Good Afternoon NCSY JOLT Israel Family!!!

I just want to clarify one thing. No NCSYer is permitted to go through security until we are ready to go through as a group. After the kids get ticketed, we will be saying goodbye to parents, family and friends that came to see them off. We will then be taking our JOLT Israelers for some food and drink and then we will be going through security together as a group.  

I am really looking forward to seeing everyone really soon!

Get ready for the BEST.SUMMER.EVER

-Rabbi Weinberg

Dear NCSY JOLT Israel Family,

I am so excited for what is going to be the MOST AMAZING SUMMER EVER!!!! I am looking forward to seeing everyone at 7:30 P.M. tomorrow at JFK Terminal 4. When you get to the terminal, your JOLT Israel staff will be ready and able to assist you in anything you need. At about 8:00 P.M. we will start getting the kids ticketed and through security to the gate. Please note a few important reminders:

1. Don’t forget your passports!!

2. Make sure you have checked the weight and dimensions of the bags you will be bringing.  

3. Wear comfortable clothing for the plane. 

4. Boys– Make sure to bring your Tefillin with you in your carry-on bags. We will be davening Shachris on the plane.

5. Please remember to pack a shirt in your carry on bag that you will tear Kriah on, when we get to Yerushalayim.

Please make sure to watch for my daily emails and feel free to share with anyone you think will enjoy them. You’ll understand the allure when you start reading them, especially my in-depth descriptions of food. For those of you who have sent your other children with me before, you know exactly what I’m talking about…:-)

I think that covers everything. If you have any questions please feel free to be in touch. The best way is through Whatsapp at 551-795-5036

Looking forward to tomorrow when our journey together begins……

With warmest wishes

-Rabbi Weinberg

Dear NCSY JOLT Israel Family (Parents and Children),

I hope this email finds you well. I am sitting here in my kitchen surrounded by Nechama, Ruchi, Ellie and Aviel but I am missing my other kids. Not just Atara who is by a friend in Great Neck and Dovi who stayed for his year in Israel, although I miss them tremendously too, but I am referring to 40 amazing teens from around the country (and one from Israel) who I miss so terribly.

I may ramble a bit, but try to stay with me…..We set out at the beginning of the program with the goal of creating a family. That is exactly what we did. We legit created a family among the staff, among the kids and between each other. Success doesn’t happen in a vacuum. It is the result of hard work and energy. Meeting new people, working with others that have different personalities, and trying to put it all together is never an easy feat. But we all worked together and made it happen. Every single one of you who came on NCSY JOLT Israel changed lives and had their lives changed. I have the most amazing memories with each and every one of you. Every day was a special and unique encounter with all of you. I feel so close to everyone and that’s what makes these moments away from everyone so difficult for all of us. I have been walking around in a kinda fog like state. It’s probably a healthy mix of exhaustion, jet lag, not wanting to go back to the real world and missing all of you so very much. So what do we do from here…How do we deal with getting back into life in America. So I will share with you the following idea that I believe to be true and it’s also one of the things I share with my students each year when I come back from Poland with them. We have pictures, memories and gifts that we bought while we were in Israel. But this program was so much more than sightseeing and touring. It was about changing the lives of 57 children whose siblings are battling cancer. We gave them 9 days of fun and happiness to the point that they forgot what sadness meant. We changed the lives of their parents who were given a vacation for that time (the first time for some in years) and had the opportunity to focus on themselves which is so important. We did other forms of Chesed as well (I am not just talking about dumpster diving for Jack’s Tefillin), we uprooted trees and cleared areas for a garden in the Oz V’gaon park, we ate our break fast meal in the Yekev winery so we can help give Parnasah to a Jew who needed. Those memories will stick with me forever. What about the awesome fun that we had waterskiing, rappelling, hiking, singing, bonfires and more bonfires….Who remembers the grape picking and bike riding, the water sports, the boat rides, and most importantly all the food, and more food, the breakfasts and more food! We literally ate our way through Israel. BTW- I lost 6 pounds….crazy right? I think my scale may be broken…..

