Dear CW Families, 

This summer, we will be particularly focusing on b’tzelem Elohim. B’tzelem Elohim is the notion that we all have inherent value because we are all created in God’s image. It is the idea that we rejoice in what unites us and develop and celebrate what makes us unique and special. As we learn more about this value, we will discover the ways in which it influences how we take care of ourselves, the way we treat others, and how we interact with the world. 

Each Shabbat we will focus on a different aspect of b’tzelem Elohim. This week as Noar prepared for their Shabbat, they talked about the importance of self-care. They began our first prep session with a compliment battle, where people have to shout compliments at each other until someone runs out of nice things to say. Everyone agreed that it felt good to have nice things said to and about them. 

This week in the Torah we read that the Israelites are once again complaining as they journey through the desert. This time it is about the lack of water. When Moses takes their complaints to God, God tells him to gather the people and speak to a rock and out of the rock will come enough water for the entire community. Out of frustration Moses hits the rock instead. While it does produce water, God becomes angry at Moses. Many believe God’s anger is because Moses did not have enough faith in God, but Moses also lost faith in himself. He lets the frustration of leading the Israelites get to him and cannot be the leader he has the potential to be. He does not practice self-care, and therefore, cannot be his best self. A good lesson for us all! 

As we head into Shabbat, I want to share some highlights about our 2019 SIT (staff-in-training program). This summer we have 16 teens participating in this leadership development program and while we are just beginning our second session, these incredible teens have with us for over four weeks already! They have put together a blog about their experience that you can read by clicking here. 

With all the excitement here in Chardon, it’s no wonder we’ve had many people ask over the last week about other opportunities to experience camp. There are also several programs in August & September designed just for you and your families –Family Fun Day: August 18, Women’s Weekend: August 23-25, & Family Camp: August 30-September 1. For more information visit our website (campwise.org) or call the CW office! 

PS – We hope you’ve enjoyed the hundreds of pictures posted and the individual cabin photos available through CampIn Touch. Also, we hope you’ll follow Camp Wise through social media on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/campwise or Instagram: @campwise13164. 

I look forward to sharing more highlights next week. Thank you for allowing us to spend part of our summer with your amazing campers! 

Shabbat Shalom,

Rachel

 

Chalutzim

C1

This has been an amazing first few days and we can’t wait to watch our kids grow over the next few weeks. We’ve already had horseback riding and low ropes which have allowed our cabin to quickly bond together!

C2

C2 had an awesome time at low ropes this week. However, our highlight was tie dye and we can’t wait to receive our awesome shirts back!

C3

C3’s highlight of the week was during bunk night on the first night. All of the boys bonded together and were ready to work as a team on the low ropes course the next day!

C6

During bunk night our cabin played a fun oreo race game which helped us open up and get to know each other. We’ve already won the first day of Nikayon (cabin cleanup) and all the girls were so excited!

C7

We kicked off our first day of activities with archery, yoga, and teva (nature)! It was a great way to get know each other better and get a taste of what’s to come! On Wednesday we did our opening program at the wishing rock, everyone made a wish for the summer and decorated signs to hang on our bunks!

C8

This week in C8 we had the low ropes activity where we learned to better work together. All of the girls have really started to bond as a cabin and are excited for a great session!

 

Ohalim

O1

A special moment for O1 was during bunk night. They became the “secret O4 cabin” and can’t wait to spend more time with the cabin and the entire Ohalim village. They have already enjoyed Israeli culture and soccer as cabin activities!

O2

We had a really great time getting to know each other at bunk night. We shared fun facts, had a yummy snack, played some games, and made a cabin agreement to help us have a great session!

O5

While O5 was full of energy from the start, we really began to bond during a game of “G’day Bruce”. We all worked so hard and shared lots of laughs trying not become a “Sheila” or a “Dingo”. We also had a lot of fun during our deep water test. We spent the first two minutes treading water while singing hamotzi and birkat hamazon (blessing before and after meals) – and everyone passed their test!

O6

Even though we haven’t been here for that long, O6 already dove into camp mode as we laughed while uncovering puzzles in Israeli culture, created our own dances at dance, and braved the trails for mountain biking! We are excited for the next few weeks together!

O7

The girls all had fun getting to know each other at bunk night. We played a lot of fun games and are getting settled into Ohalim lifestyle.

O8

This week we had a really great bonding session during bunk night. We got to know each other by asking fun questions and sharing delicious treats. We also really enjoyed the all-camp opening campfire!

O9

Our cabin started a super silly cabin count off and bonded over a joke about us being soccer moms. This joke spills over into cabin activities as we walk to them “in a car”!

O10

During bunk night we had a lot of opportunities to get to know each other and be silly! A highlight for us was our cabin activity at low ropes. We all worked together as we learned to trust each other.

 

Noar

N1

N1 loved dancing together in the chadar (dining hall). During bunk night we talked and laughed and are all starting to become great friends.

N2

A special moment for N2 was after the cabin finished tie-dye we started playing a spontaneous game of ultimate Frisbee! The cabin is bonding so well and it’s like they never left the Home of Happiness!

N3

During bunk night we all really bonded and made each other laugh. The experienced campers have been really welcoming to new campers and it has been really wonderful to see them develop a strong cabin community.

N4

We’ve already tried the new fitness activity. Everyone was so encouraging and supportive to one another.

N5

N5 spent our first full day of camp getting fit at the new lacrosse and fitness activities. Even though most of us had never even held a lacrosse stick before, by the end of the activity we were ready to go pro!

N6

Our first full day of camp was filled with fun activities! At fitness we broke some camp records and Jake, the fitness specialist, was very impressed. We also had a chance to tie-dye our shirts in cool patterns and our hands are now very colorful!

N7

The returning campers in our cabin have gone above and beyond to make the first time campers in our cabin and village feel so welcomed and included. Another highlight was our mountain biking activity. Some of the girls were apprehensive about doing it but the rest of the cabin encouraged them to try and everyone had fun!

N8

This week we conquered all the mountains in camp while mountain biking! We also showed off our art skills during tie-dye and bonded during an impromptu dance party.

 

Solel

Solel has arrived safe and sound at the Home of Happiness! Although we have only spent 2 full days together we can already tell that is a special Solel group. Our first evening program brought us back to the classroom with “Intro to Party-ology 101.” Then, at our first Solel campfire of the session we dove straight into discussion about what camp means to us and how we see ourselves grow here. For some of us it is our 8th year and for some it is our 1st year but it’s clear that all 48 of us can’t wait to spend our final year as campers in the best way possible. It is only a matter of time before the buses roll us out to our first out-of-camp adventure, but for now, we are set to enjoy our first Shabbat together!

 

ILS

The ILS teens have been enjoying an incredible week in the Holy city of Jerusalem. Our week has been filled with exploring and learning about the historic presence of our ancestors’ history in the Old City of Jerusalem. We then transitioned into learning more about our more modern history while visiting Yad Vashem and Har Hertzl. Our days learning about the past were contrasted with the hustle and bustle of modern day Israel as we explored the food, spices, and shops on Machane Yehuda and Ben Yehuda Street. It is crazy to believe that our third Shabbat has begun as we brought in our day of rest at the Kotel. We shared a meaningful service with our group and even were able to sing “Have You Got That Spirit.” Bringing together our favorite camp tradition while joined together at such a Holy spot was so meaningful and will be a memory we all will share for years to come.