By Deborah Goldberg, Tzofim Rosh Eidah
Time has been flying by in Tzofim Gimmel! It’s hard to believe that we’ll be celebrating our fourth Shabbat together as an eidah tomorrow night. This past week has been filled with so many fun activities. On Sunday, we went to a waterpark together. The chanichim spent the day together at Mt. Olympus in Wisconsin Dells. They went on rides and water slides and had a great time just being together at the waterpark. When we returned to camp, we had services all together under some beautiful trees outside the chader ochel.
On Monday and Tuesday, we had two great days at camp! We went to our chugim and swam in the breicha and the agam together. On Monday night, Tzofim participated in Erev Sport, which is always a favorite for the chanichim. During sports on Tuesday morning, our seventh graders had a trip orientation to prepare for their one-day hiking trip. They learned how to set up a tent and went over their packing list for the day.
On Wednesday morning, the seventh graders of Tzofim and their madrichim left camp. They took a 45-minute bus ride to a beautiful area of Kettle Moraine State Park. There, the chanichim divided into hiking groups and ate lunch together. Each group was given a disposable camera and a list of things to find while on their hike. The chanichim are very excited for their photos to be developed! After their hike, the seventh graders had some free time to set up their tents and unpack their sleeping bags before helping with meal prep. The madrichim built a camp-fire and everyone ate dinner together. When the sun set, the chanichim went to a nearby field to stargaze and say the sh’ma. When the chanichim woke up, they ate breakfast together and then cleaned up the area. The chanichim and madrichim talked about the principle of “leave no trace” as they cleaned up the area. The chanichim understood that it was important to leave the campsite cleaner that we found it.
The fifth and sixth graders who stayed at camp on Wednesday had an awesome day as well! Our first activity after the seventh graders left was an egg drop challenge. We gave the chanichim a few materials (tape, cotton balls, Ziploc bags, string) and an uncooked egg. They had 20 minutes to build a container for the egg and then we dropped the containers off the top of our Alpine Tower. Almost all the eggs were unbroken at the end! From there, we went back to Tzofim for an hour of really fun relay races. They had to fill pitcher on the other side of a field using only a sponge to transport water. We had a water fight with the water once the challenge was done. After our relay races, we went to the pool for a lunch pool party! The rest of the day was filled with tie-dye, pancakes for dinner, services at the beach, and pranking Jerry (a few campers at a time rang is doorbell and asked him funny questions—it was really entertaining!).
It’s great to have the whole eidah back together! We only have a few more days together as Tzofim Gimmel. In that time, we will celebrate our last Shabbat, take down our tents, have our unit talent show, have our last havdallah, and gather on the hill on Sunday morning for friendship circle. It’s amazing to think about all that we’ve done together and everything that the chanichim have accomplished. As I think about gathering on the hill together for our last activity as an eidah, I am both so sad to see these chanichim leave and so excited for them to come back next summer and continue to be a part of the amazing camp community.