East Bay - Chanukah Ignite

EAST BAY E D I T I O N

THE NCSY NEWSLETTER

CHANUKAH 2012 WWW.EASTBAY.NCSY.ORG

180

Teens in East Bay NCSY

NCSYers take part in a community-wide chesed day as part of this year’s Leadership Shabbaton.

Leadership Shabbaton This year’s NCSY Leadership Shabbaton was one of our most memorable Shabbatons yet. It had all the good components of an amazing weekend.

Everyone checked into the hotel, got their awesomely cool East Bay NCSY crew necks, and met up with old friends while making new ones. Then, the board gave a presentation and we started to discuss what Jewish leadership means to us.

After a rockin’ Kabbalat Shabbat we had an extremely tasty Friday night meal –complete with

OPURRESIDTEENETNS

singing, an eye-opening story from Rabbi Nachum Zak, Director of NCSY Summer Program JOLT, and of course, cookies.

Shabbat morning everyone benefited from a choice of three types of prayers – traditional, discussion and meditation. The Shabbaton was topped off with ebbing, iLearn, kayak racing on the bay and volunteering at the local food bank on Sunday morning. It was most definitely a great way to start off the year!

A Word From Our NCSY Teen Presidents NCSY is off to a great start this year with a fantastic Great America kickoff event, an inspiring local Shabbaton and lots of fun Latte & Learning events.

We are so excited to be co-presidents this year and we are looking forward to many awesome and inspiring events. We are both juniors at Jewish Community High School and love playing sports, hanging out with friends and being involved in our communities. We both got involved in NCSY in sixth grade and since then NCSY has been a large part of our lives.

East Bay NCSY 2012-2013 co-presidents Shoshana Edelman (left) and Sophia Gluck

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20+

Teens Participating in iLearn

6

NCSYers signed up for NCSY Programs

45+

Teens every week in NCSY programming

Dear Friends, ng! ar we’ve been havi Wow! What a ye ica to Boomers, From Great Amer n, East Bay NCSY from LNL to iLear awesome start! has been of f to anto seeing you at Looking forward ents, Shabbatons and future exciting ev programs! ppy your family a ha Wishing you and an Chanukah, – Rabbi Akiva Naim

... A Word From Our Presidents continued The East Bay chapter has grown and flourished in the last few years and it has been amazing to watch. Through NCSY, we have been able to develop close relationships with advisors who encourage us to connect to our Jewish values and culture. NCSY also gives us an opportunity to learn about Judaism in a relaxed and open environment and hang out with Jewish teens from around the Bay Area. NCSY is a really welcoming community and in it we feel like we can be our true selves. It is rewarding to see all the work we put in pay off when everyone is enjoying themselves at events.

SOFIA MEOLA

Hannah Feiner, a 10th Grader at Jewish Community High School, interviewed Sofia Meola, a 10th grader at Berkeley High School and a member of the East Bay NCSY chapter board.

Hannah: How long have you been participating in NCSY and how did you hear about it?

Sofia: I’ve been doing NCSY for a year or so. I first heard of it when I was in middle school from friends who were already very involved with NCSY. Hannah: What is your favorite NCSY memory?

Sofia: One of my favorite NCSY memories is from the Leadership Shabbaton when we went kayaking in the San Francisco Bay on Saturday night. It was absolutely beautiful and amazing to be out there with friends.

Hannah: Do you think that NCSY has kept you involved in exploring your Jewish identity?

Sofia: By going to Latte & Learning, I have at least one time during the week that’s dedicated to Jewish learning and seeing my Jew buds from other schools. Without NCSY it would be much more difficult to keep up my Jewish learning and discovery.

At NCSY we get to do cool things like paintball, trapezing and night kayaking. We also have two Latte & Learning events a week where you learn about interesting topics and get a free latte. There is something for everyone at NCSY, whether its Israel advocacy, community service, inspiring learning or just hanging out with Jewish friends at awesome social events.

Hannah Feiner (left) and Sofia Meola powder up their hands as they prepare to trapeze at an NCSY event.

Hannah: Tell us what it’s like to be participating in NCSY while going to public school.

Sofia: I love going to Berkeley High because it’s a fantastic school that offers a lot, but it can’t offer me the same sense of Jewish community that NCSY does.

Hannah: How has the new program iLearn been affecting your life? Are you ready to win the iPad? Sofia: You bet! Because of iLearn I’m also learning weekly with NCSY advisor Rikki Sugarman – it’s an incredible opportunity that I’m so thankful for.

By going to Latte & Learning, I have at least one time during the week that’s dedicated to Jewish learning.

We hope that this year our chapter will continue to grow and thrive. We know it will be the best year yet! NCSY has been a positive experience in our lives and we hope that as presidents we will be able to inspire others and give them the same opportunities that we’ve had.

See you at the next event!

Sophia Gluck and Shoshana Edelman

There is something for everyone at NCSY, whether its Israel advocacy, community service, inspiring learning or just hanging out with Jewish friends at awesome social events.

Bringing to Light the Local News You Need to Know

JR. KICKOFF – BOOMERS!

