ignite spring 2011

PASSOVER 2011 // VOLUME 4 ISSUE 1

2 I G N I T E / / T H E M A G A Z I N E O F N C S Y

Number of cities in North America with active NCSYers

Number of cities in North America with NCSY programming

Number of public schools with NCSY Jewish culture clubs

Number of teens that attended a shabbaton last year

Number of teens that attended a Jewish culture club in public school last year

Number of teens that spent their summer in Israel with NCSY last year

1,200200250

10,00020,0002,000

35,000Number of teens that NCSY reaches every year!

ATLANTIC SEAbOARdAllentown, PAHarrisburg, PAHuntingdon Valley, PA Lancaster, PAPhiladelphia, PALower Merion, PAWilkes-barre, PAbaltimore, MdColumbia, MdGermantown, MdGaithersburg, MdOlney, MdPotomac, MdSandy Spring, MdSilver Spring, MdTowson, MdCherry Hill, NJRichmond, VANorfolk, VAVirginia beach, VA

WEST COASTPhoenix, AZScottsdale, AZberkeley, CAbeverly Hills, CACalabasas, CACupertino, CAIrvine, CALos Angeles, CANorth Hollywood, CAOakland, CAPalo Alto, CAPiedmont, CASacramento, CASan diego, CASan Francisco, CASan Jose, CASan Mateo, CASanta Monica, CASaratoga, CASunnyvale, CAThousand Oaks, CAWest Hills, CAWoodland Hills, CAWoodside, CALas Vegas, NVEl Paso, TX

CANAdAHamilton, ONKitchener, ONLondon, ONOttawa, ONToronto, ONWindsor, ONHalifax, NCMontreal, QC

NORTHWESTCalgary, AbEdmonton, AbRichmond, bCVancouver, bCPortland, OREugene, ORSeattle, WA

SOUTHERNbirmingham, AL Aventura, FLbal Harbour, FLFort Lauderdale, FLHighland Lakes, FLHollywood, FLJacksonville, FLJupiter, FLKendall, FLMiami beach, FLNorth Miami beach, FLPinecrest, FL

Sunny Isles, FLWestin, FLAlpharetta, GA Atlanta, GA College Park, GAdoraville, GAduluth, GAdunwoody, GAEast Cobb, GAMarietta, GANorcross, GARoswell, GA Sandy Springs, GA Savannah, GA Greensboro, NCRaleigh, NCCharleston, SC Myrtle beach, SC Nashville, TNNew Orleans, LA

NEW YORKbronx, NYbrooklyn, NYManhattan, NYQueens, NYStaten Island, NYWestchester, NYCedarhurst, NYCommack, NYEast Meadow, NYGreat Neck, NYHewlett, NYInwood, NYLawrence, NYLong beach, NYMerrick, NYOceanside, NYPlainview, NY Port Washington, NYRoslyn, NYStony brook, NYWest Hempstead, NYWoodmere, NY

UPSTATE NEW YORKAlbany, NYAmherest, NYbinghamton, NYbuffalo, NYCatskills district, NYdewitt, NYMount Kisco, NYPitsford, NYRochester, NYSchenectady, NY

MIdWEST denver, CObuffalo Grove, ILChicago, ILGlenview, ILNorthbrook, ILSkokie, ILIndianapolis, INSouth bend, INdes Moines, IOKansas City, KSOverland Park, KSSt. Louis, MOWinniepeig, MbMineapolis, MNOmaha, NbMemphis, TNMilwaukee, WI

NEW ENGLANdNew Haven, CTStamford, CTWest Hartford, CTWoodbridge, CTbrookline, MAFramingham, MALexington, MA

Natick, MANewton, MAPeabody, MASharon, MASpringfield, MAWeston, MA

New JerseyAllentown, PAAllendale, NJAtlantic City, NJCherry Hill, NJColts Neck, NJEast brunswick, NJElizabeth, NJEnglishtown, NJFair Lawn, NJHackensack, NJHighland Park, NJHighstown, NJLakewood, NJLong branch, NJMalboro, NJManalapan, NJMontclair, NJParamus, NJPassaic, NJSpringfield, NJTeaneck, NJTwin Rivers, NJWest Orange, NJMonsey, NY

SOUTHWEST Austin, TXdallas, TXFort Worth, TXHouston, TXMcKinney, TXRichardson, TXSan Antonio, TX

CENTRAL EASTAkron, OHCanton, OHCincinnati, OHCleveland, OHColumbus, OHdayton, OHToledo, OHYoungstown, OHBloomfield Hills, MIdetroit, MIFarmington Hills, MIOak Park, MISouthfield, MIWest Bloomfield, MIPittsburgh, PA

ISRAELAccobat Yambeit ShemeshGederahJerusalemKiryat GatKiryat MalachiMa’ale AdomimNahariyaNetanyaNetivotRechovotRamleSderot

SOUTH AMERICAbuenious Aires, ArgentinaSantiago, Chile

GERMANYberlinLeipzeig

3PA S S O V E R 2 0 11 / / V O L U M E 4 I S S U E 1

5 ........................ New Year’s: New beginnings6 .......................................Faces In The Crowd7 ...................Summer Programs: What’s New8 .............................................. Lost and Found9 ............................................bRIGHT LIGHTS10............................... Leaping into Leadership12 ...................................... Yarchei Kallah 201114 ........................................A Flood of Support16..........................Shoresh NCSY Takes Root

17 ................................................SPOTLIGHTS18..................... From Transylvania to Teaneck20 ........................Unexpected Circumstances21 ..............................Growing Up Small Town22 ......................................Columbus Sets Sail25 ....................................A Tale of Twin Teens26 .............................................. Eye on Alumni27 .............................................. HIGHLIGHTS35 .....................................The Light at the End

EXECUTIVE LEAdERSHIPRabbi Steven burg, International director, NCSYKeevy Fried, Associate International director, NCSY

Joseph Stechler, National Youth Commission Chairman, OURabbi Steven Weil, Executive Vice President, OUdr. Simcha Katz, President, OUdavid Frankel, Chief Operating Officer, OUShlomo Schwartz, Chief Financial Officer, OUdavid Olivestone, Chief Communications Officer, OU

NATIONAL LEAdERSHIPRabbi dovid bashevkin, Associate director of EducationRabbi Moshe benovitz, dean of Summer ProgramsRabbi Glenn black, director of Strategic Planningdavid Cutler, director of NCSY Summer Programs & FinancesRabbi dave Felsenthal, director of Alumnidan Hazony, director of Information SystemsRonit Meitlis-Hoffer, Asst. director of Program development, OUJenni Richton, Associate director of Special Projectsduvi Stahler, director of Marketing

REGIONAL LEAdERSHIPAtlantic Seaboard ............... Rabbi Jonah LernerArgentina ............................ Rabbi Marcelo KrawiecCanada ............................... Rabbi Leib IronsCentral East ........................ Rabbi Tzali FreedmanChile .................................... Michael bengioGermany ............................. Josh SpinnerIsrael ................................... Rabbi Yisroel GorenMidwest ............................... Rabbi Micah GreenlandNew England ...................... Rabbi Yaakov GlasserNew York............................. Rabbi Aryeh LightstoneNorthwest ........................... Rabbi Steven bergerSouthern ............................. Todd CohnSouthwet ............................. Rabbi Israel LashakUpstate NY ......................... Marc FeinWest Coast ......................... Rabbi Effie Goldberg

SUMMER LEAdERSHIPGIVE .................................... Erin CooperICE ...................................... Rabbi Israel LashakJOLT .................................... Rabbi Nahum ZakKollel ................................... Rabbi Moshe benovitzMichlelet .............................. Rivkah YudinSEG ..................................... Yael GelernterShakespeare in Jerusalem Yoni ColemanCamp Sports ...................... Rabbi Jon GreenTJJ & TJJ Ambassadors .... Rabbi Ben Zion Goldfischer

HOW TO REACH USNCSY11 broadwayNew York, NY 10004

Phone: 212.613.8233Email: [email protected]: www.ncsy.orgFacebook: www.facebook.com/myncsyTwitter: @ncsyYouTube: www.youtube.com/myncsy

For regional contact information, visit www.ncsy.org or see the highlights section.

EdITORduvi Stahler

ART dIRECTION & LAYOUTdesign 7 Studio

IGNITE EdITORIAL STAFFJack AbramowitzYakira Apfeldalia CaplanRabbi Yehuda Chanales: Tova Flancebaumbatya GraberAvital MossRacheli NaybergElana SchwarzbergOlivia Wiznitzer

NCSY is the International youth movement of the OU


LATTE & LEARNING brings Judaism to local coffee shops

and serves up Torah in a relaxed, inspi-rational and fun environment. by offer-ing diverse speakers on current events

and Jewish topics, Latte & Learning provides a unique opportunity for teens

to ask questions, voice their opinions and connect with their Jewish heritage.

ATLANTIC SEAbOARd410.358.6279

[email protected]

CANAdA

[email protected]

www.ncsy.ca

CENTRAL EAST888.471.4514

[email protected]

MIdWEST847.677.6279

[email protected]

NEW ENGLANd617.332.6279

[email protected]

NEW JERSEY

[email protected]

NEW YORK

[email protected]

NORTHWEST

[email protected]

www.northwestncsy.com

SOUTHERN305.940.6566

[email protected]

SOUTHWEST

[email protected]

www.southwestncsy.org

UPSTATE NEW YORK585.615.7237

[email protected]

WEST COAST

[email protected]

www.westcoastncsy.com

ISRAEL02.566.7787

[email protected]

ARGENTINA

011.54.11.4962.109 [email protected]

GERMANY

[email protected]

CHILE

Michael bengio, [email protected]


I shouldn’t be surprised. This is what NCSY does. We take the mundane and secular aspects of a teen’s life and we encourage them to elevate these things into something holy. You like sports? We have NCSY Summer Programs where you can play sports all month, and learn Torah, too! You like mochachino? We have Latte & Learning in coffee shops across the continent. You like Facebook and YouTube? NCSY is there. You don’t have to give up everything you love to enjoy it in an appropriate, Torah way.

The Torah tells us “kedoshim tihiyu”, you shall be holy (Leviti-cus 19:2). The Ramban there explains that this means to elevate ourselves in that which is permitted. It’s all too easy to teach teens to avoid everything but that doesn’t prepare them for life. Rather, NCSY empowers teens by providing them with the skills to discern the kodesh from the chol, the holy from the mundane, and, where possible, to elevate the mundane to new spiritual levels.

We didn’t tell the Yarchei Kallah participants to sing l’shana haba. They did that themselves because they felt it. They were in a shul on Shabbos with their friends and role models and they were inspired to ring in the new year by expressing a love of HaKadosh baruch Hu and a desire to be nearer to Him in the rebuilt beis HaMikdash. That they came to this point on their own is the magic of NCSY.

I’ve never been prouder.

Rabbi Steven burg

FOR SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS, PLEASE CONTACT 212.613.8329 OR EMAIL [email protected]

It wasn’t the first time NCSY said, “Turn New Year’s Eve into Shabbos,” but it was probably the most moving.

I’ll back up.

At the end of december, NCSY hosted its annual Yarchei Kallah, a week-long program for public school students from across North America. This event is always a high point of the year for any member of the NCSY family, since there’s very little that’s more inspirational than seeing teens from Cleveland and Toronto and baltimore and more take a week of their winter break and dedicate it to Torah study with rebbeim, advisors and like-minded peers. This year, we did something different. We left our hotel in Connecticut to spend Shabbos in Teaneck, NJ. That way, the teens could experience an authentic Shabbos in a Shabbos-observant community, while the members of that community could draw inspiration from the sincerity and enthusiasm that the teens exude.

Every so often, it happens that New Year’s Eve occurs during Yarchei Kallah and this year, it was also Friday night. As challenging as it is for a teen to choose studying Chumash and hearing shiurim over going skiing, throw-ing New Year’s Eve into the mix makes the decision to attend a little more difficult for many teens. Yes, Yarchei Kallah is lots of fun, but so is New Year’s Eve, whether or not one pops a cork.

We gathered in bnai Yeshurun, one of the local shuls, for a Friday night oneg full of socializing, stories and song. We were well aware that it was New Year’s Eve, but it hardly affected us. The teens apparently felt otherwise.

The clock neared midnight and, not surprisingly, the Yarchei Kallah attendees started counting down. “Three… two… one…” At the stroke of midnight, they cheered. They started singing and dancing. It was January 1, 2011 and more than 200 public school students from across North America were celebrating the new year in a shul in New Jersey, dancing and singing “l’shana haba b’Yerushalayim” (“next year in Jerusalem”).

Just when you think you’ve seen it all.


The New Associate International director of NCSY

This is Keevy Fried: young, ambitious, and accom-plished. In his short career at UJA-Federation, he raised nine million dollars, hosted a dinner for over 1,100 individuals, and formed relationships with some of the most well-respected financial industry executives. Just weeks ago, Keevy decided to take his infectious energy and prodigious skill to the NCSY front. “I wanted to play a pivotal role in confronting the largest problems facing the Jewish people - assimilation and intermarriage,” Keevy explained.

Keevy fills a number of positions at NCSY, enabling him to impact on a variety of areas within the organiza-tion. He helps to manage the national office, facilitates strategic planning, functions as a liaison to the regions and, on the whole, implements vision and follow-through in various projects.

Keevy previously spent four years as a development executive in the Wall Street & Financial Services divi-sion at UJA-Federation of New York, where he managed the Investment Management division and worked with various professionals to raise money for the organiza-tion. After being awarded the 2006 UJA-Federation of New York-Wiener Center Scholarship, Keevy obtained his Master’s degree in Social Work from Fordham University. With his impressive experience and qualifi-cations, Keevy hopes to take NCSY even further in the fundraising world, and otherwise.

“Inspiring and empowering the next generation and bringing them closer to Yiddishkeit is a tremendous mission,” Keevy says. “The passion that exudes from everyone in the NCSY world is exciting and contagious, and something that I want to be a part of.” by joining the ranks in his new position, Keevy wishes to reach out and affect an unsurpassed range of individuals - in great number, across demographics and with lasting impact.

Why do you think people should support NCSY? February 12 at 8:13pm · Like

Sabrina Muldoon Because NCSY gives the opportunity for all levels of Jews to get together to learn from one another. It also allows those children in public schools like myself a real chance to embrace a side of their religion they may have never have had the chance to.February 12 at 8:17pm · Like Nina Miriam Rothschild NCSY gives people the ability to step out of their shells and try new things within a safe setting. Everyone is energetic and looks forward to having a great time with each other and everyone is a part of a larger community that will help each other out.February 12 at 9:00pm · Like Gary Sukienik People Need to support NCSY because the teenagers need to find their Judaism and since NCSY provides a fun environment to do so, the teens feel more connected to their religion and get to meet kids their own age that are Jewish! NCSY also gives some of these teens that cant pay the price in full a scholarship which makes it more affordable for teens in families with a low income. so all in all people need to support NCSY so the Children can be socially and spiritually connected!February 12 at 9:06pm · Like

Q: At the end of your tenure, where would you like to see NCSY? A: The Midrash in Koheles Rabbah says that a person who has 100 wants 200; if he has 200, he wants 400. That’s not an admirable trait when we’re talking about material goods, but I think it’s a lofty goal when we’re talking about Jewish neshamas. NCSY is doing a tremendous job at reaching Jewish teens, but as long as there are youth out there starving for Torah, it will never be enough. If we reach 100 teens today, we have to try to reach 200 teens tomorrow.

Q: What most impresses you about NCSY? A: The sincerity. Everyone at the OU is enthusiastic about their work and recognizes it as avodas hakodesh, but NCSY is unique when it comes to the lengths that people will go to carry out its missions and goals. No other department of the OU could get hundreds of volunteers across the continent to be moseir nefesh at all hours of the day and night the way NCSY advisors are when it comes to reaching Jewish teens.

