Reunion - Fall 2016 by Orthodox Union

FALL 2016

Connecting NCSY, OU-JLIC & IFS Alumni

Our NCSY Alumni in the IDF! ISRAEL FREE SPIRIT BUILDS BRIDGES WITH MUSIC OU-JLIC Torah Study for Women

ISSUE 3

OU NEXTGEN & NCSY ALUMNI EXECUTIVE TEAM Rabbi Dave Felsenthal, Director, NextGen, IFS Birthright Rabbi Yehoshua Marchuck, Director, NCSY Alumni Rabbi Ilan Haber, Deputy Director, Next Gen; Director OU-JLIC Yael Tamari, Israel Director, IFS Birthright Penny Pazornick, North American Director, IFS Birthright Simcha Himmel, Executive Assistant, Project Coordinator, NextGen Mark Schulman, Administrative Assistant, NextGen

JLIC ALUMNI Masa Programs&Scholarships

NCSY INTERN EVENTS • Bring Israel Home JEWISH RESOURCES ON CAMPUS • PARTNERS IN TORAH

BY IOR UT N HG R I PG RH OT F FE O SL SL IO ON WA- U L SP

NCSY ALUMNI Shayna Feiger, Alumni Associate 12th Grade Specialists Elisha Finman (NY), Yardena Bannett (NJ), Rabbi Chaim Albert (Southern), Rabbi Phil Karesh (Midwest), Rabbi Aryeh Wielgus (Atlantic Seaboard), Tzippy Baron (New England)

TAGLIT BIRTHRIGHT ISRAEL ISRAEL FREE SPIRIT

SOCIAL MEDIA/ONLINE JEWISH RESOURCES

BRING ISRAEL HOME Jewniversity Resources App

NORTH AMERICA TEAM

INTERNATIONAL SERVICE LEARNING TRIPS

Tatyana Plotkina, Program Manager

Germany • Thailand • Onward Israel

Ari Ziegler, Program Associate Rachel Shammah, North American Staff Coordinator Leah Weinberg, Registrar Rayna Kalish, Director of Development ISRAEL Barak Schechter, Director of Outreach BIRTHRIGHT FOLLOW-UP Matti Presworsky, Project Manager, Bring Israel Home Zahava Samet, Logistics Manager, Bring Israel Home Lily Lozovsky, Program Director. Bring Back Shabbat Dory Leviashvili, Birthright Alumni Manager Jacob Shiansky, Alumni Specialist

ORTHODOX UNION - HESHE & HARRIET SEIF JEWISH LEARNING INITIATIVE ON CAMPUS Rabbi Menachem Schrader, Founding Director

OU-JLIC EDUCATORS

BIRTHRIGHT ISRAEL NEXT

Jeremy Kugelman, Director of Recruitment and Strategic Partnerships

NCSY ALUMNI

HEART TO HEART

NCSY INTERN EVENTS JLIC ALUMNI REUNION EVENTS

IFS BIRTHRIGHT TRIPS

IFS ALUMNI

K AHAL

BY IORUT NH GR I PGRHOT F F EO S SL IL OO NWA- LU SP

Rabbi Josh Ross, Deputy Director, Director of External Relations Rabbi Gideon Black, Director of Professional Recruitment and Leadership Development Rabbi Shalom Axelrod, Director of Special Projects

ORTHODOX UNION LEADERSHIP

Alan Goldman, Director of Development

Martin Nachimson, President

Eliana Steinreich, Operations Associate

Howard Tzvi Friedman, Chairman of the Board

Hani Lowenstein, Associate Director of Community Projects

Allen I. Fagin, Executive Vice President/Chief Professional Officer

Alexandra Josephson, Administrative Intern

Rabbi Steven Weil, Senior Managing Director

Executive Leadership Cohort: Rabbi Reuven Boshnack, Shira Boshnack, Rabbi Robby Charnoff, Rabbi Aaron Greenberg, Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan, Sharona Kaplan.

Rabbi Dr, Tzvi Hersh Weinreb, Executive Vice President, Emeritus

ON 23 CAMPUSES: BINGHAMTON UNIVERSITY || BOSTON UNIVERSITY BRANDEIS UNIVERSITY || BROOKLYN COLLEGE CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, NORTHRIDGE COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY/BARNARD COLLEGE CORNELL UNIVERSITY || DREXEL UNIVERSITY GREATER TORONTO || UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS

Gary Magder, Chief Communications Officer Shlomo Schwartz, Chief Financial Officer/Chief Administrative Officer Rabbi Lenny Bessler, Chief Human Resources Officer Sam Davidovics, Chief Information Officer

AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN || JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND ||MCGILL UNIVERSITY NEW YORK UNIVERSITY || UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA PRINCETON UNIVERSITY || QUEENS COLLEGE RUTGERS UNIVERSITY || SANTA MONICA COLLEGE || UCLA UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO || UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AMHERST || YALE UNIVERSITY

STUDENT LEADERSHIP AND YOUNG PROFESSIONALS Hart Levine, Director, Heart to Heart, Young Professionals, OU-JLIC Student Leadership Dov Winston, Program Manager, Kahal Hart & Yael Levine, Washington Heights Young Professionals Coordinators Rabbi Yosi Eisen, Cambridge Young Professionals Coordinator

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NCSY LEADERSHIP Rabbi Pinchas Stolper, Founding National Director Rabbi Micah Greenland, International Director Keevy Fried, Associate International Director David Cutler, NCSY Summer Programs Director Avi Katz, NCSY Chair Vivian Luchins, NCSY Summer Programs Chair

REUNION MAGAZINE Charlotte Friedland, Editor Rachel Shammah, Assistant Editor Tova Belsh, Art Director Esther Berger, Graphic Designer Simcha Himmel, Editorial Assistant Carrie Beylus, OU Director, Design & Branding

Reunion is published by NextGen, a division of the Orthodox Union, in partnership with NCSY Alumni. Eleven Broadway, New York, NY 10004. Printed Bi-Annually: Fall/ Winter, Spring/Summer © 2016 by Orthodox Union. All rights reserved.

CONTENTS

can gather my friends and introduce them to some of these traditions” || 20

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10 “Shabbat in Israel was amazing. It’s really cool that I

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LEADERSHIP MESSAGES RABBI DAVE FELSENTHAL RABBI YEHOSHUA MARCHUCK DR. SHIMMY TENNENBAUM

FEATURES 10 THINGS YOU DIDN’T KNOW UNION

ABOUT THE ORTHODOX

MYSTERY VINTAGE PHOTO YOU SEE THE LIGHT IN THEIR EYES

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A SPEECH THEY’LL NEVER FORGET

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BUILDING BRIDGES WITH MUSIC

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NEXTGEN PHILANTHROPISTS PROVIDE CRUCIAL OUTREACH FUNDS

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THE GIFT OF A LIFETIME WHERE ARE THEY NOW? RABBI DOVID ORLOFSKY

33 || BEN ZAKKAI RECEPTION 34 || OU ALUMNI IN ACTION! 38 || OU-JLIC WOMEN STUDY TORAH FOR LIFELONG INSPIRATION

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SHARING OUR NEWS

ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT

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NALINI IBRAGIMOV

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MICHAEL MILLER (IFS)

(NCSY)

NATALIE MASHIAN

(OU-JLIC)

COVER PHOTO: ELIJAH SILVERMAN, FORMERLY OF NCSY TORONTO. PHOTO BY JODI SUGAR. FOR INSPIRATIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY OF ISRAEL, SEE WWW.JODISUGAR.COM

Leadership Messages

OUR VISION FOR THIS YEAR

BY RABBI DAVID FELSENTHAL DIRECTOR, OU NEXGEN, OU-ISRAEL FREE SPIRIT

AMERICAN YOUTH

culture is in perpetual flux and NextGen strives to be constantly ahead of the curve. In the past year, we saw the release of our first OU-JLIC college guide. More than 3,000 college students and young professionals participated in OU-Israel Free Spirit Birthright Israel; 2,000 plus Shabbat dinners were served on campuses across the country, and more than 3,000 students were engaged by OUJLIC educators and NCSY Alumni staff. These benchmarks are due to the dedicated work of our OU-NextGen team. And the truth is there is always more to do! Our overall goal is to focus on providing young Jewish leaders with the tools and support to inspire their peers. And using their talents and drive, we aspire to connect with every Jewish high school and college student in North America. Specifically, we designed the following initiatives.

We have dived into Birthright follow-up in two major ways. First, Our Bring Israel Home (BIH) program (originally developed in partnership with Aish HaTorah) has been named one of the official Birthright-sanctioned follow-up programs for all Birthright groups in its new app. BIH offers the chance for both the US and Israeli participants on each tour bus to do 100 points of mitzvah activities in order to earn a reunion together in the US. It has had phenomenal 95% participation in the pilot groups over the past three years and is now starting to expand nationally. The second follow-up concept is that we’re expanding our Heart to Heart model for all Birthright Israel programs. BringBackShabbat.org trains participants on every Birthright bus to run Shabbat meals and reunions for their group when they get back on campus, and encourages them to introduce Jewish options available on campus to other students.

Also on the quad, we plan to expand Kahal into a national network of college student leaders from campuses without strong religious support systems (i.e. OU-JLIC). We provide them with monthly webinars on Jewish leadership and learning, recent college grads as religious mentors, and funding so that they can run Jewish programs on their campuses. Beyond college, we will be taking the lessons learned from our Young Professionals pilot program, Open Up (OU) Washington Heights, expanding the initiative to connect other communities to disenfranchised young modern Orthodox professionals across the country. To maximize our impact, we designed GoIsrael and Gesher to reach Jewish students in public and private high school even before they graduate. Test marketed in select NCSY JSU chapters, GoIsrael is a series of campaigns to motivate public school students to sign up for more information on trips to

Israel (NCSY Summer); to watch our “minute of inspiration” video series; to refer their friends to our social media; to pre-register and attend an IFS Birthright trip, and to stay in touch once in college. Gesher sends educators into all major Jewish high schools, to present the NextGen suite of opportunities available to students when they graduate high school. These programs will enable us guide students to the right programing for them in college and beyond! As you travel down memory lane in this issue of Reunion, stop and reflect on the great work NextGen does. And I invite you to consider: what more can we all achieve together? If any of the ideas I’ve outlined excite and inspire you, please reach out and discuss how we can partner to make them reality. To contribute, volunteer time, resources, or expertise; or to offer a useful suggestion, feel free to reach me at RabbiFelsenthal@OU.org. R

A SALUTE FOR NCSY ALUMNI!

BY RABBI YEHOSHUA MARCHUCK DIRECTOR, NCSY ALUMNI Department or retail store employees. (You gotta love the Geek Squad!) By definition, the outfit conveys authority.

WELCOME BACK! There is something inspiring about seeing a united group in uniform − whether it’s the Chicago Bears, the Los Angeles Police

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Then there’s a whole other level, when there is a personal attachment to the person in the uniform. Back in the day, professional athletes were signed by a team and were permanent fixtures on that

team year after year. Tony Dorsett was primarily a Dallas Cowboy. Larry Bird was a Celtic and Joe DiMaggio was a Yankee. But today, if you put down the money to buy an authentic sports team jersey, don’t bother putting a famous name on it; the player is likely to be on the opposing team next year. I cringe when I think of all those

irate Cleveland Cavalier fans who burned their LeBron James jerseys, then saw him return a few years later….ouch! However, there is one team whose uniform demands the respect to stand at attention, for their players wear their uniforms for decades: the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

THE WHY GENERATION BY DR. SHIMMY TENNENBAUM CHAIRMAN, OU NEXTGEN COMMISSION we can learn a lot about what makes millennials tick from this generation’s crème de la crème, our NextGen alumni. Classified as Generation Y, millennials are actually the “why” generation. Growing up with internet and instant access to information, millennials like to ask questions, challenge the status quo, and form their own conclusions and opinions. Millenials do not like to be labeled by others, insisting on the right to self-determination and self-identification.

Israel and ultimately to Aliyah. For all our children, who courageously choose to identify with their Jewish heritage, we hope it will bring them closer to Judaism than they ever were before.

For millennials, “I think, therefore I am,” does not suffice; they must know “who and why I am” − what their identity and purpose are − not unlike the questions that led our Patriarch Abraham to discover G-d. For some, the search for identity brings them to OU-JLIC programs on campuses across the country; for others, it leads to

And identity is by no means a small matter in Israel. The issue of the Jewish State Bill – whether Israel should identify as a Jewish state – brought down Prime Minister Netanyahu’s former coalition and was integral to the formation of his current one. The fact that Israel’s Jewish identity is even debatable, and that such a bill

I BELIEVE

I recall my conversations with my grandmother when she would share tales of growing up in Poland. When you saw a member of the military, she said, you held your breath in fear. Then she added, “But when I see an Israeli soldier today, I stand up with pride, and tears come to my eyes.” That’s what it’s all about. Seeing a soldier with a Star of David on his uniform − it can’t get much better than that! Or can it? Seeing our young NCSY alumni wearing the insignia of the IDF evokes a collective NCSY

We should all take special pride in our incredibly brave alumni who serve in the Israeli Defense Forces or National Service. I believe our “lone soldiers,” who selflessly lay so much on the line to serve, are motivated by this desire to identify specifically with Israel and the Jewish People.

“...it touches the spiritual roots of our people.

”

response: “Wow! There’s another NCSY alumnus acting on the pro-Israel NCSY experience and making a difference for the Jewish People in the Jewish Homeland!” What we feel goes beyond exultation in their commitment; it touches the spiritual roots of our People.

has yet to be passed is beyond shameful. Yet it is uplifting to note that our alumni understand that Israel and Judaism are inseparable. Bravery takes many forms: whether serving in the IDF, taking a ten-day IFS Birthright trip full of introspection, or being part of a Jewish community in a hostile college environment, you all inspire me.

“ Bravery takes

And for enabling all of this, I am really proud of the work NextGen does − and particularly of the magazine you are holding, for it accentuates the critical need of today’s generation for connection through NextGen. And I’m proud of all the programs featured within – NCSY Alumni, OU-Israel Free Spirit: Birthright Israel, OU-JLIC, and Heart to Heart– for filling a real void in the lives of many Jewish college students and young professionals.

Let me explain. Our sages teach that the Sukkah is a representation of the Ananei Hakovod (the protective “Clouds of Glory” that accompanied our People during their forty years in the desert.) The Sifsei Chachamim explains that those clouds shielded them from icy clouds and scorching heat; carried them as they glided through the desert; obliterated mountains to ease their travel and killed dangerous creatures waiting for Israelite prey. One can say that today Hashem uses the brave members of the IDF to protect

many forms... you all inspire me.

”

Lastly, I take pride in all of you reading Reunion and everyone who reserves a spot in their heart for NextGen – staff, alumni, donors, and lay leaders – because you are proof of NextGen’s success; and because NextGen is all about heart. By remaining in touch and partnering with our cause, you demonstrate your commitment to ensuring that the Jewish heart keeps beating with pride. R

us as the Ananei Hakovod did for our forefathers who left Egypt − through the perils of Middle Eastern turmoil, shielding us from above, and annihilating dangerous creatures that plan our demise. Those are our boys and girls in those uniforms and the names on them are more important than the names found on any sport jersey! You will read in these pages of NCSY’s special initiative to honor our alumni who are holding their heads and weapons high for the Land, the People and the Nation of Israel. Please join us as we salute them! R @Ymarchuck

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10youThings didn’t know

ABOUT THE ORTHODOX UNION By Batya Rosner

Thumbs up for teen Yarchei Kallah

Every year, over 300 public school NCSY teens grab the chance to learn about their Jewish heritage and experience Shabbat, often in the heart of a Torah-observant community.

