Testimonials

If you aren’t raised religious you don’t know how to be Jewish. I have learned how to be a Jewish woman and how to lead my Jewish family. My life has been so much more meaningful and my family is now part of the Jewish continuity because of you. The link in the chain will not be broken.

Rachel, Harlem NY

Before I went to Israel with TJJ for Moms, I thought I was raising my family Jewish—my kids went to Hebrew school, and we celebrated all the holidays. But I didn’t realize what I was missing: the spiritual side of Judaism—the connection to Hashem and the land of Israel. That lightbulb moment sparked a profound transformation in my family, leading to incredible growth in our Judaism.

Shari, Long Island

Shabbat became the ‘bright’ day that we eagerly awaited week after week, illuminating our Jewish identity in a way we hadn’t realized we needed until we experienced it.

Missy, Long Island

Missy's letter

Miss and love you. Thank you to you personally and to TJJ Ncsy for giving me the love for Judaism and Israel. I am them and they are me.

Today is a good day.

Jodi, Brooklyn

Boker tov. Thank you again for including me at the last minute for the trip. I can’t imagine not having gone, and I can’t imagine what I would be talking about now had I not gone… thank you for enriching my life, bringing out the best in me and giving me meaningful connections to our heritage and to women of real worth. Love u! I hope you are feeling well.

Jackie, Long Island

Nechama, i didn’t get a chance w the craziness at the airport this morning to say goodbye. I wanted to thank you for a trip of a lifetime. I am so incredibly grateful for the time I spent with you and all of the leaders. I learned, I laughed, I cried, but most of all I feel a much deeper love and connection to my own Judaism. Yesterday, when you asked us to write down three things we’d like to implement, I didn’t have to think. I had been thinking about this exact topic all week and feel now I am better equipped to follow through on my one percent more. Looking forward to sharing many more experiences with you and all the TJJ moms.

From B Long Island

Good morning Nechama. It was so amazing to see you. I finally made the challah from the ingredients from the challah bake. I’m so excited bc the kids and my husband are excited for it. I’m planning a Shabbat dinner and I’m having my mil over. Thank you for being a symbol of courage, strength and inspiration.

TJJ Mom

Good morning just saying hi. I woke up and went to my old messages to hear the Modeh Ani song you sent us right after we got home. I just really wanted to hear it and it made me smile as I start the week!! Xo

TJJ Mom

Friday night of inspiration home edition, quotes

Aww we really had such a fabulous time!!! They are a great group of women. Told them they are invited anytime and it does not have to be a formal TJJ weekend

Host from woodmere

It was so so wonderful! Thank you for organizing. A beautiful night.

A guest in New Rochelle

Good Morning!!!! The host family were amazing hosts! They have 3 adorable children and their friends Dina and Rafi and their 3 children were there too. Such a wonderful evening!!!!!!!!!!

New Rochelle

Good morning! It was beautiful. Such wonderful hosts, great conversation, and delicious food. We had a great time!

Long Island

We had soooo much fun with them and their family. It was very special

Shabat in Livingston nj

It was an extremely special and meaningful night sharing it with the Bernstein family. So appreciative you set this up for us!!!

TJJ Moms

Thank you so much for having us for shabbat. Osey- you are a role model of strength, caring,and resilience. It shows in your amazing children. It was truly a shabbat of inspiration. My daughter loved the conversation. She connected spirituality with your family and your sister and brother-in-law and their family and all the friends.

Heather

North woodmere

Thank you again to you and Steve for a beautiful Shabbat dinner! We loved spending time with you and your family. And the meal was delicious!

Robin, Long Island NY

Shavua Tov!!!! We cannot thank you enough for the most INSPIRING, DELICIOUS, MEANINGFUL, WARM and WELCOMING SHABBAT! We absolutely loved being at your gorgeous Shabbat table with your GORGEOUS family!! We have been talking all day about what an amazing family you are!! Arielle…. You truly outdid yourself and I hope to try out some of your recipes! Marc and I were in awe of how amazing your kids are! You have such a warm and welcoming family and home!! We loved this special Shabbat with you!

Melissa, Long Island, NY

I wanted to personally thank you for setting up the amazing evening we had at Rabbi Isaac’s house with Yael. It was especially meaningful because they had family visiting and the Zadie who is 93 years old was there and could not be more amazing. I loved lighting the candles with them and reciting the prayers and it was the most delicious filled meal with just a very, very warm feeling. Thank you so much for making that happen.

I can’t stop telling everyone about it!!

Susan , Livingston NJ

Video Testimonial

From a TJJ Mom

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Check out what the moms are saying

Aimee

TJJ Mom

In the summer of 2022, I went to Israel by myself through the NCSY program. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, but it was a country that I had always wanted to experience. It was very late in May when I decided to look into the trip. I interviewed with Nechama and Yonina and was offered a spot with the broader group. I didn’t participate a lot of the pre-trip activities so I knew very few people before I left. Despite this, I got on the plane from New York and flew solo to Ben Gurion airport.

