Dialogue in the Dark/Silence
Today our buses visited two branches of a very powerful museum near Tel Aviv. The museum offers a journey through which one experiences total silence and a journey through which one experiences total darkness. The Dialogue in the Dark, as it is referred to, allows campers the abililty to feel, for just a short moment, what it is like to be blind or deaf (chos v'shalom). As many of the people we have interacted with the summer experience these life challenges, it was very powerful for our girls to momentarily step into their shoes, giving new meaning for us…
Read more >
Volunteering… and folk dancing
We had such a nice day on Wednesday, with bus 1 volunteering at Chazon Yeshaya, a local soup kitchen and bus 2 volunteering at Zichron Menachem, an organization that provides for children with cancer. After a tasty lunch in the park, the buses returned to Mevaseret to go swimming in a nearby spring. It was beautiful! After returning to our campus, we enjoyed a delicious BBQ and then prepared for our super exciting night activities- Israeli folk dancing followed by Ask The Rabbi! Our Israeli madricha, Renana, set up an enormous speaker and blasted classic Israeli songs throughout…
Read more >
Tisha Ba’av
To prepare us for Tisha Ba'av, we spent Erev Tisha Ba'av at Kever Rachel- burial site of our matriarch Rachel- and Ma'arat Ha'machpeilah- burial site of our patriarchs and matriarchs, in Hevron. It was a very spiritually uplifting day that helped place us in the proper mindset for the fast. Though we anticipated and yearned for the coming of Mashiach, this year, sadly, we again spent the 9th of Av in mourning over the destruction of the first and second Beis HaMikdash, temple. We came together Monday night to hear Eichah read by Rabbi Felberman and then headed…
Read more >
The Holy city of Tzfat
We were so enveloped in the kedusha of Tzfat that we did not even have a chance to update the blog! Our apologies. This past week, Wednesday through Sunday, we had the honor of visiting the Holy city of Tzfat. Some highlights of our visit included: - Working with Livnot U'Lehibanot, an organization that works to beautify and rebuild the city of Tzfat - Painting an elementary school in Afula - Touring the DeKarina chocolate factory... and making chocolate of our own! - Eating the chocolate…
Read more >
Bringing Torah to Life
Bus 1 spent the day in ancient Shilo, where the Mishkan stood over 3000 years ago. To watch history come to life and stand where Chana and Shmuel HaNavi stood, connected us to our roots in a way which we never thought imaginable. We then headed to the Yekev Winery, participating in interactive trivia games, watching videos and learning oh so much about wine making! Bus 2 started off their day at Leket, an organization formally known as Table to Table, which helps collect vegetables left in the field during harvests. This is a huge mitzvah as all…
Read more >
... and we’re back!
The GIVErs and staff met up early Sunday morning after a weekend of R&R, ready to dive back into our GIVE experience. We spent the day in the Gush, hiking through the Biar water tunnels, working the land and clearing new paths into the beautiful hills of the Gush. We returned to Mevaseret, tired after a long day of hard work, but not too tired for... A MACCABEATS CONCERT!!!!! Oh wait. Just kidding. COLOR WAR!!! (Such a shame for everyone who was super pysched to see the Maccabeats live, when all they got was their advisors in costume.)…
Read more >
Free Weekend
Have fun with your friends and family! We'll miss you NCSY GIVErs!
See you on Sunday iyH.
Read more >
New Modes of Communication
Bus 1 spent the day in the Tel Aviv area, working alongside the visually impaired in a factory in Ramat Gan and then heading to Save A Child's Heart, to spend time with children who are waiting to receive heart transplants. We then headed to Shuk HaCarmel to shop and get to see a cultural side of Tel Aviv. Bus 2 started off the day with medical clowning at Icholov Hospital and then traveled to Shalva, an organization which provides free services for children with mental disabilities. Both groups then met up for dinner before making our…
Read more >
Standing Together
We often take for granted that we are able to travel around Israeli feeling safe and protected. Yet, without the hard work and dedication of the soldiers in the Israeli army, we would be leading very different lives. What better way to recognize our soldiers for their commitment than by doing something for them to show our hakaras hatov and say "thanks!"? For the last 3 nights, GIVE has been sending groups of 30 girls to nearby army bases through the organization called Standing Together. We supplied Standing Together with sodas and cakes and the program director put…
Read more >
Fun in the Sun!
Today was a blast! Both our buses spent the day having fun in the sun while partipating in various water sports. The day began with a bus ride to Nir David in the North in which our girls participated in fun team-building activities. The girls were split into two inter-bus groups. While one group raced to both build a raft and then sail across the Amal River, the other group played water basketball on kayaks. The groups then switched so everyone experienced the same refreshing fun of Eretz Yisrael! The girls then had lunch followed by free time on…
Read more >
We love Israel!
Yesterday was another fantastic day on our ever successful program! While the two buses engaged in seperate activities, both buses particpated in fun packed days of touring and chessed. Bus one eagerly rolled up their sleeves as they painted an assisted living facility. They had lots of fun getting dirty and doing chessed all at once! The bus then rolled on over to their second chessed of the day- Chames, an organization which services children…
Read more >
Sderot Carnival and GIVE’s BIG VICTORY!!!
You're probably curious- what big victory is being addressed in the title of this post? I'll just cut to the chase... NCSY GIVE BEAT NCSY MICHLELET IN OUR ANNUAL BASKETBALL GAME!!! This was a HUGE moment for NCSY GIVE as this is the first year in history that we have won! Our team was led by Yael Mashiach (Chicago), Esti Prero (Chicago), Rivka Abbe (NYC), Marissa Pollack (NY) and Dara Zuckerman (OH), but everyone who played contributed to our success. Aside from not having the home court advantage, our GIVErs had also never played basketball together before. But…
Read more >
Day 14- Back to Yerushalayim for some chessed and carnival prep!
