Chabura Spotlight

Jonathan Malove is from Miami, Florida and he is thrilled to have been a madrich on RTC’s first summer. He is a recent graduate from the RASG Hebrew Academy in Miami Beach and next year he plans on attending Yeshivat Shaarei Mevaseret Tziyon. Jonathan spent the previous two summers as a camper on NCSY Kollel and this summer, he enjoyed the opportunity to give back as a madrich on NCSY RTC.

This summer Jonathan’s chabura had 4 incredible post 8th grade boys. Shabtai from Sharon, Massachusetts, Yosef from Teaneck, NJ, Eytan from White Plains, NY, and Jeremy from Cedarhurst, NY.

Now to focus on the learning! Jonathan’s chabura was unique in that it didn’t have one specific underlying theme. Rather every chabura lesson was unique in its own regard and they all individually focused on different ideas. The main way Jonathan created his chabura lessons was by reflecting back on what challenges his Judaism faced when he was in high school. He created his chaburahs with the intention of educating, empowering, and inspiring each NCSYer.

At the end of RTC, Jonathan’s chabura took time to reflect back on the summer. In the reflection, each of the guys was asked “What did you learn in our chaburah that will help you in the future?”
Yosef – “To channel all of my actions to serve Hashem and to live my life in a way that is L’sheim Shmayim.
Jeremy – “Impriving in the area of mitzvos bein adam l’chaveiro, by treating others nicely.”
Eytan  – “To improve in the area of ‘Veahavta Lereacha Kamocha.’”
Shabtai – “To help others and to focus my actions on helping Klal Yisroel bring Moshiach as soon as possible.”

Shmuel Bak is enjoying his time on RTC. Shmuel went to TABC for high school and is currently studying in Yeshivat Sha’alvim in Eretz Yisrael. Shmuel has 6 awesome campers in his chaburah: Avi (Teaneck, MTA), Yehuda (Teaneck, MTA), Aron (Teaneck, MTA), Shmuel (Teaneck, TABC), Ephraim (Montreal, HA of Montreal), and Assaf (Woodmere, DRS).

Shmuel’s chaburah is learning about a combination of important middos to focus on, interesting halachic questions, and different personalities throughout the gemara.

Shmuel asked his chaburah: “Who’s your favorite Marvel superhero, and what middah can you learn from him?”
Assaf said: “Captain America, because he always puts others’ needs before his own.”
Ephraim said: “Spiderman, because he’s friendly, smart, and hard-working.”
Shmuel said: “Antman, because he does whatever is needed to protect his family.”
Avi said: “Dr. Strange, because he is a surgeon so he saves lives.”
Aron: “Black Widow, because she gives up her own life to save everyone else.”
Yehuda said: “Iron Man, because he tries to better himself while caring about others.”

Efrayim Saks has just finished his first year learning in Israel at Yeshivat Hakotel. Efrayim went to TABC for high school and Yeshivat Noam for elementary and middle school. Efrayim has gained a tremendous amount from his education over the years and he is excited that he has share so much of what he’s learned.
Efrayim’s chabura is made up of 4 very special NCSY’ers from New York and New Jersey. Zack (HALB) is from Woodmere, New York; Avraham (RYNJ) is from Teaneck, New Jersey; Reuven (YKLI) is from Woodmere, New York and Kalman (YKLI) is from Cedahurst, New York.
The chabura goes through an array of topics, primarily focussing on Parshas Hashavua, Tisha Bi’av and Shemonah Esrei. The material is thought provoking and engaging, and enhances each kid’s understanding of the Parsha, Tisha B’av and davening.
Each member of the chabura was asked the following question: “What aspect of high school/8th grade are you most looking forward to?
These were their responses:
Kalman- “graduating middle school.”
Zach- “the excitement of going to a new school.”
Avraham – “getting closer to becoming a dentist.”
Reuven- “the new rebbiem and learning opportunities.”

Rafi Kreitman is enjoying being part of the inaugural summer of RTC! Rafi just finished his first year learning at Sha’alvim after spending his high school years in TABC.

Rafi’s chaburah consists of six unbelievable guys who just finished their first year in high school: Ari (Cedarhurst/DRS), Elisha (Bergenfield/TABC), Abie (Teaneck/MTA), Tzvi (Holliswood/MTA), Raffi (Teaneck/MTA) and Dani (Bergenfield/MTA).

