Ncsy (Torah, HaShem, America, Israel, blessing)

[jewscout]

What is the NCSY?

NCSY, the National Conference of Synagogue Youth, is the most effective and respected educational Jewish Youth movement in the world.
Offering programs to bring Jewish teens back to their heritage, NCSY is at the forefront of the battle against assimilation. Although most of NCSY's effort have been in North America, now NCSY in Israel is trying to bring back Israeli teens to their roots as well.

NCSY is a multi-faceted Jewish Youth group which is open to all Jewish youth regardless of background and affiliation. Offering social and educational programming in hundreds of communities across the U.S. and Canada, NCSY is a leader in bringing unaffiliated youth an awareness of what Judaism is all about. For Jewish teenagers, NCSY is a relaxed, fun environment to learn about their own heritage.

http://www.ou.org/NCSY/default.htm
They came to our shul this past Shabbat and the guy who was cantoring (he must have been like 16) was AMAZING!! i was floored at how good he was!

[Harmonious]

I am a graduate of NCSY.

My family was always "kind of" religious. My mother, may her memory be a blessing, fought with the local public school district to make sure that Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur, and the first two days of Pesach were noted on the school calendar, if not actual days off.

But I didn't become Orthodox until my involvement with NCSY.

I remember starting in 5th grade, in "junior NCSY." (This is only part of a longer story, involving how I decided to want to learn Hebrew.) But between learning Torah, and the atmosphere conducive to learning, growing, and having fun while learning Torah and doing Mitzvot, NCSY was a place where the idea of going to a Yeshiva fermented in my head.

I will never forget a Kumsitz where the idea of going to Yeshiva was seeded into my brain, and it grew until I was able to convince my parents to allow me to go to a Yeshiva high school

I thank Hashem for making the match between NSCY and me. I also thank the rabbi of my shul who had the insight to make the first phone call. I thank my parents for driving me all over New York State (although, usually they drove to Kingston or Albany - there were buses arranged for travelling farther). And I thank NCSY in general.

I graduated high school (and NCSY) in June 1993. I will be forever grateful that such an organization exists.