The Moshava Lens
Seeing what's most important...

Summer 2007
Parshat Matot-Maasei
27 Tamuz 5767
July 13, 2007

Getting perspective from Alan Silverman, Our Director

Just a few short weeks ago we were welcoming the campers and settling them in.   Now as first month moves toward its close and Moshava has become a second home to our chanichim and tzevet , we prepare to soon say, Shalom - goodbye- but a goodbye without finality, that contains within it also hello.

As we cherish Shabbat and our last handful of days together, we'll conclude our Jerusalem tochnit with a celebration of Ir Hakodesh , old and new, and its 40 years of reunification- a celebration which parallels our personal movement this month of bonding with old and new friends and coming together, kulanu b'yachad , as a unified machane .

For those staying on, more great programming is ahead; and for those departing, start counting now, the start of camp is less than a year away!

Shabbat Shalom ,

Alan

The goal of our programming this week is to convey to our chanichim an understanding of the importance of a unified Jerusalem.   Ask anyone who was alive during the time of The Six Day War, and they will tell you what an incredible sense of achdut there was for Klal Yisrael across the world.  This feeling of being unified as a people, came about through our connecting with the reunification of Yerushalayim . 

Using technology in the service of education, each chanich wore light sensitive devices in a game of lazer tag that was a reenactment of the seige of Jerusalem .  Teams used their flashlights to capture soldiers as the battle for Jerusalem ensued!  This reenactment literally brought to light the difficulties involved in supplying Jerusalem the run-up to Independence.  

We also went back into the Time Machine this week, which had initially launched our month-long Jerusalem program.  In a three-stage tochnit Eidot Bet, Gimmel and Daled :

1. Participated in shiurim that presented dilemmas Jews in Israel faced throughout history; for instance, they discussed the development of the constitution for Medinat Yisrael and what it should be; how to treat Arab terrorist prisoners; made ER decisions based on preferences for friend or foe; and discussed if halacha should be law in Jerusalem.
   
2. Came to Moshava's filming studio, adorned themselves in costumes, bunk by bunk, to create movies to act out the above dilemmas as well as additional scenarios such as: the siege of Jerusalem; whether to fight, run, evacuate women at Kfar Etzion ; what to do with Har HaBayit once it was returned to the Jews.
   
3. Used Green Screen technology to have authentic footage of The Six Day War and 1948 as their film's backdrop, and then super-imposed themselves onto that backdrop to live alongside the events of those times.  In the films the campers were spliced into, they made battle decisions as well as sat on the dais beside Ben Gurion as he declared Medinat Yisrael's independence.

All of these peulot were designed to give campers the hands-on, visceral experience of having actually been present and integral in those miraculous moments.

The infirmary or Marp , as it's affectionately called, is staffed with excellent personnel who deliver top-notch medical care as well as know how to say just the right thing to comfort our campers; whether it's to dispense medicine, help bring down a fever or put on a Band-Aid with tender, loving care, the doctor and nurses are there to do so round-the-clock.  They are also a supportive liaison for parents providing information, reassurance and follow-up.

Tammy Dolgin became part of Moshava's marp staff 10 years ago, and joins us for a month from Kochav Yair , a lovely yishuv a bit inland from Herziliyah .  During the year, she's a nurse at the American Embassy in Tel Aviv.

She and her family made aliyah in 1991 with 2 children and had her third child, who is now in Machal , the same day that Channah Spiegelman, our Rosh Mosh , had her twin boys.  In fact, Channah's twins' britot were in Tammy's house.

Tammy finds the avirah of Moshava unique in that it provides an atmosphere of education for the entire camp based on Torah v'avodah , in everything that is done.  "The camp", she says, "has one goal: to raise children to be the best they can be Jewishly and contribute the most each uniquely can to the Jewish community.  For me", she continues, "to contribute to this camp is a gift.  It has provided some of the most powerful experiences of my life.  There are so many holy moments here, and I find, Slow Shira at seudat shlishit time to be the pinnacle of incredible moments."

With Tammy's and all the Marp 's warmth, loving-kindness and nurturing, anyone who's not feeling well is sure to have a refuah shlaimah - and might not even want to leave the Infirmary!

