Summer 2015

Hi everyone,

Before I start speaking I would really like to thank each and every director, advisor, Talia and Yaakov, and Carlos for all that you’ve done for me these past weeks and the way you changed me.

*Leah- There are no words of thanks and appreciation that I can say to show how much this summer meant to me… Without you, my new views on Judaism and life would not of happened and your love for G-d is so inspirational!
*Leora- I have no words to thank you. You are just the sweetest person I have ever met and the way you are so sure of yourself and your direction and your connection to Torah just amazes me.
*Gavriela- You learned with me every day and we had some deep conversations. It was by watching your example that I decided I want to be as frum and as proud of my Judaism as you!
*Shayna- Your friendliness, endless patience, and kindness are all so amazing that I couldn’t help but want to emulate you!
*Cayley – I had you first for chabura and, learning with you, I felt more of a connection to Torah and G-d than I have felt in my three years of high school.
*Sarah – Your belief in G-d is so strong, it radiates from you and it makes you so amazing to be around.
*Dani- Your energy is so inspiring. You’re always up and jumping even in bad situations and that’s something that more people should be like!
*Talia and Yaakov- Despite the amount of times I hassled you with all my food problems, you never lost your patience and you were always there for everyone with constant smiles and inspiration.
*Carlos- You made this summer possible and amazing! Without you, we would not been the same!

When I first came to this camp, I wasn’t even sure what to expect. Everyone was so different and my initial reaction was that it was strange because it wasn’t what I was used to. I’m not gonna lie – I was a lil’ freaked out. But, that first week, I got to know everyone and the advisors, and they all inspired me so much that I just wanted to be like them as much as I could. This camp experience showed me what it’s like to love Judaism, and not just to be Jewish because you have to, because of society’s expectations or because that’s the way you grew up. The girls inspired me, too… for those girls that don’t come from a religious background and choose to lead a religious lifestyle, I will look up to you as my role model forever, because it’s so incredibly different to do this by choice instead of doing it because it’s just the way you’ve always done things.

I grew up with life all about being Jewish, making sure to be tznius, and always doing the right thing according to the Torah. When I came to this camp, I saw a different view of Judaism and a completely new aspect of the love and greatness with which I can relate to G-d and the Torah. This summer here was an amazing thing to see and to experience. It taught me to want to grow for myself and do the right thing for me – not because people were telling me to change or because people would look at me disapprovingly or because I’d get kicked out of school.

I thought I was going to come to camp and just have a good time, tour around the west coast and have a blast. But, when I got here and I spoke to one of the advisors, I realized I was wrong. I just wanted to grow and be something more than the person I came as. I wanted to make these changes now because I knew it was the right thing – I just didn’t know how to get there! So as the summer started off, we starting doing chessed and my whole perspective was changed! Not gonna lie, before I got here I never did much for other people. I was always too lazy or too busy and I just didn’t care enough! Our first chessed cleaning apartments for the homeless, I came to realize how grateful I have to be to G-d for giving me a warm and loving house. When we were dealing with people without food, it just tore my heart apart and again my heart swelled with gratitude to G-d and, from then, my praying got stronger to thank G-d for what he has given me! What I gained from Give West was more than I got from my years in high school, and definitely more than can be gained from any kind of formal Jewish education, so I cannot thank each and everyone of you enough for what you have done for me this past summer!

