SEATTLE E D I T I O N
THE NCSY NEWSLETTER
CHANUKAH 2011 Sponsored in loving memory of Dale Behar by Helene Behar and family.
2
new JSU clubs opened since September
Over 175 teens attended SeattleCon AKA the Seattle Shabbaton on November 11-13.
In The Right Place By: Makena Owens 12th grade, Northwest Yeshiva High School
During my senior year of high school, my volleyball team qualified for the State Tournament. It was the first time in history this had occurred in my school, an Orthodox Jewish institution. Unfortunately, the games were scheduled for Friday and Saturday afternoons. This conflicted with the Jewish Shabbat, a time we abstain from various types of work
and activities. The administration at my school worked tirelessly with the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA), the organization responsible for managing the state tournament, to suggest various accommodations that could be made in order for my school to participate. However, after much back and forth, they were not able to reach a resolution and we were unable to attend. The local news reported the WIAA saying, “In some cases, we have to make decisions that benefit what we believe is important … the health of athletes is Continued on next page...
Emma O’Quin A. Reading “Night” by Elie Wiesel in the 10th grade. That definitely changed me. Q. How does your Judaism affect your daily decisions? A. It plays a big role because I don’t go to a Jewish school so I have to sacrifice a lot of activities like football games due to Shabbat. Q. What has been your favorite NCSY event? A. New York Trip!
students went to Israel last summer with NCSY
175
teens attented the Seattle Shabbaton
600 +
teens served annually by Seattle NCSY, JSU and Hebrew High
Emma O’Quin, 12th grader at Spanaway Lake High School. Interviewed by Ilana Polack, 11th grader at NYHS
Q. What is a personal Jewish milestone in your life?
20
Emma O’Quin (left) with advisor Perla Maikor and Jennifer Mendoza on SeattleCon 2011.
Q. What are your plans for next year and what are your goals? A. Next year, hopefully I will be in Israel. I really need a year to grow spiritually. I hope to graduate this year in the top two percent of my class. After that, I’d like to attend Stern College for Women at Yeshiva University, get a Masters in Business, and continue to learn on a daily basis. And I have a goal of continuing to take time out of my day to pray.
ily, ds and Fam Dear Frien with you ted to sharending things ci x e re a e W r. Even f the outsta so many o oing on in our chaptemonths that are g as only been a few already though it hear began, we have a look since the y ndous growth. Take nd your seen tremeenjoy! Wishing you a inside and appy Chanukah! family a h an essica Hoffm - Ari a n d J
... “In The Right Place” continued at stake.” Clearly, we had very different priorities. The weekend of the tournament rolled around and I was sitting in synagogue with NCSY listening to Mark Kligman, a religious Jew who represents Major League Baseball players, speak about a similar story that had happened with him. Mr. Kligman was the coach of his son’s little league team when their championship game was scheduled on Saturday. When Mr. Kligman explained to his son that the game was scheduled on Shabbat, the eight-year-old boy replied, “Shabbat is more important.”
Michael and Carol Behar Interview with Michael Behar
Conducted by Naomi Stanley, a sophomore at NYHS
Q. What was your first NCSY event? A. I’m getting into cobwebbed areas here... Portland Shabbaton - 36 years ago (1975). I remember, as a young man, I loved going out of town and meeting so many new people. Quite a few of which I still speak to today. Q. What was your most memorable experience from that Shabbaton? A. Havdalah was AMAZING and absolutely just a moving and wonderful experience. So many kids together made it very meaningful and memorable. Q. Why did you decide to move back to Seattle from Brooklyn, NY? A. I decided to move back to Seattle when my wife and I started settling down and we knew we wanted a safe place to raise our children. Growing up in Seattle, I knew it was safe and had a warm Jewish community. Perfect for family life. Q. What do you want your children to gain from NCSY? A. I was the president of Seattle NCSY in my youth and I was thrilled to have my children participate in NCSY and be able to take part in organizing events with Ari [Hoffman]. NCSY is important in our lives because it offers young men and women a safe place to be Jewish and express their spirituality. It also opens the door to meeting other Jewish friends to relate to and make lifelong connections with.
