Josh Rosenbaum – New England NCSY
Today was one of the toughest days of my life. As I sat in Navi class this afternoon, I heard the voice of my principal over the loudspeaker. “Off campus privileges are hereby suspended until further notice,” he said. “Multiple explosions have been reported at the finish line of the Boston Marathon.” We couldn’t believe our ears, the finish line was only three and a half miles from our school. But soon, we had no choice but to believe it. Emergency vehicle after emergency vehicle sped past our classroom. The words of Nechemiah were drowned out by sirens and grave thoughts. We knew this was serious. After the bell rang, everyone flooded into the hallways, terrified about what had happened and in much need of more information. We soon learned the true severity of the situation – two bombs had gone off in Copley Square. Multiple people were killed and about a hundred people were injured, including two dozen people who completely lost limbs. We were shocked. We never thought that something like this could happen so close to home.
I live an hour and a half from my school in Boston, so I don’t get home until around 7:00 PM on a nightly basis. Tonight was no different, except this time, I wasn’t my normal happy self. I was horrified and beyond upset. I spent two hours with that being my sole frame of mind, and then it was time for NCSY’s weekly Call of Inspiration. However, tonight, in place of the usual Call of Inspiration, Marc Fein and Ariella Freedman were going to be reciting two perakim of tehillim in the memory of the victims of today’s tragedy. Turns out, this is exactly what I needed. Hearing the voices of more than fifty NCSYers from across the country come together and recite these tehillim in unison taught me an invaluable lesson. The oneness and sense of community NCSYers possess is unmatched, and although today will forever remain a tragedy, I now understand that it is also an opportunity to be thankful for everything that God has given us, namely, the gift of life. In my tears I realized this was yet another beautiful lesson, brought to you by NCSY.
In ninth grade, a bunch of my friends were signing up for an NCSY Regional Shabbaton. I was so confused. My brother did NCSY for all of high school, and every time I’d ask him what he did on those retreats, his answer would be somewhere along the lines of, “There’s amazing dancing.” Why would all my friends be so excited to be going on a dance shabbaton?? I churn a mean butter, but by no means was I interested in going on a dance retreat. No thanks. They had an amazing time, and the confusion returned. I had to see what this was about. So when the next Regional rolled around, I decided to give it a try.
It turns out NCSY isn’t a dance group, but rather an amazing youth organization devoted to putting Jewish teens in the warmest and most welcoming environment possible to grow both socially and spiritually. I was hooked.
“Through conversations with Rebbeim, advisors, and NCSYers, I learned the most important lesson I have ever learned. Yarchei Kallah, and New England NCSY, taught me that in order to be in a position to give, you have to have what to give… Two weeks after Yarchei Kallah, right before applications were due, I officially decided to change my course of study. It is with absolute pleasure and complete, eternal gratitude that I say that I will be spending next year studying at Yeshivat Lev HaTorah.”
A year later, immediately prior to Winter Regional of my sophomore year, my life as I knew it changed forever. I received the news that my parents would no longer remain married. (Unfortunately, there’s much more to it than that, but for the sake of not embarrassing anyone inpublic, I won’t discuss it here. If you’d like to discuss it further, I’d love to in private). I was shocked and unprepared. I didn’t know what to do or how to handle myself. My initial reaction would have been to wallow in self-pity, spend days crying in my bedroom, but that wasn’t an option. I had to board the bus to Winter Regional, and then I’d figure out how to react upon my return. New England NCSY saved me. My family at NER (New England Region) taught me I always have a family. They taught me kindness, friendship, love, oneness, and community. They changed my life.
Upon my return, the thought to wallow in self-pity never crossed my mind. Instead, as I discussed at the SNew Coast (Seattle/New England/West Coast) oneg at Yarchei Kallah, NCSY helped me “build a sanctuary in my heart.” I reacted by doing my best to use my experience to help others. I reacted by gaining an amazing perspective. But I take no credit for any of that. Rather, I credit it to NCSY, and specifically to every single NER NCSYer and advisor. That winter, you changed me.
But my story doesn’t end there. Spring Regional I returned, and with my newfound perspective, I decided I wanted to give back. I ran for regional board, and by a miracle of G-d, I won. I served a year on regional board, but I wasn’t satisfied. I still didn’t feel like I had given back to NCSY nearly as much as it had given me. I decided to run for regional president at Spring Regional my junior year. By yet another grace of G-d, I won, and was presented with a brand new opportunity to give back. Months went on, and it came to that time in senior year when my classmates and I had to figure out our plans for next year. While almost my entire grade of 53 decided to spend the year studying in Israel, I was very much opposed to the idea. I had spent the last 14 years in formal Jewish education. Now, I wanted to see the world, and give to the world. I decided to spend the year volunteering in Tanzania, Africa.
Then came Yarchei Kallah. There, through conversations with Rebbeim, advisors, and NCSYers, I learned the most important lesson I have ever learned. Yarchei Kallah, and New England NCSY, taught me that in order to be in a position to give, you have to have what to give. That was the sole factor in my conclusion that dedicating a year to grow as a person, a Jew, and a creative thinker will, b’ezrat Hashem, with God’s help, put me in a position to dedicate many, many years of my life to giving back. Two weeks after Yarchei Kallah, right before applications were due, I officially decided to change my course of study. It is with absolute pleasure and complete, eternal gratitude that I say that I will be spending next year studying at Yeshivat Lev HaTorah.
NCSY has changed me more than anything else in the world. NCSY has taught me to see the G-d in every situation. Just as it saved me in coping with my parent’s divorce, it saved me tonight. The lessons I’ve learned, the experiences I’ve shared, will without a doubt be with me for my entire life. I attribute my decision to spend the year in Israel to NCSY, and I attribute the person I am today to NCSY. I am, more than anything else, forever in debt to NCSY. B’ezrat Hashem, next year will put me in the position to continue on my path to giving back. Although I know that I will never be possible to pay off that infinite debt, it’s my dream to as close as I possibly can. Thank you, and God bless.