From Yarchei Kallah to Hachnossat Kallah

NCSY Michlelet hosts a yearly bridal shower for a needy kallah. Every detail – including catering and shtick is powered by teen girls.

Go, girl!

Professional opportunities, promoting ambition, how to bring organizational change, and more are discussed by female employees of the Orthodox Union at brainstorming sessions of the Women’s Affinity Group.

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Daf Yomi Outreach

Teaching one of the world’s largest Daf Yomi classes, Rabbi Moshe Elefant, COO of OU Kosher, reaches an estimated 1,000 – 1,800 people over the internet. Join in at www.ou.org/torah/ or listen to the iTunes podcast.

Shabbat Shalom!

Reaching more than 40,000 readers, the OU’s Shabbat Shalom weekly e-newsletter features fascinating articles by OU leadership and guests, divrei Torah, recipes, advice and more. To sign up, go to www.ou.org/shabbatshalom.

ASK OU Kosher Teams of OU Kosher experts go to schools and communities to explain the hands-on applications of the Talmud in today’s changing world.

OU-JLIC Takes Up Fencing

An eruv was constructed by OU-JLIC this year on the campuses of Binghamton and Princeton Universities.

Running for Inclusion

Now in its sixth year, Team Yachad began as a fundraiser at the Miami HalfMarathon. Today, scores of Team Yachad runners are giving their all at marathons across North America and Israel.

The wise old Webbe Rebbe

Got a Jewish questions? Nu, get a Jewish answer! Contact webberebbe@gmail.com.

We don’t just talk the talk on Zionism

More than 150 men and women who formally participated in OU youth programs currently serve in the Israel Defense Forces and National Service. Read their fascinating story on page 6.

Mystery

Vintage Photo

How accurate is your NCSY memory? What was this rockin’ group called? And can you name its individual members?

...you can name the group, or ...you can identify anyone, or ...that’s you in this picture! Please contact Reunion Magazine at alumni@ncsy.org.

The confirmed identification will be posted to the NCSY website and printed in the next issue of Reunion.

AND HERE IS THE IDENTIFICATION of the previous

Shimmie Kaminetzky, Rabbis Larry Rothwachs, Josh Blass. TOP ROW:

Rabbi Chaim Lanner, Daniel Kaminetsky, Rabbis Perry Tirschwell and Matt Tropp. BOTTOM ROW:

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“ YOU SEE THE LIGHT IN THEIR EYES… ” BY DE B O R A H F I N EBLUM

WHAT INSPIRES AMERICAN OU ALUMNI TO VOLUNTEER IN THE ISRAEL DEFENSE FORCES?

Photo courtesy of the IDF Spokesperson's Unit and FIDF, Friends of the Israel Defense Forces.*

ow many young Jews from around the world would be willing to put college and career on hold, leave behind everyone they love and everything familiar, move in with strangers speaking a foreign language, and even risk their lives − to serve the Jewish People and the Jewish Homeland? 500? 1,000?

now in his fourth year in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). After spending two years in a Hesder yeshiva, a full-time Torah study program for young men committed to army service, Aaron is now a specialist in mines and explosives with the First Combat Engineers Battalion.

If you guessed 6,000, give yourself a hand. Equally impressive, these young Jews from all over the world are more likely to sign on to combat units than their Israeli-born comrades.

In Hebrew, a volunteer soldier who has left his family behind in his native home is known as a chayal boded, a lone soldier. Not surprisingly, many of them were once members of NCSY, or spent their college years enjoying the benefits of the Heshe and Harriet Seif OUJLIC, or discovered Israel on a transformative OU Israel Free Spirit Birthright Israel tour.

“I’m not going to come all the way to Israel to serve in an army kitchen,” says Aaron Buechler, 21, of West Orange, New Jersey,

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And once a member, always a member. Alumni are never forgotten. And that is why NCSY Alumni honored them at a special reception last January. The luscious cuisine at Papagaio in Jerusalem was only part of the allure that drew nearly 100 alumni lone soldiers serving in the IDF, as well as women serving in the Sherut Leumi community service program. The stronger magnet was a chance to relive the ruach they had experienced in OU programs by reuniting with former participants who had chosen the same path. And no one was disappointed. The camaraderie, the singing, the dancing! It was like the good old days!

They found that one of the powerful bonds among them was that their earlier involvement in OU youth programs inspired them to serve their People and the Jewish state. Each of these young adults was exposed to a pervasive and deep love of Israel that blossomed into deep commitment. “Our American friends are already getting their college degrees,” noted Aaron, “but many lone soldiers come here at a young age because we’re motivated to serve Am Yisrael and Eretz Yisrael.” Rabbi Yehoshua Marchuck, director of NCSY Alumni Connections, designed the evening to honor and support OU program veteran lone soldiers.

Miriam Peretz speaking at the NCSY Alumni IDF Appreciation Dinner. The mother of two fallen IDF soldiers, she told the NCSY lone soldiers, “People ask me from where I get my strength. You are my strength!” PHOTO: MICHAEL HAZONY

“ THE EXPERIENCE STRENGTHENS,

“We are dedicated to celebrating the connection of our alumni with the Jewish People however it’s expressed − whether it’s in college, in yeshiva or seminary, or as lone soldiers,” says Rabbi Marchuck. “We’ve been guiding their Jewish journey and helping them grow since they were young, and we are going to give them the support they need for the next step of the way. NCSY is not just a high school experience; it’s a life changer. The effect – and the connection – continue for life.” This commitment to serving in the IDF demonstrates a lesson well learned, adds Rabbi Avi Berman, executive director of OU Israel. “When I see NCSY alumni deciding to join the IDF or Sherut Leumi, it becomes clear to me that NCSY and Jewish education are not going in one ear and out the other, but that their messages are being implemented. Whether they stay in Israel after their service or not, dedicating this time from their personal lives will impact the way they feel and the way their children relate to Israel for years to come. It is important to do anything in our power to

TEACHES AND HUMBLES YOU ALL AT THE SAME TIME. support these young men and women.” For Aaron Buechler, NCSY thrust him in a role of leadership while still in high school. With an NCSY buddy, he started an international pro-Israel newsletter. “It was by, for, and about teens,” he says, and the distribution list exceeded 1,000 readers. “Putting it out played a crucial role in my development.” Rachel Shammah, now 29, recalls she was initially concerned about the prospect of being an observant woman in the IDF, but was able to overcome her hesitancy and sign on anyway. “NCSY really helped by fostering my connection to the Jewish People − that sense of brotherhood,” she says. “It taught me the importance of the Jewish nation being in our land and defending ourselves. In fact,” says Rachel (who became religious as an adolescent growing up in New Jersey) “more than the events and the fun, what drew me to NCSY was the sense of connecting to Judaism, to the Jewish People,

and to G-d.”

”

A brightly lit path to IDF service for Lior Gavra was his “unforgettable” Israel Free Spirit Birthright Israel trip. “I already cared a lot about Israel, but that trip helped me fall in love with it even more,” says the 26-year-old SUNY Stony Brook University graduate. “Everyone who was on my trip loves Israel and defends her no matter what others say,” he says. “Especially when so many are trying to bring Israel down, it’s our job to defend it.” During his two years of service, Lior became a paratrooper and perfected his Hebrew. (Having an Israeli dad and countless Israeli relatives helped.) “For me, it became about defending Israel in word and in action,” he says. Lior describes a harrowing, formative moment in his IDF experience. “It was my first parachute jump and I was completely afraid of heights. I was terrified, but that one experience allowed me to

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overcome my fear. I am a different person than I was before the IDF,” he says. “Now I understand Israelis and their toughness better.”

LIFE AS A LONE SOLDIER Efroni Schlesinger knew what he wanted while still in his Memphis high school. So, as soon as he could, he made Aliyah and joined the IDF. He found then that being a lone soldier brings with it added responsibilities other soldiers don’t have. “Everyone who has parents here takes things for granted,” he says. “When we get off base, there’s no dinner waiting for us or someone to

do our laundry. We need to do it all ourselves and still try to catch up on our sleep,” he says. To offset that sense of aloneness, every chayal boded is assigned an adoptive “family” for Shabbat and holidays, and given an extra day off each month to take care of all the chores, plus extra salary to buy appliances, food, clothes and to pay rent. Most lone soldiers have multiple roommates. Efroni, for instance, shares his Jerusalem apartment with two roommates. But no one goes into lone soldiering to become rich, he adds. The motivation is entirely different. “Someone willing to leave everything and start a new life here believes in what he is doing very strongly,” he says. “It’s different than the obligatory draft. With a lone soldier, you see the light in their eyes. They know why they’re here.” Two

“ YOU DO NEED TO DEVELOP A HEALTHY SENSE OF ISRAELI CHUTZPAH…

Ariana Berlin, formerly from Cherry Hill, New Jersey

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”

years in, Efroni has signed on for a new, more responsible job. “In a combat unit, you can get worn out pretty quickly, but we’re happy we’re here. Even when we’re exhausted, we never regret it.” Yet even with all the extra challenges, including a learning curve in language and culture, “lone soldiers don’t believe in asking for special privileges just because we volunteered,” says Aaron Buechler. “Besides getting time to go back to America to visit (or deal with banks and government offices), our goal is to be equal to everyone else.” Ariana Berlin of Cherry Hill is an alumna of both her hometown NCSY and OUJLIC on the Brandeis University campus. Now, at age 23, she is an officer of education and public relations for the 167th wing of Israel’s air defense forces. Whether she’s organizing a program for Tu B’Shevat or drug/alcohol awareness, she is bringing education to the troops. And Ariana traces much of her passion to serve Israel to her years at the Brandeis OU-JLIC. “It helped me make my decision to do it right after college,” she says. “Adopted” by a family on the Be’erot Yitzhak Kibbutz near Tel Aviv, Ariana was initially “kind of taken aback – everyone was speaking Hebrew so fast.” She was soon in an ulpan and Aliyah program with other young adults from North America and Europe. “You do need to develop a healthy sense of Israeli chutzpah,” she says with a laugh. “I had no thought of entering officer training school, but here I am!” Rachel Shammah agrees that becoming an IDF soldier can be

simultaneously challenging and empowering. “Being alone in the country, and as a religious woman, you have to be strong. It can also be an opportunity to build Jewish unity,” she reflects. “Many of the girls I served with were eighteen and leaving home for the first time; so they respected that I had chosen to be there,” she says. “The experience strengthens, teaches and humbles you all at the same time.” There is a kind of naiveté that lone soldiers bring with them, says Ari Kalker. The former NCSYer from New York − who became the first American to serve in the IDF Special Forces infantry − now helps run a center that welcomes lone soldiers. It was established in memory of his buddy Michael Levin, another lone soldier he served with a decade ago in Lebanon. “You’re so naïve you don’t even know the food is going to be terrible or that your commander’s going to be really tough, even though all the Israeli kids know it. You come looking to join the army of Israel and the Jewish People. It’s an idealism that turns out to be good for you and the other soldiers you’re serving with.”

IDF veteran of the Second Lebanon War, and former NCSYer Ari Kalker, now works in the Lone Soldier Center in Jerusalem.

The entire OU organization takes pride in this kind of altruism, attests Rabbi David Felsenthal, director of OU NextGen, OU Birthright, and founding director NCSY Alumni. “We’re very proud of our participants and alumni who are dedicating themselves to protecting the Jewish People, and we’re equally proud that our programs have such a strong formative pro-Israel influence.” When Efroni thinks back on his NCSY years, “I remember when Gilad Shalit was captured. NCSY kids came out to say Tehillim and daven for him. We always had our eyes on Israel. Now I see that the ideals expressed in NCSY and in

the IDF are so close, that we are working toward the same goal – a strong and united nation of Israel.” It’s precisely that passion and commitment that Rabbi Marchuck was determined to celebrate and honor that cold January night in Jerusalem. “We love all our alumni, but this is a very special group that puts their lives on hold − and on the line − every day,” he says. “Every single Jew can go to Israel and enjoy it because of the young people who are willing to defend her, including our alumni who volunteer for the job. Our task now is to provide the support and reassurance that − in giving of themselves so completely − they are on the right path.” R *FIDF proudly supports IDF soldiers, families of fallen soldiers, and wounded veterans through a variety of innovative programs that reinforce the vital bond between the communities in the United States, the soldiers of the IDF, and the State of Israel. For more information, please visit: www.fidf.org.

_____________________ Author, journalist, memoir coach, biographer and editor, Deborah Fineblum has been writing on Jewish life for more than three decades. She lives in Jerusalem.

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When Jay Schottenstein addressed NCSYers, an earnest message went from his heart straight to theirs.

A Speech They’ll Never Forget By Ch a r l o t t e Fr i e d l a n d

A hallmark

of creative entrepreneurship, legendary Torah support, and innovative philanthropy, the Schottenstein name is known across the country and around the globe. Most of the Jewish world is aware that as the son and heir of Jerome Schottenstein in both business and Jewish values, Jay Schottenstein is a fervent advocate for Jewish interests and the State of Israel. What many people may not know is that he was also an NCSYer (more than forty years ago!) and has been an active supporter of NCSY outreach for most of his life. Mr. Schottenstein couples his focus on Jewish youth with a passion for Zionism. It is his firm belief that “Jewish teens today lack sufficient knowledge and education about the history of Israel, our connection to the Land, and to the State of Israel.” And he feels that challenge must be met. Though he never seeks a spotlight, Mr. Schottenstein agreed to speak on Shabbat morning at the NCSY Columbus Shabbaton held in Congregation Torat Emet – a shul he intentionally built with the capacity to host NCSY gatherings. He was prepared to discuss the threat of Iran and to share his apprehensions concerning the vulnerable security of Israel.

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We know firsthand how difficult it is to get your attention…”

The ArtScroll Schottenstein edition of the Talmud has opened the door to Torah study for Jews of all backgrounds and affiliations, everywhere in the world. Above, American Jewish soldiers study the Schottenstein Talmud in Iraq!

But he changed his mind. For when he looked at the faces of hundreds of teens looking up at him, his mind flashed back to his first Shabbaton in Southfield, Michigan, and the moving moments he had experienced over the years in NCSY. He thought of the ruach and camaraderie of those Shabbatonim, and he was able to envision himself in the place of his listeners. “Instinctively, I knew what they needed to hear at this point in their lives. And I knew the kind of encouragement I could provide,” he later reflected. So at the last minute, Mr. Schottenstein scrapped his prepared speech and stood to address the NCSYers from his heart.

“Use your influence to share your Judaism.” His talk took everyone by surprise. Though brief and to the point, the address was packed with emotion and revealed a profound sensitivity to the teenage mind. “I wanted to speak to you to tell you how important you are to us. We know it, and we want to make sure you know it too. One of our businesses is American Eagle and our market is your age group.