So what do we do now? We are each going into Shabbos with our respective families, but we leave behind our NCSY JOLT Israel family. My answer is if we each emerge from this summer as better people, more refined, more sensitive, more committed in whatever area it may be, then the time that we spent together remains with us forever. Those changes are what makes our memories tangible and what allow the time we spent together to exist and remain.

On an aside, many of you have asked me what you can do to help JOLT Israel. The only thing I can say is talk about it with your friends and neighbors. Let people know that we did something amazing on this program. We are the first of a kids to do this! Let people know that we actually changed lives and that we became better people for it. Tell kids who are the right age for the program to come on it and be part of something truly unique and amazing!

You are fantastic kids. Each and every one of you proved yourself to be amazing as individuals and as members of a larger group. You each took a leap of faith to join me and I hope that you got everything you hoped for. I want you to know that you will all forever hold a very special place in my heart. You will always be my children. If I can ever be of help in any way in the future, be it for a recommendation, help you with a job or to help you with anything please don’t hesitate to reach out. I am here for you always.  Always

This is not goodbye. This is hello to being part of a new family for the rest of our lives together!

With love,

-Rabbi Weinberg

Dear Heilige Parents and NCSY JOLT Israel’ers,

I hope this email finds you well.  So we haven’t spoken since before Shabbos and a lot has happened since then. I want to fill you in on everything. Let’s start with Shabbos. Friday night we walked to the Kotel together and davened with thousands of others who had come to be in the old city for Shabbos Chazon. We danced and sang with soldiers and friends in wide circles in the Kotel Plaza. It was a thing of pure beauty.  After davening we walked to together to Aish HaTorah where we ate our Seuda. The food was excellent but more importantly I had a chance to give each one of the kids a private Bracha for Friday night.  I was moved to tears as everyone stood on line so that I can give them their own special Bracha. My own biological children stood on line together with them, because they know as well how deeply I care for my JOLT Israel kids and I view them as part of my family.

After dinner we had an awesome Kumsitz that lasted until about 1 A.M. we sang, we laughed and we were inspired. We even had a magic show given by Yosef Friedman to begin our special time together. At the conclusion of the Kumsitz, there was a real feeling of spirituality (however one defines that) and we felt it only appropriate to give the kids a few minutes of reflection time at the Kotel. There is something very powerful about standing in front of the Kotel at 1:30 in the morning, when no one is around, and the cool mountain air whips around you with gentle breezes and you can just speak to Hashem and pour your heart out.  It was one of the moments you can’t anticipate nor can you recreate and I am so happy that the kids had an opportunity to experience it. We walked back to the hotel together and headed to bed at about 2:15.

Shabbos morning we made our own Minyan and ate lunch in the hotel (The Prima Kings). The food was excellent! Tons of choices and most importantly they had chopped liver and real Kishka. What can I say I am a sucker for old school European delicacies. The only thing that would have been better would have been a plate of Pitcha…But that’s another story.

After lunch we davened Mincha and then had rest for a few hours. We were going to have a long evening ahead of us so I wanted everyone to rest up. We had an optional walking tour as well as an ask the Rabbi session. From there we went to Seudah Shlishit in the hotel, which was amazing. Some people braved it and ate meat before the fast I for one had some fish and watermelon. Interesting choice I know but it did the trick. We davened Maariv and then went to the rooms to change shoes then we loaded our bullet proof bus and went to the most amazing place to read Eicha. The place we went to is called the Herodium. The name comes from the Greek Ἡρώδειον meaning a truncated cone. It is located 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) south of Jerusalem. Herod built a fortress, a palace, and a small town in Herodium, between 23 and 15 BCE, and is believed to have been buried there. The reason why we went there is because the tradition has it that this was the last strong hold during the Roman Seige and it was here that the last standing Jews were able to Jerusalem in flames. We were right near the Yishuv called Tekoa and many Jews from surrounding Yishuvim in Yehuda V’Shomron come to read Eicha there. We found a private spot amongst the ruins and we sat down and heard very deep words of Chizuk from Rabbi Rosenfeld. After he spoke we read Eicha and then had a beautiful Kumsitz. After we finished the kids had a few minutes to reflect and then we headed down to the bus, which took us back to our hotel.

