My name is Eliana Sarfati-Magill, but more or less everyone in YJ calls me Eli (eh-lee). From Brooklyn New York born and raised and I’ve lived in the same house since day one. I’m the national OTP (Offarim tzofim programmer), this means many things, one of which being that I identify as a fun-loving hooligan. A motto of mine is meaningful shenanigans, it’s my way of saying that I want to always be having fun and doing things that are both memorable and meaningful/significant in whatever capacity that may be. That’s was my attitude toward being a counselor at Sprout this summer, and stays true in my plans for events aimed at our young Young Judaeans this year.

I’ve been a Judaean since my first day at Sprout as a second year Tzofim in 2010, and since then camp and YJ have been a huge part of my life. I loved being a camper at Sprout, and then Ty, and then being on H+ back at Sprout. My love for YJ started with all of my experiences at camp and my love for all of my camp friends and the overall , camp community and grew into (what some might call an obsession or)  love for YJ as a movement.

This overall impression of what YJ is why people stay involved, and that’s what I want to give to the Offarim and tzofim age kids.  My life would be completely different with out Young Judaea, and I think that showing young kids how amazing the movement is will make them want to not only  a part of the movement, but be more involved as they get older. I can’t wait to spend the year planning and participating in shenanigans full  of Zionism, pluralism, peer leadership, social action, and Jewish identity!

 

What’s Kraka-Lakin Young Judaea? My name is Noa Krakow and I’m from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. I’m beyond excited to serve as this year’s 2016-2017 National Administrative Vice President. When I’m not planning YJ events, you can find me dancing, color coding my notes for school, and on a rare occasion sleeping. I’m an avid believer of the ‘Paul McCartney’ conspiracy theory and I’d love to have a chat with you about it. I first became a part of the movement when I was eight years old at Camp Sprout Lake. I instantly fell in love with the atmosphere and people, that I continued to Camp Tel Yehudah. Since then, I have been a part of the Eastern Pennsylvania Region’s leadership team and spent the last few years overseeing the region.

Young Judaea is different from anything else I’ve experienced. It provides me with a community of people who all feel a similar passion towards Jewish values. Where I’m from, the Jewish population identify themselves, however  they do not feel the same connection to Judaism as I do. Young Judaea provided me with this connection, and has given me the opportunity to explore who I am.  Young Judaea is special because it empowers me to the best of my ability. It challenges me to see the world around me and help me grow into a better person. From the influence of YJ, I am now a more confident person who feels that the most important thing in life is to be happy, and care less about what others think. I feel proud of my beliefs, opinions, and I’m not afraid to be “too passionate” about something. I have changed so much from Young Judaea’s influence, because it has helped me understand why I’m Jewish and why I make the decisions I follow.

This year, I want to focus on connecting each region from across the nation to unify Young Judaea as whole. We all come from different backgrounds, different places across the world, different beliefs of Judaism, but we’re all connected through Young Judaea. Everyone has their individual way to lead and I want to enhance that opportunity towards others.

Hi, My Name is Mikayla Carno Harf I am from Cleveland, Ohio. I have been involved with Young Judaea since 3rd grade, even though I wanted to start before 2nd grade but my mom would let me. This was probably a good decision on her part because I have not stopped talking about YJ ever since then. I have served on the Midwest Mazkirut for the past 2 years as both the Social Action Programmer and Bogrim Programmer. Also over the past 4 years I have served in many different positions on my Temple Youth Group board as 8th grade liaison, Membership and Communications VP, Religious and Cultural VP, and I currently serve as the President. NFTY has also been a big part of my life, but never as big as YJ. NFTY has allowed me to stay connected with my local Jewish community and temple, while YJ has allowed me to really find myself and discover my own opinions.

Just this year I was accepted into the Saltzman Youth Panel, a Jewish Teens Philanthropy Panel through the Jewish Federation of Cleveland. Additionally, I was one of two scholarship recipients of Hadassah’s Leaders of Tomorrow for Young Judaea’s Machon in Israel Trip. Machon was the best summer of my life, so far. And I cannot wait to have many, many more with YJ.Young Judaea has taught me many things, but the most unlikely one was YJ taught me how to be a student which improved my high school experience immensely.

As you can probably tell, I like to stay busy. Young Judaea has been a huge part of my Life in all of this and I’m excited to serve this year as Young Judaea’s National Bogrim Programmer.

P.S. I wrote my National Maz Speech, in my head, while showering. Yes I announce this to the entire Asepha body at NMW and NO I am not ashamed to admit it.

I’m Kayla Lesch and I am very honored and excited to serve as the 2016-2017 National Mazkira. I’m from Evanston, Illinois and a proud Midwestie. Young Judaeans love their regional pride and Midwest is clearly the best. I mean, it even rhymes.

When I’m not flying back and forth between Chicago and New York for Young Judaea events, you can find me diving at my school’s pool or practicing gymnastics. I love trying new sports, and the more flipping I get to do the better. I’ve been a gymnast for six years and a diver for three. I might not be at quite the level of Simone Biles, but trust me, I’ll get there one day. Until I make it to the Olympics though, I’ll just have to be happy spending my summers at camp.

Nobody believes me when I say this, but when I first started out in Young Judaea, I kind of hated it. As a little sixth grader, I came home from my first summer of camp with no plan of ever returning. Fortunately, my mom forced me to go back, and for that I am forever grateful to her. Growing up in Young Judaea has been the best thing that could ever happen to me. I’ve gained amazing friends and unforgettable memories. Every valuable skill I have, from how to be successful in a job interview to how to plunge a toilet, I’ve learned during my summers spent in Waupaca and Barryville.

