Motzei Shabbat July 25
Sha-sha-shavua Tov!!
We had such a beautiful smooth first Shabbat in Machane, b”h. The weather was solid, the food was yummy and the singing, tefillot, dancing and overall energy were, all 10 /10! We could tell it was going to be great when the Kabbalat Shabbat had everyone singing and dancing from the end of the first mizmor all the way through Lecha Dodi and until the last mizmor. Chairs were folded up and the chanichim, tzevet and hadracha were all in circles, including our youngest gan staff day camp kids with their counselors. The cheering already begins Friday night in our Chadar Ochel after a first course and soup – ask your children to go through the whole order of cheering. Take a seat first, because it takes a while – but is quite entertaining!
Our morning Shabbat tefilot begin here at 8:40 and a special kiddush & parsha happens after, followed by lunch, more singing, dancing and cheering, Mincha, and then….Chavrutot. A highlight of the week for many chaninchim, “chavrutot” means a chance to sit together in small groups, sometimes even just pairs – a tzevet member or madrich/madricha and 1-3 chanichim – to learn anything the chanichim want. There are many (many) choices of chavruta sheets to choose from that are prepared by Bracha Krohn, Rabbanit haMachane (in the time she has when she is not writing this blog) that are a text with interactive questions about Pirkei Avot, Mitzvot, Seudah Shlishit songs, Sefer Yonah, parts of Tefilah etc. You name it, we have it! An opportunity like this, which facilitates hundreds of young Jewish kids of all ages sitting around on the grass learning, talking and sharing Torah thoughts is one of the most beautiful parts of our machane.
The chanichim have some rest time, a game with their eidah and then seudah shlishit, followed by…yes, more singing. This time calm, slow, prayerful songs. Again, a highlight of the camp week for many campers and staff. We all have song sheets, and Maayan and Ephraim, our Roshei Moshava, call out song numbers and we all flow right into the song. Each week, we hear a story before Birkat haMazon. This week Rav Adi taught us about the two exiles – first Malchut Yisrael exiled by Assyria which led to The Ten Lost Tribes and then Malchut Yehuda exiled by the Babylonians 150 years later, from which we descended. Plot Twist: some of those ten lost tribes have resurfaced, and Rav Adi shared with us his personal experience with that when he lived in Be’er Sheva in 1983 and had a friend who had made aliyah from Ethiopia. The Ethiopians are thought to be descended from the Tribe of Dan. Two little kids – one from the Kingdom of Israel, one from the Kingdom of Judah – meeting up again in our Homeland after 2,500 years! The image gave us all goosebumps 🙂
Maariv and Havdalah are followed by a night activity each week. Yes, after all of that, these chanichim are raring to go – basketball, swim, dodgeball…let the week begin!
