Galil 20TEN: We Went Big

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This morning when we woke up Galil was fully of many sleepy chanichim (campers) and tzevet (staff). It's a different kind of sleepy than the mid afternoon siesta time, it's the kind of sleepy where you begin to just let go because you are closer to the finish line than ever before. Some of us have been running since the second week in June, and as hackneyed is it is, all good things must come to an end. We get lots of crying on the last days of machaneh (camp). The tears are not just for saying bye to friends new and old, and it's not just about leaving this place for the next year, it's about the end of a process. A parent said to us as

she signed out her crying child, "It's like she lived a whole life in three weeks."

Here, more than in most places, we pay tribute to the process. We recognize the importance of the beginning, the middle, the end, and everything in between. The kids get it too. Sure they may not love all of their peulot (programs) but they understand what an integral role our

collective learning plays in the success of our community.

During lunch today, the Bogrim staffed toranut

(kitchen duty) and played us the soundtrack of

the summer as we ate. It wasn't that intentional, but that's just how it played out. Each song stirred a memory of a different part of of the summer and brought us back to the place where we spontaneously stood and sang "Waving Flag" on world cup night or "Cecilia" when we wanted people to be energetic at breakfast. Each shicvah (age group) sang with more ruach (spirit) than the average day, because what they brought today needed to last them through the year.

And lastly, in honor of the process, I felt the need

to write one last post to conclude the summer.

I got the opportunity to experience this summer by living it here and then translating the experience with all of you. Hopefully there is a better understanding of what happens at Galil and now, when our campers share their experience with you, they'll be shocked that you know what they're talking about. Thanks for all of your support and your feedback, writing the blog has been one of the highlights of the summer.

...Check out and thanks for a great summer

Merakezet Chinuch (Educational Director), Molly Wernick

Final Mesiba: A Trip to Bollywood and Back

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When applying to work at Galil we aren't just appling to be madrichim (counselors). We also accept that being here means being kind of a jack of all trades. We go from wait staff to programmers to nurturers to rule-enforcers from teams to coaches to chefs and party planners. The madrichim part is a constant, but every day multiple other variables are thrown in and we need to be able to play with whatever gets tossed our way.

Last night for example, we had to transform the chadar ochel (dining hall) into a Bollywood Party for the Final Mesiba (party) that

happens at the end of each session. We pushed our imaginations to the limit in projecting Bollywood films on the ceiling of the chadar while we danced to Slumdog Millionaire's Jai Ho. We made curried popcorn on the front mirpeset (porch) of the chadar ochel and henna painted kids arms. And then just as we had Bollwood tossed to us, we tossed it away to become the next thing: the audience at the last medurah (bonfire) of the summer. Jokes were told, acts were heckled, two Bogrim were covered in shaving cream by the time the fire went out, and torches were passed from one person to another for who will be joking and heckling in the summer

of 2011. Definitely both sad and exciting at the same time. And we, the Jack of all Trades madrichim tell the chanichim (campers) that it will all be okay, and that they will see their friends at Fall Seminar, our weekend-overnight in early fall.

And then, just like with any other Saturday night at machaneh, all of the chanichim headed up to the chadar ochel to get glida (ice cream). The madatz transformed into ice cream scoopers, and the chadar ochel like an ice cream parlor, contrary to the Bollywood that existed there just 90 minuts before. You would have never known that anything else was there, and it was as if the

chanichim had already forgotten and were ready for the next thing. The Bonim tried to weasel their way into getting the largest scoops possible and the Chalutzim created their best sundae for a Saturday night.

Tonight the mayhem proceeds with a trip to Las Vegas and performances and presentations guaranteed to make everyone laugh and cry. Guaranteed.

...Check out

M.C. SHMOLLY

Welcome to the last (INSERT WEEKLY TRADITION HERE) of Machaneh Galil 2010

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With a little less than 70 hours left in Galil's 2010 summer, every hour and minute start to count. Big time. Some chanichim (campers) have started to filter out for sports pre-season or family vacation, leaving the rest of us bracing ourselves until the end for the end. We tend to start our weekly traditional programming with a welcome, "Welcome to the first Musicale of summer 2o1o," which at the start of the summer fills us with all of the excitement to come. However, when we have just completed "The last Hyde Park of Galil 2010" and madrichim

(counselors) making announcements about how many hours we have left in the summer, the chanichim tend to respond angrily, but really it's because they are incredibly sad to leave.

Chanichim send their last slew of letters home to their families that may possibly arrive on the days that they all get home. Strange to think about. And yet, these last three days will feel like an eternity and fly by all at the same time. During the last shira (song time) before our last pizza lunch, va'ada shira (the song committee) teaches the song Hahamerosh about welcoming the Sabbath Queen, as if they were teaching it for any

other week. In the meantime, the Madatz (CITs) worked in the chadar ochel (dining hall) making the challot for shabbat for the last time. They cover the tops with cinnamon sugar for a sweet shabbat and they braid the last of their dough. They chat with their kvutzah (group) mates about not just running their last peulat shicvah (age-group program) for their chanichim, but also about what appears to be an end to their growing up process at machaneh (camp). Little do they know, as well as the rest of the chanichim, that the growing from here never really stops.