    
  - "when we daven" -Daniella Berlin, Eidah Hey
- "Friday night davening Kabbalat Shabbat" -Linda Bernstein, Special
 Projects
  - "during havdalah"  -Michal Novetsky, Madricha, Eidah Hey  
  - "At night, walking across the Mishpachot Migrash the sky is full of 
stars.  It's incredible, and there are so many stars above me, I can't not feel the Presence of G-d."  -Rina Hartman, Camp Mother, Eidah Hey
  - "Slow Shira and havdalah"  -Ariel Hochman & Benjamin Dubow
  - "Kabbalat Shabbat is when I feel closest"  -Matanya Landes
  - "in the Beit Knesset"  -Tamar Spiegelman, Gan
  - "davening"  -Marty Spiewak
  - "when I jump in the lake and scream, 'Shema' "  -Sharon Knoll
  - "when I'm rock climbing"  -Ariella Applebaum
  - "when we sing Hebrew songs and at davening"  -Adi Rosen
  - "in the Beit Midrash- and during the Y'mei Iyun that we run for the
various eidot-the participants in the Beit Midrash program learn with
the campers; for example last Friday we learned about kibud av v'eim
There's a dynamic feeling and the walls of the Beit Midrash literally
shake with programs like Friday's.  It shows the campers that the Beit Midrash is an accessible place and a happening place."  -Shani Taragin, Rosh Beit Midrash Program for Women
  - "at high ropes- that feeling of trusting people"  -Jessamym Sutton
  - "when I'm davening"  -Michelle Teitelbaum
  - "when I'm with my parents in my bunk at night and I'm going to sleep"  - Orit Gottesman, Gan

        By The Moshava Lens reporter Jeremy Rudoler

From the enthusiastic dancing Friday night, to the meditative Slow Shira as Shabbat draws to a close, Shabbat at Machane Moshava is a snapshot you won't want to overlook.   It is a time when all the chanichim , madrichim and tzevet can take a break from the usual amazing activity at camp, and stop to enjoy our time with our friends.  We get a chance to connect with our fellow people at camp and to realize how great our camp and Judaism really are .  It all starts at Mifkad .  Mifkad , Friday afternoon is when  we all gather to shift from the week into celebrating Shabbat together .

Shabbat morning we have spirited services and babka at kiddush .  We split up into groups to learn about the Parsha of the week and have short bunk activities and a delicious lunch followed by more singing and dancing.  Then we have chofesh .  We can connect to our friends better than ever in these two and a half hours, and then we go to  mincha and seudat shlishit .  Finally, the Slow Shira lulls us into a graceful finish of Shabbat .

Shabbat at Machane Moshava is a picture you won't want to crop!

By Jamie Fogel, Beit Midrash Program (BMP)

  
With an even longer lens than usual, we're looking toward Boston as Machal takes its whirlwind culminating trip of the month.  As they traveled north, Machal made a stop to meet with Camp Ramah for intercamps, which consist of sports and unifying educational programs.  Day Two of the tiyul was spent in Boston-proper on a 'Duck Tour' and a visit to the aquarium.  In the evening it was off to an Improv show that was particularly relevant for our Machal campers.  The camp provided the improv group with material for their skits which pertained to our campers' Machal experience this summer, making the improvizations all the more humorous!  On the third day, Machal visited Plymouth Plantation where they compared the establishment of America, as we know it today, to the establishment and building of Israel.  This was followed by a fishing trip.  There, Machal learned about kosher and non-kosher fish and barbecued what was caught.  That evening they were taken in small groups on a historical tour of the area.  The next day, the trip finished with a ferry ride to beautiful Martha's Vineyard for a day of bicycling. 

Then it's back home to camp in time for Shabbat!

    * Chavaya Yisraelit *

Seventy members of an Israeli youth Mishlachat (mission) join our camp after serving time in the army or in Sherut Leumi (national service).  They help provide campers with experiences related to Eretz Yisrael through games that teach about Israel, its geography and its society, and through offering the chanichim the chance to make typical Israeli foods such as: pita made with authentic Middle Eastern spices and baked in a saj , a large, iron pan, used by Bedouins; Israeli tea called Nana , steeped with fresh mint leaves; Israeli salad made with cucumbers, tomatoes, olive oil, lemon and salt; and malawach , a special dough that the campers then put tomato sauce on.

