Summer 2015

Thursday was a packed day here at camp sports. After a nice trip to Hagerstown on Wednesday, we were back to regular learning groups in the morning, followed by league sports. There is one more game left on the season (to be played on Friday), and spots are still up for grabs in the playoffs.

Once we finished league games, the NCSYers continued their 3-0n-3 basketball tournament, as well as continuing the second and third rounds of the free throw contest for Chai Lifeline. Those who were  not participating in these contests either chose to relax, play open sports on the field, or go with their advisors to 7-Mile Market to shop for Shabbos and the conclusion of camp.

At night as we traditionally do every Thursday night, we had our final Mishmar of the summer (can’t believe the summer is almost over….I remember writing the first blog post about Mishmar) and the Bais Medrash was rocking with learning (see our pictures online). We concluded with our final weekly and Mishmar raffles, followed by cheesecake and ice cream. As we move into Tisha B’av this coming weekend, we wish you and your family a safe and meaningful fast, and hopefully this will be our last Tisha B’av we will have with the rebuilding of the Bais HaMikdash real soon. We will definitely keep you updated right here on our blog about our special Tisha B’av programming in camp.

We didn’t have any official “Wacky Wednesday” theme per se, but Wednesday was definitely a Wacky-ful day! Our NCSYers finished learning with their advisors all of their Mishnayos followed by a trip to the Seforim Store. Each NCSYer was able to choose their own Sefer for free, sponsored generously by Touro College. We spent hours there, getting lost with our eyes on so many different Seforim.

The afternoon continued with a little bit of open sports, but then we quickly boarded our coach bus, and went out west to Hagerstown, MD- home of the Hagerstown Suns Class-A Minor League Baseball  team (affiliate of the Washington Nationals MLB team). When we got to the park next to the stadium, everyone could see chef Samy grilling away, making sure we all were going to celebrate this Siyum with plenty of hamburgers, hotdogs, chicken wings, and steaks (we want to thank Touro College for sponsoring our Siyum as well). NCSYer Eli Schloss finished off the last Mishna in Chagigah for us and made the Siyum on behalf of the camp. All of our learning was in memory of Rebbetzin Green’s mother, who we mentioned before Eli started the Siyum, and our learning should give her Neshama an Aliyah in Gan Eden!

After we finished eating from our Siyum, everyone got a ticket from Rabbi Green and entered Municipal Stadium, ready to root for the hometown Suns. We were a large presence there, and NCSYer, Ben Mizrachi, got to throw out the ceremonial first pitch of the game; a prize he won for learning extra Mishnayos to make sure we were able to make our Siyum happen. Our cheering section by first base was too much for the visiting Sand Gnats from Savannah to handle, and our hometown Suns were victorious by the score of 4-3 in an exciting close game. Many of us won prizes from participating in Baseball Bingo at the ballpark, and overall, we had a blast at the park! Check out our photos from the game to see more! Looking forward to sharing with you more from our awesome week of camp.

On Tuesday, the NCSYers began the morning by continuing their Mishnayos for our big Siyum at the baseball game on Wednesday. Following that, we continued our last week of play in our camp league. Five teams are within one game of each other for the final two spots and a battle for the second overall seed (which receives a bye in the first round of the playoffs) is tight between three teams as well. There are three more league games this season (2 on Thursday and 1 on Friday), then the playoffs begin next week. Stay tuned for more updates.

Once we finished league games, Rabbi Kimche brought his great English flavor to camp by holding a soccer tournament in the early evening, which was very well attended. However, the night wasn’t over just yet. After Ma’ariv, Rabbi Green and Rabbi Kimche both gave a Shiur to each of their groups, and then it was time for the annual Zucker Games! This year led off with a bit of a twist though. Before Rabbi Zucker took the stage, advisor Levi Akkerman and his crew of eight other advisors performed our first camp play and song. It definitely was a big hit, and we thank Levi for all the laughs and talents he and his crew brought on stage.

As the clock struck past 11, it was time for the late night Zucker games. Rabbi Zucker wasted no time picking his first contestants. Rabbi Green and Rabbi Fried were included in the games as well, as part of the first competition. Check out our pictures on Facebook to get a glimpse of the very memorable evening. Stay tuned for a lot more to come from our final week of camp.

Bounce, Bounce, bounce! My bad. Let me tell you what happened in order. The NCSYers are working hard going through each Mishna in depth in our Mishnayos project in learning groups. The Bais Medrash has a great atmosphere, and the learning is going great. After a great morning of learning, the NCSYers quickly boarded the coach bus to Washington D.C., where many of us went to the Holocaust Memorial Museum, the Air & Space Museum, and got a chance to walk around the National Mall in our nation’s capital. Some of us even went as far to the white house and the U.S. Capital building.

Later in the day, we went to a park near the Potomac River to Daven Mincha, followed by joining  Rabbi Fried in his Siyum, as he completed Gemara Kesubos. No Siyum in Camp Sports can go without a BBQ deliciously made by Chef Samy. After the BBQ, we got to spend some time in the beautiful park throwing around the frisbee and enjoying the beautiful view of D.C.