Q: What message do you have for those who support NCSY? A: Kiruv (outreach) is a mitzvah for everyone, but not everyone has the zechus to be an NCSY advisor. Just like we “buy in” to fulfill the mitzvah of writing a sefer Torah but the sofer does the actual writing, supporting NCSY provides an opportunity for everyone to have a cheilek in the mitzvah of kiruv. And I can’t think of anything that pays richer rewards than ensuring that the next generation has a solid foundation of sincere, dedicated, passionate young Jews.

for OU PresidentdR. SIMCHA KATZ


SEG (Summer Experience for Girls)NCSY is pleased to introduce the all-new SEG, under the administration of director Mrs. Yael Gelernter and Assistant director Mrs. Monique Gross. Yael currently works at the Stella K. Abraham High School for Girls (SKA) in Long Island in a number of capacities; Monique is currently a teacher at The Yeshiva of Central Queens (YCQ).

One of the changes in SEG will be the leadership and chesed component. Many of the learning sessions will create a theme around the concept of team-building, community-building, and what it means to be a leader. While learning and chesed are a large focus of SEG, the famous trips, sports and other camp activities will still be a major part of the summer experience. ICE (Israel and Central Europe)The ICE itinerary has been revamped, updated, and expanded - including a new trip to Italy. Participants will have the opportunity to tour Venice, see the Italian Alps, and visit the Ferrari factory. After Italy comes a journey to Israel, an expedition complete with surf school, rafting, and rappelling, as well as a host of new chesed opportunities, such as working with Hatzalah and spending time with IdF soldiers.

JOLT (Jewish Overseas Leadership Training)This summer, NCSY’s elite leadership program JOLT will once again be spearheaded by Rabbi Nahum Zak, Regional director of Southern NCSY, and an extremely talented and focused team of staff. Program participants will develop their leadership skills as well as their perception of the roles that Jewish heritage and the land of Israel play in defining Jewish identity today. Traveling first to Poland, where they will revisit life of European Jewry before the war and the destruction of the Holocaust, participants will then travel to the Austrian Alps, where they will work together with Lauder Yeshurun Foundation to facilitate educational and engaging programming for young, unaffiliated German teens. The program will then conclude in Israel, where reflection on the past weeks’ experiences will be channeled towards forming a greater appreciation and understanding of our Jewish identity, Torah responsibilities, and homeland.

KollelNCSY Summer Kollel in Israel is approaching its 20-year anniversary of awesome fun, competitive sports and meaningful learning. Summer 2011 offers a brand new CIT program, for teens who have completed twelfth grade. This track was created to meet the great demand of NCSYers who wish to transition from campers on the life-altering program to future madrichim and contributors. Tiyul options have been updated as well, and additional sports slots are being added to the daily schedule.

MichleletThis year’s Michlelet boasts even more classes and teachers plus a broadened hiking and outing schedule, in addition to the trademark creative chesed trips and engaging activities it provides year after year. Michlelet continues in its mission to grant girls an enlightening, impacting, and life-changing summer.

GIVE (Girls’ Israel Volunteer Experience)NCSY GIVE is looking forward to another great summer of friends, chesed, touring and learning. On GIVE, extraordinary high school girls are given the opportunity to experience hands-on Judaism through the art of giving back. This summer, they are affording that opportunity to twice the amount of girls, offering two buses instead of the usual one. GIVE allows its participants to experience firsthand what it means to be a responsible member of the Jewish people.

Camp Sports2011 is ready for another memorable summer of sports, trips, learning, and unparalleled barbecues at Camp Sports. Enhancing the experience is the optional floor hockey program and the reintroduction of the demolition derby. Additionally, the learning program now allows more freedom for campers to choose what they are interested in learning, as well as greater incentives for learning.

TJJ (The Jerusalem Journey) & TJJ Ambassadors TJJ and TJJ Ambassadors have expanded to eight buses this summer, allowing hundreds of new public school teens to discover Israel. TJJ will once again hike breathtaking trails, dive into waterfalls, kayak down the Jordan River, rappel down mountains and, of course, explore the ancient and modern history of the Jewish people through the land of Israel. TJJ is also introducing new activities, one of which involves constructing rafts on the Kinneret and racing to the sea’s center and back. In addition to learning about how to make the case for Israel and engaging in a week of traditional beit midrash study, TJJ Ambassadors will run a camp for underprivileged Israeli children in the Negev. They will also explore Israel’s contributions in the technological and environmental arenas by touring Shai Agassi’s “better Place” corporation.

Natan Sharansky, Chairman of the Jewish Agency, Rabbi Avi berman, director of OU Israel, and Rabbi Zvi Sobolofsky, YU Rosh Yeshiva and NCSY Kollel Rebbe, share a laugh at Yom NCSY 2010 in Israel.

NCSY Summer Programs

Applicants through 3/15/10 = Applicants through 3/8/11 =

bY THE NUMbERS513630Learn more about NCSY Summer at

www.ncsysummer.com


This past summer, I was extremely blessed and fortu-nate to spend five weeks in the holy land of Israel. I had the summer of a lifetime doing chesed (act of loving kind-ness) with forty-five girls from all across North America on NCSY’s summer program GIVE (Girls’ Israel Volunteer Experience). This five-week experience allowed me to draw connections with the land and the people in ways I never thought possible.

One specific connection I made was with a 65-year-old wheelchair-bound man named benjamin. I met benjamin the first Friday we were in Israel, during a trip to a nursing home where we were paired up with a senior citizen for a short trip out. As we began our stroll, he immediately started opening up and telling me a lot about himself. He mentioned that he is divorced, that he has no relationship with his children, and that he is a heavy smoker. As we talked, I picked up on the fact that he seemed to be very well educated.

At some point in the conversation, I decided to ask him about his religious views . Immediately, when bringing this up, I noticed a drastic change in benjamin’s mood. He became very angry, and sternly said, “I’m an atheist. I don’t believe in God!” When I asked why, he responded by telling me, “I lost my best friends in the Yom Kippur

War and ever since then I just don’t believe there’s a God.” I decided to drop the subject and continue on our stroll.

When we finally returned to the nursing home, thoughts were running through my mind. “Should I do this? Should I not do this? I can’t do this.” being the [nosy, annoying, crazy Persian] girl I am, I went to the front desk, asked for a piece of paper, and wrote NCSY GIVE, followed by my name and phone number. I walked up to benjamin, looked him directly in the eye and said, “I know you’ve gone through many trag-edies in your life and you have every reason to believe that there isn’t a God out there. but I also know that deep down inside, there’s a part of you that’s empty. You and I both know that this emptiness needs to be filled with Judaism.” I dropped the paper on his lap and walked away thinking, “Oh my gosh, Amanda, you just made the biggest fool of yourself.” by the end of summer, I completely forgot about this whole event.

About three weeks after GIVE, I saw that I had a voicemail on my phone. The message was from benjamin. He said: “Hi, Amanda. I don’t know if you remember me but this is benjamin from the nursing home. I just wanted to tell you that what you said that day really got to me. Ever since then, I wear a kippa on my head and this coming Shabbos I will be going to my daughter’s house for the first time in sixteen years. Thank you for opening up my eyes and changing my life.” As I hung up the phone on the verge of tears, I could not stop jumping up and down.

That experience taught me something I will carry with me for the rest of my life: no matter who you are, you have the ability to change someone’s life.

AMANdA ESRAELIAN, A SENIOR AT ROSLYN HIGH SCHOOL IN NEW YORK, IS THE INTERNATIONAL PRESIdENT OF NCSY.

A spirited sixteen-year-old takes on an atheist

by: Amanda Esraelian

LEAPING INTO LEAdERSHIPNCSY’s JUMP Seminar debuts

YARCHEI KALLAH 2011Teaneck plays weekend host to 200 public school students

A FLOOd OF SUPPORTNCSYers provide relief for Minnesotans in the wake of the Mississippi flood

SHORESH NCSY TAKES ROOTIt’s all new, and it’s all boys - all year long

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MAJOR EVENTS AROUNd NCSY

10 I G N I T E / / T H E M A G A Z I N E O F N C S Y10 I G N I T E / / T H E M A G A Z I N E O F N C S Y

In November 2010, 11 Jewish day schools participated in the first-ever NCSY JUMP Seminar, held at the Tarry-town Hilton in NY. during the two-day seminar, teens had the opportunity to hear from Jewish communal leaders, includ-ing Rabbi Steven Weil, Executive Vice President of the Orthodox Union; Mr. Richard Joel, President of Yeshiva University; Rabbi Steven burg, International director of NCSY; Mr. Moishe bane, Chairman of the OU board of Governors; Rabbi Aryeh Lightstone, Regional director of New York NCSY, and Rabbi Yaakov Glasser, Regional director of New Jersey NCSY.

At the seminar, we learned an immense amount about leadership, thinking ‘outside the box,’ kiruv, the Jewish future and, above all, how we can make a difference.”

– Sarah Struhl, 11th grade, Weinbaum Yeshiva High School, boca Raton, FL

First JUMP Seminar Empowers Teens

Participants learn teamwork through blindfolded challenges.

Students from Weinbaum Yeshiva High School pose for a picture at the JUMP seminar.

Participating schoolsYESHIVA OF FLATbUSHbrooklyn, NYWEINbAUM YESHIVA HIGH SCHOOL boca Raton, FLHYMAN bRANd HEbREW ACAdEMY Kansas City, KSdAVIS RENOV STAHLER YESHIVA HIGH SCHOOL FOR bOYSWoodmere, NY

HEbREW ACAdEMY OF THE FIVE TOWNS ANd ROCKAWAYLawerence, NYHEbREW ACAdEMY OF NASSAU COUNTYUniondale, NYRAMbAM MESITVALawerence, NYSTELLA K. AbRAHAM HIGH SCHOOL FOR GIRLSHewlett bay Park, NY

KOHLELET FOUNdATION TORAH ACAdEMY OF GREATER PhiladelphiaPhiladelphia, PASALANTER AKIbA RIVERdALE ACAdEMYRiverdale, NYYESHIVA UNIVERSITY HIGH SCHOOL FOR GIRLS Queens, NY.

11PA S S O V E R 2 0 11 / / V O L U M E 4 I S S U E 1 11PA S S O V E R 2 0 11 / / V O L U M E 4 I S S U E 1

DRS 10th grader Yaakov Hawk started his own non-profit organization with the help of NCSY’s JUMP program

OU CEO Rabbi Steven Weill engages teens about Israel advocacy.

There’s a disheartening schism between those who need assistance, and those who not only can, but want, to give it – especially amongst high school teens. As Yaakov Hawk, a sophomore at dRS Yeshiva in Woodmere, NY, frankly puts it, “Nobody’s coming to schools and telling [us], ‘Oh, this is what you could do to give back to our community.’” So he founded Philanthropy for the Future, a non-profit organization, and tells people himself.

Yaakov credits his motivation and success to his parents, ac-tive members in their local communities of West Hempstead and the Five Towns, and NCSY’s JUMP, a program that sends a leadership mentor into high schools. Himself a product of in-spiration, Yaakov only hopes to pay it forward: “We just [want] to inspire people to take action, to inspire people to help.”

It appears that Hawk is achieving his goal. After raising $300 for a widow and her three children, spearheading a fundraiser for breast cancer awareness that garnered $1,500, and run-ning a two-week Haiti relief drive that reaped a “truckload of stuff,” Hawk has only begun. Philanthropy for the Future most recently traveled to the kosher Masbia Soup Kitchen in brook-lyn and spent most of Thanksgiving day peeling 1,600 pounds of vegetables that were distributed to poor people in the Jew-ish community and ran a Purim bake sale.

Philanthropy for the Future’s slogan, “Changing the way we give,” is evidently their mission statement as well. With a mailing list of 2,000 and an official 501(c)(3) incorporation in February, Yaakov Hawk has patently taken JUMP’s leadership message to heart.

YU President Richard Joel speaks to high school students about on-campus leadership.

Project JUMP offers yeshiva day school students the opportu-nity to become leaders who will make a positive change in their immediate communities, while broadening their understanding of the global issues facing the Jewish people. Through a Jewish historical education series and collaborative projects, JUMP effectively trains yeshiva day school students in a variety of leadership and management skills, challenging each partici-pant to hone his or her newly-acquired skills by strategically planning and completing a series of community-wide projects.


This past december, 200 public school students gathered together for Yarchei Kallah at the Hilton in Stamford, CT. Yarchei Kallah is a week-long convention for public school students to devote time learning about their heritage. In prior years, the teens spent Shabbat at the hotel. However, this year, the teens spent Shabbat at Congregation Keter Torah in Teaneck, NJ.

“This year, instead of creating our own atmosphere for Shabbat, we wanted to expose the kids to a Shabbat-observant community,” said Rabbi Yaakov Glasser, Regional director of New Jersey NCSY. “We wanted the Yarchei Kallah partici-pants to meet community members outside of NCSY staff who embrace a Torah way of life. It demystifies what it means to be a Torah-observant Jew,” said Rabbi Glasser.

However, the participants of Yarchei Kallah were not the only ones who benefit-ed from the new Shabbat experience; the Teaneck community benefited as well. They were able to see how NCSY fulfills its mission. Other Orthodox teens resid-ing in the community were able to experience how NCSY infuses teens with the enthusiasm of Yiddiskeit.

Spending Shabbat with the NCSY kids was a great ex-perience for me and my en-tire family. The kids were not only very excited to be there they were also interested in everything going on around them. It was great for my kids to meet 15, 16 and 17 year old public school kids who were interested in find-ing out more about Judaism. They were amazed that for some of these kids it was their first Shabbat. My family and I enjoyed the Shabbaton and can’t wait for them to come again soon.”

- MR. JONATHAN GELLISPresident of Keter Torah (Roemer)

Synagogue.


“From the Rabbi shiurs to the chaburas to the shiur klalis, the amount of Torah knowledge I gained at Yarchei Kallah was tremendous.”

-Mayla boguslav, 12th grade, Advanced Math and Science Academy (AMSA), Worcester, MA

“I saw teens in tears during Havdalah, dancing and singing with a shine in their eyes, as their souls were fundamentally touched in a truly beautiful, meaningful, and permanent way that they would never forget.”

-Judah Joseph, 11th grade, Cherry Hill High School East, Cherry Hill, NJ

“The environment in which we learned was calm and accepting since there were many kids who have never opened a Chumash.”

-Allegra beletskiy, 12th grade, Northwood High School, Silver Spring, Md

“I made new friends and re-united with my old ones, and enjoyed New Year’s Eve with them in a pleasant, wholesome environment. I left with a heart full of happiness, a fresh mind, and an exhilarated soul, looking forward to experiencing even more growth and life.”

-Melissa Slyper, 11th grade, General douglas MacArthur High School, Wantagh, NY

“being Jewish is no longer just a statement of my religious af-filiation but is a proclamation of my inner being and way of life.”

-batsheva Honig, 10th grade, Walled Lake Northern High School, detriot, MI


Earlier this year, NCSY sent students to Minnesota to clean up areas ravaged by the flooding of the Mississippi River. Students from the Torah Academy of Bergen County (TAbC), Teaneck Public High School, and Fairlawn Public High School joined NCSY As-sociate Regional director Rabbi Ethan Katz and Rabbi Josh Kahn, dean of student life at TAbC, on a once-in a-lifetime Tikkun Olam experience.


On Sunday, the group helped rip out the floorboards and walls of City Hall and of a restaurant that was destroyed by the flooding. A thank-ful old man who lived above the restaurant was able to have his heat

restored as soon as the group finished their job.

After an orientation session by NECHAMA, the Jewish disaster

relief organization that helped coor-dinate the trip, the students spent the day cleaning out the home of an 89 year old lady who hadn’t touched her belongings since her husband died 15 years earlier. Every room was piled high with garbage, papers and clothes, and after several hours of hard work, the house was re-stored to its previous condition. The lady thanked the group in tears.

The brainchild of Rabbi Katz, the purpose of the trip is to help others who experience tragedies of such proportions, teaching NCSY stu-dents the valuable lessons of appreciation.