Bus 1 spent the day at Zichron Menachem, an organization that provides for children with cancer, and at a home for mentally disabled women in Mevaseret. Both were very powerful experiences for the GIVErs. Bus 2 assisted at an organization called Shekel, which employs the mentally disabled in a production factory. As we helped piece together calendars with the employees, we sang and joked around with them, creating womderful relationships. From there we traveled to a lovely park which needed to be developed. We helped clear pathways and assisted in beautifying the area. Though a tedious job, the girls…
Read more >
Shabbos in the Desert
Friday marked our first full day in the desert, as we prepared for our upcoming shabbos in Yerucham, a small city about 1 hour from Baer Sheva. Bus 1 spent the day planting a vineyard, a contribution which will leave its mark on Israel for generations to come. Bus 2 began their day with a water hike and then headed to a clothing gamach to help sort through and organize donations. This gamach, known as Koach Latet (The Strength to Give), sells all of its products for 1 shekel and all proceeds go to tzedukah. Their goal is to…
Read more >
Day 11- Soup Kitchens and the South
Thursday was chock full of exciting chessed projects with both groups visiting Chazon Yeshaya, a Jerusalem soup kitchen and then heading to Yad Lakashish, an incredible operation which employs elderly immigrants and teaches them a trade. In the soup kitchen, we focused on preparing the meals for those that would come later that day and boy did we chop a lot of vegetables! At Yad Lakashish (which literally means "a hand to the elderly"), we sang, danced and brought simcha to everyone around. We then purchased some of the beautiful handmade pieces created by the employees of Yad Lakashish.…
Read more >
The Early Wakeup…
Today we woke up VERY early and headed to Massada for our sunrise hike. And guess what? WE MADE IT! The sunrise was beautiful and truly enhanced our tefillah. After a short tour, we headed back down the mountain and made our way to the Dead Sea. Many GIVErs collected the valuable salts to bring them home as a souvenir.
We were joined for dinner by Mr. Yossi Stechler, Chairman of the NCSY Youth Committee, and then had an optional Mishmar learning program with Rabbi Baruch Felberman, our GIVE Rabbi.
Read more >
17 Tammuz
After a late wakeup, so the GIVErs could catch up on their rest, we had the honor of hearing from world-renowned speaker and beloved NCSY educator, Rabbi Menachem Nissel. We then held a learning program in memory of one of our GIVEr's mothers z"l, whose first yartzheit is this Friday night. She will be making a siyum on Pirkei Avos along with the entire GIVE family. May her memory be for a blessing. In the afternoon we traveled to the Kotel for mincha and then broke our fast at Beit Ticho, a delicious restaurant in Jerusalem.…
Read more >
A More Serious Day…
Today we learned about the disengagement from Gush Katif that occured several years ago. We began by watching a film called Home Game, which tells the story of the disengagement from the perspective of teenagers living through it. We then had the honor of hearing from American oleh, Anita Tucker, who came on aliyah in the late 60's and settled in Gush Katif with her family. She told her personal story of the disengagement and helped us to gain perspective of what the experience represented for both the Jews it effected directly and the greater Jewish people. Afterwards,…
Read more >
Medical Clowning and Yom NCSY
Sunday morning was spent decked out in costumes as we learned the art of medical clowning. Jeff Gordon, a long time medical clown, taught us how to improve our laugh, make balloon animals and make the patients feel more at ease in the hospitals. The GIVErs did an excellent job "clowning" around and were even better in person at the hospital. It was such a Kiddush Hashem watching the faces of the patients light up as our GIVErs entered their rooms. We…
Read more >
Shabbos at Camp GIVE is GIVE-ALDIK!
To prepare us for shabbos, we had our first Mishmar of the summer on Thursday night. Led by our GIVE Rabbi, Rabbi Baruch Felberman of Shaalavim for Women, we had over 50 GIVErs show up to the optional learning session to get them into the proper mindset for the upcoming shabbos and for a summer of chessed. It was both uplifting and inspiring. On Friday, Bus 1 traveled to Aleh, an organization that provides services for the extremely disabled. Through song and dance, the girls brought smiles to the faces of people who had not exhibited emotion in…
Read more >
Day 4 on GIVE
Our morning began as we watched the movie of Michael Levine, an American who enlisted in the Israeli army and lost his life defending our land. From there we traveled to Har Hertzel and learned about the important historial figures buried there. What was most impactful, though, was seeing the graves of the young soldiers who were buried there, many of whom are just a few years out of high school. The girls began to recognize and internalize the sacrifices made every day by our fellow Jews to ensure that we have…
Read more >
Beit Avot and the Old City
Yesterday we visited a Beit Avot, nursing home, in Jerusalem. The GIVErs took the residents by storm, singing and dancing to some Jewish and Israeli classic tunes. We even had an opportunity to sing along with one of the residents who is a former chazzan! It was such an empowering experience to be able to brighten someones day by simply sharing a smile. From there we traveled to the Old City of Jerusalem where we toured and explored. One of the highlights was trekking through the Chizkiyahu Water Tunnels, where we felt our way through the darkness and waist-high water.…
Read more >
We made it!
Shalom from the Holy land! After a long day of travels, we arrived safely in Israel and settled into our new home in Mevaseret. We sat down to a delicious dinner and then piled back on the buses en route to the Kotel for an opportunity to daven, reflect and begin recharging our batteries with the inherent holiness of Eretz Yisrael. Tomorrow the real fun begins, as we dive into our first official chessed project (though the teamwork exhibited today in removing all of the luggage from the buses was nothing short of an incredible chessed as…
Read more >