Q. How has Seattle NCSY changed? A. In my day, we did not have a consistent advisor like Ari, which is both a good and bad thing. Not having one gave us tremendous leadership skills and the ability to take on big roles since the board wasn’t very large and we only had occasional advisors that would come in for events. However, Ari provides leadership and guidance and weaves together a lot of things NCSYers wouldn’t be able to accomplish on their own. Q. How have your personal goals changed over the years? A. They’re fairly the same. We’re trying to develop what the main focus will be in our children’s lives. Our son, Avi, is in Israel. We wanted our children to learn about Judaism and understand more about our faith and continue from NYHS to Israel. Q. How has NCSY affected your life? A. NCSY has had a profound effect on my life. Something would be missing in my children’s lives without it. NCSY is essentially a glue that holds all aspects of Jewish life together, an integral piece of a puzzle. It’s a core institution for the Seattle Jewish community. It offers an extremely important social component, facilitates friendships with other Jewish teens and provides the guidance, leadership and structure that teens need during this time of their development and comfort with their Judaism. NCSY changes lives.
NCSY is essentially a glue that holds all aspects of Jewish life together...
...I am grateful for the opportunity I was given to prove how important Judaism is to me and will carry the lessons from this experience with me for the rest of my life. At the start of Mark’s speech, he asked my team and I how we felt about being in synagogue instead of playing in the tournament. Reluctantly, I replied the honest truth – “I felt like I was in the wrong place”. By the end of the speech, I regretted my response. Was I really going to make a statement implying that being in synagogue on Shabbat put me in the wrong place? The answer was obviously no. It was devastating that my team did not get to participate in something we deserved. It was frustrating to put in hours of hard work and practice, win the matches to qualify us for the tournament and then have another team take our spot. However, as the young boy said, “Shabbat is more important.” Dean Acheson once said, “We are increasingly urged to do what is pragmatic, what will work, what is popular. One must be true to the things by which one lives.” As I continue through life, I will always face these kinds of choices. I will consistently confront people who believe that work, sports or other activities come before faith. It is important to accept these cultural differences, but it is even more important to never waver when it comes to personal beliefs. Mark Kligman stressed that compromising one’s beliefs, even once and for something small, has a long-term effect. It reduces any chances of gaining respect from others, and will eventually damage one’s own belief system altogether. While the situation was difficult to live through, I am grateful for the opportunity I was given to prove how important Judaism is to me and will carry the lessons from this experience with me for the rest of my life.
Bringing to Light the Local News You Need to Know
Over 50 participants attended our annual freshman Shabbaton in Seward Park
Over 175 teens from Seattle Portland and Vancouver attended Seattle Shabbaton
Ninth graders from the greater Seattle area came for their first NCSY event filled with amazing speakers marking the 10th anniversary of 9/11. A Friday night oneg was held at the home of chapter president Josh Gladstein and on Saturday night, all local NCSYers joined in for a trip to the Puyallup Fair. On Sunday, JSU members joined us for our kickoff BBQ at Alki Beach.
Teens had an amazing and inspiring weekend in Seattle and were joined by speakers such as Mark Kligman, a MLB player agent, and representatives from schools in Israel. With a Saturday night event of indoor beach volleyball at the Sandbox and an epic breakfast by Eli Varon, teens left Seattle saying it was the best Shabbaton they had ever been on!
Ben Zakkai Honor Society reception raises $180,000 for scholarships Hebrew High performs with the Maccabeats at MaCaw Hall at the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle’s Campaign Kickoff event.
First ever Nerot Event Held for alumni and Parents The NCSY logo is a flame and our nerot (candles) are the ones who support us. Our first nerot event was held on Mercer Island on August 25th at the beautiful home of Ben and Julie Varon. Guests were treated to a dessert buffet while JSU, NCSY, and Hebrew High students and parents made presentations on the many wonderful things offered by our organizations.
D. Black AKA Nissim performs at the first night of Hebrew High The renowned Seattle rap artist formerly known as D. Black performed and shared his story on the opening night of Seattle’s Hebrew High. Teens sat mesmerized as Nissim reminisced on watching his Jewish neighbors walk to synagogue for Shabbat prayers. Never in his wildest dreams would he have imagined that his own life’s journey would lead him to embrace that very same lifestyle for himself. His “Aliyah” album was voted #12 on Amazon’s list of outstanding albums of 2009 and his “Yesterday” music video was featured on MTV Jams and MTV2.
