Jewish Life Update, Week 3: Trust

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IMG_1583What do daily Torah study, saying the Sh’ma at bedtime, leading services, and not coveting have in common? These are all mitzvot. Our Bonim campers started the session trying to define mitzvot in a way that makes sense to them—they are commandments in the Torah, communal agreements, social responsibilities, special behaviors that Jewish people do. In Limud our campers learn that at camp, we live a life of mitzvot.

IMG_1579This summer, our Bonim campers are focusing on a different mitzvah in Limud each day. They learned about saying bedtime Sh’ma at night and Modeh Ani in the morning. They helped protect the animals by making signs for the farm, and they learned about the value of serving as a shaliach tzibor, a communal leader, when Bonim led all of camp in Shabbat T’iflah. We also learned about the concept of hiddur mitzvah. While you can fulfill the mitzvah of saying Kiddush with some grape juice and a simple plastic cup, the value of hiddur mitzvah teaches us to try to do a mitzvah in the most beautiful way we can. This concept has led to a rich tradition of ritual art. In order to get ready for Shabbat last week, Bonim created prayer flag pennants and decorated the Chadar Ochel, making our camp celebration of Shabbat more beautiful.

This week, Chalutzim will lead us in Shabbat T’filah on Friday night, and Chaverim will lead us on Shabbat morning. Chalutzim will focus on the idea of trust, and Chaverim will focus on choosing our words carefully. Here are two readings that will be shared this Shabbat:

 Amanda, Alexandra, Leah, and Abby (Chalutzim)IMG_1747

The prayer Mi Chamocha is about how Moses had to trust God to part the Sea of Reeds. Everyone also had to have a lot of courage. In Limud the other day, half of us were blindfolded and we had to trust our guides to help us walk around the quad. In this activity, our guides were like our eyes. This was similar to how the Israelites had to trust Moses and God to be their eyes as they walked through the Sea of Reeds. Without trusting our guides we could have run into a tree, each other, or a golf cart! If the Israelites didn’t have enough trust in Moses and God, they wouldn’t have successfully crossed the Sea of Reeds. Trust is a very important value. At camp you have to trust your friends, counselors, and everyone around you as guides. Without having trust in each other, it would be like if we were all walking blindfolded without guides.Eisner 6

Hershel, Cooper, and Karl (Chaverim)

Before we really begin praying, we chant our call to prayer called the Barchu. It prepares us for the prayers to come by making us think about the words we want to say. Similarly, before we speak, we must think, “Are these the right words to say?” If we do this it will prevent us from offending anyone or creating conflict. Furthermore, thinking about the right things to say can brighten someone’s day. In this week’s Torah portion, Chukat, Moses didn’t think about his words before speaking to the Israelites, or the consequences of his actions before striking the rock with his staff. God then became angry and punished Moses by not allowing him to enter the Promised Land. Think about what you say before you say it, Eisner Camp.