I cannot believe it is time to say goodbye. After so many new friendships, memories and good times, it should be illegal to just pick up and go back to our every day usual lives. It just doesn’t feel right to leave!

Slowly, slowly the house is emptying. The madrichot are off shuttling girls to the airport (and yes, there are actual vans this time!) and everyone else is trying fit their stuff back into their suitcases. How did we get it all here to begin with??

Though it is very hard to leave we all know we will keep in touch. To be sure we do so, Donna asked us to write down one of the madrichot we connected with so we can stay in touch and if we’re open to it, even learn together at least once a week!

Thank you Aish Connections for providing each of us Fab Fem girls with such a wonderful, once in a lifetime opportunity! No words can describe how incredible this journey has been for both our personal and spiritual growth. We are forever greatful!

Until the next trip girls…stay fabulous!!

xoxo

Our second Shabbat of the trip was approaching so it was time to teach us women how to bake! Jamie Geller, celebrated author of Quick and Kosher arrived with ingredients and tools in hand, ready to show us how to put together a strawberry shortcake truffle, ambrosia, and chocolate peanut butter pie! We still can’t believe how quick and easy all these desserts were to make and of course how absolutely scrumptious they were!! Jamie was very impressive herself having been a top TV producer at HBO for many shows such as Sex and the City!

After we polished off all of our desserts (did we really?!?) it was time to braid our challahs and bake them! Zahava taught some of us how to do a 6 braided challah while the rest of us stuck to the easier 3 braids or simple roll. Then it was time to bake them and I think in the “prepare for Shabbat state” the Challahs kinda got forgotten in the oven…so lets just say we enjoyed the dough making and braiding part of the experience!

All ready for Shabbat we made our way to our very own Kabbalat Shabbat right here in our Passaic home and sang and danced as we welcomed in Shabbat. Then it was off to the Shachter residence where we enjoyed a delicious Friday night meal! Oneg was next at the home of Devora Kigel and that’s when the fun began! First up were the improv skits. Random girls were selected and given a topic to act out without being able to discuss it beforehand. I must say, we have some VERY funny girls on this trip! Next up was Dating 101 with Devorah which involved many interesting questions and discussions. We all felt so comfortable with Devorah! As midnight approached we packed out and made our way home.

More rested than usual, we awoke to an absolutely gorgeous Shabbat day! The sun was out as we separetly went in groups of 2, 3, and 4’s to family hosts in the Passaic area. We were warmly welcomed with an abudance of delicous home cooked meals. Just as lunch was over it was time to make our way to the Third meal of Shabbat at the home of R’ Greenman. We had a special Q and A with Rabbis Greenman and Goldhar and somehow ended up speaking about such topics as hell, demons, and resurrection of the dead…inspiring indeed!

After a beautiful Havdalah service it was off to prepare for our final banquet. A few hours later we arrived at Aish NY to find the main room beautifully set up for us in black and pink colors with lit candles everywhere. We enjoyed a delicous Thanksgiving dinner (thanks Hilly!), watched a slideshow of our trip (thanks Farah and Rochelle!) and took turns sharing parting words (thanks everyone!) It was a beautiful night filled with many good memories from the trip.

You could tell on the bus ride home that we were all feeling the trip coming to a close. This is our last night together and no one is looking forward to it. Well it’s time to pack but I think we are all managing to do everything else BUT pack. Last minute photos, hugs and stories are making their way around our homes…we don’t wanna go home!!

THE bonding day of our trip happened today, day 9.

The morning began with Shira Rothkoff who spoke to us about the Jewish view of sexuality and Devora Kigel followed with a talk on modesty. Both classes were extremely interesting and informative! The questions were unending (and we are still asking)!!

Taking our questions to the bus it was time for free time in the city! Most of us still had loads of shopping to do for our family, friends, and of course ourselves! It was off to Canal Street, Herald Square, Century 21, Macys, Zaras and many many more! Some of us visited Madame Tussauds, some went to see the MOMA and some went to eat (seriously!) We all had a great time figuring out the subways, pushing through the crowds and getting awesome clothes, bags and accessories at discount prices!!

Then it was back to Passaic for dinner and Challah baking! The girls divided amongst themselves and the flour, eggs, sugar, rising yeast (or not!) mayhem began! When the dough was done we all gathered around Dana who talked to us about the power of baking Challah with 40 women. We learnt that baking challah brings blessing into the home and even more blessing when baked together with 40 women! What a unique and special opportunity we had in our hands! We all stood around and everyone mentioned a few names of loved ones that they wanted to pray for. It was a very emotional time. Hugs and words of comfort were given all around.

