Shabbat B’haalot’cha – The Sounds of Camp

Dear OSRUI Families,

It has been a great first week of Summer 2019 at OSRUI! On Monday, we welcomed nearly 400 campers to camp. As cars and busses arrived, camp was filled with the sound of hundreds of campers and staff greeting each other for the first time and reuniting after 10 months away. After breaking into eidot (units), campers learned their eidah’s cheer and sang them as loud as they could. We gathered as a whole camp community to taste apples and honey, symbolizing the sweet start to a new summer, and we joined together in singing Shechehiyanu, a prayer that thanks God for enabling us to reach this moment in time.

Throughout this past week, I have been inspired by the all the sounds of camp. As I walked around camp during the week, I heard chanichim (campers) and madrichim (counselors) having fun everywhere they went. Whether at the pool, the sports center, the stables, or the art center, this week was full of excitement and enthusiasm for all the activities camp has to offer.

I’ve also been inspired by what I’ve heard campers say during their first week at camp. One Kallah camper told me that Wednesday was the best day ever because she got to climb Etgar (our challenge course) twice. A Moshavah camper told their counselor how much they enjoy being at camp without their phone and how grateful they are for the opportunity to spend time with their friends without having to worry about checking their notifications or posting a picture.

In this week’s Torah portion, B’haalot’cha, God tells Moses to tell his brother Aaron to light the seven lights of the menorah inside the Mishkan (Tabernacle). Lighting these seven lights is the culmination of chapters and chapters of preparing the Mishkan to be a dwelling place for God. Here at camp, we have spent the past year preparing for the moment that chanichim arrive and fill this space with their laughter, prayer, and song. On Monday, the campers’ arrival marked the end of our year-long preparations and the start of another wonderful summer at OSRUI

Tonight, we’ll gather for the first time as a whole camp community for Shabbat t’filah (prayer) in the new Heichal HaTarbut Kaye (Kaye Cultural Center). We’ll raise our voices in prayer and in song, and the sound of hundreds of campers’ voices will fill this beautiful new space as we celebrate the first Shabbat of summer 2019.

All of us at camp wish you and your family a Shabbat Shalom,

Solly

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