Summer 2021

Arielle Miodownik is from Highland Park, New Jersey and is so excited to be a Madricha on Michlelet after an incredible summer as a camper a few years ago. She went to Bruriah for high school and then spent an amazing year in Eretz Yisrael in MMY. Arielle is currently entering her senior year in Stern College where she is majoring in psychology and minoring in biology in order to pursue a career in occupational therapy.

Her chabura is called “מעשה אבות סימן לבנים: Making the Most of our Middos”. Each session focuses on a Middah, firstly through understanding a person in Tanach and then following that Middah through the Mussar Sefarim to gain a greater understanding of the Middah and practical advice regarding it. We conclude each session with a connection to the Siddur and a challenge to implement on Michlelet.

Arielle has five fantastic girls in her homeroom: Perri, Minna, Yehudit, Tali, and Shayna.

What is a Middah that Michlelet has inspired you to work more on?

Perri- I have been inspired to focus on the Middah of Chessed. Not only do we go off campus to do Chessed, which is so much fun, but from the Chabura I have also learned that you can do Chessed within the campus grounds. A big Chessed has been seeing everyone smiling and looking out for one another not just when we’re out on tiyulim but while hanging around with friends.

Minna- Michlelet has given me the mindset and space to work on my davening, especially with my Kavana and focusing more. Davening and being surrounded by everyone who are all in different places in their connections with Hashem through Davening helps me push through and appreciate it even more.

Yehudit- I have been inspired to be tzniut for two reasons. One is that it is what Hashem and the Torah wants me to do. The second reason is because every girl on Michlelet is tzniut which inspires me to cover my knees and elbows.

Tali- Michlelet has inspired me to work on looking out for others. Michlelet is a wonderful opportunity to learn to live and connect with others. The shiurim and chaburahs focus on being there for your friends and I have been learning a lot from them.

Shayna- One middah that Michlelet has inspired me to work on is patience. Patience is a hard middah but an extremely important one. After hearing my chaburas and other speakers, I feel inspired to work on this middah: bein Adam lechavero, bein Adam lemakom, and bein Adam la’atzmo. I believe that constantly striving in this mitzvah will make me a better eved HaShem. Perfecting this middah will enable me to live more in the moment and be more connected to Hashem, those around me, and myself.

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Sarah Berman is from Teaneck, NJ and went to Ma’ayanot for high school. Next, she had an amazing year at MMY and is currently loving Stern, majoring in Judaic Studies and Neurobiology. She is excited for her experience here at Michlelet which beH will be filled with incredible Torah learning.

Sarah’s chabura is called “How Our Values Guide Halacha.” The goal is to learn relevant halachos and realize the incredibly meaningful yesodos on which halacha is built, transforming a “to-do list” mindset into a pool of opportunities we are given to serve Hashem. Some topics include netilas yadayim, tefillah, bracha rishona, and semichas geula l’tefillah.

The unbelievable group of girls in Sarah’s homeroom are Tamar Axelrod (SKA), Aliza Beer (Central), Adina Eisenman (Hadar), Meira Ives (YULA), and Shana Schwartz (Bruriah).

What is your favorite idea that you learned in the chabura so far?

Shana: My favorite idea we learned in the chabura so far was the application of the Rashba’s take on the mitzvah of netilat yadayim. He teaches that we wash our hands each morning to resemble the kohanim who washed their hands in the Beit HaMikdash. When discussing the nafka mina, we learned how this idea is not only a beautiful way to perceive the mitzvah of netilat yadayim, it actually makes a difference in the discussion on whether or not to use a kli.

Aliza: My favorite idea that I’ve learned in the chaburah so far is that the purpose of Halacha is to ensure that we live life doing good actions and as a result we become good people and ovdei Hashem. We learned the idea that a persons heart follows their actions and that Halacha is there to ensure that our hearts follow the best actions possible. I really enjoyed learning this idea because it provides a new perspective to Halacha – instead of being restrictive and a set of rules we must follow, it is a set if guidelines there to ensure that we are the best people we possibly can be.