On January 30, 2011, 280 people attended NCSY’s annual Ben Zakkai Award Reception at the Bohemian National Hall in NY, paying tribute to the remarkable legacy of Dr. Bernard Lander z”l. The dinner honored Dr. David and Vivian Luchins of NY and Rabbi Zev and Rivkah Leff of Moshav Mattityahu, Israel. In addition, Dr. Howard and Brenda Rosenthal of Kansas City were presented with the Enid and Harold Boxer Memorial Award. Lastly, four members of the NCSY family were inducted into the Ben Zakkai Honor Society: Aaron Horn of East Windsor, NJ; Jessica Hoffman of Seattle, WA; Noach Klein of Southfield, MI; and Rabbi Michael Rovinsky of St. Louis, MO. The Ben Zakkai reception raises funds to enable NCSY teens to attend NCSY Summer Programs in North America and Israel and to help aid them in continuing their Jewish education after high school.
First Ever NCSY/Ezra Bessaroth Succah Party NCSY and Ezra Bessaroth spent Sunday of Chol Hamoed Succot in the beautiful EB succah with a delicious meal catered by Dalia Amon, creating what is sure to become an annual tradition!
May 4-6
Every Wednesday @ 7-9pm
Junior NCSY Shabbaton
Hebrew High
6th-8th graders from all over the Northwest come to Seattle for an amazing introduction into the world of NCSY.
January 14
Junior NCSY Limo Scavenger Hunt
Over 75 kids from all over Seattle joined us last year for this amazing trek around Seattle to win awesome prizes.
February 4
Junior NCSY goes to IFLY Seattle
Find out what it’s like to soar through the sky at the only indoor skydiving center in Seattle.
May 17-20
Spring Regional Vancouver, B.C.
at BCMH for Middle School Thursday @ 8-10pm
JSU Clubs Ingraham:
Teen Lounge at BCMH for High School
12:05pm every Tuesday, room 203
Interlake:
Los Angeles/ Las Vegas Shabbaton
2:30pm every Monday, room 503
One of the most anticipated family events of the year! NCSY’s famous meat cook-off featuring the best chefs in town and an Eli Varon BBQ!
Teen Lounge
Weekly Events
Bellevue:
Basarfest at Sephardic Bikur Holim Synagogue
Wednesday @ 7-9pm
Hang out and chill with arcade games, foosball, ping-pong and more!
3:05pm every Monday, room 2611
April 22
at the SJCC
The final Shabbaton of the year and awards banquet.
Feb 16-20
Join Seattle NCSY as we spend Shabbat in LA then drive to Vegas for 2 days of fun!
The Seattle Chapter at Spring Regional 2011 at Keats Island. Over 50 teens from Seattle attended Regional along with teens from Vancouver, Richmond, Eugene and Portland.
Mercer Island: 1:30pm every Monday, room 204
Newport:
Want more info on these events? Visit seattlencsy.com
3:00pm every Tuesday, room 503
Don’t forget to LIKE US on Facebook!
Running Start at Bellevue College:
www.facebook.com/seattlencsy
1:30pm every Tuesday in the Student Union Building
Roosevelt: Every Wednesday after school Coming soon Eastlake HS, Nathan Hale HS, Issaqua HS and many more!
6222 Chatham Dr. South Seattle, WA 98118
Regional Leadership Ari Hoffman Seattle City Director
Jessica Hoffman Washington State Director
Rabbi Elie and Chaya Estrin JSU Club Directors
BEST R E M M U S EVER.
BILT ICE let Michle JOLT GIVE TJJ ports Camp S TJJA Kollel
Rabbi Mark Spiro Managing Director of Hebrew High
Sarah Brody and Megan Druckman Junior NCSY Advisors
Sigrid Benezra Accounting
Executive Leadership Rabbi Steven Burg International Director, NCSY
Mr. Keevy Fried Assoc. International Director, NCSY
Mr. Joseph Stechler Youth Commission Chairman, OU
Rabbi Dr. Simcha Katz President, Orthodox Union
SEATTLE NCSY 6222 Chatham Dr. South Seattle, WA 98118 206-295-5888 seattlencsy@gmail.com www.seattlencsy.com www.facebook.com/seattlencsy
www.ncsy.org
NCSY is the international youth movement of the OU.
t $2,699 s ju r fo l rae OW! Go to Is ISTER N
REG .COM R E M M U NCSYS