Moshe Stuart, 16, from Monsey, New York, had never been to Israel before this summer. A student at Torah Academy of Bergen County in Teaneck, New Jersey, he admits that he really didn’t have “anything else to do this summer. People told me I wouldn’t regret coming on BILT,” he says. “It’s true. Words can’t describe how glad I am that I came.”
BILT is a five week traveling program for boys who want to experience personal challenges. It is one of NCSY’s 12 Summer Programs.
NCSY is the international youth movement of the OU.
Avi London-Wynne, 16, from Albany, California, is a student at the Jewish Community High School of San Francisco.
He visited Israel with his family after eighth grade. “That trip was more about culture,” he says. “I wanted to have a chance to connect to Israel spiritually – and this trip did that for me,” he says.
“This is more than a touring program,” says madrich Meir Freund, 22, who has been a BILT adviser for three years. “BILT is a leadership program. We try to empower boys from different backgrounds to be better and to grow by learning more about Torah, Eretz Yisrael, leadership and building self-confidence. Our focus is to take the best of each guy and make them better,” he says.
Like all NCSY trips this summer, the itinerary was changed because of the war. “Spending the first week in the north rather than in Jerusalem just meant we had to work a little harder to inspire the boys,” Freund says.
As an example, like all NCSY groups, the boys on BILT said Tehillim every day. “And someone gave a war update twice a day. Every time we davened we talked about what it means to daven for soldiers,” Freund said.
“Selfie” with a Soldier
One day the group went to Tiberias to buy junk food and then they visited soldiers on Mt. Hermon. “The soldiers were uncomfortable at first, but they got over it,” says Sam Weiss, 16, from Los Angeles.
He is a student at Yeshiva University High School of Los Angeles (YULA).
“We got to ask them questions about their experiences and opinions,” London-Wynne says. “The most interesting part of the discussion for us was about achdut (unity). One soldier took a selfie with us,” he says.
“We went to a lot of places this summer and what amazed me is that wherever we went people came up to us and thanked us for being here. It really matters to people in Israel that teenagers from America are supporting Israel this summer,” he says.
Their summer was clearly influenced by the war in Gaza. “I hear people talking about going into the IDF,” Stuart says. “What I understand now is that when one person dies, it’s a very big deal. I understand the feeling of love for every Jew,” he says.
In addition to visiting soldiers, they also visited Ethiopian immigrants. “We played soccer with three Ethiopians,” says London-Wynne. “We communicated by kicking a ball around. We were able to joke with them in Hebrew a bit. We found a universal language,” he says.
One of the most challenging activities of the summer is a Sea-to-Sea hike. This is a three day hike from the Mediterranean to the Sea of Galilee. “One of my first thoughts was that this is going to be a really long hike,” Stuart says. “But each day I was happier. We all got to know each other. It wasn’t a race. The guys in front helped the guys in the back. This hike changed all of us,” he says.
The Kotel
Stuart describes the first time he went to the Kotel. “We were blindfolded so that we wouldn’t be distracted,” he says. “We were holding each other’s hands and singing. I felt the present of the Kotel before I could see it. But when I took my blindfold off I started crying. The importance of where I was really hit me when I put my hands on the stones for the first time.”
There is general agreement that BILT was a summer the boys will never forget. “The advisers and staff are some of the most “relateable,” intelligent, funny and serious people I’ve ever had the pleasure of getting close to,” London-Wynne says. “Both as mentors and as friends. For me, that’s a major part of my BILT summer,” he says. “I’ve had so many great conversations that make me want to re-evaluate where I want to be.”