Summer 2021

Sarena Wiederkehr is from Bergenfield, New Jersey. She went to Bruriah for high school and then Michlalah for a year and a half and now is in Touro. This is Sarena’s first year on Michlelet!

Sarena’s chaburah is called “Being the best you, a 24/7 Jew”. The chaburah focuses on how we can maximize our time to be the best eved Hashem we can be while using our talents and kochos to actualize our potential. We go through different topics including tefilla, loving others, emunah, exerting effort in our avodas Hashem, hakaras hatov and so much more! The chaburah is set up as a schedule of the day, having each topic be a different hour in order to help each of us set ourselves up for success and be able to take the ideas that we learn and make it practical!

The girls in Sarena’s chaburah are Elianna (Bruriah), Mimi (SKA), Miriam (MHS), Nessy (Hannah Sacks), Adina (Naaleh), and Liora (SKA).

What is one time on Michlelet that you are going to take with you for the rest of the year?

Liora: One time from Michlelet that I will take with me for the rest of the year is davening by the sunrise in Tevaria. When we were standing there on the top of the mountain, admiring Hashem’s beautiful world and davening Shacharis, we could literally feel like we were wrapped in a hug from Hashem. I almost can’t describe the feelings I felt in that moment. It really just felt like Hashem was right there with me, encouraging me to take in the beauty of His world and keep enjoying my summer experience. As I walked down the mountain when we were done, I could feel an extra bounce in my step as I was ready to take on my day and the rest of my

Nessy: A time on Michlelet that I want to hold on to is the Bat Mitzvah of the mechina girls. Dancing with them and hearing their speech made me so appreciative that I had a Bat Mitzvah when I was 12. I feel so grateful that I had the opportunity to partake in their celebration and I was so inspired by how excited they were to celebrate this occasion. The Bat Mitzvah was such a fun night with friends and it strengthened my appreciation to be Jewish and my appreciation for our mesorah!

Miriam: One of the most meaningful experiences from my summer on Michlelet was visiting Tammy Karmel. Bikkur cholim is a huge chessed, but Tammy gave me so much more then I could have given her. I was inspired to see someone who openly accepted Hashems nisyonos with pure happiness. Tammy taught me to appreciate everything I have because it is a gift, and Hashem can take anything back whenever He decides to. This changed my perspective to be more grateful and live with more emunah.

Mimi: An important experience on michlelet for me was making a bridal shower for a kallah who couldn’t afford to make one herself. This night taught me how important and fortunate I am to be part of a nation who is so focused on helping other people even if we don’t know them. We strive to help others not just because they are our friends but because they are apart of klal Yisrael. Seeing how grateful and happy she was for the shower made me feel so appreciative to be a part of such an amazing night. Her shower taught me such an important value of giving and caring for other people no matter who they are, where they come from, or how much they have.

Elianna: My favorite experience was meeting with special needs kids of all ages in Aleh . It made me realize how fortunate I am that Hashem blessed me with things that I personally take for granted from walking to breathing to eating or even smiling. It made me feel so good to take one of the kids hands and dancing with them pushing myself out of my comfort zone. I learn from this experience to thank Hashem for the “simple” things in life.

Adina: An experience that I’m really gaining from on michlelet is spending time with madrichot throughout the day. These relationships that I have built will last me way past the summer and I have gained people who I can reach out to for guidance whenever I will need it.

Estee Ackerman lives in West Hempstead, New York. After going to Central for high school, she spent an amazing inspirational year at Michlalah. This is Estee’s second summer on Michlelet and first as a madricha. Estee is currently entering her junior year at Stern College.

Estee’s Chaburah is called “Putting in the Shvitz” where we go through different topics (such as Tefilah, friendship, Simcha, Zrizus) and acknowledge that we have to shvitz in life to truly be the best eved HaShem we can be!

The incredible girls in Estee’s homeroom are Aliza (Baltimore, MD), Chaya (Cleveland, OH), Yael (Woodmere, NY), Frumie (Denver, CO), and Leora (Passaic, NJ).

When did you shvitz (sweat) the most this summer?

Yael: I took advantage of most opportunities offered here, even if they required me to wake up early, spend time in the heat, or exert myself a little extra. I feel so accomplished that I did this, though, because with the effort comes memories and pride of all that I achieved over the last few weeks.

Leora: I allowed myself to grow in my love for torah. Taking advantage of all the amazing madrichot and taking time from my day to learn something with them that we both can connect and grow from. I also took time to learn with the incredible new friends I made here, which is somthing that will last me forever.