After the dough was made we all got into PJ’s and it was time to bond over chocolate fondue. Now there  have been many bonding moments over this trip, but NONE like the bonding we were about to experience.

Enter the room: Beautiful music softly playing, blankets covering the floor, candles lit, a flowing chocolate fondue surrounded by marshmallows, pretzels, and an array of fresh and dried fruit.

After one too many chocolate covered marshmallows, Sara took our her guitar and we began to sing. One candle was lit inside a beautifully colored crystal candle holder and when we were given the candle to hold we shared why we came on this trip and our proudest Jewish moment. The hearts and souls of each girl began to open up little by little until we were sharing some of our deepest, most intimate feelings about who we are and what we are searching for. We held hands, we cried, we hugged, we bonded….for 5 hours. Try as I may, it is not possible to put the emotions of this evening into words…

As the clock struck 2 AM the circle got closer and we broke into beautiful song and prayer asking for clarity in both our personal and Jewish journeys. I get goosebumps just remembering this evening and pride in being part of such a special group of girls.

Arms around each other we finally made our way to sleep. After this evening, there truly is a special bond between us girls that I know we will never lose hold of and never forget. This was an evening that will stay with us forever.

Hello everyone!

Tuesday arrived rather early and we slowly made our way to breakfast and then next door to hear R’ Greenman and Charlie Harary speak to us about happiness.  I thought I knew what happiness was but I was in for a surprise! We learned how to maximize our minds in order to bring ourselves every lasting happiness and now we are experts!! What a great way to start off the day!

After the class we happily made our way to the dining room to enjoy a delicious lunch and had a special birthday cake for Farah! Happy 20th birthday Farah!! We love you!!!

Then it was off to NYC!! Our first stop was Madame Tussuad. Due to yesterday’s packed schedule the museum was optional so the staff offered to drop off the girls who hadn’t seen it yet. But alas it was the day before New Years and EVERYONE in the world had made the same decision! Seriously, we were told there were 7,000 people in there! We quickly decided against it, hopped back into the bus and made our way to the Lower East Side.

First, it was a quick stop at Ground Zero. We shared our memories from that frightful day and stood there for a few moments of silence remembering all those that had lost their lives. Then we were off to the Tenement Museum where we got to see first hand how the immigrants lived when they first arrived to NY. We met a 14 year old girl in her tiny apartment (10 people lived in there!) and she answered all our questions about their new life in America. Let me tell you, after that  we are DEFINITELY appreciating our ginormous and spacious Passaic home!!

Hungry yet again, we were off to Aish NY to enjoy a hot dinner and hear from 2 successful business women who shared their life stories with us and answered all our business questions. I’m starting to feel like I can really open my own business!! Whose in with me??

After the business panel (and those huge scrumptious cookies) it was time for our free night in NYC! Most of us went to the Empire State Building, some went to the movies and some went shopping. It could not have been a more perfect night for those that went to the Empire State Building! The visibility was incredible and we were able to pay $15 extra to get to the front of the line!!

Midnight soon arrived and it was time to head back to Passaic. Exhaustion is not even the word to describe how we all felt so we were all very much looking forward to getting back home and crawing into bed.

We just found out it is supposed to snow tomorrow! Woohoo!! OK well at least we LA girls are excited. The Canadians are a different story…

Until tomorrow!

Hey everyone!

Our very first Monday of the trip allowed us a little sleep in and we are forever grateful for that! After a quick breakfast we were off to NYC for a competitive ad activity. Having discussed some of the key issues facing the Jewish people a few days ago, we were ready to begin tackling them! Each of us was divided into a group of 5-6 girls and we were told to choose one of the key issues (such as assimilation, lack of Jewish education etc) and capture it via photos, make a collage and present it at the end of the trip. With that we were dropped off in Times Square for an hour and a half and it was run, run, run. Let me tell you, this is definitely an activity that begs creativity and we’re looking forward to putting together our photos and creating our collages!

After an hour and a half we all met at J2 Pizza and enjoyed some hot pizza and fries while listening to R’ Shalom Yona talk about gossip and how important it is to be careful about what we say about others!

Then it was off to Reuters studio, one of the biggest news studios in the world! There we met with Sasha, one of the sweetest women ever! She’s a senior producer for the financial news and is in charge of the 4:30 PM Market Wrap Up, a six minute segment on TV on the worldwide financial news of the day. We arrived just in time to watch it live in the studio!! Then Sasha explained to us her journey through Judaism and how she balances work and family life. What an exceptional woman!