NCSY, he noted, succeeds in getting the attention of Jewish teens. And that is critical, he explained, “…because you are the future of the Jewish People!” He charged his rapt listeners − “be proud of your Jewishness, your commitment and your observances. I can tell you that people will respect you for it. For four generations, starting with my grandfather and including my children and myself, we built our enterprise without compromising our Jewish values. We never traveled nor conducted business on Shabbos. Wherever we go in the world, we make arrangements for kosher food and we carry our tefillin with us, so we can pray each day. People might think that being shomer Shabbos puts you behind in the business world. But it’s not true. You can accomplish your dreams without sacrificing your principles.” The audience was clearly mesmerized by Mr. Schottentstein’s personal revelations, imagining themselves upholding their Judaism with the same pride. Yet it is difficult for young people to buck the tide, to appear too different from those around them. Sensing this typical teen reluctance to display Jewish observances publicly, he surprised and encouraged his audience by recalling a time when he was only slightly older than they. “As a freshman at Indiana University, I was the only one in my fraternity to keep kosher. I had my own fridge and freezer stocked with kosher food. I was totally open about it,

“Be proud of your Jewishness… People will respect you for it.” and my attitude earned everyone’s support. “…My kids do the same thing. When my son Jonathan went with a group of friends to the Bahamas, he saw to it that there would be a rabbi and a minyan. Not just for himself: he involved all of his friends. Some of them said it was the first time they had put on tefillin since their Bar Mitzvah and they were very moved by the experience. And because the vacation extended over Purim, he made sure to arrange for a Megillahreading. Everyone said it was the highlight of the whole trip! “…You may not realize it, but you have the power to influence people. Use your influence to share your Judaism, and share it genuinely!” He was smiling now, and the audience smiled back. When he concluded his talk, there was a roar of approval as, one after the other, the teens rose to applaud one of the most famous NCSYers in the organization’s long history. Many teens approached Mr. Schottenstein to thank him for the boost he had given them. It was clear that his sincere words had found their mark. Unlike the predictable formulations of a rabbi or teacher, the businessman had conveyed the successful struggle of a Jew who is continually challenged to prove his commitment − someone with whom every NCSYer could identify. It was a speech they would never forget. R

_____________________ Charlotte Friedland is the editor of Reunion Magazine.

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NCSYSpotlight

Nalini Ibragimov

Souled on Torah Judaism

Nalini (right) with her madrichah, Ilana Werblowski, at Michlelet NCSY in 1994.

“I like to teach things that stir people up!” says Nalini Ibragimov, a seasoned kiruv educator. And true to her word, she has stirred up thousands of young people over the years, inspiring them by example to reach higher in their Torah Judaism. Of course, bren like that must have its source in NCSY. Growing up in Cleveland, her exposure to Judaism was a combination of traditional Ashkenazic and Sephardic cultures. Her father was from India (and a direct descendant of the Ben Ish Chai!), her mother from Czechoslovakia, the daughter of Holocaust survivors. From this checkered background, Nalini got a healthy international whiff of Judaism, though the family was not observant. Enter Rabbi Dan Olgin and Central East Junior NCSY. “It was social; it was fun. What’s not to

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like?” asks Nalini. “I was only in the fifth grade. I wasn’t particularly interested in learning more about Judaism, but I loved going to NCSY because it was warm and I had good friends there.” Three years later, something happened that would impact her course of direction immeasurably. When her grandfather passed away, Nalini and a cousin decided to spend weekends at their grandmother’s house to keep her company. Bubbie’s home was more observant than her parents’ and Nalini became increasingly Shabbos-observant. Initially, her moving toward committed Judaism did not go over well at home, but NCSY was there “to make it doable.” She began to spend more and more time in the warm, welcoming home of Judy Abrams, who ran

the Cleveland NCSY chapter. But when she wanted to go to Israel with ISS the summer before her senior year, Nalini’s mother put her foot down. “Do something that will use your brain!” she challenged. And Rabbi Tzali Friedman, director of the Central East Region, couldn’t agree more. He urged Nalini to spend the summer with Michlelet NCSY, where she would both tour and learn Torah in Israel. Though skeptical at first, within a week, “I was lovin’ it! It was the first time I learned Torah seriously; so much so that my observance of Judaism went from an emotional level to an intellectual choice.” Her path was clear. Though returning from Israel with upgraded tzniut standards caused a bit of a fuss, her family eventually

concluded that she was not going through a phase, and that her commitment to Torah Judaism was a sincere step in her life. Her joyous embrace of Torah Judaism spread to other NCSYers and she became regional president. Nalini was given permission to return to Israel after her first semester at Barnard College. She went to Michlelet Esther Seminary and wound up staying 20 months through pre-Shalhevet, Shalhevet and post-Shalhevet, drinking in the knowledge and inspiration that would sustain her for years after. “I made it a point to request extra chavrutot with my former NCSY advisor, Debra Spivak (née Price),” she recalls. After returning to Barnard, she met her future husband, Rabbi Reuven Ibramigov, and they instantly shared their commitment to outreach. She and Reuven married – and the couple promptly moved to Israel. When they returned to the States four years later, they did something Nalini had said she would never do: they moved to Brooklyn. What caused her to break her pledge was the allure of being an OU-JLIC educator on the Brooklyn College campus. She thought back to her days in NCSY – the social network, the bracing Torah insights, Shabbatonim, and the warm relationships with advisors – and she decided that she wanted to extend that vibrant form of outreach to others through OU-JLIC. It was her chance to recreate the experience that had helped her attain a fuller Jewish life. She and Reuven focused not only on the Orthodox students on campus; they worked with Jews drawn to

“It was the first time I learned Torah seriously… I was lovin’ it!” them from all groups, especially Sephardic and Russian students, for whom they had special affinity. It’s grueling work in some ways, as any OU-JLIC campus couple can tell you. Hours are long and students can be intense, troubled, passionate, and challenging. Yet the opportunity to create magnetic Torah programs, to teach others in new ways, and the friendships forged are invaluable. Eventually, however, it was time to move on. Today, Nalini is the educational director of Souled, a remarkable New York City organization she co-founded three years ago with Jackie Engel for a special niche − women who are alumnae of the collegiate Maimonides program. Initially funded by Afikim, and now under the Meor Manhattan umbrella, Souled created a sense of community among post-seminary and post-Maimonides young women who want to continue their studies of Judaism while connecting with like-minded others on a social level.

level − emotional, intellectual and spiritual. When you deal with women in their 20s, it’s so uplifting!” Nalini especially enjoys teaching subjects that focus on women’s concerns such as clothing, dating and femininity. Before the chagim, she is likely to explore the role of women related to the holiday. (She also enjoys teaching in Ateres Naava, a post-high school seminary that is part of the unique Ohr Naava Torah Center.) In addition to classes, the organization has initiated “SouledSista” offering Shabbos hospitality; “give back” opportunities through “Selflessly Souled;” Shabbatonim with guest speakers; and “Souled Society” that promises food, fun and facials. The newest initiative is “So.Pro” which taps the experience of businesswomen who can guide younger women as they try to

balance their religious lifestyle with their working lives in a secular society. But nothing is more satisfying than the personal connections that develop in the context of Souled. Nalini considers many of the friendships with Souled “sisters” truly precious, and often invites them to her home for Shabbos. Which is perfectly ok with hubby Reuven, who currently dedicates his kiruv expertise to the Russian American Jewish Experience (RAJE). Between them, they are a powerhouse couple. And to this day, they think back to years in NCSY with deep gratitude. “I’m glad I started in NCSY so young,” Nalini reflects. “That way, it becomes part of who you are. You have time to grow in Judaism, supported by the terrific NCSY network.” The Torah she has learned and her deep commitment to Jewish values all rest on those formative years. As the mother of five children ranging in age from four to sixteen, Nalini is always busy, always planning. She considers her teaching and creative opportunities in Souled a blessing, but, “Make no mistake: my husband and children are the main focus of my life. Everything else is very important – but extra!” R

In addition to organizing, Nalini interacts with the Souled women as instructor, mentor and friend. “I love teaching in this environment,” she says. “Everyone is thinking deeply about the material and wants to integrate it into her life on every

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IFSSpotlight

Michael Miller Taking a Chance This IFS alumnus was so articulate and insightful, we let him write his own story! Birthright Israel had been a dream of mine since I was sixteen. Last year, it became reality. If I could share one thing I’ve learned along the way: live in radical amazement. I was living in New York City after college, working as an actor, teacher and youth mentor. At twenty-seven, I started taking serious inventory of my life. Who

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am I? Am I living the life I want to live? Am I happy? A few months before my trip, I read a letter by Mike Rowe (of the TV show Dirty Jobs fame). He wrote, “Happiness does not come from a job. It comes from knowing what you truly value, and behaving in a way that’s consistent with those beliefs.” His words resonated with me

and prompted another question. What do I believe in? I grew up in a traditional, mostly secular Jewish culture in Cleveland, Ohio. My greatgrandparents had immigrated around the time of the World Wars and assimilated. My family would go to temple on the High Holy Days and celebrate Chanukah and Passover. Shabbat wasn’t on the map. That’s common, I learned later, for many North American Jews. To find my happiness, to know where I was going, I needed to know where I was coming from. I had a lot of questions. Why and how did my great-grandparents change their lives? In college, we cite our sources. In life, we explore our sources. I wrote a letter to Birthright and the rest fell into place. As I

was post-college, I was looking for a trip based in values and inner spiritual growth. I wanted to avoid the younger party culture. Been there, done that. That’s when Birthright connected me with the Orthodox Union’s Israel Free Spirit and JACS. JACS (Jewish Alcoholics, Chemically Dependent Persons and Significant Others) is a program of the Jewish Board, and operates sober Birthright trips under the auspices of IFS. Every year, JACS helps young, recovering Jews experience Birthright and connect with their heritage in a safe space. I wasn’t in recovery, but I was welcome to join the group as long as I understood and respected the dynamics. It was a group focused on wellness, trust and respect. (Count me in!) Though my insecurities and fears flared up the instant I arrived at JFK, there was something about the group that reassured me. I don’t know if I have the right words to express our first steps in Israel. The energy as we left the plane in a foreign land, the feelings of anticipation as we waited for our entry visas and our luggage, then finally stepping outside and into a beautiful, early Middle Eastern morning. Our tour guide, Gili, had warmth about him, a wealth of experience, and a guitar. He greeted everyone with a song. He offered us a world filled with kindness, generosity and Judaism. Through him, I saw Israel for the first time − and what it means to be Jewish. Everyone in our group had gone through enormous challenges. Over the next ten days, I saw how each one was tangibly rebuilding his or her life. Every morning I was greeted by people who were grateful to be alive and they wouldn’t waste a moment. The

power of their gratitude taught me to find gratitude in my own life, and to see that as the key to moving forward. The Israeli soldiers who joined our trip are some of the most amazing people I’ve ever met. Meeting them exposed me to the realities and the seemingly effortless courage of growing up in Israel.

I was discovering things on this trip that I didn’t know I’d been seeking. Combining the solid determination of the JACS group not to squander life’s precious moments, and the image of this young soldier who never had the chance to actualize his dreams, I resolved to take action. It was time to go with my gut feeling to turn my life in a positive direction.

One of those realities shocked me into rethinking my future. We were at the military cemetery on Mt. Herzl, and every soldier had a story to tell about a friend who had been killed in action. Glancing around, I saw a headstone of one such soldier. He was only twenty when he died. I was twenty-seven. What would he have done with seven more years of life, I wondered. What have I been doing for the last seven years? My life had been good, but I felt as if I was waiting for something. I felt like I had been asleep until now. In an instant, I realized there would never be a perfect moment to do all the things I want to do in life.

And it would have something to do with deepening my connection to Israel and Judaism. IFS-Birthright had taken me to a city in the north known for its creativity, beauty, and spirituality: Tzfat. The same words describe one of its greatest treasures, Livnot U’Lehibanot. Founded thirty-five years ago, Livnot is a nonprofit Jewish educational program that connects young Jews with their heritage through classes, community service, volunteer work and nature hikes. After Birthright, I signed up for a one-week program, and fell in love with the place. Livnot went on to play a crucial role in my return to both Israel and Judaism.

I extended my trip twice more, experiencing Israel and its people for another two months. But there was a lot on my mind. When I returned home, I recalled that a teacher of mine once told me that when you take chances, you give yourself confidence. When you give yourself confidence, you give your heart the courage to go places it’s never been before. Putting that into action taught me something else: to have things you’ve never had before, you need to do things you’ve never done before. Within the first month of being back in the US, I became involved in the NYC Jewish community through both Livnot and IFS. (They offer amazing follow-up resources.) A couple of months later, I followed my heart back in Israel. I volunteered at Livnot, speaking to Birthright groups, sharing my story, hopefully igniting in them the same light and inspiration that I experienced when I first came to Israel. To be a part of someone else’s journey as others were there for mine is such an honor. Today, after the experiences, friendships and family I formed in Israel, I’ve decided to go all in and pursue Aliyah. I’m currently enrolled in a yeshivah in Jerusalem called Machon Meir, learning about my heritage and strengthening my Jewish identity. I’m indebted to Israel Free Spirit Birthright for helping me fulfill a lifelong dream, for helping me make an incredibly positive change in the course of my life. My journey began with following my heart and taking a chance. Taking a chance is how all great things start. R

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OU-JLICSpotlight

Natalie Mashian

At Home in the Cosmos If you haven’t read her article, “An Empirical Model for Galaxy Luminosity and Star-Formation Rate Function at High Redshift,” Natalie will forgive you. As a Harvard doctoral candidate, the theoretical astrophysicist is accustomed to sharing her knowledge primarily with colleagues.

Natalie’s parents encouraged her to follow her heart in her studies. Shown here with her father, Natalie holds a graduate research fellowship at Harvard.

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But there is one place she displayed her own luminous take on the creation of the universe with students of every discipline: on a Shavuot visit back to her beloved OU-JLIC home territory at UCLA, where she had been an active participant in campus activities and had become a treasured friend to OU-JLIC educators Sharona and Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan.

Though she lived at home with her parents in “the Valley” during her undergrad years, Natalie came to the Kaplans for Shabbos every other week, and attended parshah classes as well as Rosh Chodesh programs for women. In fact, even today Natalie fondly recalls her multiple private chavrutot with the Kaplans, including Hegionai Halachah with Sharona and

Gemara with Rabbi Aryeh. “The Kaplans. Are. Amazing.” Natalie says firmly. “You just want to keep them in your life.” So when the Kaplans asked her to give a Shavuot shiur on the cosmological perspective of Day One, the day G-d created light, she readily agreed. And what did she tell the students? Among other things, she shared her own attitude

“…Science has only enhanced my religious experience” as a Jewishly-observant physicist: “I’ve never seen any kind of conflict between religion and science: the two address completely different questions. If anything, science has only enhanced my religious experience. Every time I walk out of a physics course, I walk away with a greater understanding and appreciation of the laws through which G-d operates our beautifully intricate universe.” Highly accomplished, yet unassuming, Natalie’s curiosity, character, and faith were nourished from a very young age. Her parents, both originally from Tehran, believe strongly in the value of education. “My father moved here before the revolution in 1979, and my mother’s family was smuggled out in the early ’80s, by way of Turkey and Israel. They met in Los Angeles, where I was born,” Natalie shares. “They always encouraged my sister, Nikkie, and me to learn all we can in whatever field interests us.” (Nikkie, too, is now an enthusiastic participant in OU-JLIC at UCLA and has her eye on a career in cognitive science.) “But even though they promoted higher education, I broke out of the box by pursuing this kind of degree

at Harvard. I don’t think they expected that!” Natalie describes her studies in physics, astronomy, and cosmology as “very humbling. The more you learn, the more you realize how much is unknown. We’re very far from truly understanding the many secrets and complexities of our tantalizing universe.” Currently holding a graduate research fellowship from the National Science Foundation, she devotes

her time to research. But earlier, after her arrival at Harvard in 2011, she taught pre-med physics courses, and this past summer taught an introductory course in cosmology in a Harvard pre-college program. “I love teaching! Right now, my future seems to be in academia,” she predicts. “I’m fascinated by both research and teaching.” R

_____________________

The Spotlight profiles of Nalini Ibragimov and Natalie Mashian were written by Charlotte Friedland, editor of Reunion.

