By Jonah Brandhandler, Rosh Eidah of Tzofim
In all my years of being on staff, I can’t remember a more fun week downstairs. Our segel (faculty) have been a tremendous asset in Tzofim and they’ve helped teach our chanichim (campers) all about different middot (Jewish values) as part of our limudim. One of my favorite sessions was when we learned about shmirat hagoof (guarding one’s body). We started by having our Israeli mishlachat lead some quick stretches and exercises that they did in the army, and chanichim then asked questions about the physical aspects of being a soldier, and what lessons they took from it regarding taking care of their body. Next, we were lucky enough to have Patrick, the camp chef come talk to us about his story. What many people didn’t know is that Patrick is a former NFL player who also earned a degree in mechanical engineering and spent over a decade working in that field after his playing days. Chanichim had a lot of interesting questions about being a football player, and also what it meant to take care of his body as a professional athlete. His message was very insightful, you can do what you love by taking care of both your body and your mind.
Limudim have been great, and so have our evening programs. We had an Erev Baseball, where there were two concurrent games of chanichim versus madrichim tennis baseball games going on. For the chanichim who elected not to play, we brough out camps enormous reserves of glow in the dark stomp rockets to simulate fireworks. Most chose to play some, and also enjoy the stomp rockets, and overall everyone had a fun time. The chanichim even won both games (I had to have a very serious talk with my staff afterwards about their baseball skills). The night ended a little bit later than normal so that we could do a stargazing tifilot, a unique service that was a great change of pace.
We’re continuing to enjoy all of the normal camp activities such as chugim, etgar, sports, and the pool. Additionally, we have been preparing for Oconomostock, an all camp talent show produced by tzofim. The show starts at 7:30 on Monday, July 27th and there will be a live streaming of it on the camp website which everyone is encouraged to watch! A little more than a week in, and things in Tzofim could not be better.