THE LAST DAYS ON NCSY GIVE WEST 2015! We started off the morning of Day #24 with davening, breakfast, and then our last chaburas at Starbucks. Who doesn’t love that authentic NCSY “Latte & Learning”? The formal advisor-led learning may have ended, but GIVE WEST is not just about learning Torah – it’s about living it! The insights we’ve gained exploring five special middot to bring the geulah will surely stay with us forever. For our last full day of fun together on the West Coast, we headed over to Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum’s incredible Waves & Wings Waterpark. The indoor park features over 14 attractions and is styled with a fun air and space theme. The trip was a great last hurrah and bonding opportunity before parting ways. After a few hours, we rushed back to get ready and head to the JCC for GW ’15 Closing and Final Banquet. The night felt surreal. We cannot believe how quickly the summer flew by! We had a delicious catered dinner, passed out “Banquet-a-Gram” notes, took tons of pictures, and tried to hold in the tears. We watched an amazing summer recap video that really encapsulated all of the amazing experiences we had this summer touring the West Coast, doing chessed, learning Torah, participating in crazy and awesome special programming, and forming together a one-of-a-kind chain of Ahavas Yisrael and a GIVE WEST family. The banquet was also a perfect opportunity to highlight and thank every member of the program who made the summer so incredible. Our incredible advisors stood up and spoke about each and every GIVE WESTer, pointing out her special qualities and how she uniquely contributed to the best GW ’15 experience we could ever have imagined. Different members of the staff then stood up to speak about each other. This summer could never have happened without the tremendous efforts, dedication, heart and soul of our unbelievable bus driver/body guard Carlos Rios, cutest couple and logistics coordinators “Taakov”/Talia and Yaakov Borenstein, our five awesome advisors Gavriela Colton, Shayna Rabin, Dani Samet, Cayley Stark, and Sarah Lederer (who also served as our extraordinary head of programming), amazing assistant director Leora Balk, and, of course, the rock of GIVE WEST, our incredible director Leah Moskovich! Of all of the speeches, however, what stood out to us most were those that came from our girls. We heard beautiful and inspiring closing words from GIVE WESTers Leora Trencher and Riki Emanuel. Each spoke about their own experiences and takeaways from GW ’15. Next we handed out the long-awaited LOVE GIVE WEST neon pink end-of-the-summer sweatshirts, fitting right in with the strong Ahavas Yisrael theme of the summer! We headed back for packing and a late-night kumsitz and closing reflections. Before we knew it, it was time for the airport. Goodbye hugs and tear-stained cheeks… we truly had the BEST. SUMMER. EVER. Let the countdown to Reunion begin!

Day #23 started off with a different kind of chessed at Zenger farm! The non-profit urban farm models, promotes and educates about sustainable food systems, environmental stewardship, community development and access to good food for all. After a fun tour of the farm, our girls got to work with their gloves and gardening forks, turning over soil and preparing the land for planting. We had lunch at the farm and got ready for our last formal chessed trip of the summer. Portland NCSY director Meira Spivak had told us the night before about the one Jewish day school in town, the Maayan School, and how we could help make a difference there. We drove to the school with smiles on our faces and got ready to #GIVE! Our GIVE WESTers cleaned and set up classrooms and offices at the school. In addition, we painted three beautiful pieces of Jewish art to help enhance the walls of their school building. When we got back, we had a little hakarat hatov workshop, at which we showed our appreciation for this amazing summer by writing letters to the head of NCSY Summer who made it all possible, Mr. David Cutler, as well as to our favorite GIVE WEST couple, Talia and Yaakov Borenstein, and our fantastic bus driver, Carlos Rios! We had a delicious dinner and headed to Portland’s JCC for an awesome basketball tournament. Our girls really rocked out today!

YOM NCSY SAMEACH FROM NCSY GIVE WEST! Even though we are one of the domestic NCSY Summer programs (shout out to our brother, NCSY Camp Sports), we stand united with the NCSY Summer family gathered in Israel and, OF COURSE, matched the Yom NCSY spirit all day long here on the West Coast. Decked out in our new apple green and highlighter yellow NCSY GIVE WEST t-shirts, we cheered and kept the ruach alive all day, occasionally checking in on the Yom NCSY Live Stream to spot our friends and feel the energy. In the meantime, we had a full day of fun planned in Seattle. We toured the city by land and sea on a “Ride the Ducks” tour. We saw the famous Space Needle and many other Seattle attractions. Our guide was quite entertaining, busting out dance moves and cracking jokes all of the way. Next, we went to the hopping Pike’s Place market. We bounced from one vendor to another, until we excitedly made our way to the first Starbucks ever established. Our coffee-driven girls (and staff!) could not be happier. Then, we packed onto the bus for the last long road trip of the summer and headed to Portland! We arrived at the Kollel and NCSY center of Portland and had chabura and dinner. Joining us for dinner was the spectacular Meira Spivak of Portland NCSY. She delivered an inspiring lecture about self esteem and inner beauty. Before heading to our post at Portland State University, it was time for a night activity that had long been awaited . . . the GIVE WEST Summer ’15 Talent Show! We have a lot of talent for one bus! We really got to see the girls come alive, create, act, sing, impersonate, and make us laugh. The Talent Show led straight into a surprise Chagigah with crazy dancing and music. Yom NCSY had long been over miles away in our homeland, but the GIVE WEST party never stops! With only a few days left, we are ready to make the most of every moment and live it up here on GIVE WEST!