To sponsor a social action trip, please call Ronit at 212.613.8171


NCSY’s newest program for boys rolls out in New Jersey and Long Island

Over the course of the past few years, NCSY has been approached by parents, rabbis, and educators around the country with the request that it expand the model of its renowned NCSY Summer Kollel to include community-based programs that provide programming, role models, and a Torah atmosphere for yeshiva teens. Only NCSY, they argued, could properly build a program that would inspire teens to develop their passion and commitment to Torah and mitzvot in a holistic way that extends outside the walls of their formal education institutions. Last year, NCSY began the realization of that dream with the launch of Shoresh NCSY.

“At NCSY, we’re always looking for new ways to inspire our youth and to provide an environment where each person can feel comfortable,” NCSY International director Rabbi Steven burg stated. WIth the initiative from Rabbi burg, and under the close guidance of Rabbi Moshe beno-vitz, director of NCSY Summer Kollel, and Rabbi Yaakov Glasser, director of NJ NCSY, Shoresh has taken off.

Shoresh is directed by Rabbi Yehuda Chanales, who also serves as a rebbe in the Torah Academy of bergen Coun-try (TAbC) in Teaneck, NJ, and who previously worked to found other informal Torah educational programs as Yeshiva University’s Torah Leadership Network (TLN) and Camp Morasha’s beit Midrash Program (bMP).

With the additional help of enthusiastic parents, phenom-enal madrichim and an exceptional group of students, Shoresh has been running programs for middle school and high school boys in Teaneck, Bergenfield (in New Jersey) and the Five Towns (in Long Island, New York). Middle school Shabbat onegs bring students from various schools together for divrei Torah, zemirot, food and fun. Trips include sports tournaments, New York City outings, paintball and more. This past summer, for the first time ever, close to one hundred teens participated in a mean-ingful Tisha B’Av program in Teaneck designed specifical-ly for them. Additionally, Shoresh teamed up with Yeshiva Univeristy’s TLN to run a Shabbaton that brought over one

hundred people together for a flag football tournament, this past Thanksgiving, and a Shabbos of Torah learning and inspiration. beyond the events, students have devel-oped relationships with madrichim and peers from other schools, cultivating a Shoresh community.

Nomi Rotblatt, mother of a Teaneck Shoresh participant, shared that “Shoresh complements the formal education that my son receives at his yeshiva. The program pro-vides structured, supervised events where my son can meet other boys his age from the community, hang out, have fun and learn from the advisors, who are wonderful role models for them.”

This coming September, Shoresh looks forward to extend-ing its programs to a Girls’ division.

Shoresh middle school boys enjoying motzaei Shabbos with madrich Corey Fuchs.

Shoresh High School Interns ice skating

with middle schoolers

FROM TRANSYLVANIA TO TEANECK: ONE TEEN’S EXTRAORdINARY STORYOne question, two conversions, and a thousand answers

UNEXPECTEd CIRCUMSTANCESAllie Kugler picks up the pieces with the help of NCSY

GROWING UP SMALL TOWNA daughter’s involvement in NCSY alters this mother’s outlook on Orthodoxy

COLUMbUS SETS SAILThe youth group unites and witnesses tremendous positive change

A TALE OF TWIN TEENSMeet donyel and Nathan Meese

EYE ON ALUMNIMatan Hazanov, NCSY alum and creator of the Jewish business Network

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Profiles of the people and places that matter


Sitting at his desk in Hebrew school, facing a chart explaining the differences between the Ortho-dox, Conservative and Reform denominations, teen david Storfer tentatively raised his hand. He was about to ask the most important question of his life, a question he had asked before many times. The rabbi called on him. “Hypothetically speaking,” david began, “if somebody was converted in one de-nomination, would they necessarily be accepted by all Jewish dominations?” The rabbi thought for a moment. His answer was different from what David had been previously told, a flat-out “no” that left him simply turned him off. “Maybe not,” the teacher ventured, “because it might not have been done in accordance with halacha.”

born in Transylvania, Romania, david was adopted as a five-month-old baby by Jewish parents in Teaneck, New Jersey, living only four blocks away from the Teaneck NCSY office. He underwent a non-Orthodox conversion and attended a Jewish day school, where he “did not have the best of experiences with Judaism,” he shared. He chose to attend a public school over a Jewish high school, although his parents made this conditional upon his attending Hebrew school on Sundays. It was there that he met Rabbi Ely Allen, a Sephardi Orthodox rabbi with whom he eventually studied for his halachic conversion.

In public school, David felt conflicted. “I knew that I wanted to be Jewish and I was very sure that there was one God,” he explained, “but the way I’d seen Judaism in practice, it wasn’t for me. So I looked for my own version of Judaism.” He demonstrated his identification publicly by choosing to wear a kippah in school on Jewish holi-days, even though there was only one other person who did so. There was a club set up in school called the Israel Club run by a Jewish teacher who was updating students about Israel-related topics. david was interested and joined the club in order to “meet some other Jews.” NCSY got involved and transformed the club into a JSU (Jewish Student Union) club. NCSY advisors came to the school and brought pizza and soda while presenting interesting Jewish topics. david became president of the club in his sophomore year, organizing meetings and other events for the next three years.

“I wasn’t big on doing Shabbatons or anything really with NCSY,” david explained. “When I was a freshman, I believed that playing video games on Shabbos was permitted because I’d been told it was okay by some of my Jewish friends. So that’s what we would do – play video games every Shabbos.” Then he found out that some of his Hebrew school friends were planning to attend a program called Latte & Learning. “I went and absolutely loved it the first time. Free coffee, five to ten minutes of Torah and hanging out with cool Jewish people!” he recalled fondly. Meeting frum teenagers who were “cool and fun but still

religious” was something that “completely changed my view on the Orthodox world.” david started attending NCSY Shabbatonim with the help of New Jersey NCSY Regional director Rabbi Yaakov Glasser and Teaneck NCSY. He felt that he had found what he was looking for – “Judaism that made sense and made you a good person and that wasn’t based on money and keeping the holidays because that’s what your parents do.”

david started to express his newfound religiosity by wearing a kippah all the time in public school and wearing

From Transylvaniato Teaneck:ONE TEEN’S

EXTRAORdINARY STORY by: Olivia Wiznitzer

“MEETING FRUM TEENAGERSWHO WERE ‘COOL ANdFUN bUT STILL RELIGIOUS’WAS SOMETHING THAT“COMPLETELY CHANGEd MYVIEW ON THE ORTHOdOXWORLd’.”

tzitzis on holidays and final exam days. “I also wore a gold Magen david Jewish chain I got for my brother’s engage-ment party,” he said. Since he was so obviously Jewish, the non-Jewish students and less-religious Jewish kids started asking him questions about Judaism. “Sometimes I wouldn’t know the answers so I started looking them up, talking to rabbis and really getting into learning in order to bridge the gap.”

david’s parents welcomed his newfound commitment to Judaism with a mixture of support and resignation. Their two biological children, a boy and a girl, each older than david, had taken the same path not long before. The


difference was that david’s siblings had become more re-ligious after they had moved out of the house, while david was doing so while still at home. It was difficult to explain why he couldn’t eat all the foods his parents cooked or why he preferred to be away for Shabbos, for instance.

david’s brother had become more religious through col-lege and is currently a Chabad rabbi opening a new yeshi-va in Miami. david’s sister also became religious, keeping the mitzvos with great mesiras nefesh. “She’s an accountant and her accounting firm paid for her to go to Notre Dame for two summers,” David confided. “She was the only Jew there and she got kosher food flown in every day in double plastic wrappings and was able to take off for Shabbos.”

david began his journey toward a halachic conversion

with the help of Rabbi Glasser, Rabbi Steven Pruzansky of Congregation bnai Yeshurun in Teaneck, and his Hebrew school rabbi, Rabbi Ely Allen. Rabbi Pruzansky set out a curriculum for david, which he studied very diligently. “We would meet with him every month or two to test his knowledge,” the bnai Yeshurun leader explained. “The texts used varied, but the areas of study included the laws of Shabbos, kashrus, tefillah, yamim tovim, tzedaka, the other ethical obligations of the Jew, issues of tznius, tzitzis, along with a working knowledge of the basic story of the Torah, thus parshas hashavua. He needed to have familiar-ity with our story so that story can become his story as well. Jewish history is also taught. The texts are learned in a combination of English and Hebrew. We require geirim converts to have a working knowledge of Hebrew. They should be able to read it because we don’t want them to convert and have to rely on the English siddur.”

Rabbi Glasser fondly remembers a time when david was in his shul, helping baal habatim kasher keilim and also studying for geirus. “He came over to me and said he was stuck on a difficult section of Daniel,” Rabbi Glasser men-tioned. “I told him I myself hadn’t learned daniel! but we worked through it. david was very motivated.”

“What impressed me about david,” Rabbi Pruzansky noted, “was that not only was he going through our pro-gram while in high school, but he was also working in one of the kosher restaurants in bergen County. He was really putting in a full day. He is self-made and it’s a tribute to his dedication.” Rabbi Glasser echoes the sentiment, say-ing, “We did not make david Storfer frum. david Storfer made david Storfer frum. At the end of the day, it’s got to come from you.”

It was finally time for the special day, which happened a few short days before the holiday of Shavuos. Since he was already circumcised, david had a ceremonial drop of blood removed in a hatafas dam bris. He answered the questions put to him and immersed in the mikvah. Then, water droplets beading on his hair, he beamed. He chose to take a name in addition to his own, “daniel!” “My biological parents had named me daniel,” he explained, “while my adoptive parents named me david. Now that I was finally becoming complete as a person, I wanted to put both those names together.” Excited to attend his friend’s wedding in Crown Heights later that evening, nothing felt real to him until his older brother, the Chabad rabbi, asked him for a blessing. “He told me that someone

who converts has a pure new soul that hasn’t done any sins and it’s special to get a bracha from them,” david ex-plained. “That’s what made it feel real to me.”

After completing his year of study and geirus, the ques-tion of where to study in Israel arose. A year ago, david had considered joining the bar-Ilan Israel Experience program. Now at a different place in his life, Rabbi Glasser recommended the derech program at Ohr Somayach. “We put him in a cab to Queens and sent him to meet with the representative,” Rabbi Glasser said, “and they hit it off right away.” david started yeshiva on August 17th and is having, in his words, “the best time of my life.” He happily recalls the Shabbos before he left America as a beautiful one where his parents “ordered from a Jewish catering place and we all had Shabbos together.” Now twenty, he recently made a siyum on the first mesechta of Makkos and plans to either stay for shana bet or attend Yeshiva University. “I for sure want to be an NCSY advisor when I do come back,” he said, just before excitedly telling me he had to go because Rabbi Glasser was visiting from the States and he wanted to see him. “My whole story is thanks to NCSY,” he concludes. “I wouldn’t be here with-out them.”

OLIVIA WIZNITZER IS THE ASSOCIATE PROGRAM dIRECTOR AT ALUMNI CONNECTIONS. SHE WORKS TO bUILd POSITIVE JEWISH EXPERIENCES WITH NCSY ANd JSU ALUMNI ON CAMPUS ANd bEYONd.


IN THE COLd WINdS ANd SNOW OF ALbANY, NEW YORK, THERE IS ONE VERY NOTICEAbLE bRIGHT SPOT. IT IS ALLIE KUGLER ANd HER CONTAGIOUS SMILE. WHETHER PARTICIPAT-ING IN AN NCSY TORAH-LEARNING SESSION, ENGAGEd AT A REGIONAL bOARd MEETING, OR WELCOMING SOMEONE NEW TO NCSY FOR THE FIRST TIME, THAT INFECTIOUS, CONTAGIOUS GRIN IS ON HER FACE. SEEING THAT bRIGHT bEAM, YOU WOULd NEVER GUESS THE TRIALS bEHINd IT, HER INCREdIbLE, ONGOING JOUR-NEY, ANd HOW NCSY HELPEd THIS TEENAGER COPE WITH A LIFE-ALTERING ACCIdENT.

Rewind to the Spring of 2009. Allie was a nor-mal and healthy teenager. She had just finished her first semester at Albany High School, the local public school, with a 95 average. She was a gifted student and a gifted athlete. She mastered Tae Kwon do, receiving a second degree black belt, ran track in her first year of high school, and was an avid dancer.

Then, one day, everything changed. Allie re-ceived a major blow to her head, which resulted in a concussion and a traumatic brain injury. Allie was devastated, and the summer after the accident was extremely difficult. “I was moody and really down. Light hurt my head, moving hurt, and I was tired a lot. I spent the entire summer in my room, in the dark, watching mov-ies. It was awful.” The doctors were noncom-mittal about her improvement and return to school and activities, adding to her frustration.

Allie also faced a new set of challenges. She was in perpetual pain, since the injury caused her to have constant headaches. Her memory also suffered. “My short-term memory was damaged. It’s a bit better now, but I still have trouble remembering things, and when it first [happened it was even worse].” The way her brain processed information changed as well. Allie could no longer learn at her familiar. Stephanie, Allie’s mother, recalls, “Allie used to run track, come home, eat a snack, go to the dance studio, come home, study for 20 minutes, and ace her test the next day. She was a quick learner, and it came to her easily. Now, we sit for hours studying the material.” The injury damaged the way information moved through her brain, making her learning process much slower and more laborious. The memory loss issues did not help. Still in tremendous pain and her memory loss hurting her learning skills,

Allie could only return to school part-time that September. Her after-school extracurricular activities were now replaced with doctors ap-pointments.

Allie had attended Upstate New York Jr. NCSY events, but stopped going once she reached high school. However, the injury left her with a huge void. Lacking the social life that school usually provided and on a quest for meaning after an accident changed her life, Allie was lost. When Esther Tsvaygenbaum, the Albany NCSY chapter president at the time (now study-ing in Machon Ma’ayan in Israel) reached out to her to join NCSY, Allie decided to give it another try. “Something just clicked. I really loved it. I really loved the way it made me feel connected to people and to my Judaism.” Allie found an outlet where she could relate to other teens, embrace her heritage, and be invigorated from the energy and spirituality of NCSY. She also found opportunities to encourage herself to grow: Allie volunteered to speak publicly at the regional Leadership Training Seminar, even though it was outside of her comfort zone. The singing and the Torah learning were things that Allie could still do, take pleasure in, and derive strength from. And she did.

Soon, Allie was as heavily involved in NCSY as she was able, getting caught up in events and eventually running for Upstate New York Re-

gional board, where she is now Vice President of Juniors. “NCSY has really been a blessing for Allie, with all the things she’s going through,” says Stephanie. Allie’s friends on NCSY board make sure she is taken care of, and that they are kept updated on her progress. “They all just care about one another so much, and the Regional board has been so supportive of her, making note to call or send things when she’s out of town for treatments.” Her mother also related how some Regional board members went so far as to call Stephanie herself to find out Allie’s status. “This is something you’d really only find in NCSY, this level of involvement.”

In Upstate New York NCSY, Allie is famous for her upbeat personality, her sunny smile, and her constant desire to grow. “Throughout all her personal struggles Allie has come to each and every NCSY event with a charismatic smile that can light up the room. Her actual inability to frown has been a joke in Har Sinai, but it also gives deeper insight into the type of person Allie is,” adds Hannah Restle, current regional president and senior at John Jay High School in Mt Kisco, New York. “Allie’s commitment to NCSY has truly been an inspiration to me and to the whole Upstate New York region.” A real leader, Allie is popular, but sensitive to those who might be new. “She strives to make every convention comfortable for all the participants and can be counted on to extend herself to those on the fringes of the circle,” says Marc Fein, Regional director of Upstate New York, NCSY. “She is popular and treats everyone with respect and kindness.” during NCSY Torah-learning sessions on convention, she is enthusi-astic, and her eager desire to learn despite her challenges shines through.

In fact, Allie’s dedication to NCSY has carried over beyond the traditional school-year pro-gramming. Hopeful that her health will permit, she has applied to go on TJJ Ambassadors, an NCSY summer program that tours the length and breadth of Israel. According to Marc, “Allie will create a cool, comfortable atmosphere on the trip and create an environment where everyone will contribute. She possesses an emotional depth and maturity that will enhance the tenor of the trip dramatically.”

