Monday, August 2
“We’re taking this Torah to chutz la’aretz!” This morning in shiur, the chanichim experienced the Mishnah in action as Rav brought Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi’s newly completed Mishnah to Bavel. After brainstorming as many Pesach rules and details as they could recall from their family Seder, the chanichim hunted for matches between this list of practices […]
Sunday, August 1
Shavua tov! Sha-sha shavua tov! We celebrated another beautiful Shabbat together in Machane Stone. Our outdoor Kabbalat Shabbat was full of singing and dancing — the atmosphere so joyful. And the spirit continued into Friday night dinner — with plenty of singing there as well! One highlight of Shabbat day was hevruta time— tzevet members […]
Thursday, July 29
Last night, Machane Stone slept out under the stars! At Shekem, the Lina (one-night campout) was announced, and all the chanichim packed up and set out to their respective Lina sites not too far from camp. Each edah had a blast, cooking their food on fire pits, bonding with the full group and stargazing. This […]
Wednesday, July 28
Despite an enthusiastic revolt, Bar Kochba and his followers were not able to regain sovereignty in Eretz Yisrael. This morning in shiur, the chanichim learned about how Chaz”al bravely and creatively reconstituted Jewish life and learning in a changed landscape. They also learned about how the Jews moved to new areas of Eretz Yisrael and […]
Tuesday, July 27
The camp is swept up by messianic fervor! Today the campers learned about Rabbi Akiva and his persistent optimism, and discussed why he supported Bar Kochva when he rose to power. In shiur, they learned about Rabbi Akiva’s impressive perseverance to learn Torah at the age of 40, and the way he kept up his […]
Monday, July 26
Agree to disagree? This morning’s shiurim explored decision making and disagreement among the rabbis of the Talmud (ChaZa”L). The chanichim explored the different approaches to machloket (disagreements) in Torah, and responses to the question of authority — Rabban Gamliel sought unity in halakhic practice, while Rabbi Akiva was more open to different interpretations in halakha. […]
Sunday, July 25
Shavua tov! We had a beautiful Shabbat in Machane Stone! Shabbat began with all the cohorts davening together in Indoor World, outside as the sun was setting. The scene could not have been more picturesque. The zemirot and dancing took place there too, so we could all be together in a COVID-safe way. The fresh […]
Friday July 23
Breakfast on Friday is one of our highlights all week. If you have had children here before, you probably know about the Friday morning playlist. We play songs as we make our sandwiches for the hikes we will be doing – certain things are just tradition, and this playlist is one of those “holy things” […]
Thursday July 22
Today in shiur we discussed what the Gemara means when it says that “after the Beit haMikdash was destroyed, we find G-d within the four cubits of halacha” – the chanichim began to discuss the idea of the development of halacha and machloket and learning as a way to connect to Hashem, when service in […]
Wednesday July 21
This morning we spent our post-breakfast shiur time walking around to four stations, where we learned more about Yavneh – the city that Rabbi Yochanon set up for Torah learning after the destruction of the Beit haMikdash. The four stations were: Canonization of the Tanach – some “books” like Esther and Daniel and Yeshayahu explained […]