Today on NCSY Euro ICE we started off the day with an Israeli style breakfast; if you are not familiar with the style, it is a endless buffet of food containing all the breakfast foods you can imagine… Okay, I can go on and on about the breakfast but I would be remiss if I didn’t talk about the rest of the day. We left the overly homey and hospitable Kibbutz Lavi to go to Har Arbel. This mountain site is one of the many famed hiking trails in Israel. Before I got onto the hike let me preface: this was our first hike of the summer and we all were exhausted from last night. The hike itself was rather easy, (about 1.5 miles). So you would assume it would be done in 30-35 minutes, but not us! Not only did we take our time but we also managed to take up a B’nai Akiva group’s time who were conveniently placed behind us. Throughout the hike our incredible tour guide, Chanan, explained the history of the city and our ancestors. The whole hike took about 2 hours leaving us with just enough time to shower after our long sweaty hike- that was a joke! We did something even better. Everyone had an amazing time and were then excited to go to Aqua Kef. Aqua Kef is a super fun water park in the Kineret. This really made up for the 90 degree weather outside. After Aqua Kef we went to a mall and we were given money to eat at any restaurant we like. I really like this idea because it lets everyone choose what they want and isn’t just a set meal plan like we had in Europe. Then we visited the old city of Tzfat, one of the 4 most holy cities in Israel. We went to an art gallery/glassblowing demonstration and saw first hand how to make a glass pomegranate. You’d be surprised as to when this will come in handy, but once it does we will be ready. We then came back to the hotel and enjoyed a relaxing dinner followed by a night activity. The whole day was jam-packed and full of adventure, can’t wait for tomorrow!

Best. Summer. Ever.

Joe (Michigan)

This first week of NCSY Euro ICE was absolutely amazing! One of the highlights of our week was the Shabbat we spent in Madrid. From the spiritual davening, to the unity we built, to the singing and the stories, it was truly a Shabbat to treasure forever.

Friday night we davened in a beautiful shul and shared our meal with the Jewish community in Spain. Learning their age old traditions and tunes was so interesting and the room was filled with ruach.

After lunch on Shabbat day we went to Retiro Park where we played team building games which really gave us the chance to connect with one another while exploring the gorgeous city.

Towards the end of shabbat, Jeremy shared an inspiring concept he calls, “Hashem said hello”. What this means is that even though something may seem bad at the time, we will be able to look back on it and see the good that came of it. In a sense, we will see Hashem saying hello. We heard moving stories from staff and NCSYers about their moments of seeing Hashem say hello in their everyday lives. We even received bracelets with this new message to help us always remember that everything is for a reason.

Shabbat concluded with a spirit filled kumzitz and Havdalah. It was a beautiful ending filled with singing, ruach and spirituality.

We are truly looking forward to the next three weeks, knowing they will end in the best Shabbats of our lives.

Aliza (Toronto) and Relly (New York)

Ending an amazing Shabbat in Venice, we sang together as Shabbat ebbed away. As we headed to the square of the ghetto for havdala, everyone was arm in arm. The beautiful moment was shared with many local Jews and tourists who joined us, along with the Chabad of Venice, as we sang and cheered for the return of shabbat in just 6 more days. 

We ended our Venice adventures with gondola rides through the canal, and a boat tour to the islands of Burano and Murano, known for their lace and blown glass. Up next, we’re traveling to Slovenia for more great memories as the NCSY Euro ICE 2018 family.

Nathan Magid sharing about his first week on an NCSY summer program and how he’s been enjoying Euro ICE so far:

Everything has been really exciting and new for me because I’m coming from a place that’s not super religious and I want to become more religious so it’s a huge learning experience for me. NCSY Euro ICE has been taking me every step of the way so I can see and experience  my traditions and history. The trip so far has incorporated Jewish practices and Jewish learning in a way that I can connect to, even with less background. Davening has been the best part for me so far because its not something I’m usually encouraged to do or exposed to. My favorite activity was the boat tour in Amsterdam on our first day. While the scenery was beautiful, I specifically enjoyed the audio tour given by the “fresh water pirates”. I’m super excited to spend the rest of this month with everyone. Shabbat shalom.

– Nathan and friends on the barge canal tour. 

Tuesday morning we arrived in Amsterdam and were off touring right away. We started off by foot, walking around the beautiful city and then continued on the amazing canal barge boat tour.

Wednesday we visited historical sights including the Jewish historical museum of Amsterdam, the  Portuguese  shul, and the Anne Frank house. We learned about the history of Jews in the Netherlands and discussed the significance of these locations and the history that took place here. We had to acknowledge the famous local artist, Vincent Van Gough, at the Van Gough museum as well.

Thursday we enjoyed a biking tour, as is the most common form of transportation around Amsterdam, known as the “bike town” and saw amazing wind mills. 

After a long drive from Amsterdam, we’ve finally made it to Italy and spent the day touring Verona and visiting the shuls in the Jewish ghetto in Venice, where we will be spending Shabbos. We’re so excited for what’s in store! 

We’ve officially begun the BEST.SUMMER.EVER and can’t wait to keep the adventures rolling. From New York to the Netherlands, Ncsy Euro ICE is made for you and me!! We walked, talked, boated, and ate, in the beautiful city of Amsterdam, while getting to know each other on the first day of our exciting trip. More to come! 

JFK, NY                                                                AMS, NL

Dear Mom and Dad,

So basically let me tell you about my trip. Yesterday (Sunday morning) we woke up; we packed our stuff from the hotel we were staying at and then we went to this place where we rode donkeys. My friend Rina and I named our donkey Camille, and then we made pita bread and had lunch. We drove 3 hours to Ein Gedi which is a hike with waterfalls and it’s really cool. Then we went to the Dead Sea and drove to this place called the Bedouin camp which is in the desert and you sleep in tents. At around 10:00 the Rabbi gave us an amazing speech about constellations and stars and horoscopes- it was so cool, I would recommend listening to it. Then at around 11:30 we went out into the desert in the pitch black and walked half a mile and then laid down on sleeping bags and learned about the stars and stargazed. Then we all meditated for a while and it was so chilled I loved it. We went back to the camp around 1:30 and wake up was at 4:00 because we were hiking Masada at 5:00 so the people who were tired went to sleep and some people just stayed up all night by the campfire. In the morning, we woke up, drove to Masada, hiked it and watched the sunrise from the top and then took a tour and got back on the bus. We went back to the camp and rode camels and now we got back on the bus and we’re about to drive an hour to Sderot!

Love,
Simi Langert

Dear Parents,

Yesterday we spent the day in Tzfat and shopped in the village. This was my first time learning how to bargain with people. Shortly afterwards, we went golf cart riding in the forest which was a great opportunity to bond with friends! Today we spent the day in the beautiful city of Haifa. We arrived at the Grand Mall of Haifa and enjoyed a competitive scavenger hunt, in which we did silly things like giving makeovers and taking funny pictures with strangers. Shortly after we enjoyed the beautiful gardens of Haifa where we took wonderful pictures with each other and had pizza. After a brief ride on the bus we arrived at the beach in Haifa to go surfing. My initial reaction was surprise, due to the fact that I had never gone surfing before. After a few minutes of practice with the instructors I was confident that I would succeed. Surfing took a little trial and error but I did get the hang of it. In conclusion we had an exciting 2nd and 3rd day in Israel and can’t wait for more to come. #עם ישראל חי #makeAliyah #euroice2017

Love,
Ariel Cohen