Tisha B’Av morning we davened Shachris and then did an awesome Kinnos round robin. Each one of the advisors prepared a specific Kinnah and then each advisor went to every group presenting a bit of a background of their specific Kinnah and said it together with each group. Then we all came together for the last four Kinnos and did them together as a group. We did Eli Tzion presented by Yoel, Eish Tukad B’Kirbi presented by Rabbi Rosenfeld, The Bobover Rebbe’s Kinna on the Holocaust presented by myself and then a special tribute to Gush Katif presented by Yehuda who was one of the children evacuated from his home in Ganei Tal. They were all so moving and the kids were amazing throughout each of the presentations. From Kinnos we went to Mincha and then there was free time for the kids to sleep and relax, with the optional Tisha B’Av movie of course. At about 6:00 we loaded the bus and drove to the Kotel so that we can take part in the amazing and unique NCSY Kumsitz at the Kotel. It was awesome!! All people, men and women, Chassidim and Religious Zionists, non-observant and newly observant all sat and sang together. It was Mamesh powerful.

We left the Kumsitz towards the end and walked up to the Rova for Maariv. From there we went to the bus and quickly broke our fast. We got on the bus and drove to the Yekev Winery in the Gush for an amazing breakfast (without wine of course). It was our chance to perform a Mitzvah and help give Parnassa to a Jew who was struggling due to the current situation. The kids felt awesome about doing something unique and out of the box as well as helping a fellow Jew. I would like to say for the record that the food was absolutely amazing!! If you are in Israel and would like a boutique eating experience please go visit and spend some money there. They are good people and it’s a big Mitzvah.

After our break-fast we returned back to our hotel and packed up and relaxed for a bit. In the morning we davened, ate breakfast and then went to Meah Shearim. While there the kids were able to pick out a sefer of their choice paid for by a donor. IOt was awesome seeing the kids looking amongst the vast sea of books looking for the “right” sefer for them. After the Seforim were bought, the kids sat on the bus learning together and reading through their new treasures. You can’t imagine what an awesome feeling that was for me to watch.  With seforim in hand, we headed down to Eilat.

On the way down we stopped at a beautiful little water hike called Nachal Bokek. One of the things that I tried to point out to the kids was at that “Mah Rabu Maasecha Hashem” moment when you walk through the beautiful and majestic orange red mountains in the area of Sodom and suddenly our of no where appears an underground stream of fresh sweet water. We walked along the water and vegetation finally stopping at a small pool of water where we relaxed for a little while. We walkedback and then went to the Dead Sea. Even though it was literally like walking into hot chicken soup some of the kids tried it for the experience and it was well worth it. You can’t go to the Dead Sea and not try floating in it at least once.

After changing and getting back on the bus we headed down to Eilat. As we were driving we made sure to point out to the kids the interesting landmarks as well as the Jewish historical significance of certain places. We finally arrived in Eilat and got to our hotel. We unloaded our bags and walked straight to the boardwalk for dinner at Burgers Bar. The food was solid and we all enjoyed a meat dinner. The kids had some free time on the boardwalk and then returned back to the hotel.

