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  The Moshava
Lens
Seeing
what's most
important...
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Summer
2007
5 Av 5767
Parshat
Devarim
July 20, 2007
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Our
Focus: |
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 Getting perspective from Channah
Spiegelman, our Rosh
Mosh
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L'Kol Sof Yesh
Hatchala : Every end has a new
beginning.
A wonderful boy, Noam, came over to me and said,
"Channah, this is my last Shabbat at camp."
do
"No, Noam," I said, "this is just the beginning of
counting until we're back celebrating Shabbat together
again next summer."
In life, endings are beginnings, and at camp we
give our chanichim and tzevet the
experiences and tools to fortify them as they
transition, whether they are returning to
Israel or to school in America, whatever it may
be. Over the course of a month, we watch them
move from the place they start in to the place they
arrive at. The Israeli staff comes with a feeling
of uncertainty of where they are going next, and the
feeling from the Israel experience they just came from,
that they can change the world. Camp is the best
place to transition, to get grounded and begin to
figure out how exactly to create change in their
communities, their own lives and for K'lal
Yisrael . Similarly, parent after parent
tells me their children's month at camp is what gets
them through the year. Over the course of
their summers here, they make friendships that last a
lifetime, pick up the educational messages we are
transmitting, become part of something bigger than
themselves, think about who they want to be, and are
influenced by our staff , at least 95% of
which were once campers here themselves and who truly
got and embraced the principles of Machane
Moshava.
As the chanichim and tzevet get on
their buses to their next destination, they carry
inside themselves the growth and the strength they've
acquired at camp; and we say to them, like chicks, "Go
fly," and they do. That is Sof Hatchala
.
"What," I asked Eidah Hey girls, "is camp all
about?" "I learn to be independent", one girl
said. "It's my time to be in Israel, when I'm not
really there," said another. This tells me I
planted my seeds correctly- I had the right people in
the right spots in order for everyone to grow
properly. And we are joyful and ready to do it
all again, the new campers coming will receive the
same.
Our bracha , for all who join us is to take
the sof energy and find a personally relevant
way to channel it to create a meaningful, strong
beginning. L'Kol Sof Yesh Hatchala .
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The
Theme Framing Our Week:
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Yerushalayim HaMeuchedet: Jerusalem
Reunited
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Within our theme of Yerushalayim, for the final week in
our Jerusalem tochnit , the Mishlachat
, the Israeli staff, planned a spectacular
program about Israeli life in the Old and New City, for
all the eidot in camp. The
various activities were designed to educate, to
celebrate, and to have fun.
At Machane Yehuda , vendors
hawked their wares with chants of fruits for sale.
Chanichim also made fruit salad and bobbed for
apples. At Meah Shearim
campers made Tefillat HaDerech keychains to use
when they travel. A monit
,  taxicab, (AKA a golf cart), took them from
place to place; after all, Yerushalayim is a hilly
city! Then, just before Rosh Chodesh
started, Camp Moshava had a
festive birthday party in celebration of
Jerusalem's reunification.
"It was good because
they taught us how to milk a cow and how it used
to be that a cow could become tahor, and they
taught us a little
Hebrew." -Miriam Sussman
"It was very fun getting
to make food. The taxi rides were really fun
too on the golf carts." -Alyssa Gabay
On Shabbat, we had a peulah where characters
throughout Jewish history visited camp for an
interactive street theater program.
Chanichim spoke with historical figures and told
them about Modern Jerusalem . For example,
Rabbi Yochanan Ben Zakkai visited. He had
moved the Torah center out of Yerushalayim to
Yavneh and was amazed and thrilled to hear it
had been moved back to Jerusalem.
Yirmiyahu stopped by as well. He had been
concerned about Yerushalayim's isolation and was
thrilled to hear that tourists from all over the world
now come to visit the city.
It was a meeting of old and new, and yet another way
for our campers to gain understanding of
Yerushalayim , and be immersed in the life of
Ir HaKodesh .
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Through
Our Kids'...(and Staff's) Lens: |
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What memory are you especially going to hold onto from your
experience at Camp Moshava this
summer? |
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- "banana boating" -Rafi Snyder, Eidah Aleph
- "the experience of being a
counselor" -Yaakov Cohen,
counselor Eidah
Aleph
- "I
told my parents I'd do anything to get out of the
schmutz, but in the
end, I had a really good time." -Sarah Schwartz, Eidah Bet
- "my friends and
counselors" -Kailee Shapiro,
Eidah Hey
- "the best
counselors" -Shannon
Sedigh, Eidah Hey
- "finding my camper's
retainer in the garbage" -Ariel Hoffman, counselor
Aleph
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"The last Shabbat-it was amazing. Slow Shira was
incredible. At the
end we sang, 'Ani Maamim' and then went into the
Chadar Ochel where
we kept singing for about a half hour more with our
arms around each
other. -Yitzy Katz,
Yonatan Mandelbaum, Yossi Meroff, Machal
- "Boston was really fun,
and the whole thing is always fun, being with
your friends." -Kovi
Wiener, Machal
- "Slow Shira and Shabbos
and all the dancing on Shabbos.