LIMO CHESED HUNT

By: Ami Stein We could not have asked for a better kickoff event for the 2012 year. As soon as the 40 of us got off the bus, we all knew that it was going to be one of the greatest days in NCSY history. The go-karts were awesome, mini-golf was great and the arcades were mind blowing.

By: Tessa Zitter On October 21, fifty NCSYers split up into teams, got into limos and started a crazy scavenger hunt around the Bay Area! The scavenger hunt included all kinds of activities such as throwing a kosher whipped cream pie at a teammate (with their permission), making up a song about NCSY and singing it in front of a Target store and giving sandwiches to the homeless.

The set of winding instructions led to Krispy Kreme where all of the NCSYers ate a doughnut and went home. All in all, everyone had a great time.

SR KICKOFF: GREAT AMERICA By: Ali Zak The Great America kickoff event was a fantastic way to start off the year. It was great to see everyone after the summer and being in such an exciting environment made it even more fun!

I was able to bond with people I already knew and meet new people while going on crazy fun rides!

LATTE & LEARNING (LNL) By: Ariel Cohen LNL has been amazing this year! We have discussed such interesting topics related to Judaism and it’s been incredible!

Not only do we get free Starbucks but we also get to chill with our friends and meet new people! It’s a great event that everyone should experience at least once!

ILEARN

Jr. NCSYers having a blast as they kick off the year at Boomers!

By: Akiva Naiman More than 20 NCSYers have joined our newest program, iLearn. By joining iLearn, NCSYers get points for everything they do that is related to NCSY! There are tons of prizes, and the teen with the most points by Winter Regional wins an iPad! Most NCSYers have also started a chavruta (study partner) with an advisor over the phone or Skype and are learning about their Jewish identity, Shabbat and a variety of other topics every week.

Jan. 13

Trapeze Arts (Juniors) Junior NCSY: 6th – 8th graders

Senior NCSY: 9th – 12th graders

Dec. 20-23

Winter Regional (Seniors) Hilton La Jolla What do you get when you mix San Diego, 350 Jewish teens, lots of food and five full-body gorilla suits? West Coast Winter Regionals! A rockin’ weekend you don’t want to miss!

Jan. 8-Feb. 12

Teen Advocacy Program (10-12 grade) East Bay Jewish Federation The Teen Advocacy Program (TAP) is a brand new, 6-week evening program that takes place every Monday nights from 7-8:30 pm. The program features presentations by leading Jewish advocates, prominent rabbis and politicians, as well as hands-on lobbying seminars and informative sessions. Teens will become well-versed in the state government and the legislative process through participation in interactive sessions, focusing on issues of concern to the Jewish community.

T.A.P. will close with a lobbying session with politicians in Sacramento, a gala dinner with officials and a Certification of Completion from the OU and the IPA.

Trampolines, rope climbing and actual trapezing!

Jan. 27

Laser Tag (Seniors) Feb. 15-18

Tahoe Skibaton (Seniors)

A 4-day Shabbaton, with skiing in Tahoe! Save the date people! iLearn Round II will start on this Shabbaton as well.

March 8

East Bay NCSYers get ready to rock the Limo Chesed Hunt.

April 7

SkyHigh! (Juniors)

How to have an awesome time (Serves 50) Ingredients: → Fifty of your best friends → Giant Trampolines → NCSY Mix well. Serve cool. Repeat as needed.

April 12-14

F.O.U.N.D. Shabbaton (Seniors)

Get ready for an amazing Shabbaton with the Portland NCSY chapter!

The Hebrew Games” Shabbaton (Juniors)

Are you up to the task? Will you be the last one standing in this awesome, surprise filled, super exciting Shabbaton?

April 7

CPR and First Aid Certification (7th-12th Grade) Beth Jacob Congregation The Talmud tells us that one who saves a life – it is as if he saved the whole world. Sign up at eastbay. ncsy.org for this critical training day. Space is limited. From 10:30am-3:00pm. Certification counts for eight community service hours.

Please Note: This is a partial listing of our events this year. For a full listing, please download our yearly calendar from our website: www.eastbay.ncsy.org

YOU DON’T HAVE TO COOK ANYMORE!!

ON WEDNESDAY * THURSDAY * FRIDAY HOT COOKED FOODS FOR YOU TO TAKE HOME! Regional Leadership Effie Goldberg

OKF IS BRINGING ISRAELI FOOD TO OAKLAND! NOW SERVING FRESH MADE SCHWARMA IN A BAGGETTE OR PITA & FILL W/ASSORTED SALADS!

Executive Director rabbife@ncsy.org

Solly Hess Regional Director shess@ncsy.org

Rabbi Akiva Naiman East Bay NCSY Director

WATCH FOR OUR SPECIAL S IN THE “J”

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naimana@ncsy.org

NCSY Teen Presidents Shoshana Edelman Sofia Gluck

NCSY Teen Executive Board Jake Levin Neena Carr Sol Zitter

NCSY Senior Board (Grades 9-12) Ali Zak Ariel Cohen Avigayil Edelman Hannah Feiner Joseph Gershony Rosie Schwarz Sam Orbach Sarah Engel Sofia Meola

NCSY Junior Board (Grades 6-8) Ami Stein Hannah Marcus Naomi Moskowitz Shmuel Edelman Tessa Zitter Yonim Schweig

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