Eli Schloss is spending his first summer at RTC after spending the last 4 years at TABC. Eli spent the first half of his summer as a counselor at Camp Kaylie and he will be attending Yeshivat Sh’aalvim next year.

Eli’s Chabura consists of 6 fine, young Bachurim. Natan is from Lawrence, NY (MAY), Eliezer is from Teaneck, NJ (TABC), Binyamin is from Teaneck, NJ (MTA), Avi is from Cedarhurst, NY (MTA), Akita Wa. is from Teaneck, NJ (MTA), and Akiva We. is from Beit Shemesh, Israel (Ahavat Yisrael).

The Chabura will focus on different topics that will hopefully help the boys focus on improving their Avodas Hashem, both in the realm of Bein Adam L’Makom and in the realm of Bein Adam L’Chaveiro.

Each NCSYer in Eli’s Chabura was asked the following question: “What emoji would you use to describe your Avodas Hashem and why?”

Natan: “? because I always try to smile and be happy.”
Eliezer: “⚖ because I’m always trying to find the perfect balance in my Avodas Hashem.”
Binyamin: “? because I always try my hardest to refrain from Lashon Hara.”
Av: “??? because I do my best to be a strong Jew.”
Akiva Warburg: “? because rockets go up into space to explore new things and we find out about magnificent things and creations. These creations and multiple universes shows us only a spec of the power of hashem. And once we realize this we can connect more with Hashem and do his Mitzvos B’Simcha.”
Akiva Weicholtz: ? because I know that Hashem is looking down at me with a magnifying glass and I always try to act carefully.”

The Chabura is looking forward to continuing their growth oriented summer and having the Best. Summer. Ever.

Noah Miller is from Teaneck, New Jersey, he just graduated from TABC, and he his heading to Yeshivat Shaalvim this fall. This is Noah’s first summer as a madrich for NCSY, and he is really enjoying the experience.

Noah’s amazing chaburah includes Yehuda and David from Teaneck (TABC), Dovid from Teaneck (MTA), Shlomo from Bergenfield (Heichal), Moshe from Great Neck (DRS), and Ephraim all the way from Ramat Bet Shemesh.
Each kid was asked to describe RTC using an emoji.
Yehuda: “?, because we’re a traveling camp.”
David: “?, because RTC is so cool.”
Dovid: “?, Because it’s the the G.O.A.T.”
Shlomo: “??, because they serve bagels and eggs every morning.”
Moshe: “✡, because they teach us about Judaism.”
Ephraim: “⚾, because RTC is all about Mike Ford.”
The Chaburah is having the Best. Summer. Ever!

Our day started off rocking with shacharis and a D’var Halacha by Rabbi Lebowitz about how one should (and shouldn’t) spend erev Tisha Bav. After breakfast, shiur from Rabbi Lebowitz and chaburahs with madrichim, we headed to the Spooky Nook Sports Complex for the last time. Once we arrived, we ate lunch (baked ziti and fries), watched the exhilarating 3 on 3 basketball championship game and we had more leagues. We then headed to MetLife Stadium for mincha, a siyum, a tailgate BBQ for dinner, and of course, an exciting Giants-Jets game. Despite the inclement weather, the enthusiasm wasn’t dampened, and we enjoyed a very competitive game before boarding the busses back home.

We had an amazing second week, and can’t wait for the Teaneck Shabbaton tomorrow (if Mashiach doesn’t come first)!

Ari Rosenberg is super excited to be a Madrich on the first ever summer of RTC. Ari went to MTA for four amazing years and will be heading to Yeshivat Shaalvim next year to learn in Israel.

Ari’s Chaburah consists of four NCSYers who are going into high school next year. Elan (TABC) is from Teaneck; Avi (MTA) is from Bergenfield; Daniel (DRS) is from North Woodmere; and Eli (DRS) is from Woodmere. Ari’s Chaburahs this summer focus on the שמנה עשרה and the importance of תפלה in general. Ari hopes to help his NCSYers develop a deeper understanding of the words they say every day.

We asked the Chaburah the following question. “If you had to be remembered for one thing, what would you want it to be?”

