By Rachel Marks, Rosh Eidah of Machon, and a rabbinic student at Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion

Working at OSRUI this summer has been particularly meaningful for me.  I have the pleasure of being the rosh eidah (unit head) for the machon program.  Our youngest madrichim (counselors) who have just graduated high school go through an intensive training course called machon, meaning foundation or institute.  In addition to participating in this training course, these madrichim known as machonikim rotate fromone eidah (unit) to another throughout the summer, in order to learn how to work with chanichim (campers) of all different age groups.  This year we have a huge group of dedicated, enthusiastic, and bright machonikim.  Though I’ve been away from camp for a number of summers, the beginning of this summer was not my first introduction many of the machonikim.

You see, I, myself, was part of the machon program at OSRUI in the summer of 2004.  During that summer, many of the current machonikim were our youngest chanichim in Kallah Aleph.  Over the course of the next five summers, as a madricha and a rosh eidah of the various eidot that we have at OSRUI, I had the pleasure of watching this group of kids grow from being the youngest chanichim to being some oldest chanichim.

During shavuah chachanah (staff week) back in the beginning of June, I asked the machonikim to reflect on some of their favorite camp memories that involved their madrichim.  To my delight, these machonikim talked about some of my best friends who were madrichim with me.  They talked about how their madrichim made them feel special.  They talked about how their madrichim taught them to look at the world in a new or different way.  They talked about how their madrichim shared with them their passions for Judaism, for sports, for teva (nature), for feminism, for the arts, for Israel, and for all sorts of exciting things!  I then asked them to journal about, and to share what it is, that this group of machonikim, feel fearful of, as they become first-time madrichim.  Some of these machonikim felt nervous that the chanichim wouldn’t like them.  Others expressed the sentiment that they would not be able to live up to the dugma (example) that their madrichim had set for them when they were chanichim.  Others were nervous that they would not know how to connect with their chanichim.

I am happy to report, as we are at the halfway point of our summer here at OSRUI, that each and every machon has conquered her/his fears!  I have witnessed these machonikim grow from young chanichim, to nervous machonikim, to confident madrichim, and this is nothing short of remarkable.  This group of machonkim have lived up to the dugma that the generations of madrichim who came before them set.  On a daily basis they connect with each of their chanichim, and it is safe to say that their chanichim from the first sessions here at camp, loved these brand new madrichim.

In Judaism, we talk about the shalshelet hakablah, the unbroken chain of transmission through which the Jewish tradition is passed MiDor LaDor – from one generation to the next.  For me, coming back to camp, training these machonikim, and witnessing another generation of OSRUI kids taking their place as madrichim has been nothing short of incredible.  I cannot wait to see all of the fantastic things that these machonikim do starting again when a whole new group of chanichim pass through OSRUI’s gates tomorrow!