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BUILDING BRIDGES WITH

IFS/BIRTHRIGHT “MUSIC ON TOUR” CREATES INSTANT HARMONY BY ARI ZIEGLER

As rites of passage in the American Jewish community go, Birthright is right up there with Bar- and Bat Mitzvahs. With the program enabling more than 500,000 Birthright participants to visit Israel over the past fifteen years, it would seem that every Jewish young adult between the ages of eighteen and twenty-six years has been on the transformative ten-day trip to Israel. But while the merits and power of Birthright are widely known, less known is the fact that there isn’t just one kind of Birthright trip. As the program has grown in popularity, “niche” trips − itineraries catering to participants with specific interests − have become increasingly popular. One of the most popular niche Birthright trips provided by OU-Israel Free Spirit (IFS) is “Music on Tour,” which caters to musicians, composers, and band members looking for a singular Birthright experience

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attuned to their interests and temperament. But what does it mean to discover Israel through music? How does a group of musicians and composers approach Israel and their Jewish identities? Yitzy Glicksman, a freelance musician who’s led three of the Music on Tour groups through Israel, has witnessed the answers to these question played out with remarkable results. He not only performs at simchas, Glicksman also has taught in a Jewish day school. When the Music on Tour trip was first devised, he was recommended for the job of inspiring and leading the trip because someone working with IFS knew about his intense passions for music, for Israel and for Jewish education. This opportunity combined them all. “A friend put me in touch with Rabbi Dave [Felsenthal, director of OU NextGen] and Scott Shulman [program director at

OU-IFS],” recalls Glicksman. “It didn’t take much thought before I pounced on it.” From the beginning of the first trip, it was clear that there was something special about this specific niche tour and the young Jews it would attract. “When you have a group of musicians, they unite very quickly,” says Glicksman. “We’ve had people with guitars, violins, ukuleles, saxophones, harmonicas − even a trombone and a melodica once. There’s this immediate feeling of connection because of our common fascination with music.” Zach Jackson, a music teacher, freelance musician, and member of the band Mama Magnolia, noticed that this experience was most pronounced when the Israeli participants, soldiers and students who attend the trip alongside the Americans, joined the group. “Before even talking, one of the Israelis brought out a drum and just started playing,” says Zach. “We were making music together

before even speaking to each other. It really showed how music is the greatest form of communication. No matter what our culture and language − even if you can’t speak to each other − you can play music and you’ll bond. You’ll instantly understand each other.

“WE WERE MAKING MUSIC TOGETHER BEFORE EVEN SPEAKING TO EACH OTHER.” “As a group, we saw and became more connected with Israeli culture, Jewish tradition, and religion. We learned “Hatikvah.” On Shabbat we were all singing, some of us for the first time, in Hebrew. Throughout, we learned amazing songs; and even though we didn’t always know the meanings of the lyrics, we just became entrenched in it. For some people,” adds Zach, “it was their first Shabbat and they just fell in love.” While intimate and powerful religious experiences occur within every IFS-Birthright trip, there are the extra touches in a musical environment that truly take participants to the next level. For

some, the opportunity to have a music-saturated Bar Mitzvah is an unexpected bonus of the trip. “My Bar Mitzvah ceremony was in the depths of a beautiful cavern that echoed the reverb of our guitar, mandolin, clarinet, and saxophone notes,” says Leland Remson, who was a participant with Music on Tour in the summer of 2015. “This mystical serenity created a very meaningful environment to express my thoughts about my Jewish journey.” “Everywhere we went, our tour guide, Orna, bought music into it,” says Zach. “We’re talking about King David − who was a musician − which I didn’t know at all! We’re talking about the holy city of Tzfat, and its mystical hymns. We’re talking about Shabbat dinner and singing together as one family. Singing for hours and singing prayers.” Glicksman confirms that the itinerary is carefully designed to create spiritual and musical impact. “We introduce them to the full gambit of music’s many roles in both Israeli culture and Judaism. We meet with Israeli musicians. In Tzfat, we meet with a band called Agadatah. We meet

with klezmer musicians, a music duo in Yerushalayim, Maytal and Etzion, who were on the Israeli version of “The Voice.” We’ve had the Chassidic star Lipa Schmeltzer visit the group and share the story of his journey of making music. By the end of the last trip, the group got together in a Muzik recording studio and collaborated on a song.” Of all the possible niche Birthright trips, it’s likely that a trip infused by music throughout would have the greatest impact, even on non-musicians. “Music truly is a universal language,” says Glicksman. “These kids not only connect with each other, they bond with all the people they meet and with Israel itself with the same ease. “At the desert Bedouin tents, the other Birthright groups that were there saw our instruments and heard our songs and started gathering round. They started making requests for pop songs, for classics. All the diverse groups that happened to be at the tents that night were bought together because of our group and the music we made.” This is perhaps the greatest message that the participants take home with them from Music on Tour: music builds bridges. They get on the plane with a passion for the magic that music brings into their own lives. They leave understanding that music does so much more. In just ten days, their music built strong ties for them with Israel, with Judaism, and most importantly, with each other. R

_____________________

Ari Ziegler is a program associate with Israel Free Spirit: Birthright Israel.

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NextGen Philanthropists PROVIDE

Crucial Outreach Funds BY CHARLOTTE FRIEDL AND

Typically

from unaffiliated backgrounds, participants in the OU Israel Free Spirit Birthright Israel tours may expect to discover spiritual uplift in the Holy Land; but none anticipate that they will be introduced to spiritualty that is accessible to every Jew anywhere in the world. It’s called Shabbat. Experiencing Shabbat for the first time is rarely forgotten by most participants. Powerful, ethereal, inexplicable, Shabbat

Volunteers ready to spread the word on “Bring Back Shabbat” in Jerusalem.

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grabs the soul; it reaches one’s gut sense about his or her personal Jewish heritage. Suddenly there is history, tradition, warmth, and a sense of family.

And then it’s gone. Returning to the States, memories of that first Shabbat are put on the shelf with other souvenirs. And another Jew drops from the ledge of possible Shabbat observance back into Friday night parties and Saturday ballgames. But no longer. Perceiving that the most valuable follow-up to the IFS tours is to continue the Shabbat connection in some form, NextGen/IFS Director Rabbi Dave Felsenthal teamed up with Hart Levine’s OU Heart to Heart campus program. The result was “Bring Back Shabbat” a sparkling offshoot of the OU “Bring Israel Home” post-tour program open to all Birthright Israel participants.

The concept was simple: offer guidance and incentive to students returning from IFS Birthright Israel tours to create Shabbat meals for fellow students on their campus. Advice, tools and enthusiasm would be provided by Heart to Heart, and the students’ meals would be paid for by NextGen. Great idea? Yes – and no. The heart was in place, the goal was clear; but it can be mighty expensive funding hundreds of Shabbat meals on campuses across the country. A vigorous infusion of funds was needed, so Rabbi Dave turned to Charidy. This service helps non-profits create short-term intensive social media fundraising campaigns to meet special goals. According to Charidy rules, if the full projected amount could not be raised within 24 hours, all donations would have to be returned. As required, three matching donors would

“ I NEVER THOUGHT I’D BE THE TYPE TO HOST A SHABBAT DINNER. I MEAN, I CAN’T EVEN

COOK PASTA. THIS IS GIVING ME THE CHANCE TO have to be lined up beforehand. Without them, the entire Bring Back Shabbat project could not start. Stretching all the way to Jerusalem, Rabbi Dave reached out to Rabbi Charles Lebow, a friend and colleague for more than two decades who has partnered with him on several projects. Rabbi Lebow is pro bono advisor to the volunteer organization “Project Shabbat” which has been promoting and supporting independent Shabbat dinners in North America for more than ten years. Becoming a

BE CREATIVE AND TO HOST FOR A CHANGE. matching donor for this campaign was a natural extension of its mission. As a veteran in kiruv, Rabbi Lebow was well aware of the potential of Bring Back Shabbat. “Our experience has shown that participants get much more out of a dinner that is run by their peers. The discussions that take place spontaneously will sometimes go on for hours, and turn out to be great moments of experiential education! Participants at an informal peer-led Shabbat dinner are much more likely to return than they would be if they were at a communityorganized event. “But I think that the biggest impact is on the dinner organizers who become empowered to lead and teach using their natural social skills to get their messages across in compelling ways. Just the idea of cooking a kosher meal for fifteen of their Jewish friends can be a true growth experience. I know that a project like Bring Back Shabbat can change the Shabbat experience for thousands from a day of partying to a day of Jewish celebration.” Shelby Furman of Columbus, Ohio, was the next to pledge matching funds. For him, it was a way to pay forward for the many years of inspiration he derived from NCSY as a teen in Columbus. “I learned that sense of responsibility to the community from NCSY and from our Rabbi David Stavsky, z”l,” he reflected. And the specific

”

idea of funding Shabbat meals for unaffiliated youth fit perfectly with his fondest memories. “It’s all about mentoring. When you spend time on a Shabbos together and eat together, a deep impression is made. The NCSY Shabbatonim, with their ruach, the programming, the sense of camaraderie with the other kids, all made an impact on me for life. I’m still close to the friends I made in NCSY.” And one of those friends is Rabbi Dave Felsenthal. “He’s an inspiration to me,” Furman shared. “He’s undaunted by obstacles; always looking forward. So of course, when he asked for help to ‘Bring Back Shabbat,’ I was glad to join in.” An anonymous donor provided the third matching grant and the fun began. The staff of NextGen and Heart to Heart held their breaths to see if the $60,000 goal would be reached. Creative solicitations saturated the NextGen social media networks, urging fellow Jews who saw the value of this program to help in the launch before the opportunity would be lost. And then – amazingly, almost miraculously – the response came in, justifying the trust placed in friends and friends of friends! Not only was the $60,000 goal reached, the campaign qualified for a bonus round in which more funds could be raised. Again matching donors were needed, and this time NextGen Commission Chair Dr. Shimmy Tennenbaum appealed to the NextGen Commission members, as well as other like-minded

Fall 2016 | Reunion Magazine

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Masa Israel Can Help Make Your Dream Israel Experience A Reality We provide grants and scholarships so you can have your journey, your way.

INTERN

STUDY ABROAD TAKE A GAP YEAR

VOLUNTEER Visit www.MasaIsrael.org or call us directly at 800-205-5780 to learn more.

“ SHABBAT IN ISRAEL WAS AMAZING.

IT’S REALLY COOL

THAT I CAN GATHER MY FRIENDS AND INTRODUCE

THEM TO SOME OF THESE TRADITIONS. individuals. Within a few hours, in addition to his own contribution, Dr. Tennenbaum had garnered the pledges of Henry Orlinsky, Barbie Lehman, Henry Rothman, Drew Parker, Deborah Laufer, Rena Kwestel, Harry Peled, Michael Wiederkehr and Yossi Stechler. “This was a no-brainer,” said Dr. Tennenbaum. “Every dollar

BRING BACK SHABBAT WAS actually the second successful NextGen Charidy campaign. The first was a $50,000 fundraiser for the Bar/Bat Mitzvah Experience on the IFS Birthright Israel trips.

”

is leveraged to greatest advantage in the matching plan. And the concept of Bring Back Shabbat is so sound no one could question its worth. We tend to defer to our professional staff when it comes to implementing new ideas and directions. I see my responsibility as partnering with them to accomplish their goals, and this is just another example of it. The fact of the matter is,” he confided,

A POWERFUL

Father-to-Son Lesson IN PHIL ANTHROPY

And a large matching grant came from a fifteen-year-old philanthropist from Cedarhurst, New York, Avi Faivish. As his father, Dovi Faivish, tells it, Avi created his own non-profit “Bar Mitzvah Fund” after his own Bar Mitzvah. His son had a sum of “maaser money” after the celebrations ended, and he was looking for a creative way to use it. In a meeting with yeshivah and day school principals in the Five Towns, Avi and his father learned that there were many boys whose families lacked the funds for a Bar Mitzvah. Helped by his parents, and several of their friends, Avi created a fund to help his peers (referred by the principals) purchase tefillin, catering, and everything else that makes the occasion memorable. Avi recalls, “I remember getting ready for the big day, getting dressed in my suit, knowing that I was getting ready to enter a new stage of my life. I remember taking pictures with my whole family. I remember arriving there early, awaiting the arrival of all the relatives and friends whom I invited. I remember dancing with my family, friends and rabbis. Dancing with my parents and grandparents was amazing. I remember giving that speech that I had practiced to perfection for so many hours. I remember

“if our pro leaders said ‘we want to Bring Shabbat to Mars,’ we’d probably ask, ‘There are Jews on Mars?’ and then we’d join in the project.” The bonus round netted well over $10,000, bringing the total to $70,000+. And that buys a lot of chicken soup. Bring Back Shabbat is off and running! For more info, see:

WWW.BRINGBACKSHABBAT.ORG

when my father and my rabbis spoke. Hearing such great praise and brachah from these great people, my role models, was really incredible.

“…And I want each and every boy to have that feeling of utter joy. That’s why I started the Bar Mitzvah Fund: so that all Bar Mitzvah boys can experience that great day and have that incredible feeling of achievement like I did.” Guided by his father, Avi lovingly nurtured the organization to huge proportions, with Purim fundraising reaching over the $40,000 mark; a carnival that attracted more than 500 people; a football tournament; and a sell-out concert at Brooklyn College. To date, the BMF has financed more than 100 Bar Mitzvahs. When Barak Schecter, an old friend of Dovi Faivish, approached him on behalf of NexgGen to help fund Bar Mitzvahs for IFS Birthright Israel participants, “I gave him a check on the spot,” says Faivish. “I figured it doesn’t really matter if the Bar Mitzvah person is 13, 15, or 25. If he never had a Bar Mitzvah, we’d like to help. But just remember,” he cautions, “the money came from Avi’s Bar Mitzvah Fund. I just work for him.” Avi’s next goal is to encourage Bar Mitzvah boys to donate their 10% maaser to the Fund, so it can continue helping other boys nationally and internationally. His website, thebmf.org, brings you right into the party! Fall 2016 | Reunion Magazine

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THE OF A

Gift Lifetime

BY BAYL A SHEVA BRENNER

Zoe Kurtz on her IFS Birthright Israel tour, summer 2014

WHEN ZOE KURTZ SIGNED

up for an OU Israel Free Spirit Bir thright trip, she expected an amazing actionpacked tour of hiking, sightseeing and connecting with her Jewish heritage. She never thought it would lead to saving a man’s life. It began with a cotton-tipped swab in her cheek. As part of their IFS Summer 2014 tour, Zoe’s group attended a presentation by Gift of Life, a bone marrow/stem cell registry that matches donors with recipients in desperate need of transplants. She learned that thousands of individuals are stricken with leukemia and other life-threatening blood diseases every year. While chemotherapy

and radiation treatments may induce a remission, unfortunately, they rarely offer a cure. Stem cell transplants replace unhealthy blood-forming cells with the donors’ healthy cells, giving renewed hope to patients suffering from these grave diseases. A successful transplant can literally save a person’s life.1 But that requires volunteers willing to donate their stem cells, and then matching a similar tissue type to a patient struggling with a blood cancer. Finding a match is arduous for the stem cell registries – and unnerving for those anxiously waiting. Approximately 10,000 new patients in need of a transplant are diagnosed annually in the U.S. — but only half that number find a suitable donor match in any given year.