Allie strives forward with the confidence to face her challenges, her NCSY friends and region solidly at her side. Stephanie’s words ring true, “I always say to Allie, ‘This is hard. This is a chal-lenge. but you’ll hopefully see one day that you will be able to take these life lessons learned from this injury and use them in a positive way for yourself and to help others.”

dALIA CAPLAN IS A PROGRAM ASSOCIATE FOR JSU ANd CHAPTER COORdINATOR FOR UPSTATE NEW YORK NCSY

NCSY helps a teen move forward

after a life-altering accident

by: dalia Caplan

Allie Kruger, right, with Emma Rugoff, at Upstate New York’s Winter Regional


As a little girl growing up in a small town in the northwestern corner of Illinois, I knew I was Jewish and I knew I was different from all my friends. I had no idea what would open up for me on my journey to strengthen my Jewish identity. In the 1970s and 80s Sterling, Illinois was both a liberating and a stifling place to grow up. On the one hand, we were living in a safe, small town. Yet, on the other hand, there was no yiddishkeit and no greater Jewish community to be part of. My parents did a wonderful job with our small synagogue and the resources we had. My mom taught us history, Torah stories and mitzvot. Whenever someone came through our town for a short period of time and knew hebrew, we learned from them. My mom is a very smart woman and knew that the one thing she could give us was Shabbat every week. My brothers and I knew that every Friday night, we had to be home for candle lighting, Shabbat dinner and my mom’s challah. Those nights deeply resonated with me. I also give my mom full credit for understand-ing that informal Jewish education was just as important. Her search led her to Herzl Camp in Webster, Wisconsin, a zionist camp built on a resort that in the early 1900s did not allow Jews on their property. How ironic! I spent 12 sum-mers there and currently serve on the board of directors. I am a past president of the board. In my early twenties, I moved to Minneapolis because I wanted to have more Jewish re-sources for myself and for my future family. Our

three girls all go to public school, belong to a conservative synagogue and attend Talmud Torah after school. This is my happy Jewish life. but, recently we found even more.... Working for NECHAMA - Jewish Response to Disaster, a non-profit organization that helps flood and tornado victims restore their homes to a livable environment, I received a call about three years ago from Rabbi Ethan Katz, who represented an NCSY chapter from New Jersey. Rabbi Katz wanted to bring a group of students to work with us. So, as with any other group, I took care of it; I planned the experience for the NCSYers. The group ultimately worked with NECHAMA in the aftermath of Hurricane Ike in Texas. The Rabbi called once again, wanting to work with us. At that time, I made some inquiries about NCSY and I was told by a friend, “This is the Orthodox youth group.” So, being the small-town Jew along with living in Min-neapolis for 20 years, I had the initial response of, “Oh those people.” Last fall, I found myself staffing the third disaster clean-up experience for Rabbi Katz’s group, right here in Minnesota. I was nervous, worried, overwhelmed [to meet them] but mostly intimidated by the sheer fact that they were mainly Orthodox. At the same time, my tenth-grade daughter, Hanah, was invited to an NCSY Cholent and Chat. She had dabbled in USY and bbYO, yet just wasn’t intrigued by those programs. In her first evening with NCSY, she was captivated by the NCSYers, the speaker of the evening and the youth director, Rabbi Tzvi Kupfer. Everyone was inviting and excited to have a new member. At that point, she learned about Torah High and started the following week.

Hanah volunteered with NECHAMA during the time that Rabbi Katz and his group were work-ing in Minnesota. Rabbi Katz and a student, Phil Katz from New Jersey, spoke to her about TJJ and TJJ Ambassadors. She was intrigued yet still unsure about the Orthodox aspect. After working with the group from New Jersey, a few more weeks of NCSY programming, Cho-lent and Chats and Torah High, she and I both realized that being Orthodox was not intimidat-ing at all. In fact, it is the opposite. It is the most inclusive group of Jews we have ever met. We are part of the family. Most of my friends ask,[ “How do you feel that Hanah is involved with an Orthodox group? Or if she becomes Orthodox?”] My first response is to educate: NCSY is not there to “convert” Hanah to Orthodoxy. My next response, along with my husband’s, has never wavered. “If this is the right path for our daughter, then we support it.” She is happy, she has wonderful new friends, she is included, she is learning in a totally different environment and loving her Judaism. In short, she is part of the family! Hanah has now been accepted into the TJJ Am-bassadors program and went to the Midwest Yarchei Kallah. I am studying with an educator from Aish and I am planning on going to Israel in May with TAG - The Jewish Women’s Renais-sance Project. It is a long way from Sterling, but my journey is far from being over.

AMY CYTRON IS THE VOLUNTEER COORdINATOR ANd dEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATE FOR NECHAMA – JEWISH RESPONSE TO dISASTER. SHE LIVES IN MINNEAPOLIS WITH HER HUSbANd TOdd ANd THREE dAUGHTERS. AMY VOLUNTEERS AT HER dAUGHTER’S SCHOOLS, SITS ON THE YOUTH COMMISSION AT HER SYNAGOGUE ANd CURRENTLY SERVES ON THE bOARd OF dIRECTORS OF HERZL CAMP.

A MOTHER ALTERS HER NOTIONS OF ORTHO-dOXY THROUGH HER dAUGHTER’S INVOLVE-MENT IN NCSY.

by Amy Cytron

Pictured above: Amy Cytron with her daughter Hanah


At Graeter’s Ice Cream Store in Columbus, Ohio, thirty Jewish teens sit together, laughing, joking and hanging out while discussing Torah. They come from many different backgrounds, ranging from students at Columbus Torah Academy (CTA), who are proud to be a part of NCSY to participants of other youth groups and unaffiliated public school students. Licking ice cream cones is just one way to introduce teens to a long-lasting appreciation and love for Judaism. The friendliness and warmth in this group marks a distinct change from a former elitist vibe that had crept in. Rabbi Jesse boiangiu, Columbus City director, has worked a transformation, although he gives most of the credit to his fantastic chapter board. “I have done almost no recruitment for the events,” he admits, “all I do is send out a group text.” He is proud of the reforms and changes that have been implemented, among them the creation of a board of parents and rabbis from the three main syna-gogues. “Working together,” he explains, “is the key to success.”

The transform-

ation of a once

divided youth

group...

One of Rabbi boiangiu’s spiritual successes is his Rosh Hashana minyan, which he ran for twenty public school teens. “They stayed in shul and listened to the entire sho-far blowing,” he recounted, “and davening from beginning to end. Most of these kids wouldn’t have spent more than five minutes in shul otherwise.” On the practical side, increased organization is something parents particularly appreciate. “Every parent always knows where the buses [to take students to Regional] are going to be, what the costs are, and there’s a central place for forms and pay-ments to be processed,” he said. The true achievement in Columbus is promoting the spirit of achdut between the different Jews in the community. No matter which school or which shul a teen attends, they all belong to one organization – NCSY. “diversity in back-grounds,” remarked Rabbi boiangiu, “is simply something that allows us to learn from one another. That kind of growth is necessary.” Now that it is out of its growing-pain stage, we look forward to seeing the heights that Colum-bus NCSY will reach!

Columbus has always had a proud history with NCSY, but Rabbi boiangiu has really ‘supercharged’ things in the past few years that he has been here. He has pulled together all the shul youth groups and is reaching out to dozens of public school students through his popular programs and bringing them closer to Yiddishkeit.”

-RAbbI NAPHTALI WEISZ, beth Jacob Congregation


There is no question that the decision and the ability to hire a community NCSY direc-

tor and to merge what for many decades was two chapters into one has made all of the difference in the success of Columbus

NCSY. Rabbi Jesse boiangiu has taken full advantage of this opportunity and created a successful critical mass. Under his dynamic

leadership, we look forward to continued growth and success.”

-Rabbi Howard Zack, Congregation Torat Emet

RAbbI JESSE bOIANGIU, Columbus NCSY City director

Rabbi Jesse boiangiu isn’t your typical New Yorker. Three years ago, the then-26-year-old rabbi and his family ended their two-year stint in the Gruss kollel in Israel and moved to Columbus, Ohio. The move was hardly a decision made for want of better options; Rabbi boiangiu, a graduate of YU’s Azrieli and semicha programs, had been offered multiple positions in the tri-state area, as well as other large cit-ies. What drew him to Columbus, Ohio? The ability to make a pronounced impact. “We felt that Columbus was a place where every single day we were really making a difference - if we didn’t do it, no one else would,” he declared.

The move wasn’t easy for Rabbi boiangiu and his wife, who both grew up in brooklyn, and were used to a plethora of kosher restaurants and other amenities offered by a large Jewish community. Retrieving a pizza pie for the Jewish Culture Club at the local public school, for instance, is a three-step process: heading to the supermarket to buy the pie, driving over to the sole Jewish day school to heat it up in their oven, and then transferring the hot food over to the public school. “If you want something to happen, you go do it yourself,” asserted Rabbi boiangiu.

“What keeps us going is the community support,” Rabbi boiangiu confessed. “It’s waking up every day and watching Jewish teens choose to learn Torah with a partner over the phone, go to Israel or make life decisions with a commitment to Judaism in mind.”


RAbbI ZVI KAHN, Headmaster, Columbus Torah Academy:

“during the last several years, NCSY in Columbus, OH has exploded. It has gone from being a small, sleepy chapter to a growing one, bursting with energy, excitement, learning and awesome activities. How did that happen? Three words: Rabbi Jesse Boiangiu. Rabbi Boiangiu and his wife, Chani, have electrified Columbus, Ohio with their contagious enthu-siasm, warm hospitality, intense love of Yiddishkeit and creative ideas. They inspire kids from across the entire spectrum. Everyone is touched by their sincerity and dedication.

Rabbi B., as Jesse is affectionately known, has unified the individual synagogue youth groups and brought a bold vision to the community. His formula goes something like this: authentic Torah values + learning + tons of fun + great food = engaged, happy kids. I can tell you that the formula works, especially when the “mathematician” is a dynamic Jewish educator like Rabbi Jesse boiangiu. “

dAVId SCHOTTENSTEIN, Owner & CEO of Astor and black Clothiers:

“As an adult who can look back and remember NCSY, I have only fond memories of incredible experiences. From the Shabbatons to the events, I was very active in NCSY. I remember back in the day, NCSY was a pretty big part of my and my friends’ lives; every other weekend there was an event going on. It’s extremely important that we all support NCSY and make it part of our com-munity life because if there is one organization that everyone feels comfortable to be a part of, it’s NCSY. There are literally people from all walks of life on every Shabbaton and every event and I can’t think of a better way to bring teenagers together, to encourage kids to con-nect with their roots, and to be excited to be Jewish than with NCSY.”

SAM COHEN, Senior, bexley High School, Columbus, OH:

“NCSY has been a springboard for my basic understanding and enthusiasm towards Judaism. Whether it is going to JSU and Latte & Learning a couple of times a week or learning Torah over the phone with one of my amazing NCSY advisors, there is no shortage of places or people to turn to with questions or curi-osities. but NCSY has done so much more for me than to just simply answer my questions; it has shown me outlets to grow as a Jew for the rest of my life, such as the kollel in my community or taking a year off to spend in Israel. And, most importantly, NCSY has helped me to understand the importance of never losing my Jewish identity as I grow up and leave NCSY.”

COLUMbUS: WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING

Working with Rabbi boiangiu has been a pleasure from day one; his energy and belief in the success of our Jewish youth is empow-ering, and he and his rebbetzin are invaluable assets to the Columbus Jewish community. NCSY in Columbus is something that is crucial to nurturing Yiddishkeit in our young men and women, and I am looking forward to their only growing in beautiful ways!”

-RAbbI CHAIM YOSEF ACKERMAN, Congregation Ahavas Sholom


My twin brother and I were always inseparable. For 19 years, Nathan and I have done just about everything together from playing basketball and taking French les-sons, to lifeguarding and finishing each other’s sentences -although we do try to avoid dressing to match. Just when we thought we had done it all, we found one more thing to add to the growing list: NCSY.

On each Shabbaton, we enjoyed talking with friends and learning with advisors, and we look forward to everything else. “Everything else” includes the all-night ski trips, white water rafting, and NCSY Summer Programs. I spent my days in sunny beit Shemesh on Michlelet, while he learned gemara on its companion program, NCSY Kollel. Separated by just 15 minutes, each of us thrived in our respective program. Surrounded by stunning views of the Israeli countryside, I took classes on halacha (Jewish law) and hashkafa (philosophy), listened to lectures from world-renowned speakers, and spent my days hiking in Eilat and working with child victims of terror. Nathan learned well into the night on Kollel’s exciting post-maariv mishmar, and dominated on the basketball court when the 3-on-3 tournament rolled around. Yet every Friday, both of us still

Spending all their time together didn’t mean they couldn’t be a part...of NCSY

found time to meet halfway in Mea Shearim, a Jerusalem neighborhood, and catch up over an iced coffee or a frozen yogurt. After that summer, there was no turning back.

Nathan and I both came back ready to dive headfirst back into NCSY-ready to dive back into the Latte & Learn-ing, Torah-by-Phone, Shabbatons, and NCSY havda-lahs. Our favorite part of these Shabbatons was always havdalah. As the sky grows darker and Shabbos slips away into the night, the band begins to play. And the speaker shares a few words, NCSYers fix their gazes upon different areas of the room; some of them wipe away escaped tears. Riveted, they all listen, diving into self-reflection and emotion. Havdalah is said. Lines of dancing NCSYers begin to take shape while the Regional board gathers on stage, each holding a flickering candle. As hot wax drips onto their hands and sweat forms on their brows, this group dances tirelessly, savoring their last taste of Shabbos. NCSY instills a love of Shabbos, a long-ing for Shabbos, in everyone. While Shabbos may be long over by z’man standards, NCSYers still dance and sing the night away. Watching them, we found that there’s some-thing extraordinarily unique about a tight-knit group of more than 300 high school students who really, truly care.

After graduating from Columbus Torah Academy, we weren’t ready to give NCSY up. After talking with our Regional director, Rabbi bezalel “Tzali” Freedman, “NCSY Nexxus” was created; Nathan and I became a part of the Central East Region’s very first advisor-in-training program. We were thrilled to be so involved with the program, and even more thrilled to be able to do this together. This fantastic stepping stone from participant to advisor gave us the opportunity to have a more lasting impact on other NCSYers.

For most of the students who come on their first NCSY

Shabbaton, it’s their first taste of Orthodox Judaism, it’s the first time that they sing Yedid Nefesh during a kumzits, the first time that they slip on a pair of tzitzit, the first time that they keep Shabbos. I take so much for granted, but when I see these kids work so hard on their Judaism, I’m reminded and inspired to put more effort and enthu-siasm into my own Judaism. A simple question can turn into an hour-long discussion, a new commitment, and a lifelong understanding. Nathan and I have learned to pause, reconsider, and appreciate. We have both gained so much from our NCSYers, and hopefully we’ve given them something too.

by donyel Meese

CONTINUEd ON NEXT PAGE...

Twins donyel and Nathan Meese


Matan Hazanov, Israeli-born but raised in Toronto, grew up in a non-observant but very proud Jewish home. He was first exposed to Jewish learning in JSU in his senior year at high school and quickly became the president of the organization. Always a proud Jew/Israeli, Matan never knew what it really meant to be Jewish until he started to learn with NCSY. NCSY gave him the confidence to continue his Jewish learning and involvement in univer-sity, where he became very involved with Israel advocacy in Hillel and eventually became the president, in which he represented 5000 Jews on campus. He is now a fourth year international business student at the Schulich School of business at York University in Toronto.

