Sunday Aug 2

Shavua Tov! We have begun this week in machane with learning about King Shaul – he was chosen and then struggled to balance the feeling of humility that a Jewish king must possess, with a strong sense of ability, responsibility and confidence.  Hard to get the perfect amount of each of those important qualities. The chanichim discussed situations where they have to be humble and confident and how challenging that can be.

The story that Sefer Shmuel tells us about the day Shaul was anointed king is connected to a more general story about Shaul looking for his father’s donkeys and how the navi Shmuel helped him (and then told him he was going to be king!) All day in camp, notices were going up about lost donkeys and “have you seen my donkey?” – lots of shtick like that 😊

It was a great day of peulot, and everyone is waiting for the chutz-breakout…it is that time of the session, where the chutz should be announced any day now… so that is always fun to think about and try to anticipate (kind of like the pre-color war anticipation next week!)

The night tochnit was a camp-wide competition between eidot, sort of panoply style with some more physical activities thrown in to mix it up…with the point being “Who will win and be worthy of being the king” connecting the champion to the tochnit of the day.

Kaytana had their last regular day, since tomorrow will have to have some time dedicated to packing. They learned about the spies that Moshe sent to scout out Eretz Canaan. The chanichim discussed how there are lots of perspectives people can have when a group experiences something (they looked at the picture of the old lady/young lady as an analogy) and how, ultimately, one’s emunah and bitachon shape the way a person experiences something. The Roshim, Shaun and Sarah told the Kaytana campers that they needed to go out and spy out and experience….Midway!! This amusement park is nearby and perfect for the Kaytana age, with most rides having a very low minimum height requirement. And, of course, they have an arcade where the chanichim got to play all sorts of games-for-tickets and win some prizes. They definitely had a positive report after the time they spent there 😊

Machal left late last night/early this morning for their trip to Virginia, where they will canoe and camp out all week. Highlight of the whole summer!! Can’t wait to hear all about it when they return! We are in touch with a liaison daily and have logistics staff right near them in case they need help with anything.