This morning was awesome! We had an optional hike up Har Tzfachot at 4:30 A.M. about 24 kids opted to go on that hike. It was amazing because we hiked before sunrise and had a chance to see the sun rise over the Jordanian mountains. It was from this vantage point that we were able to see Egypt, Jordan. Saudi Arabia and Israel. Imagine the sun rising over the brownish reddish mountains, the crystal blue water underneath and the world starting to awake. For just that one moment things seemed so peaceful. Our advisor Michael brought his “Yom Kippur” Chaburah up to the top where they actually mock performed the Yom Kippur service of throwing the ram off the cliff. We bought a stuffed lamb doll (close enough) and used it as our Seir La”Azazel. It was awesome to watch it happen. We came back to the hotel, showered and changed for davening. After breakfast we loaded the bus and got ready for a day of fun in the sun. The boys rented out a boat that took us into the middle of the sea where we went swimming and snorkeling. The girls at that time, had some pretty awesome water sports…banana boating and the like. Then we ate lunch together and flipped. So the girls went to the yacht and went snorkeling and the boys did water sports. After we all had enough of the hot Eilat sun, we went back to the hotel to cool off, drink and change for a dinner in the Ice mall. It’s called that because the entire mall surrounds an ice skating rink.  After an awesome dinner in Café Café, we had free time and went ice-skating. It was a lot of fun and not necessarily what you would envision as part of the itinerary on a trip to Eilat. But it was great! We got back to the hotel davened and some kids wanted some free time on the boardwalk so Nechama and I took them for 45 minutes and then we all walked back together.

Tomorrow is our last full day together. It is surreal. This summer has been so outrageously amazing. I have come to know 40 if the most amazing kids I have ever met. Each one brings something unique and beautiful to the table and I am going to miss each and every one of them terribly. I am also going to miss writing to you each night. This was not a burden by any means; it was a pleasure to be in constant contact with you. I felt like I had all of you on the trip with me as well. I hope I gave you but a small little flavor of how amazing this program is. We literally changed lives and enhanced others. The bottom line is that no one is coming out of here the same as they went in. I believe we are all coming out better; perhaps more refined or more mature. Some of us grew in our connection with Hashem and others got to know ourselves a bit better. But everyone is coming out intact and as part of an extended family. The NCSY JOLT Israel family! That is a family will always stay together. May Hashem watch over all of these beautiful and holy Neshamos.  I am blessed, together with Nechama, Rabbi Rosenfeld, Yoel, Yehuda and the advisors to have had this opportunity to impact young Jewish lives in such a meaningful way. There is more to say but I will save it for my last email tomorrow night.

With warmest wishes

-Rabbi Weinberg

Dear Heilige Parents and NCSY JOLT Israel’ers,

It’s hard to believe that a little over a month ago at this exact time, Rabbi Rosenfeld and I were doing airport runs for our kids flying in from across the United States. Now I look at the window here in Yerushalayim and I am overwhelmed with feelings as we get ready to spend our last Shabbos together. These past two days have been non-stop and magical. Yesterday we did a five hour hike in Wadi Kelt otherwise known as Nachal Prat. It was amazing! We woke up at five so that we would be able to get to the start of the hike early enough that we wouldn’t be caught in the blazing heat of the sun. Imagine if you will walking through fields of wild lime trees, fig trees and wild grapes. The pungent smells of horse mint and lavender lining the streams that we walked along were intoxicating. We walked on paths, in streams and up mountains but the most amazing thing that I noticed as we walked was not just the sights which were beyond awesome. Including the heard of wild mountain goats and the rolling expanse of holy mountains. What was truly amazing was listening to the kids laughing and singing and cheering and giggling along the entire length of the hike. It was like a big family of 40 kids bound together by a common thread. I was truly moved. It was excatly the way it should have been.

After Wadi Kelt we went back to Bayit Vagan, showered, rested a bit and then met to go to the Kotel for an amazing tour of the Kotel tunnels. I have done these tunnels tons of times but it is amazing to me how much they add each time. I saw things I have never seen before. It was awesome! I believe the most poignent part of the whole thing was when we stood right across from the Kodesh HaKedoshim and gave time for the kids to pour their hearts out to Hashem. It was powerful to watch and even more powerful to be part of.

We came back for dinner and then davened Mariv. After Mariv we heard a beautiful Dvar Torah from Avi Roth who made a Siyum on Taanis which allowed those who were interested to buy some Burger’s Bar. I mean seriously, how long can a person go without meat?!

