Exploring Judaism at Machaneh

Camp (machaneh) Galil woke up today to a gray sky and muddy grass. Although the weather outlook did not seem promising, we ended up having a beautiful sunny day (and we had a half hour sleep in!!), which put a smile on everyone's face.

Smiling Sayeret during chugim.

We all walked down to breakfast together, after watching the "helpful Hebrew" (ivrit shimushit) skit of the day, which taught us the word for home (bayit). The campers (chanichim) continued their normal day with chores (avodot), and then cabin cleaning time (nikayon tzrif). Afterwards, they began age group discussions (peulot)!
Today, the Amelim (post-third and fourth graders) went down to the pool for instructional swim. By now, they've gotten to  know the head lifeguard, Simon, pretty well, so they have a lot of fun whenever they go to see him. The Chotrim (post-fifth graders) met at the basketball court to play games together. The Sayarim (post-sixth graders) had a conversation about Israel. They learned about influential Israelis and the origins of the Israeli Conflict. The Tzophim (post-seventh graders) finished up a movie that they had started previously. The Bonim (post-eighth graders) had a discussion (sicha) about their kvutsa (small, united community) and how to communicate with each other.

Soccer during menucha.

The Bogrim (post-ninth graders) were split in half today. Some of them were on the high ropes course. The others had a peula about Judaism and its place in society. After peulot ended, sports began, and everyone went to their respective sports. Because it was such  a beautiful day, the attendance at free swim after sports was very high. We all headed down to lunch after washing off once free swim ended. After lunch, during rest time (menucha), there was a lot going on. A bunch of Amelot were in the art room (beit omanut), making bracelets and drawing pictures. There were a few sports games going on, including frisbee, basketball, and soccer. The rest of the chanichim were hanging around their tzrifim, talking to friends or listening to music. after menucha, came electives (chugim)!
Today, some of the chugim used the hose to cool down while having fun. Others relaxed in the shade or made art in the beit omanut. When chugim came to an end, peulot started up again. This time, the Amelim met at the beit omanut to continue making art. The Chotrim went down to the pool for instructional swim. The Sayarim continued their discussion about Israel from earlier in the day. Similarly, the Tzophim spoke about Zionism and Israel. The Bonim planned their play (oneg) for tomorrow. The oneg is a weekly tradition on Friday nights, and a different age group (shichva) preforms it each week, while the rest of machaneh watches. The Bogrim came together as a whole again and continued speaking about Judaism. Next, it was time for snack (kibud).

Happy Bonot in the morning!

 Everyone relaxed and ate for a little, and then went to zmagshama (that is a combination of the Hebrew word for time, zman, and actualization, hagshama). During zmagshama today, some of the activities going on included making scented lotion with herbs from the garden, and drawing pictures of people in the area. When zmagshama ended, it was time for singing (shira). Shira today was incredibly energetic, and that energy was carried into our shira for lowering the flags. Afterwards, we will head down to dinner (my sources from the kitchen (mitbach) say that we are having chicken nuggets. It's safe to say that I am extremely excited). Tonight for our evening activity (tochnit erev), everybody will split up by schavot and do their own thing. Some schavot will be watching movies, others will be planning for something important later on in the summer, and some will just be relaxing and talking. Tomorrow is the second Shabbat, which will be very exciting and fun, so check back in soon!