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Dear NCSY GIVE WEST Parents,
Chodesh Tov! I cannot believe we are already approaching the second Shabbos here on GIVE WEST 2015. This past week was jam-packed here in Los Angeles and all of your daughters are happy and healthy. Friendships are blossoming and relationships with advisors are being fostered. The girls are ready and excited to move onto the next location on this crazy road trip up the West Coast!
Sunday kicked off the week with a trip down to San Diego where we explored the Olympic Training Center and had a blast at Seaport Village. Monday and Tuesday were packed with Chesed projects at the Garden of Palms Nursing Home, Baby2Baby, Union Rescue Mission, Midnite Mission, and the Friendship Circle. We also stopped at great LA sights including the Grove, Santa Monica Pier, and Rodeo Drive. Tuesday night concluded at a beautiful pool party in Beverly Hills and COLOR WAR BREAK OUT! Wednesday was filled with Red, White, and Blue spirit, fun, and games! The blue team scored the most points, but all teams enjoyed bonding, competing, singing, and dancing together. We enjoyed the most memorable evening together on Wednesday night with dinner and a bonfire at Dockweiler Beach. Singing the night away we were energized and ready for Six Flags Magic Mountain and Comedy Sportz on Thursday.
Wow, what a week it has been!
Friday morning we will be organizing and running a carnival in Camp Etta Israel, which is a special-needs day camp here in Los Angeles. All of the girls have prepared booths to run at the carnival and are excited to interact with the Camp Etta members. After the carnival we will explore the beautiful Cabrillo Aquarium and then drive to the LA Valley for Shabbos. We will be housed in the community for Shabbos, enjoying meals with the LA families, as well as with our GIVE WEST family. I am looking forward to having another meaningful Shabbos with your daughters.
In this week’s double Parsha, Moshe, commanded by Hashem, rallies up Bnei Yisrael to fight against Midian. Moshe tells Bnei Yisrael the amount of people who should go out to war saying, “A thousand of every tribe, twelve thousand armed for war”. The Meam Lo’ez explains that Moshe wished to demonstrate how their victory was dependent not on the size of their army, nor on the quality of their weapons, but rather on their worthiness. With just 12,000 people and the help of Hashem they would be able to defeat Midian. The message of the battle with Midian is the classic lesson of the Jewish people, less is more when Hashem is on your side.
This past week, NCSY GIVE WEST really demonstrated this message. We learned about unity, friendship, and teamwork. We might be a small NCSY summer program, but we are not small in spirit. We have learned about the power of words, the power of a smile, and the power of learning Torah. The three teams of Color War were Torah, Avodah, and Gemilut Chasadim -- the three pillars on which we ALL stand unified together. With the help of Hashem, may the next Nine Days be cut short with the coming of Mashiach.
Please continue to follow our daily blog and look out for our weekly pre-shabbos video which will be posted today!
Wishing you all a Chodesh Tov and a Good Shabbos from LA,
Leah
Leah Moskovich
NCSY GIVE WEST, Director
giveusawest.ncsy.org
914-629-2726
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