In Kochavim t’fillah (services) this morning, after singing the shema, a camper raised his hand and asked, “Why do we say the shema twice everyday?” The counselors opened up the question for the rest of the aidah (division) to answer. One camper explained, “We say the shema every night before bed.” Another said, “We say the shema every morning after we wake up.” A third camper raised her hand and said, “I say it other times too. I say it before a test or when I’m scared to calm me down.”
Every night, our Kochavim campers will sing the shema from their bunk beds, the blankets tugged to their chests. Counselors will start singing with their campers to prepare them for a restful night of sleep, before another great day at camp. In the morning, during t’fillah, they will recite the shema once again to start off their day. Just like we are thankful to God for having a new day, we sing the shema in the morning to say how proud we are to be Jewish that day.
