Faces

Nominated and written by Eli Weinstein, NCSY advisor  I started attending NCSY events when I was in sixth grade. One of the first people that came over to me and made me feel comfortable at my first Shabbaton was Nachi Sonnenblick. At the time, he was an advisor for West Hempstead NCSY. On that Shabbaton

Nominated and written by Netanya Stein, NCSYer Zahava was my advisor on TJJ (The Jerusalem Journey) Bus 6 three summers ago. Before TJJ, I had never kept shabbos, and I had never been exposed to orthodox Judaism in a positive light before. From the day I met Zahava at JFK, I saw that Orthodox Judaism

Nominated and Written By Yali Cohen,  NCSY Alumna Rabbi Adam Simon is a constant inspiration. It is unduly limiting to pinpoint only one or two specific things he has done to inspire me because he inspires me on a daily basis. Adam motivates me to be a better person by example—just by being himself. He is

Nominated and written by Naomi Benatar, NCSYer Chaim Strassman was one of my TJJ advisors and he has continued to be an advisor with whom I can talk to about anything. I have been conflicted with how religious I will be when I grow up and I have been able to talk to Chaim about every

Nominated and written by Sonny Kugelman, NCSYer On my first shabbaton as a 9th grader, I didn’t know anything about NCSY and only knew a handful of people. I was awkward, self-conscious and shy and didn’t understand what was flying, until a crazy advisor swooped in and took me under her wing. She asked me

Nominated and written by Sammy Aronson, NCSY Alumnus Portland, OR is not the first place that comes to most people’s mind when you think of a thriving Jewish community. Rabbi Chanan and Meira Spivak moved to Portland 7 years ago. At the time, I was in Public Middle School. I wasn’t so into the whole

Nominated and written by Shane Skinner What can I say about Ari Shabat? Ari is a kind, gentle soul. But don’t let that fool you. His wicked sense of humor is legendary. I remember that was the first thing that caught my attention about him. I was one of the “problem children” that always skipped out

Nominated and written by Jodi Fish In June 2010, I was fortunate to participate in the first year of NCSY’s TJJ Ambassadors (TJJA) program. As a TJJA family, we learned Torah, grew as individuals and as a Jewish nation, were blessed with incredible advisors and rabbis, and had the opportunity to meet some of our

Nominated and written by Rabbi Moshe Benovitz My early involvement with NCSY was motivated by the usual combination of social factors and some vague appreciation for religious inspiration. Along the way I encountered a legion of highly dedicated young torah scholars who made a less anticipated impact on me. In my high school years, many