Shabbat Shalom Camp Judaea Family!

It has been such an incredible week at Camp Judaea for all edot (age groups). We were sad to say farewell to our youngest campers (Rishonim) yesterday but are excited to have our oldest campers (Bogrim and Kesher) back home from New York City and Washington, DC. Here are a few updates from each eda!

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Rishonim:

It’s only been a day since our Rishi kids left but we’re missing them terribly! This week was wonderful—from fun yet educational peulot about Shabbat to a successful and exciting day at Tweetsie Railroad, there wasn’t a moment to rest! We hope the kids are enjoying being home, but we can’t wait to see them next year!

Offarim:

This week was a great success for every Offie camper —full of joy, friendships, and new experiences. The staff prepared educational peulot where we reenacted Israel by taking the campers on a “flight” around the major parts of Israel including the Negev, the Dead Sea, the Golan Heights and also learned about the difference between the old and new cities in Israel.The day trip to Emerald Village and overnight was a huge hit! The campers were so thrilled to bring home the gems they found and enjoyed a nice hike to a waterfall on the overnight (check out the pictures)! After meeting and bowling with their BOs last week, the campers are so happy that Bogrim is back from their trip to DC. We are so excited for all the activities we have planned this coming week.

Oranim:

The Oranim eda welcomes this beautiful Shabbat after an enjoyable week with activities including a pool party, paint war, fun at the lake, a trip to the bowling alley, drills with professional Israeli basketball players, and a successful campout made up of s’mores, a talent show, and fun around the fire pit. Not to mention, a special trip to the Western North Carolina Nature Center! The campers also had a blast while building a Sukkah, participating in a Tu B’av carnival, and taking a mini hike while learning about Tu B’shvat. We, as the Oranim team, are so excited to be leading this Kabbalat Shabbat and to continue having extraordinary weeks here at CJ.      

Sayarim:

Sayarim has had tons of fun this week! From hiking Chimney Rock to Yom Tsofim, it was a very special time for us to be together. We spent a beautiful night at the bottom of Mount Mitchell where we played Oneg games and made banana boats! We learned about famous Jews and their impact on the society in which we live during Peulah Eda! We are so excited to enter into our second Shabbat of the summer with open hearts, open minds, and soon to be full bellies!

Tsofim:

As our second week of camp draws to a close, we are thinking about all of the fun we had this week as well as the newly formed bonds and friendships that were created.  With Kesher and Bogrim on their New York and DC trips, Tsofim was, and for the most part acted like the oldest eda in camp!  We learned about Israeli Music this week by listening to a bunch of Israeli artists and wrote songs about the types of music they create. We also went to Carowinds this week and all of the kids as well as the staff had a great time on all of the rides. It was a great chance for the staff to get closer with the kids. We have had nothing but sunny weather all week except for right now before Shabbat—we like to think of it as cleansing camp for the week to come! This week has been one to remember and we are all looking forward to our last full week at camp together.

Kesher:

Today we returned from our incredible New York Tiyul (trip), and couldn’t be happier being back at camp. We went on walking tours of some of the boroughs, Chabad’s 770 Headquarters,  saw the hit show Phantom Of The Opera, toured through many museums, as well as many exciting activities. Although our trip is over, we still have time in camp to make lasting memories and incredible friendships. As we bring in Shabbat, we reflect on our Identity searching in NYC but also look ahead to the next big adventure!

Bogrim:

Shabbat shalom from the Bogrim family! This week, Bogrim got a chance to visit tons of interesting and historical sites in our nation’s capital! Some of our favorites were the Newseum, an awesome museum exhibiting the history of the media, Kayam farm, where we learned about Jewish farming, and, of course, the abundance of exciting and educational Smithsonian museums. We’re so glad to be reunited with our CJ community this Shabbat as we look to another fantastic week!

This week, every eda went on some sort of trip or overnight and had an excellent time! We also kicked off our conservation initiatives at camp starting with a compost bin and interactive cabin activities. As we welcome the Shabbat and light the candles, we will think of you!