Time for dinner! We were off to Kosher Deluxe and THIS time chicken Cesear salad was the majority choice! After a quick bite to eat we had some free time and then we all met up to take our very first subway ride!! Then we walked and walked and walked until we finally got to Aish Center for the Discovery seminar!! For the next hour and a half we heard R’ Bergstein (what an amazing speaker!!) talk to us about the evidence of the truth of G-d and the Torah. He made us think, laugh, question and wonder over lots and lots of candy! What a great combination! The bus ride home was buzzing with girls talking about all that they heard in the seminar.

We were home by midnight and it was time to heat up last night’s Chinese leftovers! I guess the salad at dinner didn’t do its job…

Well tomorrow is another day in NYC! Gotta get some rest before the day begins…but first some more Girl talk and Chinese!

Hello everyone!

Firstly, I must apologize to all of my readers for not having posted sooner. We are so busy on our Fab Fem trip, that finding time to actually sit and write about all the amazing things we have going on is VERY hard (4 AM is an option but unfotunately my writing skills aren’t up to par at that hour). I know you are all dying to find out about our weekend so here it goes…

Friday began the craze of the weekend with classes in the morning. R’ Greenman had the girls tackle the Key Issues Facing the Jewish People and we came up with some of the biggies such as assimilation, lack of Jewish education and lack of Jewish unity. Together we Fab Fem’s will try and put an END to these problems!

After class it was off to the Upper West side of Manhattan. There we grabbed (literally) a bagel and got gifts for our host families in Woodmere. We arrived in Woodmere an hour before Shabbos and we quickly dropped off each group of girls at their respective host homes. It can now be said that a girl CAN get ready for Shabbat in 10 minutes…and we have 41 girls to prove it!

After we were all bedecked in our Shabbat best it was off to Aish Kodesh, a rockin synagouge in the heart of Woodmere where we sang and danced. Dinner was served at the Davidson home, a newly built master piece where we all felt comfortable and enjoyed a delicious Shabbos feast. R Shalom Yona turned on the masculine energy by getting us to talk about our favorite sport. Mrs. Davidson, un unbelievably successful women, bashfully spoke to the girls about her climb to success. We then made our way to our “Jelly Belly Fest”, aka our Oneg Shabbat, and had the priviledge of a Q and A with the Rebbetzin of Woodmere, Mrs. Weinberger.  Then it was off to bed…

After a very needed sleep, we had lunch at the homes of our host families and each of us got to taste home made cooking and wondered if we would EVER be able to cook like that ourselves! Everyone spoke about how warm and welcoming each of their hosts were and how completely comfortable they felt in a strangers home.

Then it was time to eat again! We all made our way over to the Harary home for our third meal of Shabbat. We enjoyed R’ Shalom Yona who spoke to us about finding that piece of G-d within each one of us and how to use it to maximize our potential to the fullest.

An hour later and it was time to eat yet again! We were off to NYC to Kosher Delight were we enjoyed burgers, fries, chicken sandwiches and salad. Well actually the truth is, we had a choice of either a burger and fries, a chicken sandwich or a salad with tuna and I am very proud to say that there were ONLY 4 orders of salads and tuna!!! That’s right boys, only 4 orders. Girls really do eat…especially when there are no guys around!

Time to pack back into the bus and head to Fuerza Bruta, an off broadway that makes Cirque du Soleil look like child’s play. There are people running through boxes, gliding on walls, swimming in a pool that comes down so you can touch it and oh prepare to get wet!! Some more star spotting for us. Actor Taye Diggs and star of Wicked, Idina Menzel made an appearance at the Broadway. Yeah, yeah, some pointing and picture taking that was all. We oohed, we aaahed, took loads of pictures, danced, danced, and danced!

Our bus ride back to Passaic was like none other. We learnt some very sophisticated songs about Shomer Negiah and Kosher not from our group leaders or our madrichot, but rather from the students themselves!! Go figure…After we sang our hearts out, Cynthia took over the mic and entertained us with some stand up comedy the entire way home! Cynthia pretty much covered every topic on our drive back and in doing so made us laugh until our cheeks hurt! You rock girl!

We got home around midnight and made a mad dash to light our Chanukah candles then danced and sang utnil we fell on our faces and were dragged to bed.

