Last Full Day at Machaneh 2016 :(

Hello Parents and fans of the Galil Blog, today is unfortunately the last blog post of the 2016 Summer. Our morning started off as it usually does for a normal day, with everyone waking up at 8:00 and going to hitkansut to raise the flags and sing some songs. Following that was the last Ivrit Shimushit of the year and todays word was boker tov which means 'Good Morning'. Afterwards we had breakfast which was scrambled eggs and oatmeal.

Kids went straight to an extended Avodah, then we skipped nikayon and went straight to pish. Then we had our usual section of sports which were: Ultimate, Gaga, Just Dance, and Swimming. Following sports everyone had a Pool Party! This helped to give everyone a special day to end our summer on and it was also a nice way to cool off.

After everyone got cleaned off we went to the chadar to have lunch which was chicken nuggets and seasoned fries. Following that there was a bit of rest time before everyone started packing their things and cleaning their tzrifim, which lasted until kibud. After kibud we did our last hitkansut erev where we all sang some sad songs. This lead into our last dinner of the summer which was a nice baked ziti. Finally everyone split up into shikvot and their madrichimot read out everyone’s last wills to them as a fun way to say good-bye.

But wait! That’s not all! We had our legendary Final Final Messiba!!!! The theme for this summer was Disco Boat and everyone got dressed up like it was 1975 and got down and grooved the night away. There was cake and candy all around as kids had a fun last night at machaneh this summer. Kids stayed up late tonight to be up all night with their close friends to share stories and just enjoy their company. And with that comes the end of the night, and the end of the blog. It was a pleasure writing for you all this session, and I hope you enjoy the rest of your summer.

-Guy Shimoni-Livny

Tisha Ba'av

                Hello parents, today we are observing Tisha Ba’av, which is when we commemorate the burning of the first and second Jewish temple. We gave madrichimot and chanichimot the opportunity to fast for 24 hours starting after dinner last night. So this morning we didn’t have avodah and kids went directly to pish after breakfast.

                Once the movie ended those who were not fasting went to lunch at the chadar  and those that were fasting went to the mini-mo. Lunch today was blintzes with sour cream. Lunch ended and we had chofesh, and since it was so hot outside, like it has been for the last few days, we set up sprinklers in the kikar to let kids run around in to keep themselves cool. When Chofesh ended we had another round of pish, but this time it was ran in our mishpachot that we have for Shabbat. After pish we had free swim to make sure kids stayed cool throughout the day.

Then we had chugim except these weren’t like our normal chugim, these were chugim that revolved around Tisha Ba’av and ideas that this day represents in our Jewish culture. Then we had a special session of shira where some of our madrichimot wrote the song the night before to teach to everyone today. Then we had hitkansut erev and lowered the flags. After this we went to dinner and the fasters went to the mini-mo again. Then we had chofesh where everyone wet to play sports and other physical activities while the fasters went to go and break their fast!

Then we all got to “break our fast” together with an ice cream party! Following that we had a Tekes meaning we ended the day by remembering all of the lessons we learned today along with the morals we should continue to remember when we leave machaneh. People hung up some artwork they made today and people got the opportunity to speak their mind on the activities that took place today.

Camp Galil's last Shabbat of 2016

Hello Parents, and welcome back to our final Shabbat of the summer! This morning we had cinnamon buns and scones for breakfast, how exciting! Everyone went to extended avodah this morning so that we took a little more care of our machaneh today. Once that finished, all the chanichimot tried their hardest to try and get the last Golden Broom of the summer by cleaning their tzrifim so that they looked spotless. After sweeping, mopping, and making beds, the chanichimot went to peula shikvah with their madatzimot to have them run an activity for them instead of their madrichimot.

Bonot at the creek

The Madaitzimot always try to run a really fun and exciting peula for the chanichimot, so that they can win over the affection of their kids. After pish ends, everyone gets dressed up in wacky clothes and goes to the mini-mo for Shabbat Shira, where we do Shira and learn some old songs from the past that not everyone remembers, except today we choose our songs from a specific group of songs that we like to teach on Shabbat, typically these songs hold more value and have a deeper meaning than the other cheers we typically do.