This morning we packed up and left our temporary home in Bayit Vagan and loaded the buses. We drove to Emek Tzurim and did some artifact sifting. We found some amazing things! We davened mincha there on a hill looking out at Har HaBayis. It was funny because unlike in America where you always face east towards Eretz Yisrael and Yerushalayim. In Israel, depending on where you are you face towards Yerushalayim in different directions. While standing there in Emek Tzurim, we joked amongst ourselves and also marveled at how lucky we were, no one had to ask which direction we needed to face because it was staring us right in the face.

From Emek Tzurim we gave the kids some free time in the Shuk and now we are all back, safe and sound in our hotel for what promises to be an amazing last Shabbos.

Next week I will write up my reflection on this summer but I wanted to tell you how amazing your children are. Each one of them has been an amazing addition to this trip. It wouldn’t have been the same without each and every one of them. I Mamesh view them as my own children and I am excited to continue our relationships for many years to come!

I also want to take this opportunity to wish each of you a Gut Shabbos, a sweet Shabbos, a Heilige Shabbos and an easy and meaningful fast.

With warmest wishes

-Rabbi Weinberg

Dear Heilige Parents and NCSY JOLT Israel’ers,

I hope this email finds you all well. Today was yet another winner! It was truly non-stop awesomeness. Today was a day dedicated to the parts of Israel people are often times to afraid to go to. Places like Chevron, Kever Rachel and the Gush are areas that we read about and often times allow the media to completely taint the way we understand facts on the ground. One of the things I spoke with the kids about today was the importance of holding on to certain values. The value of Eretz Yisrael is something that we can not take for granted. By visiting these places we make a statement that this is our history, our land, and our right!  In my eyes that is true leadership.  We obviously took appropriate precautions such as an extra security escort with an M-16 as well as a bullet proof bus. After davening and breakfast we loaded our bus and started our journey to Chevron. There is something magical that I experience when driving through the hillsides. The orange-brown dirt contrasted by the green vegetation on the terraced mountains makes one feel like they are riding back in time. We finally made our way to Kiryat Arba and then throughout he winding roads of Chevron until we got to the Ma’aras HaMachpeilah. We spoke to   the kids for a few minutes on the grass outside and then brought them in so as to give them a few minutes to daven at the grave sites of our holy great grandparents. After a few meaningful and powerful minutes we brought the kids out gain so that they can hear a few words about the current community and the challenges it faces. It was an excellent discussion and we each learned a ton.

From the Ma’arah we went straight to eat lunch in a park in the Gush called Oz V’Gaon in memory of the three boys who were kidnapped and killed. After lunch we took tool and split into groups and volunteered a bit over an hour to help clean up a certain area of the park so that they can plant flowers and trees there. It was awesome.

After that we went to the new museum in Kfar Etzion which told the story of the Jewish struggle for the Gush. It was excellent! WE drove a few minutes after that to the Lone Oak tree. It was this very tree that the residents of the Gush looked at when they were separated for those years until 1967. I spoke to the kids a bit about being a part of the destiny of the Jewish people. From there we traveled to Mama Rochel to dave a bit at Kever Rachel. It was a very spiritual experience for many of us.

We came back, ate supper, then broke into learning groups and had some chill time. I put the kids to sleep early tonight because we have a very early morning tomorrow. We are dong a great hike and I need them well rested and up for the challenges of the day.

Looking forward to speaking with you tomorrow.