On Friday, we finished the drive to Seattle, grabbed some lunch at the kosher pizza shop, and headed to our host homes for the last Shabbos together on GIVE WEST. We thank the Seattle community and BCMH Congregation for hosting us and making our Shabbos and Tisha B’Av experience so memorable. Shabbos felt very surreal, as no one wanted to accept it was the last one together this summer! We made the most of it with crazy ruach at the Friday night oneg, amazing Torah learning after Kiddush and throughout the afternoon, beautiful Divrei Torah from the girls, and powerful singing at ebbing. We enjoyed having all of our meals and programming all together at the shul this week. We heard fantastic and inspiring words of Torah and chizuk from GIVE WESTers Jaclyn Kholodenko, Shani Sukol, Hayley Tanzman, and Sofia Leos. Director Leah Moskovich delivered an optional shiur during menucha about exile and redemption. Seattle NCSY director Ari Hoffman and Leah spoke at ebbing along similar lines, preparing us and helping us relate to the day we so much had hoped we would not have to face, the day of Tisha B’Av. After joining together in tremendous unity, sharing words of admiration about every single girl in the GIVE WEST ebbing circle, and singing with the greatest kavanah, we found ourselves in the shul listening to the reading of Eichah and kinnot. A most beautiful Shabbos had ended, but the geulah had not yet arrived. The girls moved from the shul into a dark room lit only by the tea lights forming the shape of a giant Star of David. The GIVE WEST staff sat in the middle around the star to lead an unbelievable kumsitz of tears, of mourning, of hope, and of connection. Advisors shared their own feelings about what Tisha B’Av means to them and we all mourned over the suffering in the world, the struggles we face on a national level and in each of our own lives. The following morning after Shacharis, we gathered in a small room to learn about and read the Tisha B’Av Kinnot together. With each lamentation came a personal explanation from a staff member and a hint as to how we can relate each one to our own lives. When midday hit, we had finished Kinnot and were ready to step into our #GIVEing mode. Our girls graciously receive the youth of Seattle for an educational program they had designed this past week about Ahavas Yisrael and rebuilding our holy Beis HaMikdash. It felt great to take all of our tears and turn them into something positive, productive, and meaningful not only to us, but uplifting to others. After the program had finished and Mincha was recited, we had the opportunity to stay at the shul to watch videos with themes relating to Tisha B’Av or to go home to rest for some time. An optional shiur about the power, potential, and leadership of women in Tanach and modern times was given by program “mommy” and logistics coordinator Talia Borenstein as sunset approached. With an hour of the fast left to go, we walked together down to the park for the final kumsitz and closing of Tisha B’Av. We really made that hour count, songs, stories, and prayers lifted up to the heavens. We were blown away by a beautiful and moving piece of poetry shared by GIVE WESTer Tova Rosen (shared below) about striving to remember and long for a temple and connection we personally never experienced and truly cannot remember at all. In between songs, other GIVE WESTers took the floor and shared their own thoughts having reached the end of Tisha B’Av on GIVE WEST. On Friday, when asked what was this upcoming day of Tisha B’Av, the girls had responded it was “a fast day”. After 24+ hours really feeling the loss and reaching for the redemption together, the answers we heard of “What Tisha B’Av Means to Me” were deeper and more awe-inspiring than we could ever have imagined. We walked back to the shul for Havdalah, Maariv, and break-fast, arms around each other, singing “Uvenei Yerushalayim Ircha BeRachamim Tashuv”… and smiling through our tears, faithful in G-d’s master plan, still yearning together for the ultimate redemption.

Tisha B’Av Reflections by NCSY GIVE WESTer Tova Rosen (Cedarhurst, NY)

I don’t remember.

My home,
Hashems home
Burning into flames.

Captured,
Conquered,
destroyed

We were exiled
The longest exile
The final exile

I don’t remember
The continuous disasters and destructions

that occurred on this day

families torn apart
Children murdered
cities collapsed
Terror,
trauma,
starvation
and sufferings

Infinite sufferings

The loss of Jewish unity

The ultimate misery for Bnei Yisreal

I don’t have the ability to remember

Our fathers sacrificing their lives
So that we can live ours

To harmonize
To connect
For the sake of G-d

I don’t remember

Yet, I take a few steps back

I mourn
and reflect

Taking pride in the fact that I am a part of a nation
That is still standing

Despite the numerous
wars,
Slavery,
Inquisitions,
Murders

While the other great empires
are now demolished

But we still stand
Hand in hand
Not great in numbers
But great in contribution

I still don’t remember

Any of the victories
or losses

I have zero recollection of all the affliction
torment
Pain
that occurred
on this day

I don’t have the capacity to remember
This day that lives in infamy in our history

Or

How my home looked
But that will never stop me from trying to take a part in rebuilding it
To return to Jerusalem

I do not remember
But I pause for a moment of clarity

I do not remember
But I remember by never forgetting.