Once I arrived in Israel, I couldn’t believe my eyes. I thought it was one of the most amazing places I’ve ever seen. Every day we got up early, had a beautiful breakfast, and got on a bus that took us on our daily adventure. When people ask what my favorite activity in Israel was, I always seem to give the same answer - everything!!

Each day there was something special that stood out, but one of my favorite days was when our group went to Tzfat. We had the most wonderful day in the city and I particularly enjoyed going to the candle store to buy Shabbat candles for my family and other gifts for my friends. That year for Rosh Hashanah I used a set of candles that I bought in Israel which was quite meaningful for me. Since visiting Israel, whenever I travel to a new city in a different country, I make every effort to visit the Jewish quarter and purchase a new pair of Shabbat candles to use on future holidays.

Most recently, my family and I traveled to Spain. There we got to experience the Jewish quarters in Barcelona, Toledo and Segovia. I was with my mom and my daughter in Toledo where we toured a very old Jewish synagogue. This experience with three generations was very special to me. The picture below shows the candles that I brought back from my trip.

I’ve learned so much during the past two years and have thoroughly enjoyed getting to know so many different people. I feel blessed and honored to have been a part of such a wonderful trip with an amazing group of women.

Melissa

TJJ Mom

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Missy’s letter

Kislev, known to be the darkest month of the year with the least hours of daylight, sets the perfect background to show off the brightest and boldest lights of our candles on our Hanukkiah! It is the month of miracles. I can’t help but think how my involvement in NCSY, is symbolic to this month. In my short five years being involved in NCSY compared to my life, NCSY has allowed me to make important bold and bright Judaic decisions to help my family’s Judaic life shine as bright as the Hanukkiah in Kislev.

Upon my return of my first trip to Israel with NCSY/TJJ Moms, I realized that as a mother of three children, I wanted my family’s Judaic life to shine brighter than it did before. I began lighting Shabbat candles every Shabbat as well as making sure our family did the Kiddush, blessings over our children and the blessings over our homemade challah from Nechama (Director of TJJ for Moms) aka “Nechallah!”

It didn’t stop there. For the next five years, our family has shared numerous Shabbosim with our inspiring NCSY leaders and we learned first hand the beauty of the Shabbos table. It gave me the courage to start making our Shabbosim and inviting our extended family and friends in our own town to experience this magic. Shabbat became the “bright” day that we eagerly awaited week after week, illuminating our Jewish identity in a way we hadn’t realized we needed until we experienced it. I returned to Israel three more times with NCSY (2022, 2023, and 2024). As I always say, each time I return to Israel, “I fall deeper in love with our Homeland.” I realize now that I also fall deeper in love with Judaism. With each trip, I would return wanting to express my spirituality even more.

I started experiencing the Jewish calendar in ways I never had before. In 2020, I received a Sukkah from NCSY, and became the first house in my neighborhood with a Sukkah. I proudly invited my neighbors over to share in Sukkot in a way we never did before. The next year, NCSY doubled the size of my Sukkah and I doubled the Sukkah celebrations hosting almost 100 people each year.

I began to realize just how important each holiday is and how the specific traditions went back thousands of years… and I wanted to be a part of it. I wanted my family to know how precious being a link in the Jewish chain is and how we must pass our traditions down to the next generation. From learning to bake my own Hamantashen and making Shalach Manot baskets, to making memorable Seders to fasting for Tisha B’Av, I made sure each holiday would be celebrated in a deeper and more spiritual way. I was going to highlight my Judaism the way a candle brightens up the darkness.

In addition to my daily davening, I started studying Torah weekly with a Torah partner and I am forever grateful for this incredible opportunity. Not only was my Jewish life shining brighter, but my family’s was as well. My husband looks forward to doing the Kiddush, blessing the challah and helping make our Shabbos table look beautiful each week by bringing home Shabbos flowers. If my older children were away at school, we would all send our “Shabbat Shalom” texts to our family chat. My youngest son became active in his high school JSU club and even went to Israel with the TJJ teens in the summer of 2023. There was no bigger thrill than making Challah in Jerusalem with him and then having a surprise run in with him on top of Masada! These memories are priceless. He is currently the President of the Syosset High School JSU, and we are so proud of his impact on other Jewish teens.

When I think about how much NCSY has impacted my family, it gives me the fuel to keep lighting up my Jewish world. Just like each night our Hanukkiah gets brighter, so will my love for being Jewish. Finding NCSY is a beautiful “miracle” in my life and I am forever grateful for the opportunities it has given me and my family. Am Yisrael Chai!

Happy Hanukkah,

Missy (Michal) Edelman