Shabbaton weekends inspire and educate teens in an atmosphere of Jewish pride and growth. They provide an opportunity for public and yeshiva day school students to interact together in a traditional Shabbat environment and form deep connections with advisors. Over these weekends, participants study Torah topics that speak directly to the high school mind. For many teens, these weekends are their first genuine Shabbat experience.

As Shabbos comes to a close…NCSY Ebbing

There’s something extraordinarily rare about a close circle of more than 300 teens who care. Teachers know how hard it is. Trying to get the typical teen to listen, let alone become passionately involved in anything besides sports, fashion or the latest iPod, is like pulling teeth. Yet somehow, NCSY’s West Coast Region has perfected this delicate art into a science. The empowering energy infused into the ambiance of ebbing is one of the things that moves NCSYers across the West Coast to sing and cry, to absorb and exude, and to feel so intensely their Jewish heritage.

When Shabbos ends…NCSY Havdalah 

The NCSY Havdalah tradition, dating back to the program’s fledgling days in the early 1960s, appears to be a case of spontaneous combustion.

Six decades since that first extended flame, the teenage neshamah yet responds to NCSY’s signature Havdalah. Despite the fact that today’s teens are technologically-possessed, they are still connecting to its spiritual power. “They don’t have their phones in hand, and they’re coming off a Shabbos of incredible togetherness, learning and laughter,” says Micah Greenland, NCSY international director. “There’s an electricity in the air. It’s like catching lightning in a bottle.”

To find out about programs in your area please contact your local NCSY Director, you can find their information by clicking on https://westcoast.ncsy.org/staff/