By Jonah Brandhandler, Rosh Eidah of Tzofim

Tzofim Aleph has been flying by and it is so hard to believe that the session ends on Sunday! Many of our chanichim (campers) experienced Shabbat in Tzofim for the first time, and everyone had a fun, yet relaxing time. On Friday night for the first time in the history of OSRUI, we decided to try having Shabbat Shira outside on the basketball courts instead of being crammed indoors in Port Hall, and it is safe to say that the song session was a huge success! There is really nothing quite like having our entire camp kehilah (community) come together to express our love of Shabbat in such a fun way.

Saturday morning everyone got a well-deserved sleep which preceded a fantastic day in Oconomowoc. We got to eat a picnic style lunch upstairs with the rest of camp, enjoyed time down at the lake, and had a longer menucha (rest) period than normal. At night, we had a phenomenal barbeque dinner on the hill, followed by Saturday Night Folk Night, s’mores, and a meaningful havdallah to close the week. Shabbat is one of my favorite parts of camp because after such a long and exciting week, it is good to have a peaceful day where everyone is able to reflect on the past week and anticipate all the fun of the upcoming week ahead.

The beginning of the second week has been just as eventful as the first, with kids enjoying sports, chug (electives), swimming and limud (study), among a whole other variety of activities. Today we are having a pool party during lunch, and at night we have erev ohel (tent night) where once again, madrichim (counselors) plan a special evening program just with their tent. It is a great way to strengthen friendships and bond as a group. While I am sad that the session is rapidly coming to an end, I know that the morale in Tzofim is high and everyone is loving their time at camp!