Summer 2016 Archives - Page 3 of 4

Day 11: Fast of 17th of Tammuz

Today we had a very meaningful day on GIVE. We started off the morning with an introduction to the new NCSY Pray for a Soldier movement. 2 soldiers came to speak to us and they told us their stories. Each girl then received the name of a soldier to pray for personally. We then heard a very insightful speech by Neil Lazarus about educating oneself on the Middle East conflict and understanding a Jews’ obligations in the political world. After that we boarded the busses and spent some time in Israel’s famous Holocaust museum, Yad Vashem. After we got back everyone got to rest a bit and then we headed to the Kotel for Mincha and Chaburot. We finally broke our fast in a cool restaurant called “Modern” and had a fun time celebrating the birthdays of two of our special GIVErs!!! Tomorrow we head off to Kibbutz Alumim for 3 days! Can’t wait!

Day 10: Shabbat in Mevaseret

We had an amazing and relaxing Shabbat in mevaseret this week! Friday night was filled with beautiful singing and delicious food. We had a chance to hear from some amazing girls and staff members by the oneg/tisch! Shabbat morning we slept in and after davening and chaburot we played an awkward/fun game that helped us make sure we know each others’ names well. After lunch we had menucha to once again catch up on much needed sleep. After that we had an open learning session and have seudat shlishit and ebbing. After an inspirational havdalah we soon headed out to the busses and had a blast bowling. Not sure which was more fun, the bowling, dancing, or eating Pizza Hut. Either way it was an great end to an incredible and chilled weekend!!!

Day 9: Tunnel Fun and Machane Yehuda

Today we had a great Erev Shabbat!! We went to the chezkyahu water tunnels and some of us had fun shutting off our flashlights and following the direction of the friend in front of us. We then went to the shuk in Machane Yehuda and we’re now getting ready to have a great Shabbat in our base in Mevaseret!! Shabbat Shalom!

Dance for Life: A Reflection On 24 Hours Of Achdus

(The following was sent out to NCSY GIVE parents by GIVE Director, Erin Stiebel, in response to a series of very meaningful programs our GIVErs participated in this week.)

We live in an age where we often take what we have for granted. Life is easy. We have all of the amenities we need, and when the news becomes too much for us to handle, we can just turn it off.

Until tragedy strikes.

Less than 4 weeks ago, thirteen year-old Hallel Yaffa Ariel was brutally murdered while sleeping in her bed in her home in Kiryat Arba. The thought is almost inconceivable. How could someone take the life of such a precious, pure soul, in cold blood, in
her own home, as she helplessly slept to get a good night’s rest for the day ahead?

While people all over the world were outraged and heartbroken by the tragedy, Hallel’s family and friends were left behind to pick up the pieces. One of these people was her dance instructor, Sari Rosenbaum. Before beginning to work with Hallel’s dance troop, Sari had worked with NCSY GIVE as a tour guide during the summer of 2014. After losing Hallel a”h, Sari knew that her dance troop needed something to help them process and get their mind off of the atrocity that had hit them. She reached out to GIVE and the planning began. Though having just arrived in Israel 4 days earlier, our NCSY GIVErs were overcome with emotion at the opportunity to do something – anything – to help comfort the friends of Hallel. We arranged to meet at an indoor bounce house in Petach Tikva, where the dance troop had been hoping to visit prior to the tragedy, and where we would offer NCSY GIVE a glimpse into Hallel’s world.

From the moment we arrived, there was an instant chemistry between our groups. Despite the language barrier and age gap, the girls engaged in conversations, laughter and many, many selfies. We jumped together on the trampolines, with the dance troop showing us their flips and acrobatics, and then returned to our meeting point to create a powerful piece of artwork together: a banner in memory of Hallel that read, “Dance for Life”. We posed for a group photo, proudly displaying our collaborative artwork and sang “Am Yisrael Chai!”, for there were no words more appropriate than a declaration that the Jewish people are here to stay. (See video here.) There were hugs and exchanges of numbers as we left that night, and the banner was rolled up and taken to Hallel’s parents as a sign of how, even in her absence, she is still bringing Jews together.

Our GIVErs could not get over how strong these girls were, and the Kiryat Arba dance troop were just so appreciative for an opportunity to celebrate their friend’s life, rather than just mourn her loss.

The following morning we woke up at 5 am and boarded our busses to Ben Gurion airport. Dressed in blue & white, carrying hand-made posters that read “V’shavu vanim l’gvulam”, we prepared to join with hundreds of Jews in welcoming the newest arrival of Olim to Israel on their Nefesh B’nefesh flight. The dancing and singing was all-encompassing, the sense of belonging was palpable, and in that moment, everyone in the terminal felt like an anxious family awaiting the arrival of a loved one, eager to embrace their relative and shout out “welcome home!”. What a tremendous experience to be a part of, especially on the heels of our program the night before. Despite the terror, the hardships and the uncertainties, these olim knew that there was no place in the world they would rather be than in our homeland, Israel. Their choice to make aliyah speaks loudly and clearly: we are not afraid and will never stop fighting for our land and people to be one.

To drive the message home, we ended our day of volunteering with our first visit to the Kotel. Prior to entering the Kotel, we stopped to reflect as a group on the gravity of this Holy site. How many of our great grandparents yearned to be able to walk where we are walking? How many millions of people lost their lives defending their right to be a Jew? How many pure souls have been taken from us so that we can stand here today?

We live in scary times. The world is a complicated place and is only getting worse. The pain, the hate, the disregard for human life is unbearable. And yet, despite it all, we stand at the Kotel and pray. We pray for peace. We pray for the young Ethiopian soldier
to our left and the older chassidic woman on our right. We pray for a time when thirteen year old children do not need to attend their friends’ funerals. We pray for a time when all of the Jewish people have the confidence to uproot their comfortable lives and return home. We pray for the safety of Israel so that with all of the anti-semitism in the world, the Jewish people always have a place to come home to. We pray for our past. We pray for our future.

