Flight Held for Chabad Girls

Written by campers

How can I begin to describe the indescribable? 48 teenagers, and 15 women went to the Kvorim in the Ukraine, and then the women went home, and the girls continued to Eretz Yisroel.

The name of the camp, is YT”T, for “Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow,” we learn from our yesterday, to live better today, for a greater tomorrow. That is our history, that is our right, that is our destiny and that is our reality.

The joining of the 2 age groups was brilliant. The girls enjoyed the women, the women loved singing and being with 48 very lebedik teens. Morah Music sang with us, Shluchos from all over the world, South Africa, Miami, California, and Israel added to the ruach and the ruchniyus of the trip.

The Shabbos in Mezibush was beyond ‘geheiben’. It was mamesh holy.
The yechidus with the Baal Shem Tov brought out the deepest feelings. The davening at the Alter Rebbe’s Tzion, (only the ladies, read on….) Mitteler Rebbe’s tzion, the Maggid, Reb Zushe, Reb Levi Yitzchok of Barditchev, brought them all close to us. We connected.

At every Tzion we learned about the Tzaddik, we did Hachono with our incredible counselors, Chana Ester Okinov, Sheyna Karp and Kiki Halperin, and of course the indescribable Mrs. Miryam Swerdlov.

We always sang Niggun Hachana, and then the Niggun of the Rebbe at whose tzion we were. There is nothing like negina to go straight to the neshomo.
We all felt connected beyond our own understanding.

After all, we are only teenagers, regular, normal teenagers. Where do these feelings come from? How did we unite and connect? We were with women who could be our mothers and grandmothers (two really were…) We were from Australia, South Africa, France, Canada and all over the United States. What was our common bond? Well, obviously, we are all the children of the Rebbe. We are all connected through the Rebbe. We are all one family. One mishpacha. And that was felt the whole time.

B’hashgocho protis, the girls’ bus broke down on the way to the Alter Rebbe, the axle broke, sound familiar?……and a beautiful farbrengen was held on the road from Nyezshin to Haditch.

A Pan was written, the Niggun was sung, with the greatest of kavono, the names were given over by cell phone on the Tzion………and we “mach do Haditch”…… We learned a LOT from that.

These are some exact quotes from the girls:

M.R. writes: “We learned so much, from History to basic morals, to basic Mentchlichkeit. Mrs. Swerdlov kept teaching us and explaining to us.”

Y.S.: “Thank you for the summer of my life…I learned so much every single day. Your devotion to Chssidus and the Rebbe will stay with me forever. I know how privileged I am that I was able to experience all this in a fun way . I do not go to a Chabad High School, so this was doubly important for me.”

S.F.N.: “At YTT I had the ability to grow, enjoy, experience. Learn, laugh, have fun. To be in the Ukraine at the Holy Rabbeim with my Mother next to me, davening together, those moments were priceless.”

RLP: “I loved the shiurim, your sense of humor is great….”

CF: ” It was a privilege to be part of this camp and have the experience of a lifetime”.

RF: “Every corner of our Land is now rooted deep within me..”

MB: ” I enjoyed every bit of camp, the hikes, the speakers, the programs, the farbrengens, the sheurim, EVERYTHING. I grew from EVERYTHING. This was a life altering trip.”

DG: “thank you you for the most stupendous, bestest, unbelievable summer of my life! It will stay with me forever!!!!!!!!!!”

MR. “This was truly The Rebbe’s camp!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

CG. “Thank you for helping us GROW, for changing so many things, the way we saw them before, the way we understand them now is a world of difference…”

CL: ” We literally lived YT”T. Yesterday, we learned about our past, we internalized it, to apply it to my life Today, for a more meaningful Tomorrow.”

RR: “it is unimaginable how much I gained from this summer. I came from very far, and it was worth every mile….”

MM: “What would I be if I never came to YT”T? Definitely NOT the person I am now…..”

We want to thank Mrs. Shoshana Rabinowitz of Yerushalayim for planning every aspect, every meal, every trip down to the smallest miniscule detail.
We are more than grateful to the most incredible staff, Chana Esther Okunov, Shainy Karp, Kiki Halperin and Blumie Bloy for everything they did for us 24/7 literally, and of course Mrs. Miryam Swerdlov for whom YT”T is a shlichus. There cannot be a higher calling than that.

HOLDING A FLIGHT

Mrs. Swerdlov related to COLlive the following story of their way back to the U.S.:

When we came to the airport in Israel at 5:15am to board the 8:15 am flight to New York with a stop over in Ukraine, we discovered that the driver we hired did not pick up suitcases from our campsite.

We were after a gorgeous banquet that concluded the good times we spent in the Bet Meir village (“moshav”) and came on time to our flight, but were going to miss it because of our missing luggage.

I ran to the on-site chief operating officer of the Aerosvit airline and started to negotiate a late departure.

He almost laughed in my face. “This flight has a connecting flight. There is no way I can keep both flights waiting for you and security won’t allow it either,” he firmly said.

By now it was after 6 AM. Nothing short of a miracle was needed as the bus that brought us to the Ben Gurion Airport took the 30 minute drive (each way) to the moshav to get no less than 100 pieces of luggage. Once back, each girl would need to find her suitcase and pass it through security – all in less than 2 hours.

I looked at this ‘natchalnik’, this boss, an older gentleman, and I knew I had try to do something or say something to save this situation.

I asked the man, in my very limited Russian, where he was from.

He answered, wondering where this conversation was going, that he was from a town near Chernigov in Ukraine.

I jumped. “Moy Zedutch’ka bill Rabbin tvoy Zedutchka.” Loosely translated, my grandfather was your grandfather’s rabbi. (Rabbi Mendel Schneerson OBM was the Rov in Chernigov).

And before my eyes, he tone of voice and general mood immediately changed. He has never met my zeide, but something about the name recognition or the rabbinical position, clearly influenced him.

He ran over to security and made a phone call to hold the plane until the suitcases arrived and we all passed through security. Flight Tel Aviv-Kiev-New York waited for us for 35 minutes.

L’chaim Rebbe.