Elliot Heller – Atlantic Seaboard NCSY
The year was 2010. I was a sophomore attending just my second regional convention. It had been an awesome Shabbaton, with a fun Thursday night activity and a warm, exciting Shabbat. I had even made some new friends.
For those of you who haven’t experienced it, closing on Sunday morning is one of the most inspirational moments of a Shabbaton. We sang the classics, “Acheinu,” “Esah Einai,” and “Tov L’hodos,” but also a song I hadn’t heard before NCSY. It was called “Someday.” It describes the pain of exile and expresses hope for the ingathering of all the Jews and rebuilding of the Temple. To tell you the truth, the first time I heard it I thought it was kind of cheesy. But that Sunday morning, when we all started singing that song, with our arms around each other, displaying our Jewish unity proudly, something just felt right. I didn’t know exactly why I felt the way I did, but I knew I was experiencing something special.
We stopped singing and the music continued softly in the background as Rabbi Rocky, our chapter director, told us a story. It was a story about what NCSY did for him when he was a teen. He told us about how he had gotten involved in other Jewish youth groups throughout high school, but none of them had any effect on him spiritually. As a confused teenager, he had almost gotten involved with a church.
When Rabbi Rocky finished his story, he told us about a program called NCSY Yarchei Kallah, a five-day Shabbaton during winter break. Intrigued, I spoke with some people about Yarchei Kallah, and ultimately decided I would give it a shot.
“I went on NCSY Kollel and had the summer of my life, meeting amazing friends and growing religiously as well. I decided to start davening (praying) three times a day and wearing tzitzit.”
At that Yarchei Kallah three years ago, the ball got rolling for me religiously and spiritually. I strengthened my Jewish identity and re-evaluated my priorities.
After Yarchei Kallah, a friend of mine told me about the NCSY Summer Kollel, a six-week program in Israel centered around learning, sports, and touring. I had seen this friend change and mature after the previous summer, but to be completely honest, I could not get past the word “Kollel.” To me, it connoted a bunch of guys in black hats and jackets sitting all day learning, cut off from the rest of the world. How wrong I was.
As time passed and I spoke with some people who knew me well, I decided that Kollel wouldn’t be so far-fetched for me. One advisor said it was like a six-week Yarchei Kallah. That couldn’t be so bad, I thought.
It was down to Kollel and another summer program in Israel, and if it weren’t for the difference in price I probably would have chosen the latter and missed out on an amazing, life-changing summer. Thank G-d, He had other things in store for me.
I went on Kollel and had the summer of my life, meeting amazing friends and growing religiously as well. I decided to start davening (praying) three times a day and wearing tzitzit.
That fall, the friend who got me to go on Kollel kept telling me: “I didn’t want to hear this last year either, Elliot. But the best way to keep up the inspiration after Kollel is to keep up the learning.” One thing at a time, I thought. I was thrilled about the transformation of my kavannah (intention) in davening and the fact that I would be going to be going to yeshiva after high school, both a result of Kollel. Learning? Not so much.
Then I went on Yarchei Kallah again. This was the true defining moment of my life, when consistent Torah learning became something worthwhile in my eyes. The most important thing I learned at Yarchei Kallah 2011 was to “keep asking questions.” It was repeated over and over by the advisors, rabbis and speakers. In my chaburah, we examined a part of the Torah, the sin of the golden calf, and just wrote down a bunch of questions about it. Why does the Torah say “x” – isn’t that obvious? Why did this person react the way he did? What was he thinking? I realized that these questions, along with the classic ask-the-rabbi questions, were meant to be asked. Sometimes, they are even more important than the answers.
With G-d’s help, I was able to go back on Kollel for a second summer. There, I took my learning and religious growth to the next level while making great friends and just having a blast. It was then that I began to feel an intense connection to the Jewish people and specifically to the land of Israel. I decided that I wanted to make aliyah, a dream which with G-d’s help will one day become a reality.
This winter, at my third Yarchei Kallah, I began to reflect on the previous two years. What would they be like without NCSY? I started looking at the advisors, rebbeim and guest speakers at Yarchei Kallah, and thinking about the enormous debt of gratitude I owed them. Could I be like that one day, inspiring the Jewish future?
What does the future hold for me? Time will tell. But one thing’s for sure: NCSY has changed my life, for the better and forever.
Did NCSY change your life? Submit your story to tova@ncsy.org