With his love for the Jewish people and Judaism, as well as his desire to make the world a better place, Matan and two friends, Adam Renkosinski and Jordan bizouati, cre-ated an organization called the Jewish business Network in August of 2009. This move was inspired by a leadership trip to Poland and Israel by Aish HaTorah, which aims to teach Judaism to aspiring business people while develop-ing them into leaders. The organization saw tremendous success in its first year, operating out of the Schulich School, which is ranked the #1 business school in Canada. It has quickly grown to include dozens of Jewish leaders on eight campuses in Canada in just one short year. The organization continues to flourish under his leadership and touts hundreds of involved members, learning about Jewish values in a business context and attempting to build a more ethical business world. Matan is also a serial entrepreneur who, with partners and by himself, has developed and launched businesses and is working on several projects. Matan takes time to learn almost every night and is growing in his Jewish observance. Matan aspires to eventually take time to go to yeshiva for long-term learning in order to become a more successful person (both in business and in his personal life). His goal is to develop a JbN on every major univer-sity campus in North America and expand it to include programming for high school students and young profes-sionals.

To see more info about the Jewish business Network, please visit: www.thejbn.ca

Sometimes, twins go their separate ways when they go to college. Not the Meeses. We decided to continue on together at Ohio State University; both of us are on the pre-medicine track, but Nathan majors in engineering, while I major in journalism. Although we have entered the broader community of the college campus, our NCSY experiences remain a vibrant part of our passion for Judaism. While we may spend more afternoons talking with our phys-ics lab partners than with our Tuesday night “To-rah by Phone” partners, and while we might spend more time with people discussing “War and Peace” than “Guard Your Tongue”, both Nathan and I feel fervently connected to the Central East Region, its advisor staff, senior NCSYers, and middle school participants.

A weekend of NCSY in Cleveland or Pittsburgh is a welcome break, physically as well as spiritually. While I still lose my voice after the random bursts of song during Shabbos lunch, and while I still want to collapse after dancing into the night, the electrify-ing speakers that fly around the world to be with us, and the memory of one hundred voices joined in a heartfelt Acheinu stay with me for weeks afterwards. Everything that we’ve learned, every experience we’ve been a part of, every person who has inspired us, we have brought with us. The inspiring energy that NCSY infuses into the lives of so many Jewish children across the country is what sparks us to sing and to cry, to absorb and to display, to feel so pas-sionately about our heritage. And, believe it or not, that message is contagious.

“WATCHING THEM, WE FOUNd THAT THERE’S SOMETHING EXTRAORdINARILY UNIQUE AbOUT A TIGHT-KNIT GROUP OF OVER 300 HIGH SCHOOL STUdENTS WHO REALLY, TRULY CARE.”

LEARN, YEARN, ANd RETURN: GILAd SHALITTeens launch “Learn for Gilad” initiative with resounding success

bALTIMORE SELLS OUT - IN A GOOd WAY Sell-out crowd as 1,600 attend concert for NCSY

CANAdA’S FUNdRAISERS RAISE THE bARNCSY teens raise $12,000 for Chai Lifeline

NEW ARTISTS IN NEW ENGLANdMaccabeats perform at annual “Celebration”

SLEEPLESS IN ATLANTA 250 teens from 23 high schools attend first-ever all-nighter

ZERO TO EIGHTY Jewish Culture Clubs open in Phoenix

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Happenings from around the NCSY universe


NATIONALTEENS LAUNCH “LEARN FOR GILAd” INITIATIVE WITH RESOUNdING SUCCESSNCSYers from all over America have come together to create “Learn for Gilad”, a day - Sunday, April 10th, 2011 - committed solely to learning on behalf of the captured Israeli soldier. This initiative, conceived, organized, and promoted by teens, has already impelled over 550 people to sign up for the event. In accordance with the upcoming holiday of Pesach, the topic chosen for the function is “freedom.” Teen will be partnered with other teens from other regions. As the event’s Facebook page states, “As Jewish teenagers, it is vital that we...keep [Gilad] in our thoughts and prayers.”

OVER 20,000 PEOPLE SIGN UP FOR THE bIG APPLE GIVEAWAYNCSY’s first annual Big Apple Giveaway was a huge success! The purpose of the big Apple Giveaway was to create excitement and buzz about the first national NCSY Chinese Auction, which will raise funds to support NCSY programming in 2011, including scholarships for public school teens to travel to Israel. The giveaway was for a two-night stay in NYC’s Grand Hyatt Hotel, a $3,000 shopping spree at the Apple store in New York City and dinner at Prime Grill restaurant. The lucky winner was former NCSY advisor Ilana Neufeld, from North Miami beach, Florida.

NCSY CHANUKAH VIdEO PASSES 200,000 VIEWSThe Maccabeats weren’t the only ones with video success over Chanukah. NCSY’s Chanukah video had an astounding 200,000 hits on You Tube and was shared over 17,000 times on Facebook, making Chanukah even more joyous this year. The video featured Chanukah themed lyrics sung by Six13 to three hit songs. NCSY was able to spread the light of Chanukah by getting New Yorkers of all stripes to dance while wearing Chanukah-themed t-shirts. See the video online at www.chanukah.ncsy.org and buy the single on iTunes.

NCSY LAUNCHES FIST-EVER NATIONAL AUCTIONThe first-ever nationwide NCSY auction, themed “Imagine”, was highly successful. The online auction, open from december 15, 2010 until March 8, 2011, featured many wonderful prizes. The grand prize was the opportunity to commission a Sefer Torah or $18,000 cash. The proceeds of the auction will go towards scholarships for NCSY teens to travel to Israel and to create more dynamic and exciting programming.

bEN ZAKKAI HONOR SOCIETY RECEPTION RAISES $180,000 FOR SCHOLARSHIPSOn January 30th, 280 people attended NCSY’s annual ben Zakkai Award Reception at the bohemian National Hall in NY; paying tribute to to the remarkable legacy of dr. bernard Lander z”l. The dinner honored dr. david and Vivian Luchins of NY and Rabbi Zev and Rivkah Leff of Moshav Mattityahu in Israel. In addition, dr. Howard and brenda Rosenthal of Kansas City were presented with the Enid and Harold boxer Memorial Award. Lastly, four members of the NCSY family were inducted into the ben Zakkai Honor Society: Aaron Horn of East Windsor, NJ; Jessica Hoffman of Seattle, WA; Noach Klein of Southfield, MI; and Rabbi Michael Rovinsky of St. Louis, MO. The ben Zakkai Reception raises funds to enable NCSY teens to attend NCSY Summer Programs in North America and Israel and to help aid them in continuing their Jewish education after high school.

TOURO COLLEGE ANd OU ANNOUNCE LANdER SCHOLARSHIPS FOR OUTSTANdING NCSY GRAdUATESTouro College announced that it is offering full-tuition scholarships to outstanding NCSY graduates who choose to attend one of Touro’s Lander Colleges in New York City. The scholarships, in memory of Touro’s Founding President dr. bernard Lander zt”l and his wife Sarah Rivkah, were announced at the end of January by Touro President and CEO dr. Alan Kadish and Orthodox Union President dr. Simcha Katz. “dr. Lander always insisted that Touro offer scholarship opportunities to outstanding NCSY leaders,” dr. Kadish said. “We have presented over $2 million dollars in such scholarships over the years, and it is only appropriate that these new, full-tuition scholarships bear dr. Lander’s name and the name of his beloved wife, Sarah Rivkah.”

JOSEPH STECHLER NAMEd CHAIRMAN OF NCSY YOUTH COMMISSIONOrthodox Union President dr. Simcha Katz announced the appointment of Joseph (Yossi) Stechler, of Teaneck, NJ and Zichron Yaakov, Israel, to be Chairman of the OU’s National Youth Commission, which oversees NCSY. Mr. Stechler, president of Stechler & Company, an investment firm, has had a long personal involvement with NCSY, including several terms as Vice Chairman. He writes, “I am honored to have been appointed Chairman of the National Youth Commission of NCSY. From my personal involvement in NCSY over the past two decades, I know that it is the largest and most effective organization serving Jewish teens in the United States and Canada, as well as youth programs in Israel and Latin America.

ATLANTIC SEAbOARdRabbi Jonah Lerner, Regional director // 410.358.6279 // [email protected] // www.ncsyseaboard.com

OVER 250 TEENS ATTENd LARGEST WINTER REGIONAL IN YEARS UNdER NEW LEAdERSHIP OF RAbbI JONAH LERNEROn december 9th, 2010, Atlantic Seaboard NCSY was proud to to host over 250 teens from Philadelphia, baltimore, Greater Washington and Virgina for its Winter Regional, representing over 65% growth from the previous year. Teens from all over these areas came together for a Shabbos of inspiration in the Raddison Inn in Piscataway, NJ. The teens had a blast as they learned what it takes to be a true Jewish hero. With delicious food provided by Hoffman Catering and inspiration provided by the NCSY staff, it was a weekend everyone will remember for a lifetime. Saturday night, the NCSYers enjoyed a video scavenger hunt in Times Square and a delicious dinner at Mr. broadway.

SELL-OUT CROWd AS 1,600 ATTENd CONCERT FOR NCSYdespite the threat of a major snowstorm, Sunday, december 26 was an amazing evening as over 1,600 people packed the beautiful sanctuary of Beth Tfiloh in baltimore, Md for the 36th Annual Jewish Music Festival featuring Yaakov Shwekey and baruch Levine. The concert inspired all who attended and everyone saw firsthand all the wonderful work that NCSY does and has been doing in Atlantic Seaboard for the past 50 years.

SENATOR bEN CARdIN JEWISH SCHOLARS PROGRAM MORE THAN dOUbLES IN SECONd YEARWith 43 participants (compared to 18 last year) from eight public schools, the Senator ben Cardin Jewish Scholars Program launched its second year. The program provides leadership training to teenagers passionate about combining community service and Jewish values. The 12 sessions merge mentorship and engaging education by influential leaders in the fields of law, finance, government and the nonprofit sector with hands-on advocacy and leadership opportunities in Maryland and Washington, dC. This year, the program will include an opportunity to attend a lobbying mission to Washington, dC at the end of the program. The Senator ben Cardin Jewish Scholars Program is a joint venture of NCSY, JSU, and Inspiration Express.

Greater WashingtonRabbi Nissim Levin // [email protected]

NCSY SUMMER PROGRAMS RECRUITMENT REACHES AN ALL-TIME HIGHThis summer, 20 teens are headed to Israel (compared to one last year) – 13 of whom have already signed up for NCSY’s flagship Israel program for public school teens, The Jerusalem Journey.

Rael blumenthal leads a live “Latte & Learning” at the 2011 OU Convention. Convention attendees got to see firsthand one of NCSY’s flagship programs.

Joseph Bookman, a freshman at Beth Tifiloh in baltimore learns with Jason Gelber of Inspiration Express during the 12 week Senator ben Cardin Jewish Scholars Program, a program of Atlantic Seaboard NCSY.


REGIONAL ATTENdANCE MORE THAN TRIPLES IN ONE YEARGreater Washington NCSY experienced unprecedented growth as 85 teens attended this year’s Winter regional, up from 25 the year before. As teens are inspired, they bring their friends to participate - the best sign of all.

Philadelphia, PARabbi Yitz Levi // [email protected]

PHILAdELPHIA NCSY RECRUITMENT EXPLOdESAs of February, Philadelphia NCSY already has 17 teens from four different public schools signed up to spend their summer in Israel on TJJ and TJJ Ambassadors. This is largely due to the help of Annette Rosenfield, a student from Lower Moreland High School, and Rob Haarburger, the most recent addition to our advisory staff. Additionally, Shabbaton attendance increased from 65 to 85 teens from the previous year.

PHILAdELPHIA NCSYERS RUN THEIR OWN LATTE & LEARNING; 40 TEENS SHOW UPNCSYers in Philadelphia ran their own Latte & Learning program in Cherry Hill, NJ. Quite impressively, 40 teens showed up to discuss “bettering the Jewish Nation.”

CANAdARabbi Leib Irons, Regional director & Rabbi Glenn black, CEO // 905.761.6279 // [email protected] // www.ncsy.ca

OVER 1,500 PEOPLE ATTENd NCSY CANAdA’S ANNUAL dINNEROn dec. 13th, 2010, over 1,500 people joined together for NCSY Canada’s annual dinner at the Toronto Center for the Arts honoring John’s No Frills and No Frills Ontario. The night’s entertainment was Eli Gerstner and The Yeshiva boys Chior. The highlight of the evening was a video of two NCSY alumni, Samantha Crystal and Mike Eisenberg, who each told their moving story of growing up secular with very little Jewish connection. They met in NCSY and, after going to yeshiva, decided to each go on their own ways and grow individually. This past summer, they began dating once again and are getting married this coming June. Everyone was moved to tears by the story. The concert was a smashing success and it plays a significant role towards covering the large budget of 3.5 million dollars.

CANAdA’S NEW YORK SHAbbATON HOSTS LARGEST GROUP OF TEENS YET350 teens, NCSY Canada’s largest group yet, attended the annual New York Shabbaton. Over the course of four days, the teens heard from an array of illustrious speakers on a variety of topics: Mr. Charlie Harary, Sergeant benjamin Anthony, OU President dr. Simon Katz, New England Regional director Rabbi Shmuel, Youth Commission Chairman Mr. Joseph Stechler, and NCSY’s International director Rabbi Steven burg. The weekend was an unprecedented success.

RELIGIOUS ObSERVANCE JUMPS AMONG IMPACT PARTICIPANTSIn the last six months, Impact has attracted over 250 teens, who learned for a combined total of over more than 2991 hours. Impact is NCSY’s advanced learning program that provides one-on-one learning alongside a series of lectures and experiences from Torah leaders. Further, more than half of the participants reported increased Shabbat observance and more than 85% attended at least one observance-related event. As one participant said, “I have taken upon myself the responsibility to keep kashrut and Shabbat, and now I wear modest clothing at home and at school.”

Ottawa, Ontariobram bregman // [email protected]

Thornhill, CanadaAvi Levinson // [email protected]

NCSY TEENS RAISE $12,000 FOR CHAI LIFELINEThis year, two teens of the Thornhill NCSY chapter board and one teen from the Toronto Chapter board raised more than $12,000 for Chai Lifeline. One of the fundraisers was a basketball tournament called “Hoops for the Kids”, which brought out 60 teens for a 3-on-3 basketball tournament.

THORNHILL NCSY SHOWS HAKARAT HATOV TO LOCAL EMERGENCY SERVICESThe Thornhill Orange Crew, an NCSY community service action team, decided to show their hakarat hatov to the local emergency services by preparing a New Year’s Eve dinner for the men and women who would not be able to spend the occasion with their families. They spent all day cooking for almost 100 emergency personnel and delivered the food to two fire halls and one police station. The emergency personnel were very touched and it was a tremendous Kiddush Hashem.

CENTRAL EASTRabbi Tzali Freedman, Regional director // 888.471.4514 // [email protected] // www.ncsyce.com

YESHIVA FAIR WEEKENd ANSWERS 100 TEENS’ QUESTIONS ON POST-HIGH SCHOOL LIFEThe Central East Region hosted a Yeshiva Fair Shabbaton on November 12-14, the first of its kind, at the Young Israel of Beachwood. Twenty-five Israeli yeshivot and seminaries, as well as YU, Touro, bar-Ilan and Hebrew University, were represented at the weekend, informing and answering the 100 high school juniors and seniors who attended. Teens from Cleveland, Columbus, detroit, Cincinnati, and Chicago examined the idea of going to Israel for the year and confronted real issues that arise in the time spent abroad. The productive weekend was replete with round-robins, workshops, and discussions that zeroed in on matters of prioritization, decision making, and planning for the future.

Columbus, OHRabbi Jesse boiangiu // [email protected]

SCHOTTENSTEINS HOST FIRST ANNUAL bbQ FUNdRAISER AT THEIR HOMEIn September, david (CEO & Founder, Astor & black Clothier Co.) and his wife Eda Schottenstein hosted the first-ever Columbus NCSY community BBQ at their home in order to raise money for weekly local programming and to provide scholarships to NCSY Regional events and Summer Programs. Seniors Aaron Portman from Columbus Torah Academy, and Sam Cohen from bexley High School, shared their stories about how NCSY and

JSU in Columbus have influenced them in their lives. Mr. Schottenstein, who is an NCSY alumnus, also shared some of his own positive memories of NCSY and encouraged the community to support it.