Eli- “I would want to be remembered for my kindness and happiness.”
Daniel- “I want to be remembered for doing חסד because being kind is very important for a good life.”
Elan- “I want to be remembered for my חסד.”
Avi- “I want to be remembered for all of my great qualities like happiness and positivity.”

With all the fun and excitement still yet to come, this should definitely be The Best Summer Ever.

Our day got off to a wonderful start with shacharis and a D’var halacha by Rabbi Lebowitz. Following breakfast, the post-8th graders had chaburas with their madrichim, while the post-9th graders heard Shiur from Rabbi Lebowitz. We then had the privilege to hear from Michael Neuman, a winning contestant on “Million Dollar Mile,” a CBS TV Series produced by Lebron James and hosted by Tim Tebow. Among other things, Michael spoke to us about his journey as an Orthodox Jew on the TV show and the importance of making a kiddush Hashem at all times. We then ate lunch (macaroni and cheese), boarded the busses, and headed to spooky nook for our first annual 3 on 3 basketball tournament. After many hours of intense play by both campers and staff alike (the championship will be tomorrow), we left spooky nook and headed for ZavaZone trampoline park in Rockville, Maryland. We davened mincha, ate pizza for dinner, and then enjoyed the beautiful indoor state-of-the-art facilities which featured trampoline dodgeball and basketball, a ninja warrior obstacle course, rock climbing, various parkour races, and other activities as well. We then boarded the busses and headed back to the hotel, where we davened Maariv and heard a shmooze from the legendary Rabbi Yisroel Moshe Siff! We then celebrated a siyum from madrich Shmuel Bak and ate poppers before calling it a night. We can’t wait for tomorrow’s stacked day of activities!

Today got off to an awesome start with a full morning of Torah learning. Following Chaburahs from the madrichim and shiur from Rabbi Lebowitz, we ate lunch (pizza, k’nishes, quiche, and Cinnabon’s) and boarded the busses to Hershey Park. We spent most of our day enjoying the wide array of rides and games (a whopping 5 unicorns were won today) that Hershey has to offer. After many hours of fun, we all met in Hershey for a siyum on Seder Moed that was made by 12 RTC campers (each boy learned a mesechta or part of a mesechta). After the siyum, we were treated to a delicious dinner (hot dogs, hamburgers, and chicken nuggets), followed by a few more hours of fun in the park. Upon returning back to the hotel, another camper made a siyum on Maseches Megillah, which we celebrated with wings and franks in a blanket. After this scrumptious post-Maariv snack, we broke out the first annual RTC “August Madness” 3 on 3 basketball tournament with a special “Selection Sunday” reveal, whereby the teams for tomorrow’s tournament were announced in style. The campers and madrichim then filled out their own brackets for the tournament, providing them with an opportunity to figure out how they think the tournament will proceed tomorrow. We can’t wait for the tournament to get underway!

Elli Spinowitz came on this amazing program, psyched to be a part of RTC’s all-star lineup of madrichim.

The kids in this chaburah are one of a kind. With Gavriel from Riverdale, (MTA), Shmuel from Woodmere, (YKLI), and Noam (MTA), Shua (TABC), and Sariel (TABC) from Teaneck, this chaburah is truly one of a kind.

The chaburah will be learning about the three main areas of a Jew’s avodas Hashem: bein adam limakom, bein adam lichaveiro, and bein adam li’atzmo.

Every member of the chaburah was asked the following question: “Which of these three fields do you think is the most important to focus on as we develop in our עבודת ה׳?”

Gavriel: “בין אדם לחברו because if we master בין אדם לחברו, then we can go on to working on בין אדם למקום and בין אדם לעצמו”.
Shmuel: “בין אדם לחברו because if you help people, then they will follow you in being an eved Hashem”.
Noam: “בין אדם לעצמו because once you work on and develop yourself, you can then have a positive effect on everyone else”.
Sariel: “בין אדם לעצמו because you help yourself become better”.
Shua: “בין אדם לחברו because if you can’t be respectful to your friends, surely you won’t be able to be respectful to Hashem. So by treating a friend with respect, you will be much better prepared to serve Hashem”.

Hoping to gain a lot from their learning and friendship together, this chaburah can’t wait to see what more the best summer ever can possibly offer.