Dear Camp Judaea Family,

It’s been an exciting and fun-filled first week for everyone at Camp Judaea.  We’d like to share some opening week video highlights with you along with a little narrative about the activities of each of our Edot (Units) since the start of Camp.  

Wishing you a Shabbat Shalom from the entire CJ Family,

       VIDEO:  Camp Judaea’s First Session Opening Day 2013

      VIDEO:  A Glimpse At Our First Week of Activities

RISHONIM (Taste of CJ 10 Day Session)

Shalom Rishonim Parents,

I can’t believe how fast this week flew by! We have been very busy having so much fun in the sun here at camp. We hit the ground running when the campers got here with peulat edas (educational activities) and rotational activities. So far we have learned about camp, Israeli cities, and how we celebrate Shabbat at camp (ask your child about the challah they made)!  We have also had lots of fun going to the pool, the lake (both boats and slide), ivrit, playing sports, rikkud (dancing), shira (singing), omega (ziplining), fishing, and so much more.

If you think this was a busy week, it is about to get even busier. Today we are spending the morning bowling and on Sunday we will be leaving for a day trip followed by an overnight in the wilderness. The staff and I have all been having such an amazing time taking care of your campers and experiencing the magic of Camp Judaea with them for the very first time. This group is made up of extraordinarily special chanichim and we are all already getting sad that in less than a week they will be leaving us!

Shabbat shalom to you all and I hope you have a wonderful weekend,

Emmy Cohn, Rishonim Merakezet

OFFARIM EDA

Shalom Offarim parents!

We had an eventful first week at CJ, filled with new activities, cheers, and friends. For our first peulah eda (educational activity by age group) we did a camp-wide scavenger hunt to learn about the five pillars of Camp Judaea: Judaism, Zionism, social growth, personal growth, and nature. Next we continued with the Jewish life cycle and learned about the brit milah and baby naming ceremonies. For our nighttime activities we’ve done an Iron Chef competition as well as several get-to-know-you games. The majority of the kids have already made it to all of the rotational activities including ropes course, horses, and the lake. Last night the Offarim campers got their “B.O.s”–which are their camp older brother or sister for the session–in a nighttime bonfire ceremony. We are all very much looking forward to spending a relaxing Shabbat together as a camp and then another exciting week ahead of us! Shabbat Shalom!

Shira Berman, Offarim Merakezet

ORANIM EDA 

Shabbat Shalom Oranim  parents,

This past week has been so incredible with your children! They all have adjusted to camp and are having a blast! They have created an Oranim holiday, Wateronika, which they will celebrate at the end of the session. This is a holiday that they created and voted on to celebrate water in camp with a water fight and water front activities. They have also learned about Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur and forgiveness which helped bring a fresh start to a sweet new summer at Camp Judaea! We also have celebrated quite a few birthdays this past week and will celebrate even more birthdays this coming weekend and week! Your kids have enjoyed various activities this week including the omega (zip line) and kir tipus (rock climbing wall), the agam (lake), brecha (pool), sussim (horses),omanut (art) and more! Today we are going bowling and in a few days will be another fun trip! I am very excited for another week with these amazing campers! Wishing you on behalf of all of the Oranim staff Shabbat shalom and sahvuah tov.

Emily Shalev, Oranim Merakezet

SAYARIM EDA 

Shabbat Shalom Sayarim Parents,

It’s amazing how time flies. This week Sayarim began its introduction into the eda’s theme this session, Jewish and Zionist heroes. The chanichim, through various interactive educational activities, learned about the values that most heroes share. The chanichim of Sayarim also learned about notable Zionist and Jewish figures such as David Ben-Gurion, Theodore Hertzl, Albert Einstein, and Sandy Koufax. During the activity in which the campers learned about David Ben-Gurion they also began to learn about Beer-Sheva and the Negev, which is the region in Israel that Sayarim will be focusing on this session. Not only did the chanichim participate in fun educational activities, but they also took part in peulot such as horseback riding, swimming in the lake, and riding the zip-line off of the climbing tower. Overall this week has been exciting and filled with enriching experiences that have set our eda on a course for an unforgettable summer.  As we light the candles tonight, we will think of how lucky we are to be spending Shabbat together as a Camp Judaea mishpachah (family).

Eitan Bender, Sayarim Merakez

TSOFIM EDA

Shabbat Tsofim Parents,

As our first week at camp comes to a close, we can look back on what was surely a wonderful and exciting start to the summer.  All of the kids were very happy to be back for another session at Camp Judaea and the new ones were quickly welcomed into the group.  We also began our educational peulot this week.  The chanichim were introduced to the diversity in both the geography and the population of Israel.  During one of the peulot, the kids were able to milk a cow on a kibbutz, put a note in the western wall, and donate “Tsofim Shekels” to different causes. In addition to the educational peulot, we were also able to ride horses, go swimming in the lake, and make necklaces and bracelets during Omanut (art).  Only a week into the session and our eda is already becoming very close. The first week of camp went by so quickly and we are all looking forward to all of the activities and trips planned for the rest of the session! We wish you a Shabbat Shalom and hope your week is as fantastic as ours!

Sam Morse, Tsofim Merakez

KESHER EDA 

Shabbat Shalom Kesher parents,

My staff and I have had an incredible week with your children. They are all getting along so well and having an amazing time. So far, we’ve explored the meaning of identities and what it means to be Jewish. We also performed our Hatzagah (play) to the entire camp Thursday night, which was both educational and fun. All of the campers had a chance to swim in the agam ( lake) and the brecha (pool), as well as experience sussim (horses) and omanut (art)! Today we are going bowling, and having a peulah eda (educational activity) about Ellis Island to prepare for our trip to New York. We are leaving Saturday night after Havdallah and return Friday afternoon. I am very excited to spend a week with these amazing campers in New York!

Wishing you on behalf of all of the Kesher staff, Shabbat Shalom and Shavuah Tov.

Tali Burger, Kesher Merakezet

BOGRIM EDA

Dear Parents,

The first week of camp has gotten a great start. We have already led services twice and are doing our best to be the role models for all of the younger chanichim (campers). Our peulot eda (educational activities) have been engaging and interactive and the chanichim are truly learning from them. The Bogrim chanichim participated in an interactive program to simulate the process of the United Nations vote in 1947 that determined Israel’s international right to declare a Jewish homeland. The chanichim were put in the position of the Zionists fighting for Israel. Some of the obstacles on the road to statehood included learning some new Hebrew words, completing an exercise in teamwork and loyalty in order to exemplify characteristics of the Israeli Defense Force, and using knowledge and facts to persuade the United Nations council. Also this week, the chanichim learned about the Zionist heroes whose visions of Israel remain alive and vibrant today. The forum for this lesson was that of a television dating show in which the chanichim were split into groups and together had to learn about the hero each of their groups represented. In the game, Camp Judaea was the “bachelorette” and asked the Zionists questions in an attempt to find Camp Judaea’s perfect Zionist soul mate. The chanchim answered the questions posed by CJ and presented why they believe so passionately in their Zionist hero’s vision.

In addition to the outstanding educational programming this week, the chanichim have been engaged in exciting new tochnit erev activities, or fun evening programming! One night, the chanichim got compete in “Messy Olympics.” This event is a relay race in which the chanichim complete a series of messy games such as using only their hands to find chocolate chips in a bag of pudding!

In the coming week, the Bogrim team is enthusiastically looking forward to many great adventures in Washington D.C.! We are so thankful you sent your child to Camp Judaea and look forward to three more amazing weeks with them!

Sarah Fine, Bogrim Merakezet