Sunday morning arrived sooner than expected. We heard R’ Yitzchak Feldheim and Devora Kigel speak on the theme of relationships, had some pizza for lunch and were off to Palisades Mall, one of the biggest malls in NYC for a scavenger hunt! There we were split into groups and had an hour to find and take pictures some of the most absurd things you will ever have to find on a scavenger hunt. We are still waiting to hear who the winners are so stay tuned!!

Free time in the mall was next so we shopped till we dropped an then it was off to our very first religious wedding (well for most of us at least). Yup, call us wedding crashers cause that’s EXACTLY what we did. OK so we called in advance and found out if we could crash but we still crashed! Our dear madricha Sarah prept us all before we arrived about what we were about to see. As soon as we got there we met the bride, got a special blessing from her and of course we ate! We really enjoyed watching the groom’s friends dance in the groom to see his bride who he hadn’t seen for a whole week!

Home sweet home, back to Passaic we went where we lit our final Chanukah candles and got a special live performance from Sarah and Elana. Geez those girls can sing! And then it was time for Chinese and Karaoke!!! Talk about our madrichot changing a dining room into a disco! Tip for all those wanting to try this…all you gotta do is turn off the lights, set up some candles, get a strobe light and voila you have your very own home made disco! It is currently 1:45 AM and the music is still going. Trying to write this blog with Ricky Martin blaring in the background is quite a feat…and we have this Karaoke machine until tomorrow morning! All joking aside, tonight was and I guess still is AWESOME! We were able to watch everyone come out of their comfort zones, let loose and just have a plain old good time! I’m kind of waiting for someone to knock on our door and tell us to kindly shut off the music or to at least turn it down. Could it be that Passaic is actually enjoying Rihanna at 2 AM?

Shout out to Zahava! Thanks for the delicious home made cookies!!

Well the night is still young, the music is still playing and our Chanukah candles are still burning. Guess I won’t be getting to bed anytime soon so I might as well enjoy. Oh it seems that the girls have finally found the Chanukah songs so I better get back in and join!

A strong bond is definitely beginning to grow amongst us girls! Thank you Aish for an absolutely unreal weekend together! I can’t wait to see what this week has in store for us!

Hello everyone!

So today, I came to the conclusion that everyone needs therapy. Some need group therapy, some need occupational therapy, some need skin therapy and some need all of the above. Well today, we Fab Fem gals got a dose of everything.

The day began rather early. We enjoyed a quick satisfying breakfast, (you know it’s a girl’s trip when branflakes and soy milk are available) heard Devora Kigel speak about some top secret feminine “stuff” and then a class on the origions of both Christmas and Chanukah from R’ Yaakov Deyo. The girls took away a clear message that while looks, strength, and brains are nice, that is all our outer beauty, nothing we really worked for and thus not what can use to define who we are as human beings. Rather, we as Jews stress the inner beauty, the beauty that makes the me, me and the you, you.

(Note: There is a LOT of inner AND outer beauty going on on this Fab Fem trip!)

So then it was time for our next activity of the day…to meet our very first successful business women in Passaic NJ. But first that entailed the arrival of the bus (go figure) and of course our bus was running late so we took the opportunity to use those precious moments for a bit of group therapy. After yesterday’s travel trauma the madrichot thought it would be a good idea for everyone to tell their story of how they got from point A to point B and all the fun that happened in between. We were just getting to the third travel story when I thought we’d have to bring in a real professional…Thank G-d we made it through, everyone got to share and everyone felt a lot better! Gotta love group therapy…

So our bus arrived and with that we headed out into a beautiful sunny winter day and arrived at the practice of Dina Leiter, a licensed OT and proud owner of her very own OT practice. She told us how she built her practice, gave us some business tips and taught us how to use our talents to reach our potential and attain our dream goals!

Very hungry girls arrived back to our bungalow home and enjoyed a lunch of delicious lasagna (with whole wheat noodles) and a rockin salad bar. Somehow I managed to sneak in brownies and sufganiyot! (Donuts in Hebrew!!!)

And then it was time for skin therapy. In walked, Bracha ready to pamper us with feet, hand, and face washes along with moisturizing mud applications. We relaxed and lit some candles giving off the perfect professional spa atmosphere. We then readied our faces for mineral free (and animal free!) makeup with a special wash and toner. And then it was time for the beauty challenge! After a quick makeup education we were given 45 minutes to apply makeup and the most talented make up artist would win a very special gift cards to Sephora! And so apply they did…some a little more than others, but all in all everyone looked beautiful and choosing a winner was NOT easy! Shout out to Sarah, Jessica, and Michelle, our beauty challenge winners!!

