we headed to Hertzaliya for some fun in the sun! The beach was beautiful and the water was just the right temperature. The GIVErs enjoyed the much deserved downtime and had a blast. From there we made our way into Tel Aviv for a delicious dinner and then traveled to Yaffo to see the play, Na La’gaat, a show in which all of the performers are blind and deaf. It was very empowering to watch as these people shared their struggles, performed masterfully and used their diabilities as a teaching tool rather than as a setback. We then made our way back to Mevaseret and are getting ready for our free weekend which starts tomorrow!

Sderot Carnival

This morning we hosted a carnival on the Mevaseret campus for children from Sderot. These children live their daily lives under attack of rockets and could use a fun morning, so a fun morning is what we gave them! We had all different wild and crazy carnival boothes, from shave the balloon to freeze dance, from a pickle on a string race (don’t ask) to sponge in the face, from bowling to tic tac toe toss, and so much more. Anyone not manning a booth was decked out in costume, face painting the kids and creating balloon animals. The children had a blast- and so did we!!

Ask the Rabbi at MMY

On Wednesday night, we traveled to Michlelet Mevaseret Yerushalayim (MMY), located in Baka, to have an “ask the rabbi” session with Rabbi David Katz, Director of MMY. The girls asked some awesome questions and we had a blast visiting the seminary where many of our advisors studied during their gap year.

Yad Sara, Leket, Yad L’kashish, and United Hatzlah

Bus 1 and 2 split up for today into 4 different chessed projects- spreading our GIVEing to even more people. At Yad Sara we washed wheelchairs and learned about all of the services and equiptment provided to the disabled. At Leket, we helped harvest and gather tomatoes that will be donated to soup kitchens all over Israel. At Yad L’kashish we worked, sang and conversed with an eclectic group of elderly immigrants who produce beautiful pieces of art, later sold in gift shops around Israel. And at United Hatzalah, we toured the Hatzalah facilities and learned about the incredible services Hatzalah provides to those in need of immediate medical assistance. What awesome chessed we did today!

Painting in Afula, Bikur Cholim, and Bball

Tuesday we painted and helped organize a school for underprivileged children in Afula. The girls painted beautiful tiles to make a mosaic, spray painted fun designs on the outer wall of the building and decorated bulliten boards. Gosh, these students are in for a wonderful treat when they start back! We then split into 2 groups and visited a hospital and a rehabilitation facility for the elderly. We really enjoyed meeting some fascinating individuals! Tuesday night we played Michlelet in basketball, and though we didn’t win, we played hard, had awesome ruach and lost with pride! Go GIVE!

Yom NCSY

Yom NCSY may or many not have been the greatest night of all time! All of the NCSY summer programs gathered together for a night of food, fun, dancing, singing and boundless program pride! GIVE blew everyone away with our awesome SWAG (aka GIVE gear) and insane ruach! A highlight was definitely when our very own Sonny Kugelman won the iPad giveaway from Payoneer! Way to go! We love NCSY!!!

Food Packaging and SHOPPING!!

Monday was spent packing and sorting food for Yad Eliezer and Chasdai Naomi. We were very helpful in preparing the boxes for delivery to needy families! We then headed to Ben Yehuda and Meah Shearim for some much needed shopping. After contributing significantly to Israel’s economy, we headed back to Mevaseret to get ready for Yom NCSY!

Tisha B’av

It was a challenging transition from shabbos into Tisha B’av, but with the help of Rabbi Felberman’s halachic guidance and the advisors tireless energy, the transition was so very meaningful. We ushered in Tisha B’av with the reading of Eichah and 2 kinnos, explained and introduced by our advisors. We then broke into the Hate Program, where pictures and quotes surrounding gruesome hate crimes lined the floor, surrounded by candles. The GIVErs were asked to pick one image or quote that spoke to them and were invited to share with the group how they relate to and feel about the hate in our world today. The girls were then told to write down everything that they love and cherish, dream about and strive for, to capture the good in the world. After all of these notes were collected, we burned them in front of the girls, explaining that though we cannot relate to the loss of the Beis HaMikdash, this is what it feels like to have that which you most value burned before your very eyes. We concluded by encouraging the girls to prevent their dreams from burning and to look towards the future as a means of hope. We then sang together, under the stars, and then headed to sleep. This morning we had explanitory kinnos, led by the advisors, and then had an optional showing of “Life is Beautiful” for anyone not interested in resting during the break. We were visited by Rabbi Steve Burg, International NCSY Director and Managing Director for the OU, and Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin, Director of Education for NCSY. Later this afternoon, we headed to the Kotel for Mincha and joined with hundreds of thousands of Jews by this most sacred site. We then broke our fast at Beit Ticho, a delicious dairy restaurant and headed back to Mevaseret for a good nights rest. IyH we should see the coming of Mashiach very soon!

Shabbos in Mevaseret

We brought in Shabbos with a beautiful kabbalas shabbos on the roof of our building, overlooking all of Jerusalem. It was as if the light breeze lifted our tefillos and carried them straight to Jerusalem. We had a ruach-filled shabbos dinner and tisch, formal and informal learning, a light shabbos lunch, a delicious cholent and shnitzel seudah shlishit, and then slowly transitioned from the simcha of shabbos into the mourning of Tisha Ba’av.