The Gift of Life rep explained that it only takes a cheek swab to identify the person’s Human Leukocyte Antigen Tissue Type (which equates to one’s genetic fingerprint). If it matches that of a patient, the “swabee” is contacted and asked if he or she is willing to proceed with additional blood tests. Zoe, now a nursing student at Towson University in Maryland, thought, “Why not?” She got swabbed and forgot about it. Two years later, Gift of Life called her back. Her stem cells matched a 66-year-old man suffering from leukemia. After the phone call, Zoe realized she was not only willing to donate, she was now able. And maybe just a little uneasy.

In fact, a 2013 study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology showed that stem cell transplant survival rates have increased significantly among patients who received the stem cells from relatives, as well as unrelated donors. The study was led by Theresa Hahn, Ph.D., of Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI), in collaboration with the Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research (CIBMTR), the research arm of the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) and Be The Match. 1

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She understood that the actual process of donation would not be as simple as a cheek swab. Seeking encouragement, she contacted Rabbi Chananya Adam Rosenblum, group leader on her IFS trip to let him know of the turn of events since she last saw him. He himself had donated stem cells. “By the time she reached out to me, it was obvious her decision had already been made,” says Rabbi Rosenblum.

the first year after the donation. But last February, Zoe received an update saying the recipient is recovering well, without any complications or setbacks!

“If the patient were in my family, I would do anything I could to find a match,” says Zoe. “I don’t know very much about Judaism, but I would assume that helping others is an important value.”

They weren’t disappointed.

Excited but nervous, she underwent numerous medical tests to determine if she had any infections in her blood and if she could physically withstand the procedure. After everything checked out, she was given several injections to increase her stem cell count. In mid-November of 2015, Zoe’s mother, Caryl Ashrey, accompanied her to MedStar Georgetown University Hospital in Washington DC, for the lifesaving blood draw. According to her mother, it was not an easy donation, since Zoe’s veins were on the small side. But that didn’t faze her daughter, who described the experience as, “a little like giving blood, just for a longer period of time.” “She handled it all like a champ,” beams her mom. “She was glad she did it.” The Gift of Life’s policy mandates that recipients remain anonymous unless both parties agree otherwise. In either case, both the donor and patient remain anonymous throughout

Reflecting on the IFS trip that led her to the Gift of Life experience, Zoe recalls that it was her younger sister Genevieve’s desire to see Israel and learn more about their heritage that motivated them both to sign up for IFS.

The sisters delighted in the beauty of the land, its beaches, the desert, and especially experiencing Shabbat. “I had never been to a Shabbat service,” says Zoe. “We got to do it at the Western Wall. There were songs and the prayers; it was like the pinnacle of Judaism. I was definitely interested in the historical part of the tour; it made me more aware of the religious aspect [of the country].” She also appreciated meeting her IFS peers from across the US.

YA ROSENBLUM RABBI CHANAN BETWEEN ZOE & GE AN CH EX XT TE

d ow you mentione Hey Rabbi C! I kn you donated bone on birthright that Gift of Life... marrow through you ld be cool to tell I thought it wou r fo ch out I’m a mat that I just found ting actually be dona someone and I’ll re weeks! Hope you’ stem cells in 2-3 e doing well - Zo credible! Were Wow that’s SO in registry on you added to the different time? Birthright or at a

k swab Yep I did the chee birthright!

during

I’ll bet many That’s amazinge there didn’t people who wer tually happen! believe it could ac

Fall 2016 | Reunion Magazine

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Welcome OU-JLIC/YU

2016-2017

Fellows We are proud to introduce the 3rd cohort of the OU-JLIC/Yeshiva University Fellowship Program. The Fellowship, a partnership of OU-JLIC and YU, is accredited as a formal internship for the RIETS Fourth Year Internship program and aims to serve as a training ground from which future full-time OU-JLIC rabbis and educators will be drawn. We look forward to a year of Torah leadership and outstanding contributions to their respective campus communities: Robbie and Ora Schrier, OU-JLIC at Brandeis University Matt and Sheli LeVee, OU-JLIC at Drexel University Tzvi Yaakov and Rifka Miretzky, OU-JLIC at New York University Michael Goldman, OU-JLIC at Queens College Yechiel and Davina Bresler, OU-JLIC at Rutgers University Daniel and Sarah Kasdan, OU-JLIC at Yale University Our fellows have on and off-site supervision throughout the year and join the rest of the OU-JLIC staff at the annual winter conference in December. “The Fellowship is a true springboard for these talented educators as they begin their careers. The training and mentorship they will experience on campus can’t be found elsewhere. This Fellowship has been so enriching for previous cohorts and in turn, they have enriched so many students. They are directly shaping the next generation of American Jewry.” - RABBI GIDEON BLACK, OU NEXTGEN’S DIRECTOR OF PROFESSIONAL RECRUITMENT AND LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE FELLOWSHIP, PLEASE CONTACT RABBI BLACK AT BLACK@OU.ORG

“All of us came from similar secular backgrounds and that made everyone more curious about Judaism.” Rabbi

Rosenblum

concurs.

“They definitely weren’t just along for a free trip. My impression was that Zoe and Genevieve were genuinely interested and inspired.” And – apparently – motivated. Zoe asserts that although the trip “didn’t necessarily change [her] religious practices,” she would like to raise her children in a religiously-aware

household.

“I never went to synagogue or

Sunday

school

growing

up. Going to Israel and learning about my heritage was really important. I would definitely encourage my children to do that.” After returning from Israel, Zoe transferred from her former college to Towson University, which boasts a large Jewish student population. She’s enjoying her nursing studies and encouraging other students to donate stem cells. She also

welcomes the opportunity to attend festive Shabbat dinners with her Jewish college friends. “It’s [an experience] I can understand more than I would have if I hadn’t gone on IFS Birthright,” says Zoe. And she registered for a course on Judaism. The trip also touched Genevieve, who asked her sister lots of questions about what she was learning in the course on Judaism. After a while, Genevieve expressed an interest in using her Hebrew name, Yocheved, as her official middle name. Their mother sees the IFS Birthright trip as a cultural opportunity and more. “I had no Jewish educational background, but I was raised on the Lower East Side, in the thick of it,” she says. “My daughters are very kind and giving. They were raised with very good values. I think Zoe is glad that she had the opportunity through Birthright to make the stem cell donation. If the trip provided her with an

“…Whoever saves a life, it is considered as if he saved an entire world.” MISHNAH SANHEDRIN 4:9

outlet to give back, I think that was good.” It’s appropriate that Zoe’s decision to help restore someone’s life arose while exploring Judaism, which teaches that saving a life is tantamount to saving a world. “It’s a life; life is valuable,” she says, “and if my donation can help save someone, I would do it again.” R

_____________________ Bayla Sheva Brenner is an awardwinning journalist specializing in Jewish features.

Where are they now?

MASTER OF THE LIGHT TOUCH:

RABBI DOVID ORLOFSKY BY R E B E CC A F E L D B AU M

“I WAS CONNED INTO MY FIRST NCSY JOB!” exclaims Rabbi Dovid Orlofsky incredulously. The year was 1977 and he was teaching at the Emek Hebrew Academy in Los Angeles. Jerry Katz, the regional director of the West Coast Region, was so impressed after meeting him he blurted, “Congratulations! You are now the NCSY youth group director for Etz Jacob!” “Yes, I was tricked, but it was a great trick!” the rabbi recalls. “The only thing was, I had absolutely no idea what to do! I had never been involved in NCSY, so I went to the regional office and read everything I could about it. When I finished, Jerry said to me, ‘Now you’re the second most knowledgeable person about West Coast NCSY... behind Lee Samson.’”

“I had another job offer for $25,000, but I took this job for $10,000.”

At the time, the Etz JacobOhr Chadash chapter had six members. “At the first meeting, I told the kids we are going to be Chapter of the Year at Regional Convention this year. All of them stared at me like I was out of my mind.”

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But Rabbi Orlofsky hit the ground running! He soon realized that liberally dispensing awards went a long way toward bringing more kids into the group. Weekly meetings, monthly Shabbatonim, and two major activities every month drew even more members. A minimum membership fee was charged, for Rabbi Orlofsky felt strongly that paying would engender more of a commitment to attend events. “By the end of the year we had sixty paid members − a very eclectic mix of day school and public school kids. Oh, and we won that coveted Chapter of the Year award!” A year later, Rabbi Orlofsky was offered the position of dean of YULA (Yeshiva University

High Schools of Los Angeles). “It would have been a dream come true for my parents – to say that their son was a dean,” Rabbi Orlofsky fondly muses. But a call from Gary Torgow at the NCSY national office offered him another option: director of Long Island NCSY. Not exactly everyone’s dream job. “Over the previous two years, there had been five regional directors,” relates Rabbi Orlofsky. “There was no regional office, no chapters, and only one paid member, and she was national president at the time! I had another job offer for $25,000, but I took this job for $10,000. I was also given a $2,500 operating budget – that’s $250 a month to cover everything from soup to nuts −

the office, secretary, phone, and transportation.” After being told that he was nuts for accepting this position, Rabbi Orlofsky asked his rebbe, Rabbi Mayer Politzky, who told him, “Nothing good in the world was ever accomplished by a sane person.” Comforting words, no doubt.

names of teenagers who had recently celebrated their Bar/ Bas Mitzvahs. No go. And then he discovered why. “The kids had so many other options. We had to provide NCSY activities that were more exciting and fun, and that was quite a challenge. I lived, breathed and slept NCSY. For me, there was no day or night!”

There was no regional office, no chapters, and only one paid member…

PHOTOS BY BRIAN LEY TON TAKEN C . 1978. BELOW: Moish Cohen,

Beth Jacob Beverly Hills Chapter Advisor (on chair). The person on the far left is Steve Katz. The man on the right is Rabbi Shelaim Furst, who was the Shaarey Tzedek North Hollywood chapter advisor.

“Fortunately, I was really too stupid to know that building a successful region there couldn’t be done,” Rabbi Orlofsky laughs. So the first thing he did was set up a regional office in Ohav Sholom, located in Merrick – a central location on Long Island. He then used HANC (Hebrew Academy of Nassau County) as a base for membership and contacted all the shuls in the area, gathering

Adapting his successful model of Ohr Chadash in LA to a vastly larger scale, sports leagues were formed; a wide variety of publications were written and distributed; and big theme Shabbatonim were planned. He learned that chapter competitions were the most effective way to build the chapters. By the end of the first year, Long Island NCSY had 100 paid members. When the second year came around, Rabbi Orlofsky

got a significant raise and was also given a budget to hire an assistant director. “One of the best decisions I ever made was to hire Joe Werfel,” Rabbi Orlofsky attests. “Joe is, without a doubt, the most organized guy I have ever met. By the end of the third year, we had a whopping membership of 500!” One of Rabbi Orlofsky’s most innovative achievements was the 8/1 ratio between the NCSYers and his topnotch advisors. Before it was fashionable, he made sure his advisors attended sessions with professionals on how to deal with complex subjects – halachic, drug- or trauma-related − any potential issues that might come up. The advisors came from a broad range of observant Jewry − rebbaim, bnei Torah, working men − which made the experience diverse and “electrifying” for the kids.

ABOVE: Members of the Etz Jacob (LA) chapter, from left

to right: Roger Braverman, Rabbi Orlofsky, Steve Katz, Avi Schefres, Joel Petlin and Yechezkel Ezra.

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“We became a magnet region,” he explains, “because it was never us lecturing the kids. The NCSYers saw that we also were striving to do better and grow in Yiddishkeit. That is what made our region such a success: we were all in it together.” Rabbi Orlofsky modestly states that the real credit for his NCSY achievements goes to those phenomenal advisors. He tried to take a personal interest in how the teens were doing, with no strings attached, so there would be no barriers when they wanted to speak with him. But he let the advisors deal with most of the kiruv issues, for he saw his main job as being a “parve force,” the fun guy.

To this day, the Orlofskys immensely enjoy hosting the children of their former NCSYers.

He lauds his own personal mentor in NCSY, Rabbi Yitzchok Lowenbraun. “On a level of professionalism that exemplifies NCSY at its best,” Rabbi Orlofsky says, “Rabbi Lowenbraun gladly met with me and gave me crucial information he had accumulated through the years: contacts, ideas and suggestions for running a successful region. Couldn’t have managed without him.” After marrying Sima Ganz in 1982, Rabbi Orlofsky left the region in the capable hands of Joe Werfel and took a leave

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of absence to get semichah in Israel. At the end of a year, Rabbis Chaim Scheinberg and Yosef Shalom Elyashiv, zt”l, both advised Rabbi Orlofsky that if there was no one to take his place as regional director, he must go back. So he and Simi

moved to Far Rockaway. Simi quickly took on the role as “Mommy of the Region,” savoring her involvement in kiruv and taking her children to all of the Shabbatonim. “The Long Island Region was always growing,” Rabbi Orlofsky relates. “We were constantly

doing more innovative stuff. But I honestly thought that personally I had taken it as far as it could go.” After five years, the Orlofskys decided to move back to Israel so that he could be mentored in practical rabbinics. At the time, they thought he would return to the States as a pulpit rabbi. When they left Long Island, there were 1,800 members in the region. To this day, the Orlofskys immensely enjoy hosting the children of their former NCSYers. So it’s been twenty-seven years now, and the Orlofskys are still living in Jerusalem. He is not a pulpit rabbi. “I like when they send out flyers announcing me as a ‘Famous International Speaker.’ You know that’s just a nice way of saying that here is a guy with no real job!” Yet over the years, he developed expertise as a public speaker, a fund raiser, an author and an educator in many yeshivot and seminaries – Ohr Somayach, Ohr Lagolah, Aish HaTorah, Yeshivat Ohr David, and Darkei Binah – to name a few. “I have had the opportunity to do everything I want in Israel,” reflects Rabbi Orlofsky. “Yup, I have become a ‘Jack of all trades, master of none!’” Most people would certainly not agree with that statement. Mention Rabbi Orlofsky’s name in a crowd, and it will

THE ENDURING

ORLOFSKY

surely put a smile on someone’s face. Wherever he speaks – in a classroom, in a lecture hall or at a crowded convention venue, his powerful points come across, but not before everyone has had a good laugh. Or two. Or ten. Yet, everyone senses that behind those quips is a man who is deeply devoted to Am Yisrael. He is recognized worldwide as a master teacher and inspiring orator. But we had him first. In NCSY circles, Rabbi Orlofsky’s claim to fame is the major impact he made on the lives of thousands. His universal appeal, then and now, stems from his heartfelt message of the importance of each and every Jew, and the joyous sharing of his rich, warm Yiddishkeit. In short, Rabbi Orlofsky seems to have written his own song in the cosmic symphony. And those who have heard it once always want to hear it again. R _____________________ Rebecca Feldbaum was in the Tzur Yisroel NCSY chapter in Little Rock, Arkansas. She is the author of two books, If There’s Anything I Can Do (Feldheim, 2003) and What Should I Say; What Can I Do? (Simon & Schuster, 2009). She is an upbeat, popular speaker who draws upon her personal experiences to teach women’s groups how to help families who are going through a medical crisis or who have suffered a loss. Visit her website at www.rebeccafeldbaum.com.

