by Emily Schwartz, Tiferet Rosh Eidah

Monday was an unforgettable Tiferet day! We woke up early, packed up our lunches and loaded a bus over to the Rock River for a day of canoeing. Tiferet paddled a total of 9 miles, and had a fantastic time! We ate a “flunch” (floating lunch) in the boats about halfway. When we arrived at the end, our moomchim (specialists) and new segel (faculty members) Rabbi Leah Berkowitz and Cantor Jennifer Frost met us in the park for some very special teva (nature) related studio time in the park.

The actors were just assigned their scripts in drama studio. All of these are scenes from plays that somehow connect with themes found in our limud topic, Kohelet. Selections include Hamlet, Rosencranz and Gildenstern Are Dead, and several others.

The dancers created their own dances yesterday after a silent meditation that was connected to everything around them.

The musicians, whose instruments were brought to the park, filled up the whole area with new sounds and walked around as a band once they had composed a piece together.

The visual artists also did a meditation and then painted much of what they saw. They used not only the materials that were brought to them, but also the natural materials in the park.

After teva studio and some chill time in the park, we enjoyed a delicious cookout with grilled hamburgers and vegetables. It was a challenging, different, and incredibly fun day for everyone. Back at camp, we all slept really, really well (and a little bit longer than usual).

I was so proud of all of our chanichim for their high spirits and strength throughout the day. They are amazing!