Wednesday June 23

Today was a beautiful sunny day, after some clouds and rain the past two days, and everyone was thrilled to be running around outside and soaking up the sunshine! We spent shiur time learning about the nation’s request for a king – Bnei Yisrael asked Shmuel the Navi if they could have a King, like all the other nations have. Shmuel tried to dissuade them but eventually, the nation “got what they asked for” and Shaul was annointed. The campers discussed the pros and cons to having a king be the liason between them and Hashem.

They saw this all play out before their eyes today, as the prophet Shmuel (Rosh Eidah Aleph) walked around the Chadar Ochel telling the campers what was going to happen in the future, for example – our Roshei Moshava Shalhevet and Tal are going to be Roshei Moshava again second session…. Next, at Mincha the Roshei Eidah got everyone chanting “We want a king” and then Shmuel tried to convince them why they might NOT want a king. And then…Shmuel anointed a King  – Shalhevet was anointed as King with oil!! Yes, real oil was poured on her, just like “in the Olden Days” Crazy stuff! You can’t believe it, until you see it…in the pictures! Enjoy 😉

Another “you gotta see it to believe it” thing happening here is…Quidditch!! The game that we all learned from Harry Potter is being played here in Sugar Grove, PA (no one is flying, but the rest of it feels pretty authentic). Look for that in the photos

And lastly, this is a good time to mention something else you would not believe – every child here takes a turn being the bunk on Toranut for the day. That means they set the tables, eat first before we all eat, then serve everyone doubles and triples, then clean up, take the garbage out and sweep. We all take a turn being toranut, including the Tzevet (specialty staff) who do toranut for two meals on Shabbat and even the adults/mishpachot who set up and serve for seudah shlishit! That is an expression of one of our values, shivyon, which means equality.  We all help out here!

Machal walked a 5-mile hike and then set up their chutz site, for a 2.5-day camp out nearby.

Make-up Machal went on a 6-mile hike, had a discussion about leadership and their goals for this program and then relaxed and had fun with bowling and ice cream.

A great day was had by all!