People in a tree house, some of them pretending to vomit

Kids will get called up by shikvah, one at a time to go get lunch, which is always a colorful assortments of pizzas! Everyone tries to show as much ruach(energy) as they can in order to get called up first. Pizza for lunch might be one of my favorite parts about Machaneh, especially Shabbat. When everyone is finished eating pizza, the kids all stay to do Hyde Park, where kids can go up one at a time to suggest changes they think will benefit Machaneh in the future.

Kids serving pizza

Next kids can participate in mischak ha’shavuah(sport of the week) and this week’s sport is . There will also be time for kids to take long showers and pamper themselves as they get ready for Shabbat dinner. We will be meeting by mishpachot(families) and discuss how our weeks have been and share with everyone our favorite parts of the week, maybe even tell a few funny stories as well. Then we all walk down the road and group together to give out hugs and take more nice pictures with each other. Then the Madatzimot will perform the last kabbalat Shabbat of the session and I’ve heard them practicing all week for it. Then our Rosh, Lia, will tell us a story about herself that has underlying morals and themes that we should all take to heart as we end the summer of 2016. Following that everyone sings a few more songs and then heads off to dinner with our guests who came to join us for Shabbat. However just before this happened we had a very special surprise! One of the fathers to a few of our chanichimot is a helicopter pilot and flew his helicopter into the middle of the kikar! It was a great way to kick off the final Shabbat of the summer.

Helicopter surrounded by people

Dinner ends and then we all go to the Refet(barn) to watch the oneg(skit) that will be put on by the Bogrimot. The oneg will end and everyone will get ready for rikud. We will be doing many Israeli dances and it will be super intense and at the end, people who stay the whole time will get a special treat due to their dedication. At this point kids will be going to bed and they’ll be getting a good night sleep since we get a sleep in until 10 am tomorrow morning.

We’ll see you on Monday for the last two days when Shabbat ends, but for now, enjoy your Shabbat!

-Guy

Yom Kehilah!

                Hello everybody, today we had Yom Kehila at Machaneh. This means we had Tikkun Olam at camp instead of going out to help outside communities, we decided to strengthen the community that we live in here at Galil, by planting trees and flowers here to help preserve our environment and to strengthen our communal bonds. Anyway this morning we began with a sleep-in until 9 am and skipped our usual hitkansut boker to go directly to breakfast which was ‘eggs in a hole’, an interesting breakfast that has eggs cooked inside the middle of a piece of bread, essentially toasting the bread while having the egg cook in the center of the whole thing.

A chaniach being taken into space by a flying white disc

                After breakfast avodah and nikayon commenced as it usually does because we can’t skip out on making this place looking shiny and new! With that out of the way we had sports so that we could include some physical exercise in our day’s schedule. Our sports for today were Gaga, Frisbee, Swimming, and Rikud.

Smiling people (How generic...)

                Now is where our schedule gets reeeaaaallly interesting. We split the schavot into 3 groups: Bogrimot & Amelimot, Anakimot, and Tzophimot & Bonimot. The Amelimot and Bogrimot worked together to plant a large number of flowers around the front of the chadar, as well as two trees. The Anakimot, Tzofimot, and Bonimot each had a peula about communal belonging and the types of values that create strong communities. Afterwards, they all participated in trainings about social justice from a Jewish perspective, facilitated by folks from the Workmens Circle, a progressive Jewish educational social justice group. Afterwards, each kvutza painted a ceramic tile, which will be hung up in the Moadon hallway. For lunch, we had beef stir fry with a bunch of vegetables and lo men. 

Gathering dirt to plant a tree (We're turning our truck into a hybrid)

                Halfway through it started to rain, meaning everyone stopped what they were doing to have an impromptu dance party in the rain! Also kids got the chance to play board games in the moadon while it was raining. Once the raining subdued, everyone headed to the pavilion to paint tiles. At the end of it all, everyone went to the toren to do shira(song/singing) where we learn a camp song from the past so that we can sing again after we finish eating. For dinner tonight we had lasagna, a camp classic and also a favorite of us all. The night ended off with us all watching a movie, and with that we will say good-night. Stay tuned for the last Shabbat of Galil 2016 in tomorrow’s blog!

                -Guy

Nitzanimot Arrive! A Taste of Galil!

               Welcome back parents! This morning started off as it usually does with everyone waking up and heading to the toren for hitkansut. The flags were raised and everyone went off to breakfast which was scones and apple turnovers. Afterwards everyone went to avodah and then we went to our tzrifim to clean up. At this point we also had to say good-bye to our Mini Session Bet campers that were leaving this morning, a sad time indeed. Friends had to part ways with other friends as some of their parents dragged them off of camp property and past the concrete bridge. Those kids now have broken nails from having them drag along the concrete, I didn’t want to take any pictures of their fingers since it was too sad and disgusting.