With warmest wishes

-Rabbi Weinberg

Dear Heilige Parents and NCSY JOLT Israel’ers,

I hope this email finds you well. Today was another awesome day! We had a bit of a late wake up this morning (8:00), and then davening and breakfast. After eating our fill, we loaded the buses and went straight to our first stop in the quaint and beautiful Yishuv called Nitzan. It was here that we went to a place that I had never been to before. What made this place special for us is that they have a very powerful Gush Katif museum.  It was brilliantly done and I was impressed with their attention to detail. It told the story through the eyes of the last child born in Gush Katif. Some of what we saw was extremely painful to watch. Yehuda, our amazing Chovesh/Security/Logistics person was actually from Ganei Tal and will be speaking to us about his experiences during the disengagement.  We finished our tour and got back on the bus. Yoel felt it necessary to debrief with the kids. I totally concurred with him and we both spoke to them to give them a historical backstory to what happened. I shared my political frustration with the kids and I thought it was important for them to hear that perspective.

We traveled further south to a place called Shvil HaSalat or in English- The salad trail. It was actually pretty awesome. We learned all about the agricultural scene in the desert. We saw amazing feats of agricultural brilliance that allows a dry arid area in Israel to flourish with tremendous success. We had an opportunity to learn about hydroponics, drip irrigation and some other really interesting things. We walked into the greenhouse with tomatoes and cucumbers and after the talk we were given time to walk around and eat the fresh vegetables off the plants.  We did a bunch of other really cool stuff there. The kids loved it!

From there we drove to Machtesh HaGadol where we hiked up the Snapir HaKatan. It was a nice hike and the kids really liked it a lot. When we got to the top we saw an amazing sunset over the mountains. It was really powerful seeing something like that. It is actually a very humbling experience.

We walked down and loaded the bus. From the “Machtesh” we traveled about 15 minutes to a town called Yerucham where we ate pizza for supper. The pizza was actually very good! I mean who would have thought that there would be a solid pizza place outside of the Five Towns..LOL. Let alone in a small town in the desert!

We drove back to our base and davened Maariv. After davening I gave an optional Shiur entitled “Why it is forbidden to feel guilty about doing the wrong thing.” I must say amongst all of the impressive things that I have seen with this group of kids. One of the most impressive is how much they love learning! We offer so many opportunities for learning throughout the day and the kids take us up on ALL of them. We built something powerful together. We took lots of different kids from all over the country and created a family. We created a culture of respect, growth and personal development. I am really going to miss everyone. I can’t believe how quickly the summer flew by….

Wednesday is going to be a very special day and I am excited to share it with my JOLT Israel’ers. I am excited to share it with you as well.

Looking forward to speaking with you later.

If you have any questions or comments please feel free to send me an e-mail they are always appreciated.     

With warmest wishes

-Rabbi Weinberg

Shalom Everyone,

I hope all is well. I know it has been two days and there is so much to write but things are hopping and bopping here so not as much time to write as I would have liked. BTW- This is great news for you! It means that you kids are doing things, learning and growing. It was amazing rejoining our family members who went away for Shabbos. The kids were so excited to see one another and it was so cute how they all immediately came together like siblings. We had an awesome day where we did a tour of Ir David, walked through Chizkiyahu’s tunnel and then some Kotle time. After davening and speaking to Hashem we did a walking tour of the Old City. It was pretty amazing. We had the great privilege of being invited onto the room of Aish HaTorah to see on top of Har HaBayis. We had a beautiful, impromptu  Kumsitz on the roof and then continued onto the some other important sites. After the Old City, we ate dinner and then headed back to our lodging.

Today was an earlier wake up and with good reason. We went to Har Hertzel today but we needed the actual time to do the program that we needed to do. Many of our advisors spoke as well as Yoel and it was an hauntingly, high caliber experience. From there we went to Lakchish and took the kids grape picking in the vineyards. We learned all about Trumah and Maaser and it was an awesome opportunity for the kids to learn some things experientially. fom there we went on an awesome off road bike riding trek. The kids loved it! To end this amazing day we went crawling through some caves from the time of Bar Kochba. It was awesome. We came back, ate, davened Maariv and had an awesome night activity of the kids.

Tomorrow is another awesome day including a hike!! I can’t wait to tell you about it. But I also can’t wait to get into bed right now and go to sleep!

