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C
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NCSY trip toured Jewish sites in
Spain, Gibraltar and Israel.
Elie Lipnik
Teen2Teen Staff Writer
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Farmington Hills • Corner of Grand River & Haggerty Road
Auburn Hills • 1 11 2 miles south of the Palace of Auburn Hills
124
September 13 • 2012
his summer I was fortunate
to attend a summer program
called NCSY ICE (Israel and
central Europe) that travels to Spain,
Gibraltar and Israel. Our cheer, 'Israel
and Spain, ICE is INSANNNEEE!"
pretty much describes the excitement
and enthusiasm the 39 of us felt for
five weeks.
We studied Jewish history of the
places we visited. I learned about my
Jewish heritage, and I now have a
greater appreciation and love for the
land of Israel. This trip also strength-
ened my relationship with God and
opened my eyes to the world He creat-
ed for us. It was a life-altering journey.
Elie Lipnik and Perla Maikhor of
We all started out as individuals on
Florida at the Maimonides statue
a trip, but with time we became a fam-
in Cordoba.
ily. During the first week, icebreakers
helped us become closer. The most
place where Jonah got swallowed by
powerful and influential bonding
the whale. As Shabbat ended, we heard
experience, however, was when a girl
a heartwarming speech from our rabbi
on the program spoke about her father and director, Rabbi Yisroel Lashak,
who recently passed away from cancer. about a man that helped a friend and
By the end of her speech, there was
years later got repaid. The moral was
not a dry eye in the crowd.
that you never know who exactly you
In Spain, we went to King Ferdinand are sitting next to and what impor-
and Queen Isabella's old castle where
tance they have to you, so it's impor-
they hosted the party of the century
tant to be kind to others.
after officially expelling the Jews in
Although Spain and Gibraltar were
1492. In the same exact place where
amazing, everybody was excited to
the Spaniards danced because of the
get to Israel. Once there, we traveled
expulsion of the Jews, we, 39 Jewish
all over the country. There was always
teens, danced and sang 'Am Yisroel
something historical to see or some-
Chai," the Jewish nation is still alive.
thing fun and interesting to do. We
It was an amazing experience, now an
learned and observed firsthand about
unforgettable memory.
all denominations of Judaism in Israel,
Maimonides, a famous commenta-
ranging from the ultra-Orthodox in
tor on the Torah, was a prominent
Mea Sharim to the secular Jews in
figure in Spain during the medieval
Tel Aviv. We enjoyed activities, such
period. Because of his value to the city, as snorkeling and banana boating in
we now can tour the Jewish quarter,
Eilat, surfing in Haifa, riding in jeeps
visiting his preserved synagogue and
in the Golan, playing with Ethiopian
plaza. Moreover, the city of Cordoba
children in Tiberias, and riding don-
erected a statute in his memory. We
keys and camels in the Negev desert.
all sat around his statute and listened
We explored our inner souls and
to what he accomplished and his sig-
pushed ourselves like never before.
nificance to the Jewish people.
I visited the Kotel for the first time
We spent Shabbat in Gibraltar, an
since I was a toddler. Praying to God
island smaller than Mackinac Island,
and placing a note in the cracks of the
where there is a flourishing Jewish
wall, was an incredible experience.
community consisting of four syna-
This only briefly touches on a fraction
gogues, a Jewish school, kosher restau- of things we did on this trip. This was
rant and supermarket. The tiny island
by far the most memorable summer of
off of Spain, owned by Great Britain,
my life.
has more than 650 Jews. On Shabbat,
we heard from the ex-governor, a reli-
Elie Lipnik, 15, of West Bloomfield is a
gious Jew, about the Jewish history of
senior at Akiva Hebrew Day School in
Gibraltar. Some people say it was the
Southfield.