Bonimot playing with paint

                Other than kids leaving, we got a brand new shipment of Nitzanimot!  We said hello to the kids taking part in “Taste of Galil” which is a program where kids who are younger than Amelimot get to stay over at Galil until this Sunday to get, well, a taste of Galil, as the name implies. They’re fun and cute and great to take pictures of.

Nitzanimot climbing Howie, their Madriach

                It started to thunder a bit during pish so we had to cut instructional swim short this morning and also sports had to take place indoors as it started to rain down a bit. For lunch we had lots and lots of quesadillas, or as I like to call them, ‘dillas. After lunch the Nitzanimot went down to the pool with me to have a pool party, and soon after everyone else joined us since it was so hot and humid out. 

Chanichim chilling at lunch

                Tochnit erev tonight is Kangaroo Court, a traditional tochnit erev that we like to run, not just at Galil, but at other Machanot as well. In fact I can distinctly recall having it run for me while I was on MBI which is the Israel program for Habonim Dror for kids the summer after having been in Bogrim. Essentially, the Madrichimot have been getting away with pranking kids and such, and the chanichimot get a chance at justice by having them go to court for their crimes. There is always a punishment, and it’s usually pretty nasty. Regardless, the kids will be pleased with the results of tonight’s activity.

                -Guy

Enter the Abyss...!

                Welcome back, parents! After two days of crazy schedules and awesome activities we’re back with our regular schedule today, nothing too flashy, but still lots of fun. Everyone woke up a bit more tired than usual after having Revo the night before. The Bogrim and Madatz got a sleep in since the Bogrim will be doing Yom Bogrim today, where there will be a lot of chill activities ran specifically for the Bogrim as they have a day of rest. The Madatz will be going on chofesh(free time) today meaning they’ll be having the whole day off and leaving machaneh to enjoy their time together after having run a successful Revo.

Happy little Madatzimot

                Everyone else’s schedule is pretty normal today, starting off with breakfast today which was scones and yogurt. Ivrit Shimushit today taught us the word dag which means ‘fish’. The Bonimot left breakfast immediately to go on high ropes for the day and they’ll be doing them for most of the day, ending around 5 pm today. Everyone else finished breakfast and headed off to do avodah like normal.

                For lunch today we had chicken and rice with vegetables. After lunch everyone went back to their tzrifim(cabins) and got some rest after eating. Following that there was zman meyuchad and I ran Journalism for today.

A chaniach at the end of Tochnit Erev

                Once that ended, kids were given the option to go swimming during free swim down at the pool. Then we had kibud(snack time) where kids got a nice and juicy apple to eat before dinner tonight. Before dinner we had to lower the flags on the toren(flagpole) during hitkansut erev. During this time we sang more songs, much like we do in the morning when we raise the flags. Dinner followed that and for dinner we had a pasta bar, equipped with a multitude of sauces and some ravioli!

Everyone inside the Abyss

                Then after dinner a ‘magical portal’ opened up in the moadon. The Mistress of the Abyss has come to take over Machaneh! For tochnit erev tonight we had Mistress of the Abyss, where a heinous creature tries to take over Machaneh and enters through a dark portal. The kids have to learn to fight back against her through a carnival of stations where we gain the tools necessary to fight back. In the end she was defeated and we were all safe again.

Revo Shipwrecked!

Hello, everyone! Here is your daily update from the best blog on the internet! There’s no need to worry that your child is having an ordinary summer, since surprises pop up all the time at Machaneh (Camp) Galil. Today was Revo, the highly anticipated day when the Madatz (CITs) take over the camp. I’m Becca Neckritz, and I’ll be telling you all about today’s festivities.

Madatz dressed in cruise attire

            This session’s theme was Revo Cruisin’. We began the day at the toren (flagpole) by raising a nautical flag and singing a theme song to the tune of “Under the Sea”.  Then we made our way to the chadar ochel (dining hall), which had been specially decorated with streamers and flowers during the night. The chanichim (campers) could dine from a waffle buffet, and from the omlette buffet, complete with toppings like olives, capers, and shaved cheese. After the meal, we headed down to the parking lot to “explore the ship” by stretching at the Gym station and getting massages and cold drinks at the spa.

