by Ethan Sharp, Rosh Bogrim 2024
When machzor aleph (first session) concluded, our eidah (age group) was riding high. We had just come off of a great three day tiyul (camping trip) in Boulder Junction, we had spent time on the brand new ropes course, and we had an amazing victory over Machon (10th graders) in our basketball game. We were looking forward to a busy 5th week at camp, with Visitors Days and our machazemer (musical) Matilda coming up. We knew that we would have a group of twenty Israelis join our eidah for the next two weeks, but none of us really understood what that would look like. On Monday afternoon, we said l’hitraot (goodbye) to our visitors and promptly went over to the parking lot to welcome our new friends. We were excited to get to know them, but none of us had any idea what was coming in the next two weeks.
The scene in the parking lot was powerful. Israeli music was playing, chanichim (campers) were holding bruchim ha’baim (welcome) posters that they made, and everyone had a smile on their face ready to welcome everyone off of the bus. As each Israeli chanich (camper) came down the steps of the bus, they were greeted with cheers and open arms. Everyone was asking each other what each other’s name was and how their multi-day journey over to the Northwoods of Wisconsin was. The way that each group welcomed each other helped us instantly feel like we were becoming one big eidah.
By the end of the day on Monday, the two groups had already gotten close. The chanichim who had been here all summer divided themselves up into small groups and led everyone else on a tour around our beautiful machane (camp). At aruchat erev (dinner), they sat at randomized and mixed tables, and everyone got to engage in deeper discussions over a
family style meal. Peulat erev (evening activity) that night was originally planned as separate in order to give the new chanchim time to unpack and wind down, but the conversations after aruchat erev would not cease. Even after peulat erev, the groups somehow found a way back together and were mingling up until the time for lights out. It was an extraordinarily
successful first day together, and it set the tone for everything moving forward.
During the first week, the new chanichim had settled into the Bogrim routine, starting with tefilot (prayers) and following all of the prakim (activity periods) during the day. They got to try everything from biking to boating to nagarut (woodworking), archery, and much more. They joined in tarbut yisrael (Israeli culture) classes, and used that as an opportunity to share firsthand the culture of Israel. On Thursday was Bogrim’s performance of Matilda. Even though there had not been enough time for the new group to learn any of the songs or dances, they still showed their support by coming to the dress rehearsal and being a part of the early aruchat erev in order to hype everyone up. The pace of the week had been moving so fast, so Shabbat that week served as a nice time to slow everything down. For peulat erev on Shabbat, the chanchim were mixed into either pairs of groups of three in order to have conversations. Topics of conversations were everything from hobbies, favorite music, Shabbat traditions at home, pieces of advice you had received, and even deeper. These conversations extended throughout Shabbat, as we concluded a successful first week together.
Week 6 was jam-packed with exciting peulot (activities), as we kicked off with Shavuah Bogrim (Bogrim Week). Machon had left that morning for their tiyul (trip), and we had the chance to show the machane (camp) who really ran the Point. Each morning, chanchim engaged in special workshops around camp. Chanichim could either create a candle holder for campwide Kabbalat Shabbat in nagarut, create a beautiful piece of community themed artwork via paper-cutting based on the campwide summerlong theme of kol yisrael averim zeh bazeh (all of Israel is responsible for each other) in omanut (art), create an advice podcast in the radio room, create and participate in intricately crafted escape rooms, among others. The afternoons and evenings were filled with peulot such as tubing, mitbachon (cooking), tie-dye, paint capture the flag, a bouncy house, a party on the Point, snowcones, sheshtus – an Israeli game show, themed meals, practice for Bogrim synchro and so on. There was barely a moment to relax during the week, as the fun peulot and memories kept coming. It was quite a whirlwind of a time, but coming up was our last Shabbat together as one big group, and we made the most of it.
The last Friday night altogether, the Israeli chanichim had planned their own version of slicha al ha’shealah where they had asked the rest of the eidah to write down questions for them to answer on little slips of paper. The eidah split into four smaller groups, and the Israeli campers had the chance to answer the questions as well as ask similar questions to the rest of the group. This was a very powerful peulah where the conversations became candid, and everyone left feeling that they learned something new.
Saturday night was a bittersweet night. The Israeli campers had planned a going-away party after havdalah that featured speeches, a slideshow, and ice cream, followed by dancing and music. Immediately when the dancing started, chanichim went to grab paper and a pen to write down each other’s contact information so that they could keep in touch after camp. They danced the night away together, and at the end, shared a sweet moment with a slow song as they said l’hitraot. They were on the bus and out of camp early the next morning, and our eidah felt incomplete.
The impact that this group of twenty Israelis had on us was profound. Between the educational impact that they left on us, teaching us about their culture and life at home, the Jewish impact they had on us, teaching us about the traditions and customs back at home, and the impact they had on us as friends, playing games and enjoying the silly parts of camp all helped make this community strong. As one camper wrote, they now feel “closer to Israel, closer to Hebrew, and now I have best friends that live across the world. It’s so special.” Building this community together was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and for me as the Rosh Eidah, I could not have been luckier to be in this position. With the help of my tzevet (staff), and the amazing support team around me from Campers2Gether, we were able to create this beautiful experience for everyone involved. I also could not say enough how impressed I was with the chanichim in the way that they welcomed and included each other with open arms, and how they really were the ones who took the lead to make these two weeks what they were. I’m proud of everyone for coming together to create that space, and I take comfort in knowing that the memories they made will stick with them as they journey forward in life.
