It’s not every day that 70+ plus teens have real conversations about bringing prayer – and Hashem – into their everyday lives.
But that’s what happened at Midwest NCSY’s Yarchei Kallah, held in early February in Chicago. The annual Shabbaton, intentionally kept small, caters to day school and public schools teens looking for higher-level learning opportunities. This year, the theme was Tefillah/Prayer.
Noted lecturer and educator Rabbi Mordechai Burg, Menahel of Mevaseret, helped the teens tackle such topics as “Prayer in Difficult Times” and “Is Hashem Listening,” providing food for thought in the moment – and beyond.
Your support makes special Shabbatons like Yarchei Kallah a reality.
And Yarchei Kallah participants can’t thank you enough.
Read on as the teens share what they are grateful for.
Mashi Perkins (2nd from l.) is a junior at Ida Crown Jewish Academy in Skokie, IL.
She says she participated in Yarchei Kallah because she was looking for a smaller Shabbaton where she could “connect with people and further my learning.”
Mashi adds that she “really connected” to the prayer theme. “Davening was something I struggled with and so it really helped me.”
Now that Shabbaton is over, Mashi says, “Because I [went] on Yarchei Kallah, I have started davening with more kavannah, intention, every day.”
For Ezra Jacobs (r.), a senior at The Barstow School in Kansas City, MO, there were a lot of meaningful moments at Yarchei Kallah.
This included Rabbi Burg’s learning sessions, the kumzitz after Shabbos, and what Ezra describes as the opportunity to “look at prayer for what it’s been throughout Jewish story, not just what it is [today.]”
But most of all, Ezra says, Yarchei Kallah has a “vibe” all its own.
“Honestly,” he says, “I love and need that vibe that Yarchei Kallah creates for fostering deep intellectually, emotionally, and spiritually vulnerable conversations with like-mined [teens] around the region.”
Hila Ben Harush (2nd from r.) is a sophomore at Eagle Ridge Academy in Minnetonka, MN. She says she’s been coming to Shabbatons since she began high school, “but Yarchei Kallah has by far been my favorite.”
Hila explains that she appreciated the opportunity to step out of her routine, meet friends she hasn’t seen in months, and feel “a renewed sense of peace.”
Like Mashi, Hila says the prayer theme added another dimension to the Shabbaton.
“I felt closer to Hashem more than I ever have, and I put in effort to understand and apply the prayers to my life,” she says.
Now, Hila has brought that inspiration back home to Minneapolis.
“I have been feeling more mindful, content, and grounded,” Hila says. “It feels amazing to go through my day and not feel super stressed about everything as I just remind myself that Hashem has me.”