I M PAC T !

FROM THE WEST COAST… When I was in my teens, my family attended Etz Jacob Congregation, located in the Fairfax section of Los Angeles. We had a terrific rabbi, Rabbi Rubin Huttler, who realized that to revitalize Etz Jacob he would have to have an active, vibrant NCSY group. That’s when Rabbi Dovid Orlofsky came to be our youth leader. When Rabbi Orlofsky came to our shul, he was “the whole package.” An unbelievable, dynamic leader, he was like nothing we had ever seen before! Entertaining, exciting, musical, he was an all-around terrific friend and youth leader. We nicknamed him “The Amazing Orlo” because he also did magic tricks! His talents seemed endless. Rabbi Orlofsky excelled at his job because he was tremendously motivated; and his legendary humor was a big factor in attracting new members. He made every NCSY event enjoyable. The Shabbos programs were exceptional because Rabbi Orlofsky made sure that the sessions were so interesting that they would attract public school youth. He had a special way of imparting his Torah lessons that were totally inspirational. To this day, I am still very close to Rabbi Orlofsky and to the friends I made in our NCSY group. We all know that the outreach that Rabbi Orlofsky did in our area changed many people’s lives forever. -- Joel Petlin Mr. Petlin is the School Superintendent for Kiryas Joel school district in Monroe, New York.

… TO THE EAST COAST When Rabbi Orlofsky took over as Long Island regional director, it did not take long for his name to become a household word. My first experience meeting him was at a Shabbaton; and I instantly found him charismatic and fervent about everything he spoke about. Rabbi Orlofsky had the ability to make us laugh and cry and self-reflect in an extraordinary way. But his true gift was his genuine love of Torah that he transmitted to all the NCSYers. During his powerful Havdalah, we could absolutely see the flame of Torah coming alive. He also attracted passionate advisors who followed his lead. I was one of those lucky kids who developed a kesher with Rabbi Orlofsky, not just from the Shabbatonim − but also from hanging out at his home. I knew that he always cared. For instance: one night I was babysitting for the Orlofskys when Rabbi Orlofsky and his wife came home at a pretty late hour. Rabbi Orlofsky saw that I was struggling with my algebra homework. He was tired, but he sat down to help me with it. It was not an assignment about Judaism. It was not in his “job description” as a youth leader; but through his actions he taught me what true Judaism was all about. Even when I went to learn in Israel, Rabbi Orlofsky made time to learn with me. Is it any wonder that this very special person ignites a spark within everyone who comes into his sphere? -- Rabbi Yehoshua Marchuck Rabbi Marchuck is the Director of NCSY Alumni Connections & Advisor Engagement.

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BenZakkai 21ST

SCHOLARSHIP RECEPTION BY SIMCHA HIMMEL

RABBI PAYSACH KROHN set the tone for this year’s Ben Zakkai Scholarship Reception with a pre-dinner shiur dedicated to pioneers of the NCSY movement, Sharon Kurzer Sabbagh a”h and Zahava Goldwasser a”h. Her husband, Dr. Norman Goldwasser, was one of this year’s Ben Zakkai inductees. Rabbi Krohn spoke about the essence of giving − how important it is to say thank you to those who have made an impact on us, noting that the Ben Zakkai dinner aptly serves to recognize such individuals whose actions benefitted NCSY.

International NCSY Director Rabbi Micah Greenland echoed the motif of paying “tribute to an esteemed handful of those professionals and volunteers [who made an] incredible contribution to inspiring the Jewish future;” and dinner chair, Dr. David Luchins, called the event an “annual celebration of nostalgia and hakarat hatov.” There were also moving videos from Yarchei Kallah participants and NCSY alumni. A moving presentation from Chicago NCSYer Julia Zeldovich demonstrated the critical role played by NCSY in helping

her redirect her life with an appreciation for authentic Judaism. Her story resonated with many of the 250 attendees of the dinner, whose lives have been magnificently changed by NCSY. National Teen President Sarah Engel spoke passionately, echoing these sentiments as well, thanking NCSY for helping “out of towners” like her find Jewish role models. Introducing NextGen’s own Rabbi Dave and Chani Felsenthal as honorees, Rabbi Yitzchak Lowenbraun highlighted Rabbi Dave’s creativity and called him “without equal.” Upon accepting

A FESTIVE EVENING OF H A K A R AT H ATOV

his award, Rabbi Dave said that people ask him “If you could do anything, what would you do?” And he responds, “I do it already!” Award winners Dr. Murray Leben and Terry and Dennis M. Eisenberg, who brought in record donations, were lauded for their long-time involvement in the organization. Ben Zakkai inductees David Cutler and Elliot Tanzman were honored for their work ethic and dedication to NCSY. Eli Weinstein was described as a passionate, driven, and capable advisor, and David Statman was acclaimed for his leadership in NCSY. Overall, the reception was memorable for the respect, love and appreciation radiating from the audience toward all the honorees. It was clear that all they have done, and continue to do, for the Jewish People through NCSY is not only recognized, but deeply cherished. R

_____________________ Simcha Himmel is a project coordinator and executive assistant in NextGen. Rabbi Dave and Chani Felsenthal receiving the Rebbetzin Elaine and Rabbi Pinchas Stolper Service Award. Presenting the award, left to right: Dinner Chairs Dr. David and Vivian Luchins, Ben Zakkai Chair Isabelle Novak, Ben Zakkai Secretary (and an NCSYer of Rabbi Dave) Alison Katz, OU Executive Vice President Allen Fagin, NCSY Director (and rebbe of Rabbi Dave) Rabbi Yitzchak Lowenbraun, and Rabbi Micah Greenland.

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i n m u OU Al

! n o i t c in a

Chanukah Party at the Greenbergs December 10, 2015

ou-JLIC Events

Alumni from OU-JLIC Toronto visit the Greenbergs for Chanukah 2015. Top left to right: Ian Weinberger, Marc Davis, Avi and Yael Benchetrit, Oriyah Barzilai, Avi Weiss, Netanel and Aviva Lichtenstein, Rabbi Aaron, Miriam, Gila and Ezra Greenberg. Bottom left to right: Zvi and Sarit Steinfeld, Tuvi and Ariella Burk.

OU-JLIC alumni enjoy a night of locally brewed beer, dinner and fun at the 3rd annual Brooklyn Brewery Purim Pregame. Left to right: Eliana Steinreich ‘14, Talya Rand ‘14, Yossi Szpigiel ‘15, Michael Goldman ‘13, Rabbi Robby Charnoff OU-JLIC Queens educator.

OU-JLIC Brandeis alumni Harry Greenberg ‘15, Sarah Jaffe Kasdan ‘15, and Tova Gerber ‘15, taste craft beers at the Brooklyn Brewery Purim Pregame.

Brooklyn Brewery Purim Pregame March 17, 2016

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Fall 2016 | Reunion Magazine

OU-JLIC students at an OU-JLIC/NCSY Alumni event at Queens College Hillel. Left to right: Daniel Alpert, Rebecca Cherson, Nataneli Monasheri, Marissa Pollack, Mark Baruch, Renee Wietschner.

2016 Haggadah Round Robin April 18, 2016

Rabbi Robby Charnoff, OU-JLIC at Queens College educator, presents the 2016 Haggadah Round Robin hosted along with NCSY Alumni. Left to Right: Allie Buchsbaum, Yigal Saperstein, Eitan Shapiro and Perry Raskin.

2nd Annual OU-JLIC Brooklyn College Shushan Auction March 13, 2016 Photos courtesy of Avital Benamo

Moshe and Baila Berman, OU-JLIC Brooklyn College educator Shira Boshnack, and Jack and Jackie Lew, at the 2nd Annual OU-JLIC Brooklyn College Shushan Auction.

PHOTO FROM TABLE OF CONTENTS

Students and alumni Lauren Bahar, Avigail Dittus, Akiva Fleisher, Daniel Friedman and Avi Greenberger at the 2nd Annual OU-JLIC Brooklyn College Shushan Auction.

Alumni and students Simona Trembitsky, Sabina Samoylova, Racheli Liker, Cooper Binsky, Mordechai Lutz, and Avi Greenberger at the 2nd Annual OU-JLIC Brooklyn College Shushan Auction.

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Y S C N

s n o i n u Re i n m Alu

December 7, 2015: Touro College students Jodi Basch, Elana Fisher, Michal Usher, Chaviva Kay and Julia Zeldovich bring donuts to the NCSY advisors.

Rabbi Yehoshua Marchuck poses with former NCSY Alumni. Left to right: Jonathan Gliboff, Zachary Schechter and Akiva Pudell, currently studying at Yeshivat Sha’arei Mevaseret Zion on January 18, 2015.

NCSY Leaders pose with Rabbi Dovid Orlofsky during the “Keeping the Flame Alive” event on November 14th, 2015. Left to right: Rabbi Yehoshua Marchuck, Rabbi Dovid Orlofsky, Rabbi Yossi Lieber, Rabbi Barry Nathan, Rabbi Levi Katlowitz.

NCSY Advisors at Yeshiva University enjoy free Chanukah donuts on December 8, 2015. Left to right: Sammy Aronson, Daniel Kanter, Daniel Geller, Steven Kohane, Ofir Afenzar, Jakie Fein, Aryeh Korman, Simon Italliaander.

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Rabbi Yehoshua Marchuck observes as Rachel Wolfe, advisor-turnedBar Ilan University Experience madrichah, learns with Shira Horowitz, of NCSY Cincinnati Central East, at Bar Ilan University on January 19, 2015.

ISRAEL T I R I P S FREE s n o i n u Re

Israel Free Spirit alumni with the Israeli participants from their trip.

Bring Israel Home winners share breakfast together.

Bring Israel Home Reunion January 8-10, 2015 Bring Israel Home winners light candles to welcome in Shabbat at the Bring Israel Home reunion.

Israel Free Spirit Birthright Crossover Chagiga December 13, 2015

Israel Free Spirit alumni reunited at the Bring Israel Home reunion.

The members of three YU/Stern Birthright Israel Groups (OU-30-219, OU-31-167, and OU32-200), outside the Ziegler home at the end of the Israel Free Spirit Crossover Chagiga. Adam Beckoff (of Birthright Israel group OU 31-167) lights one of twenty menorahs at the Israel Free Spirit Birthright Crossover Chagiga.

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OU-JLIC WOMEN STUDY TORAH FOR LIFELONG INSPIRATION BY SHERRY AMSTER

Tzippy Shteingart, Eliora Habshush, Sherry Amster and Sima Shulman share a joyous moment in HaMidrasha.

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ommunity can be something very hard to find, especially in a college with over 20,000 students. And yet, a small group of women in Queens College have managed to create a community all their own, with Torah values at its core. OU-JLIC’s HaMidrasha at QC is an immersive on-campus Torah learning program for female students who wish to make Torah learning and Torah living part of their everyday lives. Planning for HaMidrasha at QC started almost the moment OU-JLIC educators, Rabbi Robby and Shoshana Charnoff, got to campus four years ago. With more than 1,000 Orthodox students on

the QC Campus, the Charnoffs had their work cut out for them. Though there are several yeshivot in the area to service men who would like to add Torah learning into their daily schedules, there is no comparable program for women. As a result, the Charnoffs began to notice that the women on campus wanted more and more formal Torah education, despite their busy college workload. By the end of their first year on campus, the Charnoffs were running so many individual chavrutot and small group chaburot for women that they felt as though they had established an “accidental Midrasha.” With that thought in mind, OU-JLIC’s HaMidrasha at QC was launched.

Rabbi Charnoff put together a diverse group of female students to create a vision and structure for what this program would look like. Known as the “Midrasha Team,” the group worked with Rabbi Charnoff to answer some tough questions: As women, what are the most important things for us to be learning at this stage in our lives? What do we need to know now in order to keep learning over the course of a lifetime? How do we infuse our lives with Jewish meaning now, and as we go forward? “As a man, I couldn’t fully answer those questions myself,” says Rabbi Charnoff. “I wanted the female students to have ownership over their own experience.”

As a result of these discussions, guided by Rabbi and Mrs. Charnoff, a curriculum including Chumash, Nach, hashkafah and halachah emerged. The program takes place every Monday through Thursday afternoon from 3:05 until 4:50 − one class period – so that the students are able to fit it easily into their schedules. Additionally, there are flexible options of participating “I wanted the female only on Mondays and Wednesdays, or students to have Tuesdays and Thursownership over their days, or every day to enable participants own experience.” to gain as much consistent Torah learning as their schedules allow. Each section is presented in a unique way that exemplifies the goals and mission of HaMidrasha at QC. When teaching Chumash, for example, instead of focusing

on individual parshiot or details of Chumash, Rabbi Charnoff focuses on the overarching narrative of the sefer. In this way, we are able to take these broader themes and apply them to Chumash at any point going forward. In Nach, we go through a chapter or two with a chavrutah in each session, with a wrap-up lesson by Shoshana Charnoff to connect what was learned that day to the rest of the sefer. It’s a real eye-opener: not only do we understand the Nach better, we recognize the passages in context when we encounter them in shiurim or in a haftorah reading. The most hands-on learning is in our halachah classes. This section is mostly chavrutah- based. We truly form a relationship with the texts of the Shulchan Aruch, Rama and Mishnah Brurah while we learn how to read and

understand a critical halachic work. This is always followed up by a practical halachah shiur by Rabbi Charnoff about what to actually do on a day-to-day basis. In short, we learn how to live our lives following Jewish law according to the modern day poskim. Moreover, as student Marisa Pollack puts it, she especially enjoys the halachah component of the program because, “We bring the role of women in halachah to the forefront because it is applicable to every student in the room.” Lastly, every year there are two hashkafah books taught, providing a window into the diverse cornucopia of Jewish thinkers. In this way, HaMidrasha at QC students are able to study different legitimate perspectives that Judaism offers. By looking at the texts of great Jewish thinkers − from the Rambam to

HAMIDRASHA FOLLOWS THE LEAD OF ATERET SEMINARY The seeds for HaMidrasha were planted by an earlier campus program, the Ateret Seminary for Women. Founded in 1998 by Rabbi Menachem Penner, Ateret was the only program of its kind, an on-campus Torah learning program for women seeking to increase their Torah knowledge and sense of Jewish identity. For more than a decade, under the direction of Rabbi Shalom Axelrod, over a thousand women attended classes on a daily and weekly basis.

With the arrival of OU-JLIC at Queens College and the creation of HaMidrasha, Ateret transitioned into a monthly Lunch & Learn program affording students the opportunity to hear from prominent rabbinic and female Torah educators, and is now a fully integrated constituent part of OU-JLIC. Rabbi Axelrod, currently serving in the Young Israel of Woodmere feels, “OUJLIC is making an enormous contribution to advancing serious Torah learning for women on campus.”

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? Y S C N h g u o r h T t e e M u o Did Y

ow they met. h lly a ci e sp e – l a ry is speci Each couple’s sto dantly clear. n u b a n e ft o is ss ing their paths cro rent backgrounds fe if d G-d’s hand in help m o fr le p o e op NCSY to unite tw s se u d n a h ’s -d G home together. h is w Je a Sometimes ild u b to eographic regions g t n re fe if d r /o d n a

tory!