FORMER PRESIdENTIAL AdVISOR GORdON ZACKS SPEAKS AT LATTE & LEARNINGOver 35 public school and yeshiva day school students were privileged to hear accomplished businessman, author, and former Presidential Advisor Gordon Zacks speak on the topic of leadership at their weekly Latte & Learning. Monday nights have become the favorite night of the week for teens in Columbus as NCSY’s weekly Latte & Learning program has exploded with over thirty teens attending each week. Teens from all backgrounds and affiliations come together to discuss pressing issues and enjoy free ice cream, in place of coffee.

Cincinnati, OHRabbi Pinchas Landis // [email protected]

NCSY RELAUNCHES IN CINCINNATI FOR THE FIRST TIME IN YEARSVirtually non-existent for the past few years, NCSY, under the new leadership of Rabbi Pinchas Landis, opened up two Jewish Culture Clubs last year in Walnut Hills and Sycamore High School. In just one year, the clubs have exploded with 50 students involved. Additionally, a weekly Latte & Learning is held at Graeter’s Ice Cream where 15-25 teens come to discuss Jewish topics and hang out.

detroit, MIRabbi dovid Lichtig // [email protected]

UNdER NEW LEAdERSHIP, dETROIT NCSY KICKOFF bbQ ATTRACTS OVER 60 TEENAGERSdetroit NCSY had the ultimate jump start to the year when over 60 teenagers from across the private and public school spectrum got together to grill hamburgers and get to know each other and NCSY. Much of the success of the event can be attributed to new city director, Rabbi dovid Lichtig, a charismatic rabbi originally from England, who moved from Israel with his wife and family.

Pittsburgh, PARabbi Ari Goldberg // [email protected]

JEWISH CULTURE CLUbS ATTRACTS 100 TEENS ON A REGULAR bASISClubs have included discussions about Jewish continuity as well as hands-on projects pertaining to Jewish holidays from Succah building to a Tu b’Shvat smoothie-making competition.

OVER 125 PEOPLE ATTENd LOCAL FUNdRAISERThis past year, Pittsburgh NCSY hosted a fundraiser that showcased the successes of Pittsburgh NCSY while raising critical funds for local programs. NCSYers were instrumental in planning and running the event.

NCSY’s Jewish Culture Club at Sir Robert borden High School spent two weeks building and hand-painting a beautiful menorah. The menorah was lit in the school for Chanukah and was featured in the Ottawa Citizen, the largest newspaper in Ottawa.

Newly appointed detroit city director Rabbi dovid Lichtig teaches a group of teens during Yarchei Kallah.


Cleveland, OHRabbi Arieh Friedner // [email protected]

CLEVELANd WINS “bEST OF THE bEST” AWARdThis year has been a particularly momentous year for NCSY in Cleveland. Cleveland NCSY is the current holder of the “Chapter of the Year” award given every year at the Spring Awards banquet. On a National level, city director Rabbi Arieh Friedner was given the “best of the best” award at the annual staff conference.

THREE MAJOR SHAbbATONS THIS YEAR IN CLEVELANdCleveland has seen many spectacular Shabbatons this year. At the beginning of the year, Young Israel of Greater Cleveland hosted the Yeshiva Fair Shabbaton, where more than 100 teens from the entire Region gathered to discuss their plans for post-High School in Israel and meet with Israel programs. In February, the local Cleveland Skibaton saw 90 local teens participate in an amazing oneg, lunch at Green Road Synagogue, and ski trip to Mad River Mountain. Finally, in March Cleveland hosted the Regional Shabbaton which saw 250 teens be inspired by our trademark Shabbaton programming.

MIdWESTRabbi Micha Greenland, Regional director // 847.677.6279 // [email protected] // www.midwestncsy.com

MIdWEST NCSY RAISES $290,000 AT ANNUAL bANQUETOver 300 people attended Midwest NCSY’s annual banquet in december honoring Joey and becky Zimmerman for their decades of service to NCSY. In addition, the Zimmermans’ son and daughter-in-law, Rabbi Zvi and Rachel Zimmerman, received the Midor L’dor Award in recognition of the next generation of NCSY’s impact. Thanks to the outpouring of support from hundreds of Chicago donors, the event raised $290,000 to sustain and expand critical NCSY programs.

225 TEENS HAVE WEEKENd OF A LIFETIME AT ANNUAL WINTER CONCLAVEIn december, Jewish teens from across the Midwest gathered at Eaglewood Resort for five incredible days of inspiration and fun. The weekend included skiing, snow-tubing, roller skating, and a themed awards banquet. The high caliber educational program included featured speaker Judge danny butler, and Shabbat concluded with a ruach-filled havdalah. Over 100 teens have already joined NCSY’s Torah by Phone program as a direct result of their Conclave experience.

MIdWEST RESPONdS TO TUSCON TRAGEdYIn response to the tragedy in Tucson, Midwest NCSY produced a video which answers the question of how to live our lives in an often crazy world. The video was sent out to hundreds of teens via email and Facebook as well as on the Midwest NCSY YouTube page. The feedback from the video has been overwhelmingly positive, as viewers found it an inspiring way to frame the tragedy. Midwest intends to continue producing cutting- edge videos with relevant and inspirational messages as an innovative way to reach out to new teens, as well as continue to connect with those currently in the Midwest NCSY family.

buffalo Grove, ILJenny Serle // [email protected]

FRAPPATORAH PROGRAM dRAWS MORE THAN 20 TEENSOn cold Monday nights, a sizable crowd of more than 20 teens packs into Starbucks for words of inspiration, a warm latte, and a great time with their friends. The teens discuss topics that challenge them to perceive current events and modern-day issues through the prism of Torah knowledge. Even after the program ends, they stay late to ask questions and chat.

STEVENSON HIGH SCHOOL JUNIOR dANIELLE KOMSKY HONOREd AT CONCLAVE After attending TJJ this summer, danielle became motivated to learn more about her Jewish heritage. She began lighting Shabbos candles every week and participating in Torah by Phone with an advisor. At Conclave, danielle was recognized for her ongoing commitment to Jewish growth.

Kansas City, KSHillel Goldstein // [email protected]

KANSAS CITY NCSY SELECTEd FOR JUMP LEAdERSHIP CHALLENGEKansas City NCSY & Hyman brand Hebrew Academy (HbHA) were selected to join the JUMP Leadership Challenge as NY NCSY took the program national. After a two-day trip to NY for the launch of the program, the team is back in Kansas City, working hard to put together a few great programs and looking forward to presenting them to the judges.

JEWISH CULTURE CLUbS EXPANd TO THREE MORE SCHOOLSLocal teens in Kansas City wanted to share their enthusiasm about Judaism with their friends in school. This brought about the creation of Jewish Culture Clubs in three new schools: blue Valley High, Shawnee Mission East and Pembroke Hill. This is in addition to the four clubs that are currently being run. The new student club leaders, Mai bonomo, Federico Zepeda, and Mimi Starr, are working hard to recruit new members and are getting great results including students coming to Latte & Learning, community programming and going on TJJ.

Memphis, TNMarc Lennon // [email protected]

CLOSE TO 30 MEMPHIS NCSYERS TRAVEL TO CHICAGO FOR MIdWEST CONCLAVE27 Memphis NCSYers traveled to Chicago as part of a 333 person Shabbaton that inspired and created great bonding among the group. While the skiing was fun, forming close connections with advisors and creating a flag march-in for Banquet were the highlights of the trip. Conclave has never failed in creating real positive Jewish experiences for NCSYers of all backgrounds.

Indianapolis, INSam Zitin // [email protected]

NCSY SCORES A TOUCHdOWN WITH SUPER bOWL PARTYNCSY Indianapolis hosted a Super bowl party for 20 teens at the JCC Teen House for Junior as well as Senior NCSYers. Many of the kids weren’t very interested in the game, but had a great time playing ping pong, pool, spending time with their friends, or even discussing the week’s parsha!

Skokie, ILShosh Friedman // [email protected]

35 TEENS CONNECT WITH THEIR JUdAISM ON THANKSGIVING MINI SHAbbATONThe Shabbos of Thanksgiving weekend was filled with excitement as 35 teens from the Chicagoland area spent the weekend together, complete with singing, delicious meals, davening, and learning. Saturday night, the group headed out to see the hysterical improv group Comedy Sportz, and wrapped up the weekend with a pizza Melava Malka. With an incredible group of NCSYers and a dedicated staff working together, the teens were able to use their school vacation as a way to further connect to their Judaism.

Northbrook, ILRena Schwartz // [email protected]

WEEKLY LEARNING PROGRAM QUINTUPLES IN TWO YEARSThe Northbrook NCSY chapter’s weekly learning program has gone from five people two years ago to averaging 25 people last year and this year. Taking place every Monday night at Mizrahi Grill resturaunt, NCSY provides incredible speakers and hot shawarma.

NCSYer Richard bourque lights the Menorah at Midwest NCSY’s Annual banquet.

New England teens share a moment at “Celebration” with the Maccabeats.


St. Louis, MORabbi Mike Rovinsky & Rabbi Gershie Meisel // [email protected]

40 ST. LOUIS TEENS PREPARE TO bE LEAdERSLeadership development is the defining goal in most St. Louis NCSY programs. That was the case when over 40 NCSYers and staff came together for a mini-shabbaton complete with their favorite advisors from Chicago and NY. The Shabbaton was filled with inspiring sessions, a Carlebach-style havdalah by Rabbi Gershei Meisel and a limo road rally throughout St. Louis.

South bend, IndianaRabbi Fred Nebel // [email protected]

A SHAbbATON RETURNS TO SOUTH bENd AFTER 24 YEARSAfter 24 years, a Shabbaton has finally returned to South bend, Indiana. The Shabbaton brought teens from all over the region and as one can imagine, it was much anticipated. The Saturday night event was capped off with a great round of laser tag and the wildest bonfire you’ve ever seen!

Minneapolis, MNRabbi Tzvi Kupfer & Mrs. bella Smith // [email protected]

TORAH HIGH LAUNCHES IN MINNEAPOLISNCSY Minneapolis signed on with Torah High Canada to begin an after-school program for public school teens. The group of 10 high schoolers commit to meet with Rabbis Kupfer and Rosenthal on a weekly basis to learn more about their Judaism in a structured, yet laid back environment and receive high school credits for doing so.

Milwaukee, WIElisha Karan // [email protected]

JR. NCSY MILWAUKEE KICKS OFF THE NEW YEAR WITH MINI SHAbbATON IN GLENdALE, WIThe warm and welcoming community of Glendale hosted over 20 kids and staff for an incredible weekend. The Shabbaton was hosted by generous families, and there was a friday night oneg, guest speaker and an incredible stretch Hummer scavenger hunt activity on Saturday night. For many of the attendants, it was their first NCSY experience and certainly not their last. The small city of Glendale, WI will be hosting a Regional Sr. NCSY Shabbaton this April and is greatly anticipating Midwest NCSY’s arrival.

NEW ENGLANdRabbi Shmuel Miller, Regional director // 617.332.6279 // [email protected] // www.nerncsy.org

MACCAbEATS PERFORM AT ANNUAL CELEbRATIONThis year, New England NCSY’s annual Celebration featured the Maccabeats. The evening began with moving testimonials from current NCSYers, including the Jewish journey of Aaron davenport. Aaron is a sixteen-year-old from Warren, MA, who celebrated his bar mitzvah with us at Winter Regional. Following his inspirational words, Rabbi Miller presented him with his very own pair of

tefillin. Afterwards, the audience enjoyed an amazing performance by the Maccabeats, with a special song featuring Regional director Rabbi Miller.

REGIONAL bOARd LAUNCHES WEEKLY VIdEO d’VAR TORAH INITIATIVELast May, regional board members took on a monumental project. They wanted a weekly dose of NCSY in the form of a weekly video d’var Torah. Every week, a different NCSYer prepares a video d’var Torah and it is sent to over a hundred Jewish teens. To get your weekly dose, search for “Weekly d’vrei Torah from NER NCSY” on Facebook.

NEW JERSEYRabbi Yaakov Glasser, Regional director // 201.862.0250 // [email protected] // www.njncsy.com

OVER 250 TURN OUT FOR NCSY’S ANNUAL bERGEN COUNTY SCHOLARSHIP bREAKFASTNCSY’s Annual bergen County Scholarship breakfast took place on January 2nd, 2011 at the home of Shimmie and Alissa Horn in Teaneck. NCSY Chairman, Joey bodner received an award for his 25 years of dedicated service. Lynn and Jay bloom received the Community Leadership Award, and Serena and Rabbi Moshe benovitz received the Harbotzas Torah Award. The event was a great success and brought in much-needed funds that will help pay for NCSY’s many outreach programs in bergen County.

NEW JERSEY NCSY OPENS ITS 15TH JEWISH CULTURE CLUbNew Jersey NCSY recently opened its 15th Jewish Student Union (JSU) public school club in Milburn High (Linden, NJ). This represents a significant milestone for NCSY as Milburn High is rated the number one public school in the state of New Jersey.

NEW YORKRabbi Aryeh Lightstone, Regional director // 516.569.6279 // [email protected] // www.nyncsy.com

NY NCSY LAUNCHES COLLEGE-ACCREdITEd JEWISH STUdIES CLASSES FOR HIGH SCHOOL STUdENTSNY NCSY launched a new program, known as Gesher - The Judaic Scholars Institute (JSI), which offers college-accredited Jewish studies classes to talented and motivated high school students. The program, which takes place at Long Island University’s C.W. Post campus, is directed and taught by Rabbi dovid bashevkin under the guidance of Rabbi Aryeh Lightstone, Regional director of NY NCSY. The courses being offered through the program are “Jewish Mysticism and Hasidism” and “Jewish Culture in America.” As part of the courses, students can choose to participate in the “March of The Living” in order to fulfill their requisite course hours. For the initial ten students whom were accepted, three college credits will be awarded for the completion of each course and all will undoubtedly walk away with a rich educational experience and a new, inspired perspective on Jewish life.

NY NCSY AUCTION VIEWING NIGHTS LIGHT UP NEW YORKNew York NCSY hosted seven auction viewing nights throughout February and March in Stamford, CT, and Great Neck, West Hempstead, Cedarhurst, Lawrence,

Woodmere, and brooklyn, NY. In addition to the exciting and valuable prizes, participants were treated to a sensational wine and chocolate tasting as well as an instant raffle for dinner for two at Prime Grill. The overwhelming generosity of patrons allowed each evening to be a great success. There were many happy winners declared at the auction’s finale drawing on March 8th, but the true auction winners are the hundreds of Jewish teens who will benefit from the money raised from the auction viewing nights.

40 NY NCSYERS VISIT ALbANYOn March 1, 40 Jewish high school students of varying backgrounds and affiliations participated in a day trip to Albany, the New York state capital. both yeshiva day school and public school students attended the all-day program and had the opportunity to meet with a variety of senators and political leaders, tour the New York State Capitol, sit in on a Senate session, and hear from a speaker from the Orthodox Union’s Institute for Public Affairs at Albany University. The trip was lead by five NCSY staff members including Tuli Skaist, the Northshore Coordinator. Skaist commented, “The students were empowered because they recognized the importance of their involvement in politics, especially because of the influence they can have on issues relating to Israel.” After meeting with Senators Jack Martins and Marty Golden, the students heard from Senate Majority Leader dean Skelos, who reiterated that young Jewish leaders should take every opportunity to get involved in politics.

NY NCSY HOSTS 100 PUbLIC SCHOOL TEENS OVER PRESIdENT’S dAY WEEKENdOn February 19th, NY NCSY hosted 100 public school teens from Northwest NCSY and JSU. This President’s Weekend Shabbaton introduced young leaders from the New York area to their peers from Oregon, Washington, and Vancouver. The New York teens acted as guides and hosts for their peers and welcomed them to New York for an inspiring Shabbaton together. Rabbi Steven burg addressed all of the teens during the Shabbaton and spoke about the importance of unity among Jewish youth in North America. Dozens of teens kept their first Shabbos and were empowered by the warmth of the Lawrence community.