"I like it. You make food and get to eat salad."  -Itay Berlin
"It's delicious!"  -Albert Kohn
"The food is so good!"  -Eric Henzel
"You learn how to make Israeli food.  You learn about the culture."
  -Jason Wiener
"If we learn here, we can make these foods at home."  -Amiel
 Preiss-Bloom

Under the big tent in an open field with the scents of the Middle East filling the air and everyone working together, it's easy to imagine you're either in modern day or ancient Eretz Yisrael.

   * Yoga *

"Feel your back lengthening longer; keep your head aligned with your trunk and reach forward.  Feel the strength of your core as you reach out with your body and in your life.  We need to challenge ourselves to go a little further."  This is what Joyce BenDavid, a yoga instructor in Teaneck, said to her groups as she led them through yoga sessions.  "Yoga," she continues, "is Sanskrit, (an Indian language), for the word union.  Yoga is the union of the body and mind.  If we get quiet in our bodies we can also get quiet in our minds.  Look at your partner now, and notice how they breathe and how you breathe."

"It's good; it's relaxing." -Penina Weinberg
"Yoga gives me time to relax." -Jessica Greenblum
"It's interesting."   -Tzipporah Rossman

"And now," Joyce concluded, "lights off and it's time for Shavasana: time to rest-total yogic relaxation.  First, here is the scent of lilac for your wrists, if you'd like to put it on to help you relax.  Tense up your feet and let it go, tense your legs and let it go- surrender into the mat and release all your tension.  Keep everything quiet in your minds, feel safe and protected and feel the earth Hashem made under you, supporting you; feel your breathe- the breathe that nourishes you all day long . . . and feel gratitude.

Are you feeling relaxed?  Not yet?  Come next Tuesday for yoga!

      * Dorney Park *

"It was really fun.  The water rides made us so much cooler." -Yoni
 Sonnenschein
"The water rides were so great!  They felt really good."  -Brian Nathan
"When I went to Dorney, I loved the water rides."  -Shana Gershbaum
"It was awesome!  I went to the gift shop."  -Shayna Guttman
"It was amazing!  I loved the upside-down ride."  -Daniella Berlin
"It was very cool going upsidedown.  Steel Forces was the best ride
 because it had a really high drop."  -Avi Passy
"Dorney Park was the best."    -Elisheva Fridman

* Night Swim *

As dusk settles over the mountains surrounding the machane , the chanichim are completing their day with free swim in our beautiful pool- a great way to relax and cool off while having a great time with their swim buddies.

"It's so much fun and it's so relaxing."  -Hadassa BenDavid
"Night swim is a lot of fun because when you go under the water you see all the lights and play games with your friends in the pool in the dark."  -Arielle Fuchs
 "I love night swim because it's a time to bond with your friends."
  -Micayla Rosenbaum
"It's also nice to go swimming now because we just got back from our schmutz."  -Abby Greenbaum

The joy of Night Swim could be heard halfway across camp!

You're In The Picture

By The Moshava Lens Reporter, Jacob Kessler  

On this visiting day I will be very excited.  My family is coming up and maybe my cousins too.  Since this is my third summer at Camp Moshava I can't say I miss them but I am anxious to see them, and not only for more junk food! 

-eight people stayed in Camp Moshava
-five went to Beach Lake
-six went to Walmart
-three went out of town

My family though, stayed in camp this year even though it's my third year.  My mom went to Moshava as a camper and worked here, and she liked meeting up with all her old friends.  Also, I was allowed to go on high ropes, which you can do with your family.  Also my sister, Jenna, wanted to see the camp because she thinks she wants to come next summer, and she wanted to see all the great activities like Teva and Drama.

• Can Yerushalayim be built out of Lego?   You bet!  A Lego expert is coming to Machane Moshava to work with Eidot Hey and Aleph in creating Jerusalem.
• Next week Machal will organize a chesed program with Yachad .
• The entire camp will conclude :-( with our traditional Mesibat Siyum , banquet, and summary of the month.