Monday Aug 11
Today was such a special day – our Yom Tochnit. All day was dedicated to a special theme related to the time period we are studying. Our Roshei Moshava created a Yom Tzahal for the chanichim! Since we have been learning some modern Jewish history, and we have so many camp stone alum who are currently serving in the IDF – this day was fun, intesne, personal, meaningful and memorable for sure!
We began with shiur about the mitzvah to have an army and defend our Homeland. We learned psukim about who is obligated to join the army and defend the Homelandf and who is exempt if it is not a war of defense but rather an optional war to expand borders. Campers were proud to share info about their siblings or cousins or neighbors who are currently in the IDF.
After shiur and nikayon we met in the Indoor Beit Knesset for our aruchat eser, and we were shown a video with clips, recorded by our Machane Stone alumni who serve in the army, about 10 different units in the army: tzanchanim, golani, givati, shiryon, kfir etc Each eidah / gender was assigned one of those units and they had a day of training, exercises, games and activities that made them feel like they were in tzahal! Just for one day 🙂 Towards the evening, we did a trek to our chutz site which we called our masa kumta, after which each group got their beret – just like the IDF does after months of training. The ceremony was dedicated in memory of Aryeh Ziering, a camp stone alum who was killed on October 7 at the age of 27. Yakov Fleischmann spoke about Aryeh for a few minutes before everyone received their berets. Each eidah/gender had a table of berets (the color that the unit really wears in Israel) and had to salute their Rosh Eidah before receiving their beret. It was very meaningful, and the chanichim were really proud. To close up this special day, we watched another video at the chutz site of different soldiers saying hi and recounting how many years they spent in camp and what jobs they did as tzevet/hadracha. It was silent as the campers listened to these role models of Jewish American kids who have made aliyah and are serving in the Israeli army…and who were just like them a few years ago!! The chanichim were inspired and shouted/cheered the names of the tzevet/madrichim they recognized. We ended the day with a picnic dinner – boxed meals the way soldiers eat out in the field. They don’t get yummy shnitzel sandwiches from Tibor’s in Cleveland though! Many of the older kids ran for seconds when they heard there were extras!
As we were all walking back after a great day, some of us remembered that Color War should be soon…after all, it is Monday night of the last full week of camp 🙂 So, there were definitely some chanichim who snickered and giggled when Pennsylvania state cops pulled up after maariv. Was this a breakout skit?? The policemen started talking to Yakov and Estee, infront of everyone, about how they did not have the proper permits to be out at the chutz site as late as we were. Some started chanting “color war break out” but others waited to make sure… at some point Estee held up signs that said COLOR WAR and then everyone cheered and laughed out loud. The State Troopers got a round of applause for their acting skills!
So let the GAMES begin…Color War 2025 Session 2 has officially begun! Yishuv vs. Kibbutz! Stay tuned for details and the schedule. Don’t forget to check out the pictures from today, our Yom Tzahal!