Speak to you tomorrow

-Rabbi Weinberg

Dear Heilige Parents and NCSY JOLT Israel’ers,

I hope this email finds you well. So we are on our free Shabbos and our kids are safely by family and friends, enjoying a little down time. I must say that I am happy for everyone but it is truly bittersweet. I miss all my JOLT Israel’ers and more importantly they all miss one another! When you spend so much time with people, learning together, growing together and bonding together it is difficult to split up. The only comfort is that Sunday morning we will be back together. J We have an amazing next two weeks coming up and I am looking forward to spending it together as the one big family that we have created. 

Yesterday was a great day with a little impromptu programing. We had an early wakeup , davened and packed the bus for our free Shabbos. We all loaded the bus and then one member of our extended JOLT Israel family lost his Tefillin. We spent a while looking for them, with many of our kids helping us search far and wide. Some of our staff actually dove into the dumpster to try and find them. High and low, we searched everywhere until they were found. It wasn’t exactly the most exciting find because it ended up being in a hidden compartment in his backpack. However, all that being said, the most important part of that experience was the fact that it solidified us as a group in the sense that something, which was of personal sentimental value to one person, became important to all of us. In addition, as Nechama wrote to all of our JOLT Israel kids “This taught us that leaders do for others what they may not necessarily do for themselves….kinda like parents J” This was such an important lesson for all of our kids to see. I am proud of those of our JOLT Israel’ers that helped in the search and rescue of the Tefillin. I really believe that this was a true teachable moment.

We ended up going straight to Latrun and got the chance to learn a bit more about the “Shiryon” or armored tanks corps of the Israeli Army. We met with soldiers, saw a quick film about it and had a chance to walk through a museum of actual tanks and their evolution throughout the history of Israel. After leaving Latrun we went straight to Jerusalem. We gave the kids a little over an hour of free time on Ben Yehuda and we gave them some spending money as well for food.  

After everyone had time to buy food, gifts and tons of iced coffee we went together for an excellent presentation from Stand With Us. I felt it was important for our kids to learn about the importance of Israel advocacy. The tides of anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism are one and the same and are shifting towards very unhealthy levels in America, especially on college campuses. Our children MUST be prepared to deal with these issues. They need to be fluent in the arguments, they need to understand the debates and be clear on the facts. The kids were tired but were excellent! I was very impressed with their involvement in the lecture and the level of respect that they treated this topic with. Rabbi Rosenfeld and I will be continuing this conversation with the kids and we will be having a session with them at some point this week.

From our Stand With Us presentation, we went to our drop off’s and all the kids got to their respective homes in an organized and orderly way. We will be seeing them all again on Sunday morning and as you know I am looking forward to seeing them again for another few amazing weeks.

I can honestly say that at this midpoint in the summer we have done some amazing things! In addition, to watching our kids evolve throughout this summer; we changed lives and did tremendous acts of Chessed for entire families. I am proud of all of our participants, I am grateful to you the parents who have entrusted us with assisting you in facilitating their social, emotional, spiritual and religious development. I am so grateful to our advisors, without whom we wouldn’t be able to do the amazing things we do. They are each amazing in their own rights and together they are priceless.  I am grateful to Nechama for working so amazingly hard behind the scenes to help put together an amazing program and deal with many of the little details that need to be taken care of in order for things to work. Her ability to think on the fly has been so essential when we dealt with the small heat related issues. I am deeply grateful to Rabbi Rosenfeld our assistant director for being an amazing powerhouse of energy, structure and non-stop humor. His interest in the success of each and every child on our program is truly impressive. I am grateful to Yoel and Yehuda our Israeli Madrichim, who are beyond words. They are all about JOLT Israel in everything they do and our family would not be complete without them. I am of course grateful to David Cutler for his close friendship and for being awesome, supportive and Kulo Tov. Of course, none of this would be possible without Hashem consistently showering His infinite love and goodness upon all of us.