Chanichimot making a human pyramid

 We then headed back up the hill to compete in the Amazing Race. Each of the eight teams worked together to complete challenges and make it to the end of the race. When the chanichim (campers) had all finished and assembled by the Tzophim treebench, the Madatz rushed out with water balloons and blue scarves as the cruise ship “crashed” into mermaid-inhabited waters. Two mermaid queens invited us to dine with them in their underwater estate, and we dined on stuffed shells, broccoli, and garlic bread. However, we soon leared that the mermaids were not too friendly. After we ate, we had to escape the hungry mermaids and flee to an island. On the island, we faced off in a Hunger Games-inspired contest

. After “dying” (getting out of the game of extreme tag), a chanchol’s name would be announced over the ramkol (loudspeaker) and that chanichol would head to the pool for a big pool party! We dried off and headed to the historic refet (barn) to watch Pirates of the Carribean and eat Rice Krispy Treats.

Chanichimot fishing off the bridge

 Then we dressed in tropical leis and ate a dinner of sliders, salad, and onion rings.  Suddenly, a group of aliens, played by some Madatz, descended on machaneh and insisted that we join them for a spaceship party!  The party featured a bubble-maker, a fog machine, glow-in-the-dark star walls, and a space-themed cake. After a fun-filled day, we sent the chanichim back to their tzrifim (cabins) to be put to bed by their madrichim. Revo Cruisin’ left everyone exhausted, but happy. Tune in tomorrow for more updates from Ottsville!

Bogrimot's Bocoup!

                  Welcome back to the Camp Galil Blog, today is not our ordinary day at Machaneh Galil. Later this afternoon the Bogrim will be running ‘Bocoup’, where they kick out all of tzevet and madatz and run camp for the rest of the day. I’ll let my friend Max tell you all about Bocoup later on in the blog post, but for now I’ll give you the run-down of what happened earlier today. We started off like a regular day, with people going to the toren(flagpole) to raise flags, sing songs, and learn the Hebrew word of the day in Ivrit Shimushit. Today’s word was kelev which means ‘dog’.

                  Afterwards everyone went to breakfast where we had some spectacular pancakes and cereal. Kids went to Avodah afterwards and helped to maintain machaneh so that it was clean and beautiful as we like it to be. Then we had pish and the Amelimot & Anakimot had instructional swim while the Tzophimot and Bonimot had kvutsa bonding activities. The Bogrimot did some last minute setting up for Bocoup during this time, and with that I’m going to hand off the keyboard to Max!

                  Bocoup is when we, the Bogrim, run the day from after sports to Tochnit Erev. We broke the day to the kids by making up fake crimes for all the Madrichim and then we pushed them into the pool, this is an activity we like to call ‘Crime and Punshment’. All the crimes were intended to poke fun at all our Madrichim. The theme for Bocoup was Dogs of Macheneh, because we wanted to honor all 3 dogs that currently live at Machaneh. Today we made lunch and only had yellow food such as: Corn and Tasty Mac and Cheese, and Corn, also very savory French fries.

Then we set up stations in which we did things to prove our worth to the dogs. Some of the stations were body painting to look like dogs, making silkscreens, throwing sponges at some madrichimot, and finally there was a jousting station where kids would have to break through a wall of mattresses to show their superiority to the dogs. After that we made a ritual to worship the dogs. Kids went to the Refet where we had tea candles and tiki torches to set the scene for the worship performance. We sacrificed old chew toys and dog bones to the canine spirits so that the dogs at machaneh would love us all.

 Once the ritual ended and the dogs began to love us, we then split three groups for the three dogs at camp.  In those groups we played capture the flag for about an hour. Afterwards was kibud and we made some pretty cool milkshakes that were supposed to be jet black but ended up being white. Afterwards was a water party at the basketball court where everyone was tossing sponges of water and being sprayed down with hoses.

To finish of Bocoup we had dinner of meatball subs and cooked potatoes. Then with dinner finished we went to the Moadon to have a Messiba or party, everyone danced to show their support for the dogs and also people ate dog biscuits (cookies) to show their final devotion to the dogs. In the end, the dogs finally loved all the chanichim and the dogs began to despise the madrichim, just as we planned! Muhahahahaha! Anyway, this has been Max Haklay from Bogrim and I hope you liked this blog as much as we liked Bocoup!