PROJECT FRUMWAY bRINGS FRESHNESS ANd FASHION TO MOdESTY 450 girls from New York NCSY were given the opportunity to dress, express and impress on March 1st, 2011 in Lawrence, NY. Modeling Ruchie Gross’ winning outfit design, as well as clothing from sponsoring vendors, the girls explored what it means to dress in a tzanua fashion, understanding the room tznius leaves for self-expression as well as its role in personal dignity. The night opened with surprise guest singer Shaindel Antelis and a speech from Carol Rhine, both presentations poignantly addressing the challenge of tznius today. Public school attendees Amanda Esraeilian and Pamela Goldberg were honored at the function, recognized for upholding Torah values in testing environments. The event was hosted by Congregation beth Shalom, directed by Carol Rhine, and made real by girls from bnot Shulamith of Long Island in Woodmere, HAFTR in Cedarhurst, HANC in Uniondale, Shalhevet High School for Girls in North Woodmere, SKA in Hewlett bay Park, Central in Queens and public schools across the state.

NJ NCSY Scholarship breakfast - from left to right: Rabbi Steven burg (NCSY International director), Rabbi Yaakov Glasser (NJ NCSY Regional director), Rabbi dovid Cofnas (NJ NCSY director of development), Honorees Jay bloom, Lynn bloom, Joey bodner, Ruthy bodner, Rabbi Moshe benovitz, and Serena benovitz.

Grey Aftor, a junior at Edward R. Murrow High School in brooklyn, NY, shakes hands with Rav Ahron Schecter.


brooklyn, NYRabbi Moshe Zucker and Mrs. Nechama Kamelhar // [email protected]

30 NCSYERS VOLUNTEER AT SOUP KITCHEN ON THANKSGIVINGOn Thanksgiving day, about 30 NCSYers joined together in volunteering at Masbia, a soup kitchen located on Coney Island Ave. in brooklyn. Since it was Thanksgiving day, the kitchen was busier than usual and required extra help.The group of NCSYers, supervised by Rabbi Moish Zucker and Mrs. Nechama Kamelhar, learned that giving can be fun. Apron on, peeler in hand, the teens peeled for hours. Laughter was all you could hear as they sat together peeling about 100 pounds of carrots. The group was happy to have come and experienced chesed and fun in one setting.

NCSYERS VISIT RAV AHRON SCHECHTEROn a cold, snowy January day, a small group of brooklyn and Staten Island boys went to see Rav Ahron Schechter, the Rosh HaYeshiva of Yeshivas Rabbainu Chaim berlin. Rav Ahron managed to make time in his busy schedule to meet with the group in the private study of his home. Rav Ahron asked each boy his name and where he goes to school, showing great interest in each individual reply. Rav Ahron was intrigued by what makes a public school student want to attend the Jewish programing that NCSY provides. The Rosh Yeshiva’s main message was about not wasting our time in life and always using time for a purpose. As he warmly stated, “don’t waste your days, because they won’t come back.”

NORTHWESTRabbi Stephen berger, Regional director // 604.736.7607 // [email protected] // www.northwestncsy.com

Portland, ORMeira Spivak // [email protected]

HEbREW HIGH OPENS IN PORTLANdSince there is no Jewish high school in Portland, this September, Hebrew High PdX (Portland’s airport code) opened with 16 students enrolled. Courses are given on Hebrew language as well as on Jewish history. The students are extremely supportive of the program and NCSY hopes to expand in the coming years.

PORTLANd’S Q FUNdRAISER GROWS 130%Now in its third year, Portland NCSY and JSU hosted their third annual “Q Event” at the end of January. This year’s multi-media trivia game hosted well over 200 people, representing an increase of 130% over last year’s attendance.

Seattle, WAAri & Jessica Hoffman // [email protected]

SEATTLE TORAH HIGH bECOMES FIRST FULLY-ACCREdITEd TORAH HIGH IN THE USSeattle Torah High began two years ago with no credits and no students; it is now up to 90 students and is the first fully-accredited Torah High in the US. Teens not only get credit - they also meet peers from across the Jewish spectrum in Seattle and now bring their friends from school to NCSY events.

Calgary, AlbertaRabbi Samuel Ross // [email protected]

CALGARY NCSY INAUGURATES NEW PROGRAM FOR UNIVERSITY STUdENTS; 23 SIGN UPThis year, Calgary NCSY started Maimonides, a program for high school graduates in Calgary for their university years. The program offers a stipend to students who learn Torah for two hours a week. Amazingly, 23 students have already signed up and are involved in serious Torah study. This winter, seven members of the group went on Israel trips, all of which all included a learning component; many of the students experience yeshiva/seminary life for the first time. Calgary also ran its first-ever Shabbaton for

University students in Alberta. Although they expected 15 students, they were pleasantly surprised when 45 showed up.

Edmonton, AlbertaAlan & Orna Richter // [email protected]

FIRST JEWISH CULTURE CLUb OPENS IN EdMONTON AS A RESULT OF RECORd GROWTHNCSY Edmonton is growing! The weekly Latte & Learnings are reaching record popularity with a weekly attendance of 15-20 coffee- and learning-hungry high school students. The momentum built through Latte & Learning has pushed us to start the first-ever Edmonton JSU at Ross Sheppard High School.

Vancouver, british ColumbiaMoe Mernick // [email protected]

NCSY LAUNCHES MONTHLY YOUTH MINYAN AT SCHARA TZEdECKTeens are no longer mere spectators in Schara Tzedeck Synagogue’s Shabbat Service; rather, NCSYers now host a monthly youth minyan to enable teens to become active and engaged participants in the Shabbat prayer service. Attracting 20-30 boys and girls, Vancouver NCSY is building today’s Jewish leaders.

Eugene, ORTehila Derfler // [email protected]

FIRST EUGENE, OR JEWISH CULTURE CLUb OPENSSouth Eugene High School students Elah Seidel and Alex Berenstein opened up the first ever Jewish Culture Club in Eugene, Oregon. Up to 30 Jewish teens show up on a weekly basis for inspiration and free pizza.

SOUTHERNTodd Cohn, Executive director // 305.940.6566 // [email protected] // www.southernncsy.com

FIRST-EVER CROSS-dENOMINATIONAL SUMMIT FOR INFORMAL TEEN ENGAGEMENT PROFESSIONALS HELd IN MIAMIFor the first time in Miami history, representatives from NCSY, JSU, bbYO, NFTY, USY, JCC, and synagogues from across Miami-dade county assembled to discuss the challenges and opportunities facing the Jewish tomorrow and to facilitate greater collaboration amongst the professionals. Center for the Advancement of Jewish Education (CAJE) chair JoAnne Papir and Jewish Federation of Greater Miami Past President Saby behar were ecstatic about the idea, first presented to them by Rabbi ben Gonsher, Southern NCSY’s director of development “NCSY’s enthusiasm to build bridges and tear down fences has been contagious,” behar shared.

FUNdRAISING SUCCESS MAGAZINE dUbS RAbbI bEN GONSHER A “2010 RISING STAR”Southern NCSY director of development, Rabbi ben Gonsher was selected from 55 nominees across the country as a “2010 Rising Star.” This honor is given to development professionals who have been in the field for fewer than five years, yet have shown tremendous potential in their new roles. Todd Cohn, Executive director of Southern NCSY, was elated but not surprised when Gonsher was selected. “ben’s enthusiasm and energy is contagious,” Cohn related, “so he has been a perfect fit in our NCSY culture. His passion for the work we do is deep-rooted and it manifests in everything he does.” For the full article, go to http://tinyurl.com/rabbigonsher.

NCSYERS SIT FRONT ROW AT JEWISH FEdERATION’S SUMMIT TO COUNTER ISRAELI dELEGITIMIZATIONNCSY had front row seats at the 1,200-person Israel summit in Miami and enjoyed learning from Natan Shransky, Alan dershowitz, the Honorable Irwin Cotler and dr. Michael Oren. After the summit, the teens got together for pizza and to strategize and plan visits to their congresspeople in order to advocate on behalf of Israel’s rights.

130 NCSYERS EXPERIENCE A VERSATILE SOUTHERN REGION WINTER REGIONALOver 130 teens from across Southern Region spent an amazing Shabbos in Savannah - home of the first NCSY chapter, February 18-20. The Shabbaton took off with a bang, Friday spent playing a mean game of assassin as NCSYers toured downtown historic Savannah. Shabbos was enjoyed with Congregation bb Jacob, featuring numerous special guests: Rabbi Wainstain of derech, Rabbi Ahron Glazer of Imadi at Hebrew U, and NCSY National President, Amanda Esraelian. The meaningful Shabbaton closed with a Melava Malka that included a mini-concert with ProdEzra, Savannah’s own Jewish Orthodox rap artist, and bbQ dinner and mincha pit stop en-route home.

Atlanta, GARabbi Chaim Neiditch // [email protected]

OVER 500 TEENS ATTENd FESTIVE CHANUKAH CLUbSThis holiday season, Jewish Student Union clubs across greater Atlanta were busy with Chanukah activities and celebrations. The halls of 13 high schools were filled with the aroma of sizzling latkes made by more than 500 teens who attended Rabbi Neiditch’s festive club meetings. Students celebrated by decorating wooden dreidels, making edible menorahs and organizing dreidel tournaments to win chocolate gelt. Teens learned the story of Chanukah and the laws of lighting the menorah, and participated in discussions about the significance of miracles in our lives. For many teens, this was their sole celebration of Chanukah this year.

Portland’s Q Fundraiser: From Left to Right - Shannon benarroch, Ilana Paige, Leslie Alter, jonathan Glass, Sarah Glass, Chantal Rosenthal, Meira Spivak, Rabbi Chanan Spivak, Rabbi binyamin Paige, and Steve Rosenberg.


250 TEENS FROM 23 HIGH SCHOOLS ATTENd FIRST-EVER ALL-NIGHTERJSU and NCSY made history this November by hosting Atlanta’s largest overnight Jewish teen event. Held at Andretti’s Entertainment, the first-ever All-Nighter drew over 250 Atlanta teens from 23 local high schools. To start off the event, teens gathered for a moving havdalah ceremony, with words of inspiration from Rabbi Neiditch. Then, everyone hit the track for a JSU club presidents’ race on the go-karts. Teens stayed wide awake with activities including Andretti’s extreme ropes course, rock climbing wall, bowling alley and unlimited-access arcade!

Savannah, GARabbi Eli Lob // [email protected]

SAVANNAH HOSTS SIX-CHAPTER MEGA-SHAbbATON AT bNAI bRITH JACOb SYNAGOGUE The Jr. NCSY Chapters of Atlanta, boca Raton, Charleston, Jacksonville, Palm beach and Savannah came together in Savannah for an unforgettable Shabbaton. The 54 middle schoolers rocked the city, creating great memories of an awesome weekend spent together.

Kendall, FLSimcha Silverman // [email protected]

70 TEENS + YACHAd ATTENd KENdALL SHAbbATONKendall, a small yet vibrant city, is the southernmost full-service Jewish community in the US. Earlier this year, it was privileged to host 70 teens and Yachad for a Shabbaton at the Young Israel of Kendall. The teens enjoyed an uplifting and energetic Shabbos and are excited about future events in their area.

boca Raton, FLYaakov Seligman // [email protected]

JR. HIGH SCHOOL STUdENTS TRAVEL UP TO 40 MILES FOR SUNdAE PARSHA Once or twice a month, fifth through eighth graders get together on Sunday morning to discuss the parsha, holidays, ethical and thought-provoking issues in light of the Jewish perspective, to meet new friends, and to see who can make the craziest ice cream sundae! Students from more than ten different public and private schools attend regularly, and there is a different guest speaker at almost every meeting. Speakers have even come from as far as the Lander beis Medrash L’Talmud in NYC, and some participants travel distances of almost 40 miles each way to attend.

Palm beach, FLEli Casper // [email protected]

SUNdAYS WITH MAIMONIdES PROGRAMNearly 50 public school teens gather in Palm beach Synagogue every Sunday morning to learn Torah for three hours. “I get approached by my non-Jewish schoolmates who ask me questions about Judaism and I want to be able to answer them,” said NCSYer Rebecca Levine. Students receive a stipend at the end of the year-long course.

SOUTHWESTRabbi Yisroel Lashak, Regional director // 972.934.9143 // [email protected] // www.southwestncsy.org

TRIPS AbOUNd IN SOUTHWEST AS TEENS TRAVEL TO CHICAGO ANd COLORAdONCSY Southwest has had an amazing year so far. On December 26-29, 33 teens from Dallas flew to Chicago for a special leadership retreat. There, the teens learned leadership skills and Torah for two hours a day and had the opportunity to see some of the famous Chicago landmarks. Two weeks later, 15 San Antonio teens were treated to an inspiring Shabbaton where they were able to learn more and appreciate their Jewish heritage. In February, NCSY teamed up with Aish HaTorah at University of Texas at Austin for an unforgettable Shabbos.They got to see firsthand what it means to be a committed Jew on a college campus. Finally, at the beginning of March, NCSY is travelling out west for a ski trip and Shabbaton in Winter Park, Colorado.

UPSTATE NEW YORKMarc Fein, Regional director // 585.615.7237 // [email protected] // www.upstatencsy.org

LEAdERSHIP TRAINING SEMINAR KICKS OFF THE YEARChapter and Regional boards from Upstate NY NCSY arrived in Syracuse to learn what it means to be a Jewish leader. After numerous intense study sessions, experiential activities, and our famous d’var Torah workshop, the 30 teens returned home prepared to lead their chapters and region for another successful year.

FALL CONVENTION INSPIRES OVER 75 NCSYERS, INCLUdING 25 NEW MEMbERSTeens from across Upstate NY gathered in Rochester to learn about the Jewish response to adversity. An inspirational weekend of learning, dancing, and singing ensued. Participants learned that the two major ways to face challenges are through the support of others and finding hope in our Judaism.

ROCHESTER JUNIORS PROGRAMMING ENGAGES NEXT GENERATION OF NCSYERSRochester’s biggest achievement this year could quite possibly be the re-emergence of Juniors. With a dedicated Vice President of Juniors in the chapter, Maddy Rosenbaum, and a new and enthusiastic advisor in Shmuli Isaacs, Junior NCSY has become another cornerstone of the chapter, as it has recently reached the achievement of running events for 15 weeks straight. Every week, teens in 3rd to 7th grades gather at Congregation beth Sholom for activities that typically include a review of the parsha of the week and that critical element of any get together of kids - snack time.

bUFFALO CHANUKAH PARTY LIGHTS UP THE NIGHTLighting the menorah, eating latkes, watching a movie, hanging out with friends, and a little disney magic. Yes, the buffalo NCSY Chanukah Party was a sensational celebration. At 5:00, the guests arrived at the Levine household; everyone was excited for what was in store. Surprisingly, there were many more NCSYers than expected; an astonishing 25 came for this exceptional event.

WEST COASTRabbi Effie Goldberg, Executive Director // 310.229.9000 // [email protected] // www.westcoastncsy.com

REGIONAL bOARd TAKES CHARGEThis year, West Coast Regional board has truly been empowered and taken initiative. Not only have these talented young leaders astutely utilized LA’s volunteer resources, such as Tomchei Shabbos and Yachad, to help others in need. They have created their own campaign to help others as well. In the aftermath of the devastating fires in Israel, the VP of Israel Action Batel Darey created “Send Us Seeds,” a campaign designed to inspire teens to aid in the relief effort. In addition to volunteer services, on any given weekday, one will find a group of inquisitive LA teens on a Lunch & Learn with one of their two presidents, Judy Greenbaum and Adam Markoff. Theses peer-to-peer Lunch & Learn workshops were created by the presidents in order to facilitate a consistent teen mentoring program.

South bay Area, Northern Californiabaruch Noy // [email protected]

30 JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL STUdENTS ATTENd FIRST bAY-WIdE SHAbbATONJunior NCSYers from around the bay joined together in what was the first Bay-wide Juniors Shabbaton. The event, hosted by the San Francisco community, attracted 30 middle-schoolers, with many more itching to attend the next event.

