Jewish Community Partners

Over the past summer I went on the NCSY Israel program, NCSY Kollel. NCSY Kollel is an exciting six-week program that takes place in Beit Meir, Israel. Over the six weeks, we enjoyed a variety of activities from exciting trips to inspiring Torah learning with the brightest minds around the globe. We connected more with our brothers and sisters in Israel by going to impactful places to witness the horrifying effects of the October 7th attacks, such as the site of the Nova festival. 

While there were many incredible trips and experiences over the course of these inspiring six weeks, the most impactful was our mountain climb up Har Shlomo. Har Shlomo is in the south of Israel near Eilat and is around four hours away from Beit Meir. Because of the distance, we left at midnight the night before our climb/hike. Many of us did not sleep on the bus ride, but when four AM came, it was all we could do was get off the bus and mentally prepare ourselves for the rigorous task ahead. We barely saw through the darkness and were in the middle of the desert but despite this we met up with our tour guide and journeyed on.

The first part of the hike was tame and was mostly uphill walking, which was for the best considering our lack of sleep. In the black of night, we journeyed on until we got to the first real climb. Most of us were not expecting to see a wall of rocks and we were not certain of our ability to climb it, but as we made our way up the mountain and quickly got the hang of it. After what seemed like an eternity it finally started to get brighter as the sun slowly crept up on the horizon and we felt a wave of relief wash over us as now we would be able to see. We kept pushing on up the mountain approaching closer and closer to the summit fueled with more energy as we went on despite the exhaustion. 

By the time we reached the summit, we all took a minute to catch our breath and drink some water and while we were sitting down, we saw the sun slowly break free from the shackles of the horizon. It seemed as if a wave of sun rays had washed over us, and we realized at that moment that there would be no better time to daven shacharit. We took out our tefillin and our siddurim and began our morning prayers and honestly, it was the closest I have ever felt to Hashem (G-d) while davening. As we looked over the beautiful land that G-d created for us, gave to our forefathers, and gave us the privilege to inherit, I was overcome with gratitude to Hashem for the multitude of blessings He has given me daily.

Thank you to Memphis Jewish Federation’s Lemsky Endowment Fund for helping to make my NCSY Kollel trip possible.

Rafi Davidovics, son Dr. Deena Davidovics and Rabbi Noam Davidovics, is a junior at the Cooper Yeshiva High School for Boys. Memphis Jewish Federation’s Lemsky Endowment Fund provided him with a Teen Israel Experience grant to offset the costs of his NCSY Kollel program. Teen Israel Experience applications for 2025 are open and can be accessed at jcpmemphis.org/lemsky-endowment-fund.