Everyone
sings the same thing together and the dancing is so
much fun."
-Yael Smolar, Eidah Bet
- "the picture I have in my
mind of all the campers I've seen grow since
Eidah Hey, and see them have leadership roles at
Moshava and take
responsibility in their lives" -Linda Moed-Cohen, Rosh Peuton
- "all the activities, like
drama and basketball and having a party most
nights" -Shayna
Guttman, Eidah Hey
- "during Yom Mishlachat when two of my
campers were sitting on my lap
and we played a game where water fell on our heads
a lot of times"
-Tommi Blank, counselor, Eidah
Hey
- "saying,
'Go Mishlachat' " - Tal
Weiss, Activity Planner for Staff
- "memories of mudsliding
when it rained a lot" -Noam Safier, Eidah
Gimmel
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"beating Eidah Hey at basketball" -Alex Hirt, Eidah Aleph
- "the Shmutz"
-David Englard, counselor, Eidah
Aleph
- "my
friends and all my memories" -Eidah Gimmel
- "I was afraid to go away to sleep-away
camp and get very homesick and
my counselors Leora, Orit and Ayelet made it O.K.
and really fun."
-Abby Weiss, Eidah
Bet
- "the
dancing and singing at dinner and on Shabbat"
-Eden Houri, Eidah
Bet
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"Everyone's very inviting here. This camp makes you
feel at home and
the activities are really fun. Shabbat has a
lot of ruach and is very
meaningful and exciting." -Michal Segall, Eidah
Bet
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Getting
Perspective: |
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From our Moshava Lens Reporter: Jeremy
Rudoler
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 Here at Machane Moshava there are
a huge variety of campers, so therefore there is a huge
variety in favorite foods, trips and
peulot . Machane
Moshava has so many different campers and it works very
hard to please them all. Camp Moshava is great
because there are so many choices. Here are
the results of my surveys of various campers:
When I asked what the chanichim's
favorite trip was:
17 replied Dorney Park;
2 chose bowling;
3 especially liked the shmutz;
and 1 favored Beach Lake.
Most people think camp food is
notoriously disgusting, but here at Camp Moshava we
beg to differ . Four campers favored
grilled cheese, 3-went with the classic Shabbos meals:
chicken soup, deli and cholent, 6-like our Israeli
shwarma best, 4-chose barbecued food, but pizza won with
8 chanichim electing it.
Results on the peulot are as
follows: 2 chose biking, 2 decided on boating, 2 selected
woodworking, 5 went with high and low ropes, and 9 chose
iceberg and banana boating.
You can see that Camp Moshava has something
for everyone!
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Eye
on Good-Bye
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 From our Moshava Lens Reporter, Jacob
Kessler
Many people leave camp so they can spend time with
their family second month. Others just like to
stay in camp with their friends. Either way,
everybody is having (or had) a great summer!
I surveyed my bunk and found that Jacob, Aaron, and
Jonathan are staying!!
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Kodak
Moments:
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Our
Special Happenings |
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Lego Yerushalayim!! *
How many pieces of Lego does it take to build
Yerushalayim? More than Eidot Hey, Aleph and
Bet can count. (Over 50,000!) With Building
Blocks Workshop, developed by Stephen W. Schwartz, an
architect in Livingston, N.J., the
chanichim worked on an enormous detailed
map, placed on the floor of Moadon
Gefen , upon which out of Lego they
built, a replica of the Old City .
This unique, hands-on group learning
experience is a way to bring Jewish history
alive through an exciting, memorable
activity. The Beit HaMikdash
has an exacting template from which to work, but the
other 80+ buildings were built from the children's
imaginations. As Stephen said, "As an architect,
I work in the visual vocabulary. The visual
impact of these programs on a youngster is BOLD and
therefore memorable. They will talk about it and
they will remember it."
"This activity isn't only fun, you get to learn
about Yerushalayim"
-Sharona
Sedaghim
"You can show your creativity and do what your mind
thinks of."
-Gabi Silbiger
"We're building the kotel and famous monuments and
after we're all
done, we'll put out work together and have
Jerusalem." -Yoni
Berter
"It's fun." -Elisheva
Rosen
"We're working on making the Kodesh Kedoshim."
-Benny Strachman
"This activity is fun and really cool."
-Moshe
Klein
As a cohesive camp we built Ir HaKodesh, bit
by bit. B'ezrat Hashem we will be
zocheh in our daily lives to continue to
really do so.
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Activism *
Israeli and American tzevet met together in
small groups to discuss the plight of the
captured Israeli soldiers . A power
point presentation of the historical background of past
and current MIAs, was the springboard for their
dialogue. An Israeli soldier in miluim ,
a mother of a chayal about to enter the army,
a father of a soldier (our own Camp Director, Alan
Silverman) who has completed his service, and the
Rav HaMachane each presented their
perspectives to illustrate the complexity of the
issue. It was a meaningful exchange for all.
