By our Tzofim Segel: Jessica Barolsky, Rabbi-Director of Lifelong Learning at Congregation Emanu-El B’ne Jeshurun in Milwaukee, WI and Rokki Parinello, Co-Principal at Beth Tikvah Congregation in Hoffman Estates, IL.
Often times, when we say we are going to camp, congregants ask, “what does an adult do at camp?!” We are kept quite busy at camp, between helping to lead tefilot (services), teaching Ivrit (Hebrew), checking on chanichim (campers) from our own synagogues, and supporting the madrichim (counselors) when necessary, but one of our most significant roles is helping our chanichim learn different Jewish topics through experience. This year in Kallah and Tzofim aleph, we were fortunate to study the topic “Bereshit: All in the Family.”
Throughout the two weeks, we focused on different Jewish values expressed through the stories of Genesis, exploring the characters, their conflicts, and how they resolved them—or could have. We used the conflicts and lessons from the Torah to make connections to what our chanichim experience here at camp as well as in their lives at home and at school.
The values we explored included hachnasat orchim (welcoming guests), shalom bayit (peace in the home), cooperation, and standing up for ourselves and others. We approached these values through the lens of the stories of Abraham and Sarah, Isaac, Ishmael, and Rebecca, Jacob, Esau, Leah, and Rachel, and Joseph and his family.
The chanichim had the chance to role play, create, discuss, experience, connect, and choose their own endings to the stories of our own Avot v’Imahot (ancestors). The values we discussed during the designated limud (learning) time were often revisited throughout the day: at meals, during tefilot, through sports, and within other activities each day.
Our culminating limud activity tied together the topics of the entire two weeks. Each of the chanichim was challenged to come up with one word to describe our learning this session. Each one then wrote his or her word on a tile. We used the tiles to create a mosaic for each eidah (unit) that will hopefully be displayed within their space for years to come, reminding them of their values, their learning, and their time together.
Even though the mosaics will remain at camp, we wanted our chanichim to be able to take home a version of their unit’s creation, and so we put together a word cloud for each eidah showing the words they chose—the larger the word, the more chanichim who wrote it down. We hope that you take the time to review the values and stories with your children when they return home—what a great way to keep camp alive for a little longer when they are missing their home in Oconomowoc! Another way for them to remember the stories and lessons from Bereshit is through the song that one of our segel members created about Bereshit: “All ‘Bout Bereshit.” Enjoy!
Check out the “All ‘Bout Bereshit” song from Limud!
