My Dear NCSY JOLT Israel Family,

I hope this email finds you all well. Today was awesome (As usual). It is our final full day together and I think we are all feeling it a bit. We didn’t do anything too exerting, but the things that we did were just perfect. On an aside, I have received some really beautiful emails from parents. Keep them coming, they are so meaningful to all of us!!

Just a quick word. There was a 24-hour bug going through some of our Simcha LaYeled campers and some of our JOLT Israel campers. It is almost done and IYH will be finished soon. I am hopeful that this is for good and that it doesn’t reappear. Either way, we are totally on top of everything and your children are in great hands!

Today we started out with a tour of a dairy farm in Avnei Eitan, a picturesque Yishuv in the Golan (where we will be sleeping tomorrow night). We saw how the milking process works from beginning to end. We fed baby cows, watched the cows get milked and made butter. It was actually a pretty cool experience. It was a small family owned milk farm and we got a good understanding of the inner workings. I am happy that our kids got a chance to see it and I am thrilled that we did it together with our Simcha LaYeled campers. So often in the milk industry there are stories of unethical behavior towards animals. Being that we went to a small family owned farm that focuses on the cows being milked without prodding, it is better for the cows in so many ways. I felt that it was just another sensitivity that was important for us to experience together as a group.

After finishing the milking, we went to Tel Saki, an important area in the story of the Yom Kippur war. It is a story of heroism and strength and one that we told in the actual bunker that it happened in. There is something powerful standing on top of that windy hill, old bunkers underfoot, Syria behind us and a massive Israeli flag blowing in the forefront. Very very Chazak!

From Tel-Saki we made our way to pick fresh nectarines and plumbs from an orchard. We learned about drip irrigation and general Halachot. However, before eating we had an amazing lunch. A traveling brick oven with fresh pizza made to order. It was amazing!!!!

We returned back and prepared for tonight’s talent show. It was wonderful! Our JOLT Israelers and our Simcha LaYeled campers performed together in an exciting show of harmony and beauty.

The tears are already starting to flow and we are anticipating a tough day tomorrow. It will be difficult to leave the kids that we have bonded with and created such deep connections. But I guess in many ways that is the best sign that this was tremendously successful.

I want to wish everyone a good night. May Hashem watch over all of Klal Yisrael.  

Rabbi Dr. Noam Weinberg

Director, NCSY JOLT Israel

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