Summer 2019

By Aviva Tabarzia

We started off the day by going to Or Meir and Bracha, a terror victims support center where we greeted a bat mitzvah girl while also doing chesed for those in need. We sang songs with the bat mitzvah girl and packed food for terror victims. We then went to eat lunch at Givat Oz vegaon where we got to see the terrace we had made the previous day. After lunch we went to The Gush Etzion Heritage center where we learned and got to take a deeper look into the lives of those murdered in the holocaust. We then got onto the bus to go to Har Herzl where we learned about some fallen soldiers and had a moment of silence for the soldiers to pay respect to them. Lastly before going back to mevaseret we went to the malcha mall for some down time to roam around and get things for Shabbat. After a day filled with activities we headed back to Mevasseret where we ate dinner and did our night activity. We made challah together then went to the Beit Midrash for an exciting lip sync battle. Following the game we had a kumzitz outside. Lastly we ended the most amazing day by braiding the challah we made.

By Rochelle Dushey

We started off the day with beautiful Tefillot in the bais midrash and then we had amazing pancakes for breakfast!! Then it was straight for the buses… we had to miss chaburas 🙁 after a short bus ride we got to oz vegaon, an area dedicated in memory of the 3 boys who were kidnapped and killed not far from there a few years ago. We helped build a terrace there which in the future will help the rain water stay out of the streets it was so much fun to help carry the stones and be with such amazing people whole doing it! We sang and danced while doing Chessed at the same time! After all that work we got treated to some refreshing ices!! Next we headed to pina chamah a place where soldiers come to have a break or a snack… there, we made them a fresh bbq for lunch which was amazing!! We made them a sign and served them refreshing drinks…etc We could all tell how much they enjoyed it! Next we were off to maarat hamachpela in chevron where we davened mincha, it was so amazing I could’ve stayed there for hours! Next was a visit to the house of a girl named Hallel Ariel who was killed in a terrorist attack, where her mother spoke to us about who her daughter was and how Israel is our home and how we can’t give up on it. To end our day off we went a dance studio built in memory of Hallel where we did Zumba with Tehila Weisberg! Then we did chaburas with our amazing advisors (!!!) since we missed it in the morning. We all really enjoyed every part of the day so much!!! Thank you GIVE bus 1 for another amazing day!!! 

By: Ariela Yasharpour

Today we went to an organization called Leket where we picked apples which go to many families in need. After that chessed, we got onto the bus and arrived at a park near Mamila where we had one of my favorite lunches. After finishing eating we walked to the mamila mall and had some free time. We then got together and did a flashmob in front of many people which we prepared the night before. It was such a fun experience to just start dancing spontaneously. From there, the bus took us to the Belz shul. We got a tour there which was really amazing to see and we got to daven mincha there. We ended off the day with a really fun basketball game of campers vs the staff.

By: Elisheva Babani

At 7:15 the sounds of alarms were heard, starting another great day at GIVE. We were on the bus by 9 and headed towards our first stop, an archeological dig. Girls found many cool objects including a goat finger, a piece of Roman rooftile, and a coin. Our next stop was a school. We had an impromptu dance party and then helped teach the kids English. As we do everyday on GIVE, we hopped yet again on the bus. After a delicious flafel lunch, we arrived at Yad Ezra V’Shulamit, an organization that provides food and supplies for impoverished isrealis. Our last adventure for the day was a trip to Ben Yehudah followed by a speech with the volunteers at the Lone Soldier Center. Dinner was a salad bar with delicious vegetables and grilled chicken. Many girls decided after dinner to play sports outside including volleyball, basketball, soccer, jump rope, running, and even krav maga. Finally, the night ended by preparing for our flash mob tomorrow at Mamilla Mall with choreography by Rachel Eisenstein. We can’t wait to have an another amazing day tommorow!

By: Bebe Sosnick

Today we woke up to the shining rays of sun from Yerchum. After finishing packing, davening, and eating a beautiful spread of breakfast, our day officially began. Our first stop of the day was to a park in Sderot. We learned about how the bomb shelters were integrated into the children’s park due to the location of the city. We wanted to make signs to brighten up the shelters. some of the signs said עם ישראל חי, הכל יהיה בסדר, various tehillim, and many more uplifting phrases to brighten the times. We took a short bus ride to another bomb shelters to hang these signs up. After this, we got we got onto the bus and went to a place called the Salad Trail. We picked and ate amazing tomatoes, cucumbers, and carrots. we raced each other through a passion fruit maze and then released little pigeons. I think the highlight of the trail was our watching our advisor Sharoni (Shamati) and assistant bus director Michal eating habanero pepper which is 50,000 scovale. To conclude our day, we had a meaningful experience at Kever Rachel.

By: Rachel Eisenstein

Gut voch and a Shavua Tov from Yerucham!