Eidah Daled went to Dag Hammarskjold Plaza to
demonstrate their support for the release of
the Israeli soldiers captured about a year ago.
Together with thousands of people, they listened to
Elie Weisel and numerous civic leaders who were
decrying terrorist acts, and asking for thousands of
signatures to be gathered and presented to the United
Nations to exert pressure on Hezbollah and Hamas to
release the chayalim .
"It was very meaningful and very cool and everyone was
cheering for Israel. I was sad for Ehud
Goldwasser's wife." -Romy Koenig
"It was inspiring to be surrounded by so many Jews who
share the same values as I do and who want to get the
soldiers back." -Galit
Krifcher
"It was really special to be there and to see that there
are others in the world besides Jews who care.
There was Christian representation and Lebanese
representation. The fact that a year has already
passed and people still care, was amazing. The
campers felt like they really did
something." -Moshe Rechthand, counselor Eidah
Daled
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Mesibat Siyum *
The Mesibat Siyum , our final banquet,
is our celebratory meal, a culmination of our time at
camp . At the banquet, we gave thanks to
our staff and had a very special program to recapture
the highlights of first month together. It was a
time for our chanichim and tzevet to
express their tremendous enthusiasm and love for the
camp. Since this event took place during The Nine
Days, our delicious meal was a dairy one and the music
was reserved for just the Power Point
presentation . That slide show presented
the machane with images from throughout the
month, reinforcing what we taught and taking us
all on a walk down Memory Lane .
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What's
Developing? |
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Second Month
Our
study of Jerusalem continues with a whole different
spin. We'll start by creating a
perimeter, the chomot of Yerushalayim ,
around camp, and sit inside them as a way of living in
our Yerushalayim , here at Moshava!
Soon to be
featured, the many activities of our chanichim
of all ages enjoying the Ropes course, the Beit
Midrash program, lake activities, nagarut, drama,
radio and more!
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Stay in the Picture
!!!: |
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You're
Invited!!!
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To:
All chanichim and tzevet
For: A Write-off!
What: Compose an essay of up to 200
words entitled: My Favorite Thing
About Yerushalayim . . .
When:
E-mail it to the address
below by
August 2nd
R.S.V.P.: Cmosh@Moshava.cnc.net
Be
sure to include your name and Eidah! The essays we select will appear in next
month's Moshava Lens. (Camp Moshava
reserves the right to edit prior to
publication.)
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Come Into The
Picture: |
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We can start counting now! Camp starts
next summer in less than 340 days!!
L'hitraot (see
you soon, not good-bye).
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Moshava Glossary:
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a Moshava word can be worth a thousand pictures . .
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Achdut = unity
Aliyah = yes! just do it! :-)
Anafim = specialties
Beit HaMikdash = the Holy Temple in Jerusalem
Beit Midrash = literally means "house of study".
customarily, it is a place of torah study that is open
to the public
B'ezrat Hashem = with G-d's help
Bracha = blessing
Brit(ot) = circumcision ceremony(ies)
Chader Ochel = dining hall
Chanich(im) = camper(s)
Chayal = soldier
Chinuch = education
Chomah = wall
Chomot = walls
Chug = elective
Degel Yisrael = Israeli flag
D'var Torah = a thought of Torah
Eidah = division
Emunah = faith
Har HaBayit = the Temple Mount in Jerusalem
Ir HaKodesh = the Holy City: Jerusalem
Kiddush Hashem = sanctifying G-d's name
Klal Yisrael = all of the Jewish nation
L'Hitraot = good bye, see you soon
Machal = Machane Chalutzim (program for kids going
into 10th grade)
Machane = camp
Machane Yehuda = a famous marketplace in Jerusalem
Madrich(im) = counselor(s)
Marp = Marpeah = Infirmary
Mea Shearim = a neighborhood in Yerushalayim
Melechet Yad = arts and crafts
Middot = virtues
Mifkad = a u-shaped gathering of campers where
announcements are made, the Israeli national anthem is
sung, as well as the Bnei Akiva anthem "Yad Achim"
Miluim = army reserve
Mishlachat = our Israeli staff who are here on a
mission
Moadon Gefen = the meeting room called Gefen
Monit = taxi
Morah = teacher
Nachat = pleasure
Nagarut = woodworking
Pashtut = simplicity
Peulot = activities
Rav HaMachane = the rabbi of the camp
Refuah Shlaimah = complete recovery
Rosh Chodesh = the beginning of the new Jewish (lunar)
month
Rosh Eidah = division head
Rosh Mosh = head counselor
Ruach = spirit
Sgan Rosh Mosh = assistant head counselor
Sheurim = Torah lessons
Shir = song
Simcha = happiness
Sof = end
Tanach = Torah, Neviim and Ketuvim
Tefillat HaDerech = the traveler's prayer
Teva = nature
Tochnit = program
Tumah = impurity
Tzevet = staff
Zocheh = merit
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Camp
Moshava
Summer Phone: (570) 253-4271
Summer Fax: (570) 253-9576
Summer Emergency Number: (570) 253-4273
Summer e-mail: office@moshava.org
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