Tamar: My favorite idea that I have learned is the kavana we did on Shema. We learned that there needs to be a special intensity and concentration when saying the first pasuk of shema so that we can focus on קבלת עול מלכות שמים. This was meaningful to me because while I’ve been saying shema since I was little, I didn’t know that we had to have a significant amount of kavana when saying it.

Meira: I loved learning about the different levels and practical ways to have כונה while saying שמע. It was so important to learn about the proper way to say a תפילה that we all say twice a day and it was awesome to be able to use the knowledge we learnt in our chaburah and apply it to my davening routine!

Adina: I loved learning about how meaningful the halachos of our daily lives really are. Understanding not only what we do, but why HaShem wants us to do it, through the texts is such a pleasure. I can’t wait to hopefully apply all of the amazing lessons into my days, enhancing my life as a Torah Jew.

Sheva Feldman lives in Teaneck, New Jersey. After going to Bruriah for high school, she spent an amazing inspirational year at Tiferet. Sheva is so excited to experience Michlelet with her campers for the first time and hopefully and Bezras Hashem give them an amazing summer filled with fun, and growth. Sheva is currently entering her junior year at Queens College and plans to go into education.

Sheva’s Chabura is called “Sing Your Way Through Shabbos.” The goal of the Chabura is to learn the words and translation of some of the zemiros we sing on shabbos and to take a theme from each zemer and apply it to our every day lives. Some of these zemiors are Menucha V’Simcha, Kah Ribbon, and Tzur Mishelo. 

The incredible girls in Sheva’s homeroom are Sadie Ostrowicki, Sigal Gottschalk, Trina Baskin, Rachel Aviges, and Avigail Rosen.

What are you looking forward to most on Michlelet?

Sadie: Acquiring a meaningful and applicable understanding of Judaism that I can bring home.

Sigal: I’m looking most forward to the learning.

Trina: I’m most excited to make lifelong memories while learning in Israel!!

Rachel: I’m look forward to getting to know all the Rabbis, counselors, and staff and learning from them!

Avigail: To be inspired and grow. 

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**Kol Eshia- For Woman Only

Marnie Weingarten is from Holliswood, New York. After going to Central for high school, she spent an unbelievable year at Michlalah. She is so excited to return to Michlelet as a Madricha and hopes bezras hashem to give her campers an incredible, growth filled summer like she had as a camper. She is entering her senior year at Stern College where she is majoring in psychology with plans to pursue nursing.

Marnie’s chabura is called “Shabbos- Soaring 24-7”. Some of the chabura topics include: Transforming your erev shabbos, Oneg Shabbos, Shabbos in relation to the Mikdash, and mindfulness. The goal of the chabura is to gain a deeper connection to Shabbos as well as to use Shabbos topics as a framework for developing into growth oriented and authentic ovdei Hashem.

The phenomenal girls in Marnie’s homeroom are Adina, Shoshie, Maya, Baila, chanie

What is your favorite part of shabbos and why?
Adina: My favorite part about Shabbos is the peaceful feeling I get after davening mincha and kabalat Shabbos. I love having a day to separate myself from distractions and feel connected to Hashem, a day to focus on the spiritual, and to gain perspective.

Shoshi: My favorite part of shabbos when I’m at camp is singing Kabalat Shabbos with everyone and ebbing, and while I’m at home my favorite part of Shabbos is sitting with my family at the shabbos table!

Maya: Personally my favorite part of shabbos is spending time with my family. On every other day of the week when we eat meals together there is always another thing to do. It can be work, homework, talking to friends, or going on our phones; even though we are not allowed phones at the table;) but on shabbos there is no distractions. It’s just me and my family able to talk about the simplest things without being in a rush to get somewhere else and it’s the time where you figure out how everyone’s week was or they say funny stories. So to me my favorite part about shabbos is family time.

Baila: My favorite part about shabbos is the fact that we get to take a day to separate from all the business of the week and just relax, spend time with family and friends, and connect to Hashem!

Chanie: My favorite part of shabbos is how the whole week we’re rushing and being hectic but on Shabbos there’s just such a sense of peace and calmness and we get to spend the whole day unplugged and connected to Hashem and family.