Getting ready for Shabbos

Hello Parents, and good Shabbos to you! This morning started off right today with warm cinnamon buns for breakfast. Afterwards everyone went to an extended avodah meaning we got to help maintain machaneh for a longer period of time. Afterwards everyone went back to their tzrifim(cabins) and began intense nikayon(cleaning) so that they could get a shot at winning the Golden Broom. The Golden Broom is awarded to the cleanest tzrif during rikud(dancing) later tonight. It is regarded as one of the highest honors at machaneh and whoever holds the Golden Broom is regarded as a super clean kid.

Today the Madatzimot will be leading peula shikvah for the chanichimot as is per tradition for Shabbat, and tomorrow they will lead another peula, but this time for the entire machaneh and not just for individual shikvot(age groups). Afterwards we will have Shabbat Shira, where everyone gathers to learn special songs whilst also dressed up in funny costumes and hats. Kids with the most ruach(energy) get called up first to get pizza for lunch. Once all the kids get their pizza, everyone hangs around Hyde Park and enjoys lunch and chit-chats with each other.

After eating, kids will get kibud(snack) and Hyde Park will begin and kids will come up to the large rock one at a time and share either an idea they have to improve machaneh or just give a statement complimenting something the appreciated this week at machaneh.

Next kids can participate in mischak ha’shavuah(sport of the week) and this week’s sport is baseball, so kids can get their baseball gloves and bats and play ball! There will also be time for kids to take long showers and pamper themselves as they get ready for Shabbat dinner.

We will be meeting by mishpachot(families) and discuss how our weeks have been and also just.share fun stories from the week. Then we all walk down the road and group together to give out hugs and take more nice pictures with each other. Then the Tzophimot will perform their kabbalat songs and dance which they have been practicing all week for. Then our Rosh, Lia, will tell us a story about herself that has underlying morals and themes that we should all take to heart as we finish the summer off next week.

Dinner ends and then we all go to the Refet(barn) to watch the oneg(skit) that will be put on by the Amelimot. The oneg will end and everyone will get ready for rikud. We will be doing many Israeli dances and it will be super intense and at the end, people who stay the whole time will get a special treat due to their dedication. At this point kids will be going to bed and they’ll be getting a good night sleep since we get a sleep in until 10 am tomorrow morning.

We’ll see you on Monday once Shabbat is over, but for now, enjoy your Shabbat!

-Guy

Kanye @ Camp?

                  Good evening parents! Today was a spectacular Thursday with the sun shining all day and the temperature was just right for us all to go outside without getting too sweaty. Breakfast today was scrambled eggs and hash browns, how exciting! After breakfast everyone headed out to do their avodah(work/job) like cleaning the pool or picking weeds out from our gan(garden). For pish today the Amelimot were still doing their tiyul(hike) activities and returned at around lunch. The Anakimot had a long instructional swim session for their pish and the Tzophimot practiced their kabalat Shabbat songs in the moadon. The Bonimot &Bogrimot combined for pish today to become closer as shkavot(age groups) and also to learn about the Israeli gay pride parade together!

                  After that we had sports, and our sports today were Baseball, Just Dance, Running, Swimming, and Basketball. For lunch today we had corn bread and a huge pot of steaming chili, delicious! Everyone ate and chatted gleefully as we enjoyed in the mid-day meal.

                  During kibud(snack time) we had a ‘fire drill’ and everyone ran to the basketball court only to find that today was tochnit erev meyuchedet meaning a very special evening activity that actually began at around 4 o’clock today. The theme was Kanye West, one of the greatest musicians and producers of our generation. The day revolved around him, his music, his family, and a few other featured guests, like Taylor Swift and Paul McCartney. The event started off with everyone splitting up and creating music videos for Kanye’s music. Afterwards everyone put on their most fashionable attire and went to the moadon to have a fashion show where people got the opportunity to strut their stuff.

                  Afterwards we had an incredible dinner of meatball subs and sweet potato fries, accompanied with other cooked vegetables. As we ate, the music videos we created were projected on a screen in the chadar so we could all enjoy them while we ate. The day ended off with a large messiba(party) where we all got to dance around to Kanye’s own selection of music. There was candy, music, tattoos, and a a large sign where people could sign their names commemorating the event.

Anyway, that’s all for today and we’ll be back tomorrow for another spectacular Shabbat!

                  -Guy