When I decided to run for Midwest Mazkirut, I had no idea what I was getting myself into. One day, I was just a camper watching the older kids run around stressed about sikkums and not having enough pens; and then, suddenly, I was that older kid. And there were never enough pens!

I loved spending two years on the midwest mazkirut. But after my summers at TY, I realized how important National Young Judaea is. Coming from the Midwest, I never knew that other regions of Young Judaea existed and did not even hear about TY until my bogrim year of camp. From talking to other campers, I’ve learned that this is the case with many other regions as well. This year, the national mazkirut will be working on changing that phenomenon. I may have lots of regional pride, but I’ve learned that being on mazkirut is not just about making sure that the Midwest kids are the loudest at rikkud. To me, being on mazkirut is about ensuring that every single camper that steps foot into TY or into a convention has the time of their life. Every camper in Young Judaea, no matter where they are from or how long they’ve been in the movement, deserves to have the opportunity to be a peer leader and to participate in year round functions. With this in mind, the national mazkirut this year will be focusing on connections in and between all the regions. We will be mentoring regional mazkirut members and connecting regional counterparts to each other to create stable support for every leader in Young Judaea. We are reaching out to Young Judaeans across the country, from Washington D.C. to Los Angeles, California, starting new mazkiriot and supporting new clubs popping up all around. We are hoping to bring our campers across the country together and to strengthen Young Judaea as a national movement. I look forward to a great year on mazkirut and cannot wait to get this year started!

2025 Annual Report

For more information, email winterbreak@youngjudaea.org

Watch me!

Many thanks to Cartoonist Nina Paley for allowing us to use this piece

My experience on AWB was extremely rewarding because I had the chance to see things that I would never see in New Jersey. I got to see skid row which made me realize how lucky I am and how homeless people have such a strong community. As I walked by each person I saw that they were positive and were very comfortable with us walking by them each person said “hello” and “how are you doing” in such a kindly manner. While being on skid row I also noticed the amount of tents that were in placed for the people to sleep in and it occurred to me that if people can appreciate living in a tent then I can appreciate anything that I have in my life. Skid row really opened my eyes to a whole new world that I have never seen before and it made me realize that I appreciate everything I have in my life.

Another experience that I had on AWB was going to PATH, the homeless shelter and I got to make food for the homeless and talk to the people that were at the homeless shelter. Cooking the food was very rewarding because I got to see everyone eat the food I made and it looked like they enjoyed it and I saw the smile on the people’s faces when they were eating it. Not only was cooking the food a rewarding experience I also had a great time making it with my friends and I haven’t had so much joy in something in a long time. Even though I had a great time with my friends I also had a great time with the people at path. I met a few people and had long conversations about life and how positivity is the key to success and staying alive which is very true. I learned a lot from the people at path and their experiences which made me realize that anything could happen in life and you only live once.

~ Dan Rottenstrich – 11th Grade, Fair Lawn, NJ

The best part about a mitzvah is that you may never know the impact your action made. Today we completed two tasks that many people from the group deemed superfluous and unhelpful. We helped clean and organize three thrift shops that serve primarily impoverished shoppers, and we helped a caretaker clean up public block gardens around the area. These tasks seemed as if they would have little to no impact. I feel they may just have had the most impact. We were able to help an ex- alcoholic man clean up his town and make it more beautiful. The trees and plants that we dug in the ground will make the impoverished area look nicer, and therefore the residents of the town will have hope. By them passing by and seeing us work on their community it showed them that we care. This was the type of service where the impact we made wasn’t seen right away. But the impact will be seen a little bit everyday when residents drive by our newly planted sidewalk gardens and have hope for the future. Little mitzvahs like these are the most important acts of kindness.

~ Daniel Hack – 11th Grade, Suffern, NY

Today marks the first AWB Shabbat I have done in my lifetime. Also, it is close to the last YJ Shabbat I will ever experience as a camper. Now for most people this might mean really nothing. But, to me it means the world. Young Judaea has taught me many skills and attributes, and Shabbat is the time to look back at what we  have learned throughout the week. So as I sit and watch all the sprout kids sing siyum I start to tear and reminisce. I remember my first CJ Shabbat singing alone, when suddenly I am gathered around a huge crowd of people singing shira shketa. I remember when I was welcomed by such a close family. I remember when I gained another family. I remember the amazing times I’ve had. I remember when I became a leader. Ever since I have joined Young Judaea shabbat has been a different type of day for me. This summer I went on Machon. An amazing Israel trip ran by Young Judaea. On this trip we were allowed a free weekend. Free weekend is when you are allowed (with the acceptance of a guardian) to go out and explore Israel differently. Without a tour guide. My friend had a house in Haifa. So, me and 10 of my amazing friends stayed there. While we were all hanging out we realized these were one of the last Shabbatot together. So, we cooked food gathered around a table and sang. We sang and had one of the best times of my lifetime. So as I sit in this room on Alternative Winter Break I tear up because nothing I say will ever compare to what I have experienced and felt with this movement. I have now created my own definition for Shabbat. I also hope that others have defined it for themselves throughout there life. But, I am glad YJ has shaped it into what it is for me. A time to reminisce and be with eachother, off the social network, and to live in the present.

~ Salomon “Salo” Levy –  12th Grade, Miami, Florida