We welcomed in the Shabbos with Kabbalas Shabbos sung by our very talented Givers. There was an amazing feeling of unity as we danced to Lecha Dodi with the sun setting over us. During dinner, the advisors graced us with a grammen about the past week, and we enjoyed going over this weeks’ highlights. That night, we enjoyed a night without any curfew. Us campers can only hope that Talia won’t give us curfew next week! 🙂 The next morning, we had a super late wakeup. Lunch followed a central kiddish with lots of delicious food and a particularly tasty watermelon provided by our bus driver, Musa. After lunch, girls scattered around the hostel for a few hours of free time, playing games, socializing, reading, or sleeping. Later in the afternoon, we played “Speed Dating,” a fast-paced icebreaker, which was an amazing way to really get to know our fellow Givers. Just as we brought in Shabbos with song, we also said farewell with song. After our inspiring ebbing, we participated in a wonderful Havdala with the Kol Hanearim group which were also at the hostel with us.
Forty minutes later found the Givers in weekday clothes and advisors in strange dresses and messed up makeup. Why the shtick, you ask? Our Motzei Shabbos activity was human pac-man, and our beloved advisors were the ghosts. We went to a sandy field in the dark and the advisors scattered glow sticks for us to find. They scattered 200 sticks, and we had to get to 500 points in 3 rounds of 3 minutes each. Quite obviously, we surpassed 500, and we earned a special privilege. However, us Givers have yet to find out what this privilege will be. When we got back from our human Pac-man, we celebrated over pizza while blasting music that could be heard on the third floor of the building, and the advisors performed an extemporaneous dance routine. From there we waited until midnight to celebrate the birthday of our very own Brooke Samuelson. Happy 17th, Brooke!!

By Yael Kaye

Friday, July 5th, 2019: Day Three.
We woke up to what seemed to be the crack of dawn due to all the fun we’ve been having, but in reality was only 7AM. After davening, eating a yummy breakfast, and having inspiring Chaburas, we eagerly packed into the bus and headed to a Nursing home. This was the first chessed we did where we got to interact with other people and it was an amazing experience. Hearing the stories of these elderly people was fascinating. One women has lived in Jerusalem her entire life, others immigrated to Israel as young children, and some came here as recent as 6 years ago! Seeing the happiness in their eyes as we sang Shabbat songs and danced was truly worth the whole trip. Additionally, having the opportunity to connect with them and getting a glimpse into their past was eye opening. After that we made our way to an army base and got to meet ten soldiers from the דובדון unit. A lone soldier from Spain spoke about his experience in the IDF, and let us ask questions about what it’s like. It was an honor to meet the brave people who keep our country safe! We then made our way to Yerucham and stopped along away to but some Israeli shabbos snacks. Although the ride was long, we got to bind with each other even more, make new friends, and even catch up on lost sleep. We arrived in Yerucham where it was super hot so thank G-d for air conditioning! We are now all preparing for shabbos and can’t wait to see what comes next! Shabbat shalom everyone, from the holy land!

By: Maya Davis

Day two of GIVE began with an early start! Each family had the first Chaburah revolving around the theme of midot. After a lovely learning opportunity and a delicious breakfast we headed out to Hashomer Hachadash. There, we learned about the importance of agriculture and what it means not just in Israel but in the Torah as a whole. We even had a hands on experience and pruned olive and pomegranate trees so that all of the nutrients head to the most important part of tree. After all that hard work and a delicious barbecue lunch, we hopped back onto the bus and headed to Jerusalem for a tour of Susan’s House. Susan’s House is a workspace and art studio for teens at risk. They make beautiful jewelry and household items that we as well as other visitors in the past had the opportunity to purchase. Finally we went to a park played games and had an inspiring speech by a past NCSYer who made Aliya and joined the army. As the night came to a close we had our first mishmar, and baked cookies for the soldiers of Israel and wrote notes to them which will be delivered tomorrow.

By: Maital Agami

GIVE day 1 started out with a bang. We started the day by heading to Ammunition Hill in Yerushalyim, where we learned to work together in team building exercises. We also had the chance to do different activities such as zip-lining and rock climbing. After a delicious lunch of pastas and אבטיח, we headed to the beautiful city of עיר דוד. We had an informative tour about the history of דוד המלך and the city. After the tour, we took an exciting water hike in the water tunnels. We then moved to our last location, the Kotel. We had the chance to write letters to ourselves and think about the upcoming weeks ahead. We even got to experience the שמחה of a בר מצוה outside of the Kotel. We all headed to the Kotel to engage in beautiful Tefillah and connection to Hashem. For some it was the 1st time and some not, but each girl had an incredible experience. We then had an hour to explore the Old City. We indulged in delicious food such as shwarmah and iced coffee. We then headed back to our home base Mevaseret in Mevaseret Zion. Day one was full of new connections, new friendships, and self discovery. We can’t wait to see what lies ahead!