Chanukah lighting and dinner were next and then it was off to ice skating in Central Park! I didn’t know it was possible to get lost trying to find Central Park, but alas it is! After lacing up we hit the ice and the theme of the night was to not get run over and killed by some crazy kid screaming “Merry Christmas!”

The evening was truly magical and it ended with us strolling over to the infamous Plaza Hotel where some were privileged to be serenaded by Billy Joel himself! Now THAT is sightseeing in NYC!!

Alrighty, off to pack for our Shabbat in Woodmere! I can only imagine the fun and games that are in store! But first I must upload some more fabulous pictures…

Hey everyone! Today was our very first day of Fabulously Feminine and what better way to kick it off then with snow, rain and delayed flights! I awoke with a smile on my face eagerly awaiting the arrival of the Fab Fem girls when the phone calls began.

“Naami, my flight has been delayed and I’m not sure when I’ll get on the next flight!” “Naami, my flight has been cancelled and they’re saying that I might not get on a flight until tomorrow afternoon!” “Naami, I’ve been sitting in the airport for 8 hours and they still can’t guarantee that I’ll be on a flight out today, what should I do?” And for those that DID make it to NY, “Naami, I just got in a cab and he has know idea where he’s going, can you give the cab driver directions?” (Excuse me if I’m wrong but is it not  a cab drivers’ Job to know where he is going???)

Oh the fun! And indeed it was. Whether we were running out to the airport to squish in 4 girls with 10 pieces of luggage into a tiny sedan, shoveling out stuck cars to get to the airport, or having phone batteries die just as we were being told which terminal to meet at, there were smiles and laughs all around! Truthfully, the craziness of the day only led to big time hugs, happy shrieking, quick bonding and instant friendships!

Slowly, slowly the large empty Aish bungalow home began to fill up (with more suitcases than human beings) and the Fab Fem vibe was underway!

Chanukah lighting was next and it was magical to see the lights of the candles reflect off each girl’s tired but happy faces. Then a delicious dinner, dessert and a word about Chanukah from our very own R’ Dave before we were off to the NYC to see the one and only Empire State Building!

So there we were, the girls were pumped and ready to begin their NYC sightseeing! No more hours of sitting in an airport, no more delayed flights or crazy cab drivers, everything was about to be just right. We arrived at the Empire State Building only to find that….IT WAS CLOSED! Yup closed! Closed as in C-L-O-S-E-D, closed. Okay, so its Christmas eve and EVERYTHING is closed, but we were told in advance that they would be open until 2 AM and it was only 9:45 PM! Our begging didn’t get us anywhere so we very quickly decided that we better just let the girls get their real first glimpse of Manhattan, specifically Manhattan shopping! And with that we gallivanted through the empty streets of Manhattan, pointed out THE places to shop, took some pictures, got back on the bus and went home sweet home.

Tomorrow is ‘Beauty Day’ and I guess that’s a good thing because after all the travel trauma our poor Fab Fem’s had to go through today, they deserve a little pampering.

Just off the phone with our last Fab Fem who has landed…1:30 AM…not bad. And of course she is upbeat and so excited to be here! Gotta run and heat her up a plate of dinner…oh and of course get another dose of delayed flight and crazy cab drivers stories!

Until tomorrow…

Hey everyone! My name is Naami and I am the official blogger for our first ever Aish Connection’s Fabulously Feminine trip! I know there is still a little under 20 hours to go before the trip begins, but I find myself walking through this very large and empty Aish Passaic bungalow home asking, “Where are the girls???”

You see, I am overly excited for this trip to begin. If you must know, I have actually been waiting for this trip to start even before the trip itself was created! I had been over hearing about all these guy trips Aish has done so I’ve been looking forward to a GIRLS ONLY trip. And finally, the day has arrived!

Girls, we are about to embark on a 12 day journey like none other! Get ready to see NYC like you’ve never seen it before. Get ready to be pampered, well fed, and brilliantly educated. Get ready for sleepless nights, good times, memories and friendships that will last a life time!

But for now the closets are empty, the bathrooms are clean, the floors are spotless and the fridge is stocked. I’m kind of looking forward to the piles of shoes, the mountains of clothing, the hairdryers, the shampoo, the perfume, the “get out of the bathroom NOW”s, and oh did I mention the piles of shoes and the mountains of clothing??

Where are the girls???

Aaaah and there’s the door! Yay our very first Fab Fem girls have arrived! Time for some Chinese take-out, crazy flight stories, and early bonding over the last flickering of the Chanukah lights…

Until tomorrow…