Public School Teens Go on Mivtzoim After Camp

After donning tefillin with a colorful collection of Jews he met throughout his two week travels, Benjamin Kogos, a Staten Island, New York native and public school attendee, seems to be starting his own mivtzoim route. On Sunday, he reported on the CTeen X-Treme’s group Facebook page that he had just gotten two Jews to put on tefillin.

Following an all-boys X-Treme experience travelling through six states and enjoying a lineup of rigorous activities that thrilled both body and soul (such as white water rafting, hiking, and zip-lining, coupled with stops at Chabad Houses and late night farbrengens) the teens have been on a high. Ever since camp’s conclusion last Thursday, the teens have been posting pictures and statuses about mitzvos they are doing on the Facebook page they created especially for this purpose.

Sporting his CTeen tzitzis, David V. posted a picture captioned “chilling on the plane, still hanging ‘em low,” referring to the beaty “Hang ‘em low” tzitzis song composed specially for the camp. The bright orange and blue tzitzis have literally gone viral, with CTeen’s Facebook page,facebook.com/jewishteens receiving requests for tzitzis from teens as far as Manchester and Orlando. “If not for my tzitzis, I would never have spoken to the Jew sitting next to me on the plane,”Zack from Mequon, Wisconsin reported.  Thirty thousand feet above ground, Zack said shema and tefilas haderech with his new Jewish friend and encouraged him to contact the Chabad rabbi on his college campus.

Boris, from Arlington Heights, Illinois and another teen from Studio City, California decided to join the chain of Bris Avrohom by undergoing hatofas dam. On Friday, one teen texted his counselor, asking what that week’s Torah portion was so that he could study it. Another boy wanted to know which parts of shacharis he should daven. On motzoei Shabbos, Mattan from Orlando, Florida informed his friends that he had just kept his first Shabbos at home.

After four of his friends each won pairs of tefillin at the camp’s farewell banquet (two of which were sponsored by mispalelim in Yeshivas Ohr Elchonon who were so nispoel by the campers’ davening), Mishi L. from Germany reports having just purchased his own pair from a sofer.  Mishi laughs as he recalls his disinterest in Yiddishkeit just two weeks ago. “If you would have told me two weeks ago that I would purchase my own pair of tefillin, I would have laughed.  I planned on coming to camp and politely declining the request to put them on.”

“The combination of a diverse group of teens, the extreme trips so meticulously arranged by Moishe Lifshitz, combined with the Chassidishe staff and dedicated shluchim on site really brought the teens to allow themselves to experience Yiddishkeit and make life changing hachlotos,” says Rabbi Zalman Notik, director of CTeen X-treme.

The teens are not alone in their journeys. Many of their families have followed suit and are joining along. Loryn V. from Louisiana shared, “We walked four miles to my Chabad and kept Shabbos fully with my dad!” Archie W. from Iowa wrote, “The light continues to spread! My uncle donned tefillin at Brentwood Chabad!”

“The CTeen X-Treme camp has been a great kickoff to the many additional summer opportunities that CTeen has planned,” says Rabbi Mendy Kotlarsky, executive director of Merkos L’Inyonei Chinuch’s Suite 302.

The incredible impact described in this article reflects the amazing hashpaah of the shluchim onsite, Rabbis Moshe Rappaport and Shmuly Tiechtel, and the dedicated counselors, Nossen Fellig, Nissan Zibel, Hershel Gourarie and Shmuly Lipsker.   CTeen is grateful to Rabbis Chaim Mentz, Sholom B. Rodal, Boruch Hecht, Mendy Deitsch and Dovi Schapiro, as well as the entire Popack family of Denver, for hosting the teens and showing them what it means to farbreng. The success of the gashmius of CTeen X-Treme Camp is credited to Moshe Lifshitz and Nissi Eber who worked tirelessly to arrange all the logistics, giving the teens a most memorable experience.