It is 3 am.

I cannot sleep because my mind is still racing from the high we have been on for the last 24 hours. From destruction to rebuilding, we have started on an incredibly emotional journey for which there is no turning back. We are the next link in the chain and have
a tremendous responsibility to pass the torch.

Our charge now is clear: we must not only make sure we dance, we must make sure we dance for life.

Day 8: YOM NCSY, Har Hertzl, & One Family

Today we had such an incredible day on GIVE! We started off the day with a meaningful visit to Har Hertzl and a beautiful activity at One Family Fund. We got to bake make the bracha of Challah with a woman whose son was killed in an act of terror. It was incredible to hear her strength and positivity despite her pain. After that we got ready for an incredible night of YOM NCSY!!!!!!!!! SO MUCH happened tonight that it’s hard to list it all but the activities included a delicious BBQ, amazing concert by Benny Friedman and Shlomo Katz, motivational speeches by Naftali Bennett and Miriam Peretz (among others), and our very own Hachnasat Sefer Torah!!!!!! The night was filled with a lot of screaming, hugging, and sweating. We had the BEST.TIME.EVER!!!!!

Day 7: Clowning, Beach, & Naah Lagat

Hi!!! My name is Noa Cohen (aka noco) from Montreal Canada! Our day was filled with fun, inspiration and red noses 😉 First we went to the hospital where the “dream doctors” taught us the tips and tricks of medical clowning and how to interact with children undergoing treatment in order to light up their day! Before lunch, we had an incredible speech by Mrs. Greenland about the importance of empowerment! It was really an empowering speech 😉 We then put our new skills to the test by dressing up and distributing little gifts to the various children, with some additional dancing and singing! After, we brought our simcha to the tel aviv beach where we danced by the water and were treated with a delicious and lavish barbecue! To top it all off, we went to a place called Naah Hagat to enjoy a play preformed by actors who are blind and/or deaf! After such an amazing day, we returned home with renewed sense of gratitude, clown skills and of course some beautiful photos by the beach! So hyped for YOM NCSY tomorrow!

Day 6: Full of Inspirational Moments

Hi, I’m Ayelet Aharon from Woodmere, NY and I’m so excited to be on NCSY GIVE this summer! A typical day on GIVE, today was jam-packed from start to finish with fun, chesed, and spiritual growth. We started out the day bright and early, boarding the buses at 5:30 am to Ben Gurion airport. The GIVErs were all dressed in blue and white as we prepared to participate in a once-in-a-lifetime experience. We were given the opportunity to greet a Nefesh B’Nefesh flight. We watched as people of all different backgrounds stepped into the land of Israel, their first steps of making Aliyah. We sang and danced to welcome our sisters and brothers to their homeland. It was so inspiring to see all these people changing their lives in order to be where the Jewish people belong, and to see so many others rejoicing along with them. Our next stop was Melabev, a home for the elderly. We watched their faces light up as we sang, danced, and played with the members. Each girl connected with different individuals, learning about the past and building a bridge to the next generation. The chesed continued with a trip to Shalva, an organization dedicated to providing support for children with disabilities. We learned about Shalva’s goal and heard the personal story of a mother whose son has special needs, and whose life was changed through Shalva. Then, we sang and danced with the children, allowing them to feel included and have a good time. Finally the day ended with a trip to the Old City for dinner, followed by a meaningful visit at the kotel. Before walking down to the wall we heard an inspiring speech from Erin, making the moment even more special and thought provoking. For many it was the first time being at the kotel, creating an extremely emotional experience. For every girl, a visit to the kotel always brings feelings of spirituality, holiness, and closeness to Hashem, and watching Jews unite from all over the world creates a sense of belonging to the Jewish people. Looking back, it’s amazing to see how much can be accomplished and how many different emotions can be felt throughout a single day, and as the day ends, we can’t wait to see what’s in store for tomorrow!

Day 5: iJump for Hallel, Yad Lkashish, and Aleh

Hi! I’m Malkie Frank, and I am from Chicago, Illinois. Today we had a pretty chill, but yet another super exciting day! We woke up bright and early and went to daven, then we ate a yummy breakfast, and had an awesome chabura! Then we boarded the buses, half the camp did one thing and the other half is going to do it tomorrow and vice versa. Bus 1 left and went to Yad Lkashish, which is a place that arranges that when elderly immigrants come to Israel they work at Yad Lkashish and make beautiful items that are sold in their gift shop. The immigrants make so many different beautiful things, in one of the workshops they used paper mache to make things like beads and stones. There were also metal, silk, ceramic, knitting, crochet, and other workshops. Everything was so beautiful! Then we had hamburgers for lunch, and after that we went to Machla Mall and we went shopping! Then we went to Aleh which is a place for people with severe special needs. While some of us were quite nervous in the beginning, we danced with them and had a really amazing time! Right after Aleh we davened mincha and had a super Israeli falafel dinner. Then we drove to iJump and met up with the other half of the camp. There we met girls who were in Hallel Yaffe Ariel’s dance group, and we had a great time making a poster and jumping at iJump with them! A lot us exchanged numbers and contact information! It was so amazing to just have a great time with those girls after everything difficult they’ve been through lately. Today was such a great day!!

Day 4: Absorption Center, Chocolate, and Water Hikes

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!

Day 3 and 4: Shabbat #1 in Tzfat

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.

After shabbos we loaded the busses to go on a party boat in Tiveria and it was the bomb (aka fun)! We then ate pizza and had fun with our advisors. It’s been a long and adventurous first weekend on GIVE can’t wait for the week ahead!!