One does not visit San Francisco without journeying across the famous Golden Gate Bridge, a wonder of the engineering world! Yesterday, we walked the bridge together from one end to the other, heads hooded and arms linked to resist the windy weather. We gazed out over the water and took in the stunning views. Once we made it across, we boarded the bus to head to our tour at the Jelly Belly Factory! After doing chabura just outside, we entered the top-secret factory where no pictures or videos are allowed. Our guide handed each of us a Jelly Belly factory worker hat, mandatory to wear in order to enter the official Jelly Belly halls. We learned about the history of the jelly bean and the Jelly Belly company, peered down from above to watch the employees hard at work, and received free packets of Jelly Belly jelly beans at the end. The walls were filled with framed professional artwork made entirely of Jelly Belly jelly beans! We returned to the hotel to a pleasant surprise- fleishigs for dinner during the Nine Days thanks to our NCSY GIVE WEST program “father” Yaakov Borenstein who made a siyum on Masechet Shabbos! We sang and celebrated the completion of a portion of his Torah learning and began the next Masechta all together. After a heavenly dinner, we jumped right back onto the bus for a fun night out at the bowling alley! We had an awesome time bowling and cheering each other on. This morning we let the girls sleep in a little bit to recuperate from many days and nights in a row of jam-packed touring, chessed, learning, and fun to recuperate and make sure everyone was well-rested for today’s huge road trip! We spent the day on a long drive from Vacaville over to Grants Pass, Oregon. The drive may have been long, but it took us all across the coast with the most stunning of views. We felt humbled by the tremendous trees surrounding us as we drove through the Redwood Forest. We could barely see the tops of the trees and sat in awe of Hashem’s creation. We pulled over and stepped out onto the beach as the sun began to set and the Pacific Ocean glimmered before us for a beautiful mincha in nature. Our journey continues early tomorrow morning until we arrive in Seattle, Washington, where we have planned to spend an uplifting Shabbos and Tisha B’Av together this weekend.

Day #16 was a blast as NCSY GIVE WEST made it’s mark in the city of San Francisco. We braved the wind and chilly weather for a packed day, beginning with a tour of the “Googleplex” or official Google Headquarters. We were led on a special tour by Long Island, New York NCSY alumnus Barry Berkowitz who now works in the finance department at Google. (Read about Barry’s NCSY experience here: https://ncsy.org/searching-for-faith/). We quickly learned about and saw right before our eyes the unique culture at Google. The huge complex is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Workers ride around the on colorful bicycles. Employees are offered free access to on-site spas, bowling alleys, doctors offices, gyms complete with personal-training sessions for all, and much more. One interior we saw had a giant slide, arcade games, and bright, fun artwork on the walls for employees to enjoy. Tons of free, yummy, healthy food is served throughout the day, including plenty of Kosher options. Health, wellness, and happiness are encouraged at Google to set employees up for success and maximum opportunity to contribute to the company. One highlight of our tour was the Google Earth display, where we zoomed in and “visited” the Kotel, the holy Western Wall in Jerusalem. We are thinking always of our home and our brothers and sisters in the East, even all of the way over here in the West! Before leaving Google, we spread out outside for chaburah learning. Next we rode to Union Square plaza for some shopping and free time. From there, we boarded the trolley together over the hills to Ghiradelli Square, home and headquarters to the Ghiradelli Chocolate Company. As excited as we were for the chocolate and ice cream at Ghiradelli, the amazing sushi dinner by the water arranged by Yaakov and Talia took the night to a whole new level! The sushi perfectly led us into our final stop of the night, Fisherman’s Wharf at Pier 39. Another amazing day on NCSY GIVE WEST!

Today was a big travel day from Fresno over to Vacaville, but our journey centered around an incredible visit to Yosemite National Park. The park is set within California’s Sierra Nevada mountains. The huge trees surround and tower over all who pass through. We stepped off of the bus and felt humbled by the canopy of giant sequoias above our heads, the tremendous rock and mountains before our eyes. We started with a more relaxed nature walk after lunch heading from the Visitor Center to the Lower Yosemite Falls. We crossed over a big bridge to find the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to climb up the rocks and past the water, higher and higher, until we could see the stunning, powerful waterfall rushing down from above! From such a high point, we could also look out and appreciate the view at Yosemite in a whole new way. We truly felt like we were standing on the front of a postcard with the amazing scenery all around. The views were inspiring and reminded us of the glory of Hashem and the beauty of His world. We finished the hike just in time, before the rain began to fall. We hopped onto the bus and drove to the hotel in Vacaville where Talia and Yaakov greeted us with a yummy dinner.