by Deborah Goldberg, Rosh Eidah of Kibbutz HaTzofim

I am so excited to be the Rosh Eidah of Kibbutz HaTzofim this summer!  I recently graduated from Washington University in St. Louis with majors in history and political science.  After camp, I am moving to Washington, D.C. to work as a legislative assistant at the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism.  I developed my passion for social justice and involvement in the Jewish community throughout my years as a camper and staff member at OSRUI, and I am so excited to continue working for the Reform Movement after camp this summer.

This is my 14^th summer at camp, and my 6^th summer on staff.  As a first-time camper, I fell in love with Tzofim and all that OSRUI has to offer.  Last summer, I was the s’ganit (assistant unit head) of Tzofim.  I love that Tzofim chanichim (campers) have the opportunity to live in ohelim (tents), to tend our gan (garden), and take care of the animals in our refet (farm).  Tzofim chanichim have the opportunity to build a community together with our staff and faculty.  Chanichim work in va’adot (committees) to help take care of our eidah (unit) and will get the opportunity to help with meal preparation, plan t’filot (services), and take on other responsibilities in the eidah.

Tzofim staff were hard at work last week putting our eidah together.  We  put up our own tents and started preparing for the arrival of our chanichim.  Tzofim staff is excited to be at camp and is so enthusiastic about building our home for the summer from the ground up.

I love everything about camp, but my favorite activities include shira (song sessions) after meals and on Shabbat, eating and praying outside, playing basketball in the pool, and spending time on Tzofim hill with all the chanichim.  The Tzofim staff and I are so excited for the chanichim to arrive so we can share with them all the wonderful things about camp!