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the Ramchal − we are able to explore the world through different lenses and choose an approach with which we most identify. An important aspect of the program is the warm social atmosphere. Every day, likeminded women come together to share ideas, to learn and to grow together. One student, Sima Shulman, offers, “I am the first person to say that meeting people from different backgrounds is important… but people don’t always understand your perspective, and it’s nice to have two hours a day in HaMidrasha at QC where people know what you mean and where you’re coming from.”

Many of the connections made in this program are created at the Midrasha Shabbaton that is run each semester in the Charnoff ’s home. The Shabbatonim are a great way for the students to connect with their peers and their OU-JLIC educators in a much more personal way than during the intense hours of HaMidrasha at QC during the week. OU-JLIC’s HaMidrasha at QC is truly a one-of-a-kind program, forging connections in this community of peers and educators that are based on Torah values, Torah living and Torah learning. It is the one place, during a stressful college day, where we can feel

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comfortable and are encouraged to grow in all aspects of our Jewish lives. R

_____________________ Sherry Amster is in her final semester at Queens College, majoring in English and minoring in Business and Liberal Arts. She has been part of the Midrasha Team for three semesters and is grateful for the experience HaMidrasha at QC gave her. She reflects “Who knew that the thing I would miss most about my college career would be the Torah I learned there?”

Sophia Mirwis reflects during a HaMidrasha shiur.

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Fall 2016 | Reunion Magazine

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sharing

OUR NEWS Congrats to All OU Alumni!

EZRA STOLLON (OU-JLIC GREATER TORONTO)

BRACHA WEBER (OU-JLIC GREATER TORONTO ‘15)

HANNAH ASH (NEW JERSEY NCSY) BENJY LANKIN (NEW JERSEY NCSY) and joining Tzahal NATALIE LEICHTMAN (NEW JERSEY NCSY & OU)

DAVID MULLER (CENTRAL EAST NCSY, MIDWEST NCSY & TJJ)

WE ARE PROUD OF THE

achievements

of the following OU Alumni RABBI YOSI EISEN (OU-JLIC UMASS EDUCATOR) on on winning the 2015 Grinspoon Award for Excellence in Jewish Education

ELLIOT TANZMAN (DIRECTOR OF NCSY SUMMER RECRUITMENT) on being inducted into the Ben Zakkai Honor Society

H AT Z L A C H A R A B B A H to the following Alumni who

made aliyah

SHIFFY FRIEDMAN (OU-JLIC BARNARD/COLUMBIA EDUCATOR) on

graduating from Nishmat’s U.S. Yoatzot Halacha Fellows Program TALIA FURLEITER (OU-JLIC QUEENS FELLOW) on graduating from Nishmat’s U.S. Yoatzot Halacha Fellows Program JONNY PERLMAN (OU-JLIC QUEENS) on receiving smicha from Yeshiva Madreigas Ha’adam DAVID CUTLER (DIRECTOR OF NCSY SUMMER PROGRAMS) on being inducted into the Ben Zakkai Honor Society KEEVY FRIED (ASSOCIATE

RAFI GASNER (OU-JLIC GREATER TORONTO ‘15)

ZEVVY GOLDISH (OU-JLIC BRANDEIS ‘15)

MELISSA GOLDMAN (OU-JLIC BINGHAMTON ‘16)

YONI HACHEN (OU-JLIC UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA ‘15)

EVE HERMAN (OU-JLIC BRANDEIS ‘15) AUSTIN MAURER

INTERNATIONAL DIRECTOR OF NCSY)

on becoming a Ruskay Institute Fellow through the UJA Federation of NY

ILANA ROSENBAUM (OU-JLIC BRANDEIS ‘15)

ADAM SIMON (WEST COAST NCSY ASSISTANT REGIONAL DIRECTOR) , on becoming an Experiential Jewish Education Program Fellow at Yeshiva University

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Fall 2016 | Reunion Magazine

(CENTRAL EAST NCSY & IFS)

and family on making Aliyah

Engagements

If you’re already married –

MAZAL TOV!

KOCHAVA AYOUN (OU-JLIC BRANDEIS ‘15)

(OU-JLIC BINGHAMTON ‘16)

LAUREN GLUCK (ATLANTIC SEABOARD NCSY) on being awarded the Friedman Fellowship for Leadership Development

SCOTT SHULMAN

JOSHUA SEED

EITAN ADLER (OU-JLIC UPENN ‘11)

to Leah Hurwich ALEX BERGER (OU-JLIC MARYLAND ‘17) to Madeline Paul ELIEZER BUECHLER (OU-JLIC BRANDEIS ‘16) to TAMAR OSSIP (OU-JLIC BRANDEIS ‘17)

ARI ESTERSON (OU-JLIC MARYLAND ‘14) to SHOSHIE GRUBER (OU-JLIC MARYLAND ‘14, CENTRAL EAST NCSY) JONATHAN FISHER (OU-JLIC YALE ‘13) to NATALIE MASHIAN (OU-JLIC UCLA ‘10) AMIAD FREDMAN (OU-JLIC MARYLAND ‘16) to JOELLE LANG (OU-JLIC MARYLAND ‘16)

(OU-JLIC BINGHAMTON ‘16)

TZIPPY SHTEINGART

JULIE FROMM (OU-JLIC QUEENS ‘14) to JOSH ABERGEL (OU-JLIC QUEENS)

(OU-JLIC QUEENS ‘15)

NOAM STEINMAN

MICHAEL GEVERTZMAN (OU-JLIC RUTGERS ‘16) to RELLA FIRAT

(OU-JLIC BRANDEIS ‘15)

(OU-JLIC RUTGERS ‘16)

PENINA HECHT (OU-JLIC QUEENS) to Jeffrey Gourdji TAYLOR HELLER (OU-JLIC RUTGERS ‘16) to David Tover EVE HERMAN (OU-JLIC BRANDEIS ‘15) to Daniel Friedman GAVI HORWITZ (OU-JLIC DREXEL ‘16) to RACHEL BERNARD (OU-JLIC UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA ‘15) DEBORAH JOSEPH (OU-JLIC UCLA ‘13) to Daniel Friedman

LILY WILF (OU-JLIC COLUMBIA/ BARNARD ‘16) to Noam Mintz RACHELI AMBINDER (NEW YORK NCSY) to ANDREW ISRAELI (KOLLEL) RABBI YEHUDA AND CHANNAH APPEL (CENTRAL EAST NCSY) - the engagement of their son, Hillel SHIRAN ARUSI (WEST COAST NCSY) to Yaakov Kaplan CIVI BURGER (ATLANTIC SEABOARD NCSY) to Kevin Perlitsh

BENJY KARLIN (OU-JLIC to DALYA LERNER (OU-JLIC

JOSH FORGOSH (ATLANTIC SEABOARD NCSY)

UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND ‘16)

to Leah Meth

UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND ‘14)

AKIVA LANDSMAN (OU-JLIC BRANDEIS ‘12) to Alana Gardner EMILY MOSTOW (OU-JLIC BRANDEIS

RABBI AND MRS. TZALI FREEDMAN (CENTRAL EAST NCSY REGIONAL DIRECTOR) - the engagement of their daughter, LEAH (GIVE)

SHAYNA SCHWARZBERG (NEW JERSEY NCSY) to Noam Itzhak ADAM SHAFIYAN (CENTRAL EAST NCSY) to Sarah Noble ARYEH SMITH (NEW YORK NCSY) to Devorah Nekritz NEDIVA SUSMAN (NEW JERSEY NCSY) to AARON BUECHLER (NEW JERSEY NCSY)

JONATHAN ZAR (NEW YORK NCSY) to Abigael Kashi JONATHAN YONI GORLIN (IFS WINTER 2014-15) to Alexis Berkow MORDY MOSKOVITZ (IFS YU & STERN TRIP) to Sarah Saginor

MELANIE SWARTZ (IFS WINTER 2014-15) to Aaron Fried

‘15) to Nati Wind

IKE NEWMAN (OU-JLIC UPENN ‘12) to Ilana Foni ADAM OSSIP (OU-JLIC BRANDEIS ‘15) to ABBIE DENEMARK

AVIVA KANTER (MIDWEST NCSY) to Reuven Isaacs JOSH KARON (CANADA NCSY) to RIKKI BERK (CANADA NCSY)

A HEARTY MAZAL TOV

to the following OU Alumni on their

Marriages

(OU-JLIC BRANDEIS ‘16)

BEN LABOVITZ (ATLANTIC SEABOARD NCSY & SOUTHERN NCSY) to

BENJI RATZERSDORFER (OU-JLIC RUTGERS ‘16) to NICKI KORNBLUTH

Laura Shaposhnikova

REBECCA BARI (OU-JLIC QUEENS) and Ari Zucker (NEW JERSEY NCSY)

(OU-JLIC QUEENS ‘15)

DANIEL LEVINE (WEST COAST NCSY) to Shaina Sedighim

ZACH BARON (OU-JLIC UCLA ‘08) and Shaina Goodman

RABBI YEHOSHUA (DIRECTOR OF NCSY ALUMNI) and DEBORAH MARCHUCK (WEST COAST NCSY) on the engagement of their daughters, Rivka and Chana

REBECCA BERGER (OU-JLIC QUEENS ‘13) and Jay Herman

SHOSHANA ROSENFIELD (OU-JLIC BRANDEIS ‘11) to Ben Madsen RACHEL ROTHFELD (OU-JLIC BRANDEIS ‘13) to Aaron Stayman JULIA SEGAL (OU-JLIC UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA ‘18) to Yoni Freund RACHEL SKUPSKY (OU-JLIC UCLA ‘13) to Chaim Marks DANIEL STERNBERG (OU-JLIC BRANDEIS ‘11) to Hallie Chandler ARYEH STIEFEL (OU-JLIC UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA ‘14) to Tali Sved GABI YAFFEE (OU-JLIC MARYLAND ‘17) to Albert Katz

JAKE MORITZ (CENTRAL EAST NCSY) to Michal Frank SARAH NUTIS (CENTRAL EAST NCSY & JOLT) to Josh Brody AYELET PRERO (MIDWEST NCSY, 4G, MICHLELET, NATIONAL) to NOAH ISAACS (SOUTHERN NCSY & JOLT)

RACHEL SANDLER (ATLANTIC SEABOARD NCSY & GIVE) to Zachary Greenberg

SARAH BIERMAN (OU JLIC BRANDEIS) and Daniel Wallis YAEL CEDERBAUM (OU-JLIC QUEENS COLLEGE ‘14) and Jacob Spadaro (OU-JLIC QUEENS COLLEGE ‘14) JACKIE COHEN (OU-JLIC COLUMBIA/BARNARD ‘15)

and Oren Charnoff MIRIAM DICK (OU-JLIC GREATER TORONTO ‘18) and Brian Cohen SRULI FARKAS (OU-JLIC QUEENS) and Elizabeth Bitterman Fall 2016 | Reunion Magazine

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MORDY FRIED (OU-JLIC UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA ‘15) and CARLY MAYER (OU-JLIC

BENJAMIN MANN (OU-JLIC QUEENS ‘15) and Shira Kaye

PENNINA YASHARPOUR (OU-JLIC UCLA ‘14) and Milad Javaherian

UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA ‘15)

ROSS MITGANG (OU-JLIC QUEENS ‘15) and Yardena Winegust

DEBRA ZAUDERER (OU-JLIC RUTGERS & QUEENS) and Mordechai

SARA GOLDBERG (OU-JLIC RUTGERS ‘17) and NATAN SANTACRUZ (OU-JLIC RUTGERS ‘15)

LESLIE GOLDEN (OU-JLIC BRANDEIS) and Mordecai Segall JILL GREENBERG (OU-JLIC QUEENS ‘14) and Ariel Karten TALIA GREENSTEIN (OU-JLIC RUTGERS ‘16) and GAVI DOV HOCHSZTEIN (OU-JLIC RUTGERS ‘16)

MALKIE GROSSMAN (OU-JLIC QUEENS) and Shlomo Greenberg ILONA GRUDNIKOFF (OU-JLIC RUTGERS ‘15) and MOSHE BRESSLER (OU-JLIC BROOKLYN COLLEGE)

ARI GRUYS (OU-JLIC UCLA ‘14) and Baruch Gottesman TALI HAKAKIAN (OU-JLIC QUEENS ‘14) and Yehuda Azose SARAH JAFFE (OU- JLIC BRANDEIS) and DANIEL KASDAN (OU-JLIC BRANDEIS)

JOEL JESIN (OU-JLIC GREATER TORONTO ‘15) and Laura Rubin DANA KANDEL (OU-JLIC BRANDEIS ‘14) and Tzvi Simpson RINA KATTAN (OU-JLIC COLUMBIA/ BARNARD ‘15) and David Cohen

DANIEL REIDLER (OU-JLIC COLUMBIA/BARNARD ‘12) and Mikhayla Bibi JOSHUA RIBACK (OU-JLIC JOHNS HOPKINS ‘13) and Erica Stern YOUKAVET SAMIH (OU-JLIC UCLA ‘10) and Sassan Zelkha NAT SCHUSTER (OU-JLIC UCLA ‘06) and Ayesha Bhavsar AYALA SCHNAIDMAN (OU-JLIC QUEENS) and GIDEON GLASS (OUJLIC QUEENS ‘14) YEHUDIT SCHUTZMAN (OU-JLIC UCLA ‘12) and Eli Berookim HANNAH SCHWARTZ (OU-JLIC QUEENS) and YITZI LANDA (OU-JLIC QUEENS) AARON SCHWEITZER (OU-JLIC

LEORA BALK (CENTRAL EAST NCSY, MICHLELET, TJJ & GIVE WEST) and SHMUEL LESHER (CAMP SPORTS) YAEL BAR (WEST COAST NCSY & ICE) and FRANKIE ZIMAN (WEST COAST NCSY & ICE) NISSANA BOXSTEIN (WEST COAST NCSY) and NETANEL SHAFIER YOSSI BUCHSBAUM (WEST COAST NCSY) and Tova Gelernter LAUREN CHORNOCK

JOSHUA SHAPIRO (OU-JLIC MARYLAND ‘16) and Erica Friedman HILANA SMITH (OU-JLIC QUEENS ‘14) and Max Agress

YAEL COHEN (ATLANTIC SEABOARD NCSY) and URI SEGALMAN

ILANA STEVELMAN (OU-JLIC QUEENS ‘15) and Gil Broochian

DANIELLA EISENMAN (NEW YORK NCSY) and JONAH COHEN (WEST COAST NCSY)

PINCHUS POLACK (OU-JLIC BRANDEIS ‘14) and Rocky Salomon

RACHEL KOR (OU-JLIC RUTGERS ‘14) and Yoni Edelman

(OU-JLIC QUEENS) and

Fall 2016 | Reunion Magazine

EREZ ARUSI (WEST COAST NCSY) and RENA GENAUER (WEST COAST NCSY)

(ATLANTIC SEABOARD NCSY) and DOVI GLUCK (ATLANTIC SEABOARD NCSY)

UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA ‘14) and ARIEL MENCHE (OU-JLIC UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA ‘14)

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SARAH ALT (UPSTATE NEW YORK NCSY) and Aharon Weinstein

and Batya Schultz

AVIVA KOLOSKI (OU-JLIC

YISHAI KURTZ (OU-JLIC GREATER TORONTO ‘15) and REBECCA CYMBALISTA (OU-JLIC GREATER TORONTO ‘16)

