First Friday of the Summer!

Hey everybody!

Today was not just any normal day, it was the first Friday here at machaneh (camp)! This meant that breakfast today was muffins! Special thanks to tzevet mitbach (kitchen staff) for preparing this wonderful classic! After breakfast our chanichimot (campers) had to get machaneh ready for shabbot. This meant extended avodah (work) time and extended nikayon tzrif (bunk cleaning).

Amelimot love their Madatz!

After that, the Madatz (CITs) ran peulot (activities) for the different schavot (age groups) that they were assigned to be Madatz for.  The Amelimot did a super fun activity where they got to make their favorite things out of candy. The other schcavot also played get-to-know-your-Madatz games. The Bonimot,  for example, played jeoporady, facts about their madatz edition!The Bogrimot do not have Madatz so insteaf their madrichimot (councelors) planned Bogrimot Idol where the chanichimot got into groups and choreographed some incredibly cool routines and performed them for their friends. After that was lunch which was, as per usual on Fridays, pizza! After lunch the chanichimot had Hyde Park. This is the time of the week where they strut to a tire and if they have the best strut they get called up to a rock and can state their ideas to make camp better in front of everyone. It's a great way to get new fresh opinions out there as well as a huge opportunity for the kids to take even more ownership over macahneh. This is especially so for the Bogrimot who run Hyde park. After that was kibud (snacks) which was the usual Friday ice cream. Then was schiya chofshit (free swim) and miscack hashavua (sport of the week). The miscack hashavua was Frisbee! Then everybody had a chance to get ready for shabbot. We also had optional tifilot (prayers) in the gan (garden) with special guest Jeff Eisentauth!  He led us in song and discussion of Jewish history and torah. It was truly an incredible experience.

Who doesn't love free swim?

The chanichimot then were broken up into mishpachot (families). This traditional Shabbot activity puts groups of chanichimot of all different ages and backgrounds are put together in a small once a week family to discuss their week and hopes for the coming one. Real life families are kept together of course.

After mishpachot, chanichimot joined a procession that went around camp welcoming Shabbot. Following that, all the chanichimot met back at the toren and hugged in excitement for the new week. We then had the the Parsha players show, where we all learned about this week's Torah reading. After that the different kvustot (age groups) were blessed by their madrichimot and then watched this week's kabalat shabbot (musical acts for shabbot). The Bonimot led kabalat shabbot this week. Afterwords we as a machaneh welcomed shabbot through more songs. Then we went to eat a wonderful shabbos dinner.

After that we had shabbot shira (shabbot songs) where we sing special fun hebrew songs. After that the Madatz performed the oneg (fun skit about machaneh). Then everybody went to rikud (Israeli dancing).

Then came the moment everybody had been waiting for. The moment that the kids had worked a whole hour for during the morning: the golden broom. The golden broom goes to the cleanest tzrif at machaneh based on a check during Friday morning and a scoring guide. It's a very fun competition that encourages cleanliness. The winners this week were the tzophimot!

After Golden Broom were the Madatz calls, where each year of Madatz starting from the current one and going all the way back to the oldest still working at machaneh, do some sorts of songs and chants as their "call."

After that rikud continued for those who still had dancing feet to spare and other chanichimot went to bed. Tonight their Madatz put them to bed.

Before I sign off there's something important to say about shabbot here at machaneh: although we don't keep religiously to rules of shabbot, we try to lay back on technology, make shabbot truly a different day not just in schedule but also in feel. This is why you'll notice fewer pictures today and even fewer tomorrow. I hope you all understand!

See you all on Monday!
-Miriam