For public school teens who want to learn more about Judaism, winter vacation is not just a time to sleep late and eat Chinese food. Almost 200 public high school teens from as far west as Detroit will travel to Stamford, CT, December 25-30 for a national Yarchei Kallah, 5 days of level-appropriate learning, sponsored by NCSY, the OU’s national youth program. The Stamford Sheraton Hotel will host the Yarchei Kallah, which is an intensive seminar for teens who want to experience immersion in a Torah-observant-lifestyle.
“You know we’re doing something right when 175 public school teens choose to spend five days of their vacation learning Torah with NCSY rather than doing all of the other winter break options available,” declared Rabbi Steven Burg, International Director of NCSY.”
Public high school teens will be coming from the following NCSY regions: Long Island; Canada (based in Toronto); New England (based in Boston); Central East (based in Detroit); Atlantic Seaboard (based in Baltimore); New York; Upper New York and New Jersey (both based in Teaneck, NJ).
“Every year, the OU’s extraordinary NCSY program reaches tens of thousands of teens with a unique blend of chizuk (education) and kiruv (outreach) activity,” declared Stephen J. Savitsky, President of the Orthodox Union. “I invite everyone to visit the homepage of the NCSY’s recently redesigned website (www.ncsy.org) to preview a video promoting the forthcoming NCSY Yarchei Kallah,” he said.
“This year’s winter-break learn-a-thon promises to be every bit as memorable as in preceding years,” declared Eliana Rudolph, NCSY’s Associate Director for Special Projects. “There will be fascinating lectures by leading Jewish personalities, an introduction to life-changing ideas, and intellectual debates on Jewish issues,” she said.
The schedule will include NCSY’s signature Shabbaton experience lasting more than 25 hours; chavurot (one-on-one study); chugim (optional lectures); and shiurim (learning sessions for the whole group). These sessions will be presented delivered by Rabbi Menachem Nissel of Har Nof (in Jerusalem); Rabbi Yona Reiss; Rabbi David Goldwasser; Rabbi Burg; and other all-star presenters.
In addition, there will be a Melava Malka with a band on Saturday night, a treasure hunt in the hotel, and a trip to Brooklyn on Thursday to meet with Rosh Yeshiva Aharon Schechter of Yeshivat Chaim Berlin.
For more information contact Eliana Rudolph at 212-613-8258 or rudolphe@ou.org.