Daily Update
The success of Monday’s shiur trips was clearly felt throughout a strong Tuesday morning seder
Following chaburas, our final optional mini-tiyul of the summer traveled to Emek HaEla, site of the battle between David and Goliath.
The focus on the courts turned to the playoffs, as intense games in basketball and hockey took center stage. With the top fours seeds enjoying first round byes, the other eight remaining teams battled for the right to move on.
Adi Pasternak continued his stellar play, while Adam Poliak’s outstanding effort could not stave off defeat. Meanwhile, Eli Pottash and Yavniel Field teamed with Jon Lubat to continue the season’s biggest turnaround, from 0-4 to the second round of the playoffs. Teams that missed out on the grand prize were still consoled with a second-chance/NIT bracket, competing for the right to lay claim as the 13th best team this summer. There were plenty of other basketball highlights as well. Chaburas competed in a massive lineup/knockout challenge, with Josh Tanzman winning it all. We also witnessed the thrilling conclusion to our “Around the World” All-Star tournament. In this competition, 4 teams were comprised by combining staff and NCSYers from the same High School or geographic regions. The MTA team, for example, was made up of 8 players spanning 25 years. Entering the final day of competition, all 4 teams carried identical records. After the NJ All Stars (Frisch, JEC, TABC and MAYHS) fell to the Out of New York squad, it all came down to MTA vs. Long Island. MTA was poised to win it all, but somehow squandered a 7 point lead in the closing moments. Clutch shooting by Jordan Ginsberg and Zach Wertheimer forced overtime, and from there Team LI coasted to victory. The tournament helps build school pride, and provides another opportunity for positive interaction between staff and NCSYers.
An excellent night seder was followed by an even more excellent post-maariv seder. Rav Doni Marcus delivered a powerful optional shiur on the importance of Chesed. Late night, we were treated to a special siyum made by Yakir Forman, Isaac Shulman, and Sruli Farkas, who learned throughout the school year and summer and together completed Masechet Beitzah. Mazal Tov! NCSY KOLLEL 2009