DEVORAH ADLER (WEST COAST NCSY & MICHLELET) and Ariel Steinberger

UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA ‘16)

JASON SUGARMAN (OU-JLIC BRANDEIS ‘13) and Ariel Barnehama

JENNIFER KORMAN (OU-JLIC QUEENS ‘15) and YOCHANAN BUCHBINDER (OU-JLIC QUEENS)

Rosenthal

GABRIEL SZAFRANSKI MIRIAM KHUKASHVILI (MICHLELET)

DANIELLA WEISS (OU-JLIC QUEENS ‘15) and RONIEL NEUMAN

CG FORDONSKI (ATLANTIC SEABOARD NCSY) and Jonathan Polirer BARI FUCHS (NEW YORK NCSY, PORTLAND NCSY, GIVE WEST & EURO ICE) and Sam Mitzmann JORDAN GINSBERG (KOLLEL) and SHOSHANA SCHNEIDER (NEW YORK NCSY)

(OU-JLIC QUEENS)

ETHAN GIPSMAN (WEST COAST NCSY) and ETI ABELL (MIDWEST NCSY)

SARA WOLKENFELD (OU-JLIC QUEENS ‘15) and Avi Schwartz

REBECCA GOTTLIEB (NEW JERSEY NCSY) and Chaim Hersh

YAEL GRUEN (WEST COAST NCSY) and YONAH STROMER (WEST COAST NCSY & NEW JERSEY NCSY)

HANNAH RUBENSTEIN (CENTRAL EAST NCSY) and LAZAR PORTER (CENTRAL EAST NCSY)

MEIRA SALAMON and SHALOM ZHARNEST

ZACH JANOF (CENTRAL EAST NCSY, SOUTHERN NCSY & TJJ) and Elisheva Goldberg SHOSHANA KAMINETZKY (MICHLELET) and Jonah Steinmetz

(NEW JERSEY NCSY)

ARIELLA SARAGOSSI (MIDWEST NCSY) and Rafi Hopkins ISABELLA SAX (CENTRAL EAST NCSY, ICE & GIVE) and JOSEPH ZUMMO (CENTRAL EAST NCSY & KOLLEL)

ISAAC KLEINMAN (WEST COAST NCSY) and Daniella Meyer ISAAC KRUPP (MIDWEST NCSY) and Kimberly Azaria

AVI SCHWARTZ (NEW JERSEY NCSY) and SARA WOLKENFELD (NEW YORK NCSY)

ORA LAUFER (NEW ENGLAND NCSY & MICHLELET) and ROBBIE SCHRIER (MIDWEST NCSY & KOLLEL)

SEPHA SHEINBEIN (NEW JERSEY NCSY & IFS STAFF) and Aryeh Kirshblum NOAM SILVERMAN (WEST COAST NCSY) and CHANNA KONTOKANIS (WEST COAST

AVI MAFOUDA (WEST COAST NCSY) and Aliza Kolom

NCSY)

KIVI NAIMAN (CENTRAL EAST NCSY & KOLLEL) and Allie Buchsbaum (WEST COAST NCSY)

CHAYA MIRIAM NIMCHINSKY (UPSTATE NEW YORK NCSY & TJJA)

SHAYNA STIEBEL (CENTRAL EAST NCSY) and Moe Wolf MAYER SIMCHA STROMER (NEW JERSEY NCSY, CENTRAL EAST NCSY & KOLLEL) and SHIRA PRERO (MIDWEST NCSY & JOLT) MOLLY STRULOWITZ (MIDWEST NCSY & MICHLELET) and Shmuel Zargary REBECCA TESSEL (CENTRAL EAST NCSY & GIVE) and Bradley Goldstoff ARYEH TIEFENBRUN (NEW JERSEY NCSY) and Ayala Shemen

RIKKI LEWIS (NEW YORK NCSY & MICHLELET) and Sammy Kahn

SHUEY MIRKIN (ATLANTIC SEABOARD & BILT) and Carol Jacobson

DANIELLE STEIN (UPSTATE NEW YORK NCSY) and Alex Litton

ELIANNA SIMON (WEST COAST NCSY & TJJ) and GERSHIE VANN (TJJ) TAMAR SINGER (MICHLELET) and Andrew Turk SHOSHANA SOMER (MIDWEST NCSY) and Benjy Mehler CAYLEY STARK (GIVE WEST) and YONI STONE (KOLLEL)

ELI WEINSTEIN (NEW YORK NCSY) and ARIELLA SIEGER (WEST COAST NCSY)

SARA WIENER (MICHLELET ‘10 ,’14 & ‘15) and Ariel Schreier SHAYNA ZUKERMAN (CENTRAL EAST NCSY) and

Ari Feiger YONINA COHEN (IFS WINTER 2014-15- ISRAELI MADRICHA) and Yoni Cohen YAELI LIFSHUTZ (IFS WINTER 2014-15) and AVI FOINT (IFS WINTER 2014-15)

and Chayim Gerson BINYAMIN PFEIFFER (CENTRAL EAST NCSY & KOLLEL) and TALI SPIER (CENTRAL EAST NCSY & MICHLELET)

NATHAN RAFAELOV (SOUTHERN NCSY & EURO ICE) and RACHEL GOLIAN (TJJ) ADAM RHODES (WEST COAST NCSY) and Elisa Zisblatt AYELET ROLLER (NEW YORK NCSY) and Meyer Lehmann ANNETTE ROSENFIELD (ATLANTIC SEABOARD NCSY) and JOSHUA FRIED

ADM PROCESSING IS PROUD TO BE A PARTNER WITH

OU NEXT GEN IN CREATING A BRIGHT JEWISH TOMORROW

(ATLANTIC SEABOARD NCSY)

Fall 2016 | Reunion Magazine

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WARM WISHES FOR NACHAT AND JOY

to the following Alumni on the

Births

OF THEIR CHILDREN

BAYLA AND ELI AVTZON (OU-JLIC UCLA)- a daughter ILANA AND RABBI ELIE BERCUSON (OU-JLIC PRINCETON EDUCATORS) - a daughter, Batya Penina KAREN AND YIRME BERNSTEIN (OU-JLIC UCLA) - a son ALIZA AND RABBI GIDEON BLACK (OU-JLIC NATIONAL/ PREVIOUS NYU EDUCATOR)

- a daughter ELISHEVA (LAKS) (OU-JLIC QUEENS) GABRIEL CARTMEN - a daughter SHOSHANA AND RABBI ROBBY CHARNOFF (OU-JLIC QUEENS COLLEGE EDUCATORS) - a son JENNY AND RABBI DAVID ECKSTEIN (OU-JLIC JOHNS HOPKINS EDUCATORS) - a daughter ORIT AND NICK FAGUET (OU-JLIC SMC EDUCATORS) - a son

DAHLIA AND RABBI MOSHE FARKAS (OU-JLIC MONTREAL EDUCATOR) - a son SARA AND RABBI ADAM FRIEBERG (OU-JLIC RUTGERS EDUCATORS) - a daughter SHIFFY AND RABBI NOAM FRIEDMAN (OU-JLIC COLUMBIA/ BARNARD EDUCATORS) - a son

SHARONA AND RABBI ARYEH KAPLAN (OU-JLIC UCLA EDUCATORS) - a son MIRIE AND ARI MAHPOUR (OU-JLIC UCLA) - a son SHARONA AND BEN MEISELMAN (OU-JLIC UCLA) - a son

YARDENA AND ARIEL BANNETT (NEW JERSEY NCSY) - a son VICKI AND SHMUEL BASS (CENTRAL EAST NCSY) - a daughter ERICA AND BARRY BERKOWITZ (LONG ISLAND NCSY) - a son, Aaron Easton

LEAH AND AVI MINKOWITZ (OU-JLIC GREATER TORONTO ‘12)

- a daughter, Dvir Rachel ARIELLA (CHAMISH) (OU-JLIC QUEENS) AND MENDY NEMTZOV - a son ROBIN AND SEPI NOURMAND (OU-JLIC UCLA ‘07) - a son ARIEL AND RABBI DAVID PARDO (OU-JLIC BRANDEIS EDUCATORS)

- a daughter

NAOMI (GREENBAUM) (CENTRAL EAST NCSY) AND YEHONATAN BUSKILA - a son NAVAH AND DANIEL EISENBERG (NEW YORK NCSY) - a daughter,

Esther Kayla Rus CHANI AND RABBI DAVE FELSENTHAL (FOUNDING DIRECTOR OF NCSY ALUMNI)

- a grandson, Aryeh Leib DEENA AND KEEVY FRIED

RABBI MENACHEM SCHRADER (OU-JLIC FOUNDING DIRECTOR)

(ASSOCIATE INTERNATIONAL DIRECTOR OF NCSY) - a daughter,

- a grandson

Nechama Reena Rachel

NECHAMA AND JOSH SEGURA (OU-JLIC UCLA ’04)- a daughter

(CENTRAL EAST NCSY)- a son

RUTHIE (OU-JLIC DREXEL) AND DANNY SHULMAN - a son

JAMIE AND RUVI GIBBER (MIDWEST NCSY) - a daughter

RACHELI AND RABBI YAAKOV TAUBES (OU-JLIC UPENN EDUCATORS) - a daughter

RACHEL (IMMERMAN) (CENTRAL EAST NCSY, GIVE & TJJ) AND RAFFI GLICKMAN (CENTRAL EAST NCSY, KOLLEL & TJJ)

REBECCA (GANZ) (OU-JLIC QUEENS ‘14) AND DANIEL TUCHMAN - a son

- a daughter

NATALY AND RABBI AKIVA WEISS (OU-JLIC BINGHAMTON EDUCATOR)

- a son

ELISSA AND ARIEH FRIEDNER

MICHAL (WROTSLAVSKY) (CENTRAL EAST NCSY) AND MENACHEM GOLDSTEIN - a daughter ALYSSA (WOLFF)

RENA SOLYMANI YAHOODAIN (OU-JLIC UCLA) - a son

(NATIONAL NCSY) AND

ADAM GOLDWATER - a daughter, Miriam Sheva

ORA AND SHLOMO GELLER (OUJLIC WISCONSIN EDUCATORS)

- a son CHARLENE AND RABBI ANDY GREEN (OU-JLIC UCLA ‘07) - a son YEHUDIT AND BEN KANDEL (OU-JLIC UPENN ‘15) - a son, Elan Aharon

46 ||

Fall 2016 | Reunion Magazine

We want to hear your News! contact alumni@ou.org

HADAS (FRIED) (FORMER NCSY NATIONAL PRESIDENT) AND PETER GOODRICH - a son RABBI MOSHE GORDON (LONG ISLAND NCSY) - a granddaughter to his children, MIRYAM BRACHA AND YOSEF DEVORA AND RABBI MOSHE ISENBERG (MIDWEST NCSY) - a son, Yitzchok Tzvi (Izzy) SHELLEY (MIDWEST NCSY) AND SCOTT ISRAEL - a granddaughter, Chanala, born to their son and daughter-in-law, LEVI AND ALIZA TAMAR (WEINBERG) (CENTRAL EAST NCSY) AND DANIEL KAHN - a daughter REBBITZEN ELISHEVA AND RABBI YISROEL KAMINETSKY - a grandson, to their children SHOSHANA (MICHLELET)

AND JONAH STEINMETZ

NAAVA AND ERIC KEEHN (LONG ISLAND NCSY) - a daughter

RIVKA AND AMI LOCK (WEST COAST NCSY) - a son

CP (SACKETT) (ATLANTIC SEABOARD NCSY) AND AVRUMI

ELANA (ROTHSTEIN) AND YONI MIODOWNIK (CENTRAL EAST NCSY) - a daughter, Avital

KOENIG - a daughter ELISHEVA (PENNER) (GIVE WEST) AND BEN LANGSTEIN (WEST COAST NCSY & BILT) - a daughter VALERY (CENTRAL EAST NCSY & JOLT) AND DANNY LEBOWITZ (CENTRAL EAST NCSY) - a daughter, Yakira PAMELA AND MARTIN LEIBOVICH (DIRECTOR OF ARGENTINA NCSY)

- a daughter YAEL (BRODSKY) (TJJ) AND HART LEVINE (NATIONAL NCSY) - twins, Hallel and Ben Ami RIVKA AND SHIMON LITTMAN (LONG ISLAND NCSY)

- a daughter, Ahuba Leora

RABBI MENACHEM NISSEL (INTERNATIONAL NCSY)

- a granddaughter, Chani, to his children RIKKI AND YERUCHAM SCHWARZ RACHEL (LONG ISLAND NCSY) AND TZVI PILL - a grandson SHOSHANA AND YOSEF POLAKOFF (WEST COAST NCSY, NATIONAL NCSY & OU) - a son ALYSSA AND DAVID PRINCE (NEW JERSEY NCSY) - a daughter, Atara SELINA AND RABBI MICHAEL ROVINSKY (MIDWEST NCSY) - a grandson, Akiva Moshe to FORMER MIDWEST ADVISOR

AVI AND LIZZY ROVINSKY

Fall 2016 | Reunion Magazine

|| 47

SONIA (WEINBERG) (CENTRAL EAST NCSY) AND OREN SCHWARTZ (CENTRAL EAST NCSY) - a daughter CHAVA (WEST COAST NCSY) AND ADAM SIMON - a son

MAZAL TOV

to the following Alumni on the

Bar/bat Mitzvahs OF THEIR CHILDREN

ARIELLA (WROTSLAVSKY) (CENTRAL EAST NCSY) AND MIKEY SKOCZYLAS - a son

DR. DAVID LUCHINS (NATIONAL VICE PRESIDENT NCSY) AND VIVIAN LUCHINS (CHAIR OF NCSY SUMMER PROGRAMS & OU BOARD) - their grandson, Aharon Chayim, son of MEIR AND CHANA LEAH LUCHINS ALLISON NACHAMIE (NEW YORK NCSY & ISS) AND STEVEN LAPIN - their son Uriel Yisrael Lapin

RABBI MORDECHAI BURG (LONG ISLAND NCSY & KOLLEL)

- his daughter, Bracha SARAH BETH AND ARI SOLOMONT (NEW ENGLAND NCSY) - a granddaughter

We Mourn...

RABBI HOWARD AND MALCA (TOKAYER) JACHTER (NEW JERSEY NCSY)

- their daughter, Atara Rut Miriam

MEIRA AND RABBI CHANAN SPIVAK (WEST COAST NCSY) - a son

MARILYN PILL, A”H, mother of Zvi Pill

RABBI JONAH LERNER

(LONG ISLAND NCSY)

(ATLANTIC SEABOARD NCSY)

BATSHEVA AND RABBI ELI ZIANS (SOUTHERN NCSY) - a daughter

TAMMY KAPLAN A’H (MIDWEST NCSY)

AND SARAH LERNER - their son, Yechiel

SHARON (KURZER) SABBAGH A’H (ATLANTIC SEABOARD NCSY)

submit your announcement for this section to alumni@ou.org

MRS. ROSALIND WALLIN, mother of Debra Kapnick, Judith Feldman, Neil Wallin and Gary Wallin and wife of Rabbi S. Jerome Wallin (NEW ENGLAND NCSY)

Traveling to Israel? For a great discount use coupon code

www.talknsave.net

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Fall 2016 | Reunion Magazine