I will end with the following. Many parents have sent me emails asking what they can do to help with recruitment for next summer for JOLT Israel. Several parents have also asked me about whether they can host parlor meetings this coming year. I am so very touched by the outpouring of love and appreciation of this amazing summer. I will be sending an email next week talking a little bit more about what everyone can do to help, so sit tight and I will let you know. But thank you really from the depths of my heart.

Hashem should continue to bless us all with good health, amazing fun, good friends, continued success, GREAT FOOD and maybe a little less heat J

Wishing you all a beautiful sweet Shabbos from our holy undivided city of Yerushalayim.

With warmest wishes

-Rabbi Weinberg     

Dear Heilige Parents and NCSY JOLT Israel’ers,

I hope this email finds you well. Today was…you guessed it…another AWESOME DAY!!! We had a late wake up which was very much needed followed by davening and then an awesome breakfast. To be honest with you, I didn’t think it would be as good as it was but it actually was surprisingly, quite good. Upon entering the lunchroom there was a big bucket of “Choco B’Sakit” which is essentially a bag of chocolate milk but one of those weird things that we all got very excited about. To fully appreciate the experience there is a gentle technique one needs to use. It’s all about biting off a small piece from the top corner and quickly putting it into your mouth and squeezing out all the “choco”. It’s truly an amazing experience. Anyhow….we had a beautiful spread of omelets, cottage cheese, pancakes, cut vegetables, olives, pickles and a few other things. It was a great way to start our day.

We loaded the buses and went down South to Masada. Because we got there at one in the afternoon, it was too hot to walk up so we took the cable car to the top. Yoel gave us an incredible tour and really helped us to understand that era as well as the trials and tribulations of the Jews during the time of the Roman occupation. We took the cable car down and then proceeded to the lunchroom where we ate. We drove straight to the Mamshit ranch where we went camel riding  along the old Nabatian spice trade route. It was very cool and we all enjoyed a bit of excitement when Rabbi Rosenfeld had a mechanical failure with his camel. It wasn’t funny when it was happening but we had a good laugh about it at dinner when we listen to Rabbi Rosenfeld tell it over.

From camel riding we were supposed to do a night hike, but due to the heat wave we are experiencing that hike was closed down. We changed some stuff around and hopefully we will be able to put it in for our last week. We came back to Yad Binyamin and ate supper, which was actually delicious. Chicken, rice, roasted potatoes, roasted vegetables and a bunch of other things. Then we rented out the pool for the kids to go swimming. When the girls went swimming the guys played ball and then they had time in the pool after that.  We davened a late Maariv and I took the opportunity to speak with the kids a bit about internalizing the lesson of Masada into our own lives. The lesson I tried to instill what that of doing the right thing because it is the right thing to do and being strong in the face of peer pressure. It’s an important lesson and one, which I truly believe young leaders need to internalize.

Tomorrow we have an awesome day planned starting at Leket and then going to Jerusalem. I want to review with everyone for a brief moment, pick up and drop off times and places. The Jerusalem pick up time is 5:00 P.M. and it will be at the OU center. Please make sure that if your child is being picked up that it is done on time. If you are comfortable with your child taking a taxi or a bus please send me an email confirming that. The bus will then take those kids who are getting picked up from Tel Aviv to the Rakevet Merkaz where they will need to be picked up at 6:00 P.M.  There will be advisors waiting at both places until all of the kids are picked up so there will always be supervision. I would only ask that people are respectful of the advisors time and not keep them waiting. They have done a tremendous job this summer and all them have really been stellar. I would like them to take advantage of the time to recharge.

Sunday morning the drop off time in Tel Aviv at the Rakevet Merkaz is 10:00 A.M. and the drop off time for Jerusalem is 11:00 A.M. at Har Hertzel. Please note the change in location for Jerusalem.

It’s hard to believe that we only have two weeks left, but these next two weeks are going to be powerful and fulfilling as well. We will cherish the time we spend with each other.

As always, if you have any questions or comments please feel free to reach out at any time.  Looking forward to speaking with you tomorrow.

With warmest wishes

-Rabbi Weinberg