By Lena Eskin, Rosh Kochavim B
Kochavim Bet just wrapped up an action-packed twelve days at camp. One of the highlights of their time here came this past Thursday, which for Kochavim was “Yom Yisrael.” In the afternoon, the chanichim had the opportunity to participate in various Israeli culture-related activities. In their Hebrew lesson, the campers learned about the geography of Israel and played a game of Pin the City on the Map. The three tarbut options on Thursday were also connected to Israel. In rikud, the chanichim learned Israeli dances; in radio, they played Israeli music and practiced their Hebrew while introducing each song; and in the mitbachon, they made hummus and pita.
Later in the day, the whole eidah joined together for a special program. Everyone had the chance to rotate between various stations. All of the chanichim wrote Kotel-style notes and got Israeli flags painted on their faces. There was another station where they learned about the IDF and completed an obstacle course. And the main event was the Shuk Machane Ramah, full of food and other stands of art and jewelry modeled after Shuk Machane Yehuda in Jerusalem. Each person received 20 “shekalim” and had to barter — in Hebrew! — for a lower price while buying pita, hummus, tehina, and Israeli salad.
This engagement with Israel and its culture fit in perfectly with Kochavim’s summer long theme, through which they explored the ideas of different spaces (including personal space, communal space, spaces at camp, and outer space), along with thinking about their place in space. Through this lens, they were able to learn more about themselves, their eidah-mates, camp, and the broader world around them over the course of the summer.
