Cleveland NCSY Running Event Blog

Day at the Beach (6-8th Grade)

2011-09-18T20:42:00.000-07:00

45 NCSYers hit the beaches in Mentor, OH today in a miraculous turn of temperature... it seems it was meant to be! Teens from Cleveland proper, as well as some teens from Akron joined together to meet each other and have fun building sand castles, playing a water balloon version of Angry Birds, and eating a delicious BBQ.

Shabbos Festivities

2011-09-12T13:20:00.000-07:00

So far this year, we've had lots of stuff going on during Shabbos (hence the late posting!)

On August 27, as Leadership Boot Camp was canceled due to a certain hurricane/tropical storm, NCSY had a Cleveland LBC Seudah Shlishit and training session on how to prepare a d'var Torah and become proficient in public speaking.

On September 3, Cleveland NCSY had a Chapter Board lunch as well as a Chapter Kickoff Seudah Shlishit, with over 60 people in total. Then on Sunday and Monday we had an amazing White Water Rafting trip with the whole Region of NCSY, with some brand new teens!

... most recently, on Wednesday, September 10, we had our first Latte and Learning with a kickoff crowd of 15 great teens from all around.

Mini Shabbaton

2011-05-09T18:22:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, we had an amazing series of events for the community's teens. NCSY hosted 75 teens for Friday dinner, 75 for Seudah Shlishit, and 35 for a riveting round of Whirly Ball late Saturday night. Around the meals we had great Shabbat singing, and moving educational programs and speakers. The highlight of the weekend were the many new faces that decided to spend Shabbat with us, and our guest speakers; Rochie Berkowitz, Shlomo Koyfman, and Chaim Gross, Rachel Immerman and Hallie Bondar as our advisors.

Pesach BBQ

2011-04-22T07:49:00.000-07:00

This Pesach, NCSY served over 100 meals to hungry healthy Cleveland teens! Between 2 Seders, lunch guests and our fantastic Yom Tov BBQ (becoming quite the tradition), teens from all over Cleveland enjoyed a great first couple days of Pesach spirit and togetherness. Thank you to everyone who was able to help make this a beautiful Pesach, including our wonderful donors and local stores for all the great food (Boris, Tibor's and Unger's [alphabetical order]).

Below, if you ever wondered, is the trash created by 100 guests in 2 days. (Sorry for the night-time photo.)

Purim Party Bus

2011-03-21T22:44:00.000-07:00

This Sunday, you may have seen a large bus roaming around Beachwood and University Heights. In this bus, around thirty teens, from different schools and religious backgrounds, celebrated Purim to its fullest by staying true to two Purim themes: giving selflessly to others... and having fun! The week before Purim, teens from both NCSY and Friendship Circle joined together to make mishlo'ach manot packages. These mischlo'ach manot were then delivered members of the Friendship Circle and YACHAD via the NCSY Party Bus. At each house, the NCSY Party Bus emptied out to sing and dance with the family, as well as anyone else in the vicinity, even pulling driving Jews out of their cars to join the fun. The bus finished their rounds by visiting some friends of NCSY (see picture: Malcmacher family). When the bus was finished, the NCSYer in the Party Bus were all tired... but happy knowing that they had been able to make these special members of our community smile on Purim.

Sgt Benjamin Anthony Speaks

2011-03-21T22:42:00.000-07:00

We enjoyed once again a visit by Sgt Benjamin Anthony, who beautifully addressed the teen community at 5pm during Taanit Esther, and then NCSY parents and friends at 9pm. Thank you to the Rosenblum and Weiss families for hosting us.

Learning and Earning growing!

2011-03-16T00:52:00.000-07:00

Learning and earning this week was amazing! First, we socialized in the NCSY lounge and ate some delicious pizza and falafels as we waited for everyone to show up. Once everyone was full and ready to go, we split up into three groups. In the first group people found a partner grabbed a book and studied together. In the second group Steven Belkin talked to us and discussed Purim. The last group was the regional board learning group. Regional board members taught Perkei Avot, or Ethics from our Fathers, and it involved a group discussion. This week we had a grand total of 49 people and we're hoping for 60 next week! Everyone enjoyed it very much and had a great time.

6-8th Grade Laser Tag

2011-03-12T21:56:00.001-08:00

50 teens met tonight at Green Road Synagogue for a home made Laser Tag and Dodgeball night! We had strobe lights, a fog machine, and an awesome DJ!

Learning and Earning

2011-03-11T02:49:00.000-08:00

Learning and Earning is back and better than ever (Monday, March 7)! In our first session, we had 33 teens show up and we gave them all options for learning. Each teen chose between a class given by Channah Appel, a discussion group based on Pirkei Avot by the Regional Board (represented by Tali Kuhel and Danielle Slater), or to learn one on one with a book selected from the NCSY library. At the end of the night we raffled off Cavs tickets to those teens who put their phones in a box for the entire learning program to avoid being distracted during their studies.

Shabbaton!