As the sun began to set, the NCSYers hopped back on the bus to head back north towards campus. However, we weren’t going back just yet. Before we headed back to campus, we went on a night trip to Skyzone Trampoline Center, where many of us enjoyed bouncing on the trampolines, flipping over into the foam ball pit, played dodgeball and basketball, and enjoyed many good laughs. Stay tuned as we continue our league games on Tuesday to hear all about the final week of our season!

It’s now time to tie our shoes and play some ball. Sunday morning featured a special learning program, where all the NCSYers were divided up into different learning groups led by the Rabbis. Following our program, we kicked off the week with 2 league games to kick off the final week of the season. Teams are closing in on other teams in the close standings, and it is going to be an exciting final week to see how everyone finishes.

After we had a chance to clean up and eat some dinner, the NCSYers divided themselves up into teams of 3, for our famous 3-0n-3 basketball tournament, with the winner to win a free dinner from Dougies next week. Be sure to check out our photos to get a glimpse of the amazing tournament. Once we finished cleaning up from the tournament, the NCSYers went to the Bais Medrash for Ma’ariv, followed by a video presentation compiled by our lead photographer, Dovi Herman of the memories we had from the first half of the summer. We can’t wait to share with more as the week goes on!

Meet the Camp Sports early birds. A group of seven dedicated NCSYers who wake up 15 minutes early in order to learn about the fundamental principles of Judaism before Shachris. These seven are: Yishai Arnhiem, Efriam Marizan, Yirmy Ertel, Yosef Cohen-Melamed, David Jacobson, Mayer Fink, and Ilan Sasson. They enjoy learning with their advisor, Avi Okin, and feel that the Chaburah helps them start their day on the right foot.

We are learning the first Siman of Orach Chaim in the Aruch HaShulchan, and the goal is to have a better understanding of the basic beliefs that Judaism considers fundamental.

After a long packed schedule Thursday at camp sports, Friday was a bit calmer so we could recharge our bodies from the long week. In learning groups, we continued the Mishnayos project with our Chaburahs, followed by one league game. Before Shabbos, some of us went with Rabbi Fried to get our weekly dose of hockey in, while some of us went to Walmart or 7 Mile Market for some last minute shopping for the coming week. On Friday night, we were privileged to welcome back some of our alumni, including Rabbi Peretsky and Ilan Siegelman. The two of them sat alongside Rabbi Kimche, leading a wonderful Oneg with powerful stories, great Zemiros, and delicious sesame chicken. We also heard a great Dvar Torah from Ilan Sasson at the Shabbos table.

On Shabbos day, we weren’t short any Ruach. The meal was lively, and Efraim Marizan said over some great words of Torah, followed by learning in the Bais Medrash or relaxing in the dorms playing board games, or catching a Shabbos nap. Later in the afternoon, we were able to counter the hot weather outside with some Rita’s ices, followed by Rabbi Fried’s Parsha Highlights and Super Seder. After Shalosh Seudos, David Sellis inspired us with some Divrei Torah, and then the NCSYers got to hear from 0ur assistant director, Rabbi Cooper, as he ebbed Shabbos away. Once we concluded Havdalah, we went bowling for our final Motzei Shabbos bowl of the summer (since Tisha B’av is next  Motzei Shabbos), followed by a pizza Melave Malka. Stay tuned for more updates of our exciting upcoming week of camp!

This summer is Ariel Adler’s second with Camp Sports. Ariel is from Edison, NJ and went to JEC for high school. After spending two years at Yeshivat Torat Shraga, Ariel then moved on to Yeshiva University, where he will be a senior this fall.

The members of Ariel’s Chaburah are Shmuel “Not Related” Adler (Lower East Side, NY), David Jacobson (Jackson Heights, NY), Ari Rosenthal (Santa Rosa, California) and Ilan Sasson (Forest Hills, NY). While the group is very diverse in age, background and personality, they manage to create a cohesive unit that engages in a high level discussion every day.

Ariel’s Chaburah discusses many interesting topics that relate to Olam Habah. They have already looked at various sources discussing what the world will be like when Moshiach comes, what Gan Eden will be like and what Gehinnom really is. They will also learn about the Resurrection of the Dead and find out who doesn’t merit a share in the World to Come. Finally, they will see various passages from Perek Chelek, which is the last chapter in Sanhedrin that deals with many questions relating to the afterlife.

After two straight days of exciting field trips, Camp Sports resumed its famous sports leagues on Thursday. However, before we had a chance to take the field, we have started a new exciting project in learning groups in the morning. The camp together is trying to split up Seder Moed in Mishnayos to finish over the course of the next nine days leading up to Tisha B’av. It will be really meaningful when we all make a Siyum completing the entire Seder Moed, that each and every one of us had a portion in this learning with our Chaburahs.

Once we finished our two league games, select NCSYers won a pool party to go in the late afternoon before the nine days begins. After Mincha, we held our annual Camp Sports free throw shooting contest, in which all the proceeds donated to participate goes to Chai Lifeline. The first round was completed last night, and next week we will resume the next round of shooters for a chance to win the big prize! No Thursday in camp sports is complete however without Mishmar. This week, our theme was “No Google, Just Kugel”. We stored our phones away so we could focus on our learning, followed by our weekly raffle and Kugel to snack on. It was yet another great day here at camp sports, and looking forward to another great upcoming Shabbos!