The Chabura has been discussing different Halachic topics that are often not thought about or discussed. For example, they discussed the Halachic ramifications of davening from a smartphone.

Each boy in the chaburah was asked the following question: “What has been your favorite part of RTC?”

Ari: “My favorite part of RTC is meeting new people and going to so many amusement parks.”

Elisha: “My favorite part of RTC is the life-long bonds that I‘m making with the other campers, Madrichim, and staff members.”

Abie: “The Baltimore Orioles game because we got to see a great game, chill with friends, and spend time with a camp of Venezuelan Jews.”

Tzvi: “I think my favorite thing we’ve done so far with RTC was probably the baseball game of the Yankees against the Orioles.”

Raffi: “Hanging out with friends on the awesome trips.”

Dani: “The Chaburahs because we learn a lot but it’s still very enjoyable and interesting.”

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!

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.

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.

Yaakov Fuchs is no stranger to NCSY Summer, having spent the past two summers on the NCSY Summer Kollel before joining the all-star lineup of RTC madrichim. Most recently, Yaakov was part of the Camp Kaylie Masmidim program, learning under Rabbi Aryeh Lebowitz for the first half of the summer. Yaakov recently graduated DRS and he will iy”H be heading to Yeshivat Shaalvim next year.

Yaakov has one of the most dynamic chaburahs in the history of RTC with six incredible post-9th graders. They are: Donny from Teaneck, NJ (MTA), Ezra (MTA), Yehuda (MTA) and Chananya (Frisch) from Bergenfield, NJ, Nachi from Highland Park, NJ (TABC), and last but certainly not least, Ari all the way from Beit Shemesh, Israel (Ahavat Yisrael)!

This summer, the chaburah is focusing on important lessons in hashkafah to enhance the high school experience, and how those lessons help us grow in our relationship with Hashem.

Each member of the Chaburah was asked: “Who is your biggest role model in Tanach and why?”

Donny said: “Avraham Avinu since he didn’t need to invite anyone into his tent, but did so anyways because of his ahavas chesed.”

Ezra said: “Noach because when everyone was doing the wrong thing, he still went ahead and did the right thing.”

Yehuda said: “Aharon HaKohen since he easily could have been jealous of his brother’s position, but he still went ahead and helped free the Bnei Yisrael.”

Chananya said: “Elisha, since he had a tremendous role model like Eliyahu HaNavi, who he admired and looked up to, but Elisha still wanted to be his own type of Navi which reflected their differences.”

Nachi said: “Shaul HaMelech since he is extremely underrated in that he gets a bad reputation for chasing Dovid around, but in reality he was a great person.

Ari said: “Dovid Hamelech since he expressed his bravery by standing up to Golias. Also, he had red hair (like me).”

The Chaburah can’t wait to continue growing, learning, and chilling together (in no particular order) on the BEST.SUMMER.EVER.

Yitzy Kopstick is your average 19 year old guy coming off his first year in Yeshivat Sha’alvim. He spent the first month of this summer learning in the Camp Kaylie Masmidim Program, and now he is thrilled to be a Madrich for post 9th graders on RTC.

Yitzy’s chaburah consists of 7 amazing boys. Abe is from Boca Raton, Florida (KYHS), Ephraim S. (Heichal) is from Bergenfield, Yitzchak (MTA) is from Bergenfield, Yosef (Heichal) is from Springfield, NJ; Isaac (DRS) and Dov (MAY) are from Lawrence, and Ephraim B. (DRS) is from Woodmere.

The Chabura will be learning about different topics throughout Shas, whether it be about the existence of demons or why we eat Shalosh Seudos.

Every NCSYer in Yitzy’s Chabura was asked the following question: “If you were a public speaker, what would your message be to the world?”

Yitzchak: “Don’t be afraid to admit when you’re wrong.”
Dov: “Don’t take the time you have in this world for granted and don’t fool around.”
Isaac: “Always try your best.”
Yosef: “Make a plan and stick to it. Without a set plan nothing productive will happen.”
Ephraim S: ”No matter where you are in life, use your time wisely because you only live once and that means doing the right thing because if you do the right thing now in the world to come you will get reward that last forever and ever and ever and ever and ever.
Abe: “Think before you do.”
Ephraim B: “If you don’t read the newspaper, you’re uninformed. If you read the newspaper, you’re mis-informed (Mark Twain)”

The Chabura is looking forward to having the best summer ever!!