2011-03-04T11:00:00.001-08:00

Sonny Kugelman gives a dvar Torah on Friday afternoon... over 250 people including 200 teens had a blast at the Shabbaton, which included incredible speakers like Sgt Benjamin Anthony and Tamir Goodman, bowling and a hypnotist, and tons of inspiration.

6-8th Grade Girls Iron Chef Competition

2011-03-02T00:27:00.000-08:00

The girls had a fantastic time out at the Iron Chef Competition. More than 15 girls came out to make homemade lemonade, delicious cake, and other specialties.

6th Grade Boys Bowling

2011-03-02T00:19:00.000-08:00

On Sunday, a few 6th grade guys got together for an afternoon out at bowling at arcade games!

YACHAD Shabbaton

2011-02-22T07:29:00.001-08:00

Cleveland YACHAD observed February as North American Inclusion Month with their first shabbaton of the year!
This past weekend, Rabbi Michael Taubes, noted educator and author was brought in from New Jersey as YACHAD's scholar-in-residence over the weekend. Participants of the shabbaton enjoyed shabbat meals at Green Road Synagogue, games, Torah learning, sensitivity training, seudah shlishit with the congregants of Young Israel, and a magic show, pizza party and ice cream sundaes after shabbat was over. We were fortunate to hear Rabbi Taubes address 2 congregations and stress the importance of inclusion in our community, and emphasize the fundamental Jewish value of treating all people, no matter the ability, or physical appearance, with respect and love.

Skibaton Weekend

2011-02-14T20:16:00.000-08:00

This past weekend a total of 90 Cleveland teens were involved in events throughout Shabbat. We'd first like to thank the Jaffa and Koyfman families for helping to host teens for dinner on Friday night, two of three homes housing teens from within and outside the community.

Afterward, there was an Oneg at the Friedner home that reached beyond capacity with 60-70 teens rocking the house! Teens from both NCSY and Bnei Akiva brought the neshama to the party with some amazing Shabbbat singing.

The next day, another 60-70 teens joined us for kiddush and lunch at Green Road Synagogue after the Aish HaTorah program that once again rocked the house with amazing singing and Shabbat energy.

After Shabbat, 50+ teens went skiing at Mad River Mountain with another 100 teens from Central East NCSY and had a tremendous time!

Feb. 6- 7-8th Grade Superbowl Party

2011-02-08T17:36:00.000-08:00

Wow! What a game! 15 of the guys hung out at beautiful Cleveland Embassy Suite Hotel, devoured delicious Subway, and other amazing snacks, and watched one of the best games in recent history. We already can't wait for the game next year!! (Sorry we didn't take any pics!)

Jan. 31- Latte (Volunteering) and Learning at the Food Kitchen

2011-02-01T06:52:00.000-08:00

This week we decided to switch things up a bit by volunteering before learning instead of just hanging out and socializing. We packaged food that will be delivered over the next few weeks to hundreds of families in the local area.

Jan. 28- Jr NCSY Oneg

2011-02-01T06:49:00.000-08:00

On Friday night, Jr NCSY had an incredible Oneg! With more than 50 packed into the house we played food games, had a guest performance by the Mizrachi Choir and had an otherwise awesome time experiencing Shabbat together!

Jan. 26- YACHAD meeting

2011-02-01T06:44:00.000-08:00

Tonight's YACHAD meeting was held at Stone gardens Assisted Living Facility on the Menorah Park campus. Residents of the facility and YACHAD members and volunteers joined together and enjoyed the music stylings of Noah Budin, as he played the classics, and well-known Jewish and Israeli songs. The experience proved that age and physical abilities are not factors when it comes to enjoying music and befriending one another, thus illustrating the goal of "YACHAD"- the Hebrew word for "togetherness."

Also, Cleveland YACHAD is gearing up for February 2011, which has been designtated as North American Inclusion Month (NAIM). Find out how you can help by visiting www.NAIM4inclusion.org or emailing ClevelandYACHAD@gmail.com

Jan. 24- Latte and Learning at Amy Joy

2011-01-24T19:09:00.000-08:00

Tonight we had about 25 teens in attendance as we discussed Environmentalism and its relationship to Judaism. The discussion led to the concept of Tikun Olam and how it is incumbent upon us as Jews to not only help the world around us, but to change the world through working on ourselves as individuals.

Jan. 23- Yachad Bowl-a-Thon

2011-01-24T19:06:00.000-08:00

This week, Cleveland YACHAD / NJCD (Nat'l jewish council for Disabilities) invited the community to join them in their bowl-a-thon fundraising effort and it was lots of fun and a success! Young and old joined together to raise money for this great cause. The proceeds from this event will go directly to fund our upcoming shababton, in observance of February as North American Inclusion Month (NAIM). For more information about how you can get involved, please contact ClevelandYACHAD@gmail.com or visit NAIM4inclusion.org.

Jan. 10- Latte and Learning at Amy Joy

2011-01-11T16:01:00.001-08:00

Last night we went to Amy Joy for our first Latte of the year. 20-25 teens attended to meet new friends, have a great time, and grab a free coffee and a donut. Josh Gottesman from New York was our special guest speaker, and he spoke to the group about how to make decisions vs. the pressures of society.