“FRIdAY NIGHT LIGHTS” RETURNS TO SOUTH bAYFNL has returned to the South bay, with new faces enjoying an unforgettable Shabbat experience. FNL will be held on a monthly basis and South bay hopes to spread the fire of Shabbat to the multitudes who have not yet experienced its light.

Las Vegas, NVR’ Yehuda Maryles // [email protected]

FIFTY PUbLIC SCHOOL TEENS CELEbRATE CHANUKAH IN THEIR JEWISH CULTURE CLUbOn the first night of Chanukah, the teenagers gathered for a Chanukah Gift drive organized by the Jewish Student Union. The second day of Chanukah, students at the Las Vegas Academy were pleasantly surprised when the Jewish Student Union brought supplies for students to make their own menorahs for the celebration of Chanukah. “My Mom will be so proud when she sees the menorah” said a freshman at the Las Vegas Academy. “It will be our first time ever lighting a menorah as a family.” The sixth night was the perfect time for a gala Chanukah party complete with latkes, chocolate Chanukah gelt, music videos and exciting games. The eighth and final night ended with with a World Series of dreidel contest. The funds raised were donated to the emergency assistance efforts for those affected by the recent wildfires on the Carmel.

Teens show off their decorated dreidels as part of Atlanta’s Chanukah celebrations.

Yali Cohen, a senior at Torah High School of San diego, davens at San diego’s THX Shabbaton.


CLOSE TO 30 JEWISH TEENS ATTENd FIRST-EVER SHAbbATON IN THE LAS VEGAS VALLEY. Jewish teens from Las Vegas joined with teens from Oakland, Irvine, Los Angeles, Arizona, Palo Alto and San Francisco for an unforgettable Shabbat. davening took on a new dimension with a tefillah workshop that included meditation, humming and even screaming as the group actually learned prayer’s true amazing power. On Saturday night, the teens ventured to Sky Zone for jumping, flipping, and air dodgeball, followed by live music and food. “For many teens it was their first Shabbat,” said Rabbi Yehuda Maryles, Director of Las Vegas NCSY. “It definitely won’t be their last.”

Phoenix, AZShmuli Josephson // [email protected]

JEWISH CULTURE CLUbS OPEN IN PHOENIX In just seven short months, NCSY went from having no presence in Phoenix, Arizona to opening culture clubs in three public high schools: Chaparral, Horizon and Sunny Slope. Shmuli Josephson, who moved to Scottsdale, AZ this year with his wife and child, could not be happier with the way things are going. “To go from seeing zero teens to 80 teens on a weekly basis is a testament to the power of NCSY and the deep desire these teens have to connect with their Jewish heritage,” Shmuli remarked.

East bay, CaliforniaEitan Esan // [email protected]

25 NCSYERS ATTENd SKI SHAbbATON AT LAKE TAHOE25 NCSYers spent an amazing and uplifting Shabbat at Lake Tahoe, where they bonded and rediscovered their love of Judaism. After Shabbat, the teens skied for two days at the world class resort.

Irvine, CAYosef Miller // [email protected]

IRVINE NCSY OFFICIALLY HITS THE MAPUp until September 2010, there had been a few dedicated people that tried to spark something in Irvine, but it never really stuck. With the help of the Irvine beth Jacob, the Jewish community, and the Jewish teens, Irvine now has a Jewish Culture Club as well as a weekly Latte & Learning, where kids from all over Orange County come to socialize with other Jewish teens and learn a bit of Torah. Last year, Irvine had six teens representing its chapter on West Coast Regional. In just one year, that number more than tripled; it sent 22 teens to this year’s Winter Regional.

Sacramento, CaliforniaJulia bailey // [email protected]

NCSY RAISES MONEY FOR WEST COAST CHAI LIFELINEOn Sunday, February 6, Sacramento NCSY hosted a Taco and Raffle Night to benefit a local family whose three-year-old child is part of the Chai Lifeline network. The idea to have the dinner came about through weekly Latte & Learning discussions focusing on Jewish identity, the theme from winter regional. The teens wanted to make a difference in their community at large and they chose Chai Lifeline as a worthy cause. While guests were enjoying Mexican food, NCSYer Ashley Altchek spoke movingly about her Camp Simcha experience. Students sold raffle tickets and tacos, raising over $300 for Chai Lifeline.

San Fransisco, CAMike donovan // [email protected]

CONGREGATION AdATH ISRAEL HOSTS JR. NCSY SHAbbATON IN SAN FRANSISCOMiddle school students from all over the bay Area and Sacramento spent Shabbos in the Sunset neighborhood of San Francisco. The hospitality and warmth of the Jewish community was felt as Congregation Adath Israel hosted the event. Participants enjoyed all meals and Shabbos programming at the shul and members provided housing for the 39 kids. After an amazing NCSY style havdalah, the Shabbaton concluded with bowling and pizza.

San diego, CAAdam Simon // [email protected]

80 TEENS ATTENd THIRd ANNUAL TORAH HIGH EXPERIENCE SHAbbATONSan diego NCSY recently hosted more than 80 teens on its third annual Torah High Experience (THX) Shabbaton. The THX Shabbaton is unique on the West Coast in that its main focus is learning primary Torah sources, enabling the teens to look at their everyday lives through the prism of Torah. This year’s theme was prayer and NCSYers experienced workshops from Southwest Regional director Rabbi Israel Lashak and West Coast advisor Malky Weil, and an in-depth Shemoneh Esrei workshop, including a special NCSY “Shemoneh Esrei Helper” booklet created by Rabbi Mattan Erder and chapter director Adam Simon. In addition to the Torah, NCSYers also had plenty of fun with an exclusive concert from the Moshav band. Of course, no Shabbaton would be complete without chesed; in honor of NJCd’s North American Inclusion Month (NAIM), THX participants volunteered with special-needs teens from the Friendship Circle.

ARGENTINARabbi Marcelo Krawiec, director // 011.54.11.4962.109 x123 // [email protected]

CONTINUEd SUCCESS IN NCSY ARGENTINANCSY Argentina has been in full swing this year with many outstanding programs geared towards Jewish youth. Taking advantage of the beautiful landscape, on November 19, 2010, NCSY ran a Shabbaton that attracted 30 teens to the beach in Pinamar, beunos Aries, at which Rabbi Marcelo daniel Krawiec spoke. Apart from Shabbatonim, some highlights of the year have been Sushi Night, where teens were treated to a stimulating debate on science and Judaism, and a widespread candle-lighting during Chanukah where 50 teens lit, many for the first time. NCSYers also had the unique chance to experience Jewish meditation firsthand during a special evening with Rabbi Krawiec.

CHILEMichael bengio, director // 011.56.99.186.5575 // [email protected]

CHILE NCSY NOW IN bOTH JEWISH SCHOOLS ANd THREE YOUTH MOVEMENTSOver 100 kids learn Torah through NCSY every week in Chile, as NCSY is now in both Jewish schools in the country and three of the five different youth movements. This year, for the first time, NCSY Chile is opening an alumni program, where students who graduated NCSY can stay connected to their Judaism with weekly advanced Torah classes. Teens who had never been exposed to Torah learning refer to NCSY Chile’s classes as the “cool Judaic classes.”

NCSY CHILE STRENGTHENS JEWISH TEENS AFTER ANTI-SEMITIC ATTACKNCSY has made an exerted effort to strengthen the hearts of Jewish teens to fight for their Jewish identity after the local school was attacked by anti-Semitic graffiti. For the opening event, NCSamuraY, all advisors had their NCSY

Kimono Karate outfits. The theme of NCSamuraY was to “Fight for Who We Are” and was attended by more than 60 teens.

NCSY IS COVEREd bY MOST INFLUENTIAL JEWISH MAGAZINE IN CHILEThanks to the success of 2010, NCSY Chile has made it into the most influential Jewish magazine in Chile. As one of the twelve partners of the Shalom Magazine, several pages will be published every month with NCSY content, event and class invitations, divrei Torah, and the NCSY logo on the magazine’s cover.

GERMANYJosh Spinner, director // 011.49.30.440.10160 // [email protected]

NCSY partners with Lauder Yeshurun Am Echad to create engaging and inspirational programs for Jewish youth in Germany.

35 TEENS COME TOGETHER IN WURZbURGIn the middle of the winter, in a small town in southern Germany, Jewish teens from all over the country came together for an exciting 10-day seminar full of learning and fun. Participants spent every morning learning in small groups, exploring a variety of Jewish topics. They also traveled and experienced exciting and innovative programs, allowing them to connect to their Jewish roots. Coming from isolated communities throughout the country, meeting other Jewish teens, rabbis, and teachers left participants inspired and invigorated, eager to learn more about the significance of Judaism in their own lives.

ISRAELRabbi Yisroel Goren, director // 02.566.7787 // [email protected] // www.ouisrael.org

NCSY Makom balev is active in the periphery and development towns of Israel with the objective of inspiring the youth in those areas and strengthening their connection to their Jewish heritage, religious Zionism, and Israel.

OVER 100 bOYS JOURNEY TO THE MOUNTAINS OF EILAT FOR SPIRITUAL ENLIGHTMENTThis past Chanukah, over 100 boys aged 8-12 from across Israel journeyed for 27 hours in the scenic mountains of Eilat. The journey began in the evening with interactive activities, a bonfire, and exciting workshops on such topics as how to prepare a tallit kattan. The particpants noted the unique inspiration they felt and the hidden strengths they discovered over the course of the journey.

OVER 100 GIRLS PARTICIPATE IN A SEMINAR SHAbbAT IN GEdERAOver 100 girls in grades 8-12 spent Shabbat at the Kfar Eliyahu campus in Gedera. The Shabbat began with an amazing one-woman show called “Journey to Myself.” The play was a launchpad for discussions on personal identities led by dedicated rabbis and advisors. The girls praised the experience as one that has imprinted a positive mark on them.

Teens in Israel mark the end of an incredible Shabbat with havdallah.


by: Rabbi Moshe benovitz

Recent downturns in the global economy, coupled with the spiraling costs of Jew-ish living, have forced our communities to engage in some serious introspection and reckoning. We are necessarily re-evaluating our priorities and challenging long-held assumptions. While the im-petus for this communal soul-searching has been painful and undesirable, the process itself can be healthy and yield extremely beneficial rewards. But at the end of the day, we must emerge with a

renewed commitment to the values and institutions that are vital to our to-morrow without settling for a weakening of the very foundation of our future.

Education and school are such priorities. In too many towns and cities, the viability of the Jewish day school is being threatened. Tuition costs are the single largest contributor towards the often-prohibitive finances of the mod-ern Jewish family. And the beleaguered yet valiant leaders of these schools and scholarship committees are charged with the unenviable task of ensur-ing the system’s very survival.

Summer programs, particularly ones that actively, directly, and successfully advance the sacred values of our community, must be part of the equation.

There is a prevailing notion that we must curb discretionary spending in or-der to protect our more essential assets and fulfill our more pressing obli-gations. This is undisputable- to a point. It assumes that all spending can be neatly categorized as “discretionary” or “non-discretionary.” This would be most convenient, but is imprecise. On one side, countless elements of yeshiva tuition could be challenged as “luxuries.” Class size, support staff, extracurricular programs, and gleaming facilities are rightfully designated as essential (at least inasmuch as they are part of the approved school budget), yet they could hardly be claimed as absolutely indispensable. At the same time, while many familiar extravagances are clearly secondary to education-al expenditures, it is simply wrong to dismiss a summer learning program or chesed-based experience as “discretionary.”

A more accurate classification is also a more nuanced one. Beyond the obvi-ous extremes, the discourse should be reframed from a question of “discre-tionary vs. non-discretionary,” to “more discretionary vs. less discretionary.” This will allow us to attribute due significance to these summer programs, and even to allow for flexibility in financing them alongside yeshiva tuitions. A number of roshei yeshiva, including some who have been vocal supporters of scholarship reform and the majority of the initiatives undertaken by the scholarship committees, have emphatically stated to me that Torah educa-tion at any time of the year can never be labeled as discretionary.

Those who reluctantly choose to sacrifice summer programs for the good of the school are quick to claim that they are taking a long-term view of the needs of the students and the community. but this is a dubious claim. Who is really considering long-term impact, and who is being shortsighted? Modern Orthodox schools are fighting to instill Jewish pride and to develop serious commitment to Torah learning and values. They need to galvanize allies from all corners in order to succeed in their mission. It is easy to say that with the

monies spent and the hours allocated for Ju-daic studies during the 9½-month academic year, there should be no need for supplemen-tal programs. It would also be false. While it is debatable whether or not this situation is avoidable, it is undoubtedly the reality. As such, the long-forged partnership between schools and informal educators must be strengthened, not eroded.

Not surprisingly, studies on our community consistently indicate an outsized impact from summer experiences. Some dismiss these statistics as relevant only to the segment of the population that does not benefit from year-round Jewish education. Admittedly, a large percentage of those surveyed are in that category, so the data should be used cautiously and judiciously. Yet, while this remains anecdotal owing to the dearth of surveys focused on the day school world, summers remain a primary influence on the religious lives of our children. This is particularly true for teens. Once outside the rigid structure (and demanding hours) of a dual curriculum high school, a world of possibility opens. Most educators would agree that more destructive and alarming behaviors are picked up over the summers than any other time of year (with the possible exception of unsupervised winter vacations). At the same time, summers can be a time for exponential and dramatic growth, maturation, and advanced religious commitment. These forward steps are rarely rivaled even in the much longer school year.

For adolescents and young adults, growth is synonymous with indepen-dence. It is perilous to ignore the impact these summers have.

Summers also broaden horizons beyond some very limited geographical ter-rain. As local schools become the almost exclusive norm, it is more impor-tant than ever to expose our children to other communities and backgrounds. More time at home threatens to shrink the already too-small social bubble.

All this is not even mentioning the wild successes of specific programs in developing real connections to Torah, social action, and Eretz Yisroel. Sum-mers in Israel make studying about it more real and relevant. Learning at a high level in the summer without tests and grades makes those same exams less oppressive and onerous. devoting a summer to helping others make “chesed hours” a given, not a burden.

It is unfair to make the required adjustments the burden of a few. desperate times call for desperate measures, and no one thing should be immune. At NCSY, we must find ways to make programs more cost-effective, and to pro-vide quality experiences to more, for less. but the essential discourse must never change: How can we get more of our youth more involved in their Jew-ish heritage? How can we get them more productive in the summer? How can we best prepare them for tomorrow?

RAbbI MOSHE bENOVITZ, AN NCSY ALUMNUS, IS THE dEAN OF NCSY SUMMER PROGRAMS ANd THE dIRECTOR OF NCSY KOLLEL. HE IS ALSO A REbbE AT REISHIT YERUSHALIYIM IN ISRAEL.

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“Having twin daughters, who are both involved in NCSY, I get to see firsthand the outstanding work that’s being done by NCSY and the way that they are positively impacting my family and our future.”

- JERRY SILVERMAN, President and Chief Executive Officer of The Jewish Federations of North America

“NCSY is the jewel in the OU crown. When I was in the Rav zt’l shiur there were talmidim who were distinguished talmidei chochamin, whose roots were in NCSY, the most effective kiruv organization in the world.”

-RAbbI MENACHEM GENACK, CEO of OU Kosher

“I’ve been a very close friend of NCSY since its inception over 50 years ago. I have always found it to be a very effective organization and enjoy speaking at NCSY events.”

-REbbETZIN ESTHER JUNGREIS, noted author and lecturer

“For the past six decades, the National Confer-ence of Synagogue Youth (NCSY) has stood at the forefront of teaching values, ethics, and leadership to Jewish-American youth. NCSY’s participants use those lessons in their activism within the Jewish-American community as well as throughout our nation and the world. NCSY is to be commended for providing Jewish-American teens with a positive and uplifting environment, and experiences that they will take with them for their entire life.”

– CONGRESSMAN STEVE ROTHMAN (d-NJ)

ignite spring 2011

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