Beginning of Second Session

Shalom!

Second session is off to a great start!

After the arrival of new chanichim (campers) on Yom Shlishi (Tuesday), the kids spent the day getting acquainted with the site and their new kvutsot (groups).  That evening, the schavot (age groups) became a group from the “Lord of the Kvutsot” (Amelim - Hobbits, Chotrim - Dwarves, Shomrim - Elves, Bonim – Men of Rohan, Bogrim – Men of Gondor).  In these groups, they worked to destroy the all-powerful ring of apathy.

The first Yom Ragil (regular day) of the session was filled with tons of ruach (energy/spirit) and collective cheering.  In the evening, the chanichim celebrated Habonim Dror North America’s 75^th birthday party by bringing presents and toasts from various other Habonim Dror countries around the world—including Uruguay, the United Kingdom, South Africa, Mexico, Turkey, and New Zealand.

Yom Chamishi (Thursday) was Yom Israel!  The day began with a shakshouka breakfast, followed by a co-existence round robin.  The chanichim examined similarities between Hebrew and Arabic, as well as the biblical ancestral ties to Abraham.  They did chetz v’keshet (archery) to break waterballoon dams at the sources of the Tigris and the Euphrates in order to reroute water to the whole of the Middle East.  They heard stories of the universality of sunflower seeds, as well as tales of the Golden Age between Arabs and Jews.

The coexistence round robin was followed by a soccer tournament among the groups of chanichim, who represented various Israeli cities: Haifa, Tel Aviv, Eilat, Akko, Jerusalem, and Tiberias.  The chanichim painted their faces with a team color and cheered on their teammates.  The tournament ended in a heated game between the chanichim and a madatz-tzevet team—the chanichim won.

The chanichim then filed into lunch, which was set-up as a shuk with hummus, falafel, Israeli salad, tahina, fries, and pita.  After lunch, the chanichim spent an hour relaxing at the Kinneret.  The schavot then divided, splitting into schavot to do a peula (activity) about stereotypes, generalizations, and the process of imagining peace.

The evening included a snack of choco b’sakit (chocolate milk in a bag—an Israeli drink) and avatiach (watermelon), a shnitzel dinner, and a viewing of the film Promises.

Tomorrow, we will prepare for Shabbat with tzrif cleaning, showers, and dressing up!

We are also saying goodbye to our Nitsanim tomorrow!  We’ll miss their sweetness and ruach, but we can’t wait to see them in Amelim next year!