Frumie: Over the summer I think that I’ve put more effort into learning. I became more active in my torah learning and through that I am able to live it everyday. The ideas I learn in chabura are so applicable to my daily life.

Aliza: I have definitely shivitzed many times this summer. When things don’t go as planned such as waiting for the late bus in the burning heat Instead of freaking out I remind myself that Hashem is doing this for a reason and that this is all part of a master plan. As the saying goes, man plans and GD laughs.

Chaya: When I took the time to make goals for myself and work to accomplish them

Today was an action packed day on Michlelet! We started the day with a late-wake up and quickly board the bus to our chosen tiyulim, either The Salad Trail or Ir David Water Tunnels Tours Both trips had an amazing time! We then had the zechut of participating in Leah Pretter’s seudat hodah followed by an amazing night speaker, Rabbi Yamin Goldsmith, and night activity kumzitz. We ended the week with a well attended mishmar! 

Click below to see all the amazing pictures from this amazing day! 

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What an amazing day on Michlelet! We started our day with morning learning including homeroom, teacher’s shurim, and chaburahot. Then we headed to the museums in Cholon: A Dialogue in the Dark (Blind Museum), A Dialogue with Time (Elderly Museum), and An Invitation to Silence (Deaf Museum). Back at Lev, we heard from a very special night speaker, Mrs. Schoonmaker. We ended the day with an amazing suprise night activity, Mad Scavenger Hunt!  

Click below to see all the pictures from this amazing day! 

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Rachel Ash is from Cedarhurst NY, went to SKA for high school and just graduated Touro College. She is currently in Azrieli Graduate School where she is getting her masters in Jewish education. This is Rachel’s second summer on Michlelet and first as a madricha. Rachel’s chaburah is called “Discovering Your Sacred Soundtrack”. Every chaburah begins with a Disney or Broadway song and we discuss the meaning behind the lyrics. Then we explore a theme in Avodas Hashem that connects to the song, for example Ayin Tova or Bechira. At the end we return to the song and discuss whether or not it reflects our values and beliefs as Jewish people. Rachel’s Chaburah is made up of an INCREDIBLE group of girls including Rikki (MHS), Ruthie (Hannah Sacks),Shira (Bruriah), Maytal (Hadar), and Shayna (Naaleh).

What is one song that you can think of to describe your Michlelet experience so far and why?
Rikki -This is my home by Duvie Shapiro. Not only is it our theme song but it’s also a song that really embodies what we are on michlelet- many differing types of girls united together with a common cause- to grow- in our true homeland of Eretz Yisroel. Whenever I hear this song I will always think of my amazing Michlelet experience!

Ruthie -When I think of a song that truly stands out to me, the first one I think of is Lashuv Habaita by Ishay Ribo.  It is one of the few songs that when I listen to it, I think of the meaning rather than just listening to the tune without considering the meaning of the words.  The song explains returning to our home, Eretz Yisroel, which is why listening to it at Michlelet takes on a special meaning and hits close to home. The song explains that Hashem is willing to reach out his hand to help us – Moshit Yado B’ezra.  If we are willing to put in a little effort, Hashem will return the favor and help us.  

Shira -The song “Muchanim” by Uri Davidi represents my experience so far on michlelet. The meaning of the song is that Mashiach is here, waiting at the door, we are so close to welcoming him in, and we just need to reach a little higher. On Michlelet, the way people talk and act is with the understanding that our next action can, and hopefully will, be what brings Mashiach from outside to inside the door. Also, the tune of “Muchanim” is fun- just like Michlelet!

Maytal -“Today’s the day” by Ari Goldwag describes the adrenaline we have every day on Michlelet. No matter what time we went to bed the night before we are all ready to make the most of the day ahead. Whether it’s a chabura or tiyul we strive to make every day count and make the most of our time here. Even though camp is coming to an end we will all leave Michlelet with this message of taking advantage of every moment

Shayna-The song “Vhaarev Na” represents my Michlelet experience because the song talks about having a love for learning torah and making torah learning sweet which is the essence of what Michlelet is for me. In the short four weeks I’ve been here so far my love for learning torah has grown so much and I cannot wait for it to continue to grow in these last two weeks.

Shoshana Rockoff is from West Hempstead, New York. She went to SKA for high school and then spent the next year and a half in Israel learning at MMY. She is currently in Stern college majoring in Biology and minoring in psychology.

