By Denise Heimlich, Assistant Director

I spend lots of time during my day talking to parents.  It’s one of things I love about my job.  I love talking about OSRUI, and I love learning about our campers.

One of the questions I get asked most frequently by first-time camper parents, is “What’s the difference between Kallah and Tzofim?”  For our youngest campers (entering 2nd and 3rd grade), Kallah is their only option.  But once campers are entering 4th grade or older they have a choice – Kallah (or Gesher for campers entering 6th or 7th grades) or Tzofim.  So what’s the difference?

The Kallah cabins consist of 2 buildings, each with 3 wings. Each wing is a cabin and the bathroom is in the center of each. building.

While there are some differences in the program (think chickens and goats), I always start with the living  conditions – cabins or tents?  Jerry likes to call the tents “soft cabins,” and in some ways that’s what they are.  They’re big, housing 12 campers and 3 counselors, they have bunk beds and cubbies to store your things.  The floors are cement, not dirt.  Sounds like a cabin, right?  But there’s no electricity (forget the hair dryer and bring an extra flashlight) and you can roll up the walls (that part’s pretty cool).

So what else is different about the living conditions? … the bathrooms.  There are none.  Well, not “real” bathrooms.  There are porta-potties.  And sinks to wash up.  During the day, campers take showers in a “real” washhouse after swimming.

Parents ask us why, after all these years (Tzofim has been around since the ‘60s), don’t we build a washhouse downstairs (Tzofim and Moshavah are down a hill, hence the terms “downstairs.”  The rest of camp is “upstairs.”)  The short answer is, we can’t get the necessary permits due to the topography of the land down there.  So porta-potties it is.  To Tzofim campers, it’s their badge of honor.

The final difference in living conditions is the dining hall.  Kallah campers eat in an air conditioned dining hall.  Tzofim campers eat outside on picnic tables and in a shelter in the event of rain.  They come upstairs to join the rest of camp in the dining hall for Shabbat dinner and Shabbat lunch.  Otherwise they eat their meals out in the fresh air.

So … once your camper learns about tents, and porta-potties and picnic tables and says, “Yep,  that’s for me,” what else should you consider?

The program is Kallah and Tzofim is very similar … both units have sports, swimming, electives (we call them chugim), evening program, cabin/tent time, and Hebrew and limud (Jewish learning) every day.  And campers take responsibility for various activities during the day – creating evening t’filot (services) or helping to set up meals.  But Tzofim campers have some extra responsibilities.

The full name of Tzofim is Kibbutz HaTzofim – Kibbutz of the scouts.  And the unit is run like a kibbutz, with everyone having responsibilities every day – cleaning up around the unit and taking care of the garden and the refet (farm).  It’s not a real farm, but there are chickens and goats and the occasional cow, and campers are responsible for feeding and caring for them.  And there’s a garden, with vegetables growing.  Now you may have heard about our new greenhouse and gardens all over camp, but Tzofim has always had a garden that campers take care of.  OSRUI Associate Director Susan Alexander plants it in the spring, and throughout the summer, campers weed and water and by Tzofim Gimmel, there are vegetables to be picked.

And while there is no scheduled free time during the day in either unit, Tzofim is a little less structured than Kallah.  So even if your camper is ready to try tent living, if he or she really does better in a more structured environment, Kallah might be the best choice.

So those are the basic similarities and differences.  Have more questions?  Give me a call!

Contact Denise:  Email    847-239-6989