Shoshana’s chaburah takes everyone on a journey through Jewish History with each chaburah serving as a stop in time ranging from the creation of the world all the way to the establishment of the State of Israel. At each stop in history, the girls explore different questions in Judaism relating to that time period. Examples include… creating yourself just as HaShem created the world, the meaning of freedom in Judaism, the beauty and importance of Mesorah, the dangers of assimilation and what it means to have true Jewish identity. The ultimate goal as the girls travel throughout time is to learn to live for a history and people bigger than yourself and to gain an appreciation of being a link in the chain of generations. The goal is דע מאין באת ולאן אתה הולך, bringing “our story” of Am Yisrael to “your story” as you grow as an individual and a person. Hopefully everyone can take the lessons from the past and bring them into the future beyond Michlelet.

The amazing girls in Shoshana’s chaburah are Deena (Bruriah), Shayna (Bais Yaakov of Baltimore), Leora (Maayanot), Estee  (Bais Yaakov of LA) and Ayelet (Bruriah).

If you could meet any person in Jewish history who would it be?

Ayelet- I would love to meet Sarah Schenirer. If she hadn’t pioneered Torah education for girls of all ages, we wouldn’t be here on Michlelet digging into Torah and learning what we can from those who have come before us. We wouldn’t be going to school and spending hours diving into tanach, understanding mephorshim, and taking away life lessons to live by.

Leora- It would be an incredible experience to meet Dovid Hamelech. He was an incredibly spiritual person who always found the perfect words to express his feelings and connect to HaShem in tefillah. Tefillah is a focal point in my life and I would love to speak to Dovid Hamelech about his experiences and ask for his advice on being close to HaShem through tefillah.

Deena- Meeting Yosef Ha’tzafik would be incredible. Though his life was filled with hardship, he stayed true to Hashem and even gained the title of ‘the righteous’. I would love the opportunity to learn directly from the great gadol and understand how he grew past his suffering.

Estee- Esther HaMalka because I’m named after her and I want to meet the person who risked her own life to save klal Yisrael.

Shayna- I would like to meet the Ramban. Rabbi moshe Ben nachman debated one of the fundamental struggles that many of us face, or at least I’ve faced, many times. He logically proved to the world that Judaism trumps Christi

Lily Lightman is from Bergenfield, New Jersey. She went to Bruriah for high school, spent an amazing year in Michlalah, and is currently in Stern studying Biology. Lily’s Chaburah is titled “Reaching Higher Through the Words of Eishes Chayil.” Her Chaburah focuses on developing specific middos that are learned by understanding and appreciating the very words of Eishes Chayil. Some examples of the middos discussed are: ayin tov, bitachon, hakaras hatov, and zerizus. The incredible girls in Lily’s Chaburah are Aviva (Central), Leah (Bais Yaakov of Baltimore), Rebecca (Bruriah), Rina (MHS), Rachel (Naaleh), and Aliza (Shulamis).

Who comes to mind when you think of an Eishes Chayil? Why?

Aviva- When I think of an Eishes Chayil I think of my mom and Chana because I believe they have the the middos that represent properly what an Eishes Chayil is which include compassion, understanding, wisdom, sensitivity, selflessness, honesty, self awareness, patience, kindness etc

Leah- My mom because she exemplifies someone who is always doing chessed and doing whatever she could to make sure our family is happy.

Rebecca- When I think of an Eishet Chayil, I think of my older sister who has truly devoted her life to Hashem and Torah. She puts her heart and soul into every mitzvah she does, no matter how hard it may be. She has shown me what it means to have complete trust in Hashem and His ways, and gives everything she has into serving Him. Her constant commitment makes her my ultimate role model.

Rina- When I think of an Eishes Chayil the first person to come to mind is my mother. My mother is such an incredible person who is always willing to help anyone that needs her and constantly encourages me to grow and be my best self.

Rachel- When I think of an Eishes Chayil I think of my Chumash teacher Dr. Bloom. She reminds me of an Eishes Chayil because of her love and knowledge of Torah. She has such a passion for teaching and really inspires the entire class to enjoy learning.

Aliza- My mom. I look up to her in many different ways. She is my role model. She does so much for my family without ever asking for things in return. She loves me unconditionally.

Today as a “normal” day on Michlelet with morning and afternoon learning and activities. Then we heard from Rabbi Katz from MMY before headed to a special night activity which was a pool side BBQ and swimming with Michlelet 10! 

Click below to see all the amazing pictures from this amazing day!

https://www.facebook.com/NCSY-Michlelet-11-106976181663564

Today was “regular” day on Michlelet with morning and afternoon learning and activities. In the afternoon, we prepared and hosted for Yeal’s bridal. We cannot wait to celebrates with Yeal at her wedding next week I”yh!

Click below to see all the amazing pictures from this amazing day! 

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?vanity=106976181663564&set=a.118232530537929