Last night tzevet mitbach (the kitchen staff), had

dinner with a former rosh mitbach (head of the kitchen) from over ten summers ago who shared with the group that he tries very hard to run his business with the same practices that we use here; everyone sitting in a circle with a time to share their piece and establish equal playing ground. For the parents, families, and friends out there it may be easy to quantify how a summer here has impacted the life of your friends, children, families, etc... but for us in the inside, it's impact gains clarity over time. Whatever it is though, whatever we do here touches everybody who crosses our bridge.

*The sentimental and nostalgic nature of this post was only to make way for all of the excitement and mayhem to take place over the next three days. Deepest apologies for the sappiness.

...Check out until Sunday and Shabbat Shalom!

M.C. SHMOLLY

PS. HAPPY BIRTHDAY KALI S, ROBYN P, BEN H, and HANNAH B!

Not Revolution Evolution but a Real Bocoup

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We have a tendency to downplay the success and effectiveness of our leadership training at Galil, mainly because we often forget that it's happening. We forget it's happening because of how naturally it all comes about. Leadership training, or hadracha as we call it, is not something that begins once you hit madatz, our CIT summer, it begins so much earlier than that. The Tzofim (post 7th grade) realize that the Chalutzim (Elementary school-age) will act more engaged if they act more engaged themselves. That's the first rule of hadracha: enthusiasm generates enthusiasm.

What comes later on is when we put our hadracha training to the test. Twice a summer the Madatz revolt against tzevet (staff) and run a day of special programming for the chanichim (campers), conveniently called "Revolution." The Bonim (post 8th grade) plan and run a reenactment of illegally transporting Eastern European Jews to what was then Palestine on the rise of antisemitism and persecution in the 1930-40's (a.k.a. Aliyah Bet). Though they run and plan the night they also heavily depend on help from the tzevet, the madatz, and most importantly, the Bogrim, (post 9th grade) our oldest campers.

The Bogrim get to test the waters of Hadracha as well. It happens twice a summer, once in planning a tochnit erev (evening program) and the second was getting to plan and run a half-day of programming in what they call the "Bogrim Coup" or really Bocoup. The Bogrim get to run the mitbach (kitchen), delegate the tasks, and most importantly make sure that all of the chanichim are having a fantastic time.

These leadership skills are hard to come by and it's not very common in the average high school life that a group of 9-10th graders embrace such an undertaking. One of the best things that we do

here is inspire the next generation of leaders in high school, college, and Jewish and local communities. We give our chanichim real, applicable skills that they can take into their home lives and make a real difference wherever they go. And yet, we manage to do this while supporting their creativity and letting them dream. If we don't let them dream here and now, how will they realize they can achieve great things. And to put that very special spin on, it was in fact Theodore Hertzl, the founder of modern-day zionism who said "If you will it, it is no dream"

...Check out

M.C. SHMOLLY

I'll be riding right there!

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There is no big surprise that our education about equality translates into our advocacy of social justice inside of our lives at machaneh (camp) and into the real world back at home. Some of our practices are pretty covert, like making

sure that all of our conversations are in a circle so that nobody feels talked down to.Other practices are much more out there, like the way that we incorporate Civil Rights songs into our regular shira (song/singing time) rotation each session. One of the examples of this is the song that

goes, "If you miss me at the back of the bus and you can't find me nowhere. Come on over to the front of the bus, I'll be riding right there"

We teach equality as a a Jewish value--to love thy neighbor as thyself. Then we connect it to doing Tikkun Olam (repairing the world). From this point there are a thousand

offshoots that eventually make up some great

summer programming. For example, for peulat shicvah (age group progams) today, the Sayarim (post 6th graders), traveled back in time to Selma and prepared for a Civil Rights march. In "Selma", regularly known here as Hyde Park, the Sayarim were met by Civil Rights leader, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, Jewish scholar, activist, and Rabbi Abraham Joshuah Heschl, and singer/song writer, Bob

Dylan. The Sayarim and their madrichim (counselors) read the quote from Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel that said "When I marched on Selma, my feet were praying"

From then, the Sayarim marched with signs of equality in hand, they marched around Galil

singing "Oh Freedom Over Me" to "We Shall Overcome" to "If you miss me at the back of the bus." They marched all the way to the Eitz ha Shira (The Song Tree) where they proceeded to have a conversation about the involvement that the American Jewish

Community played in the Civil Rights Movement, education

as a form of activism, and why

we

practice Tikkun Olam at machaneh. It was a very simple method to convey a very important message about an issue very relevant to all of our lives. So

circle-up and peace out.

...Check out

M.C. SHMOLLY

Breaking Ground and Looking Back to Look Forward

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Yesterday we did something monumental and groundbreaking, literally. We hosted our First Annual Alumni Day where we broke ground for our new Moadon Machaneh (central camp building) Beit Tzevet (staff building), named in the memory of Galil alumnus, Amy Adina Schulman. Our old moadon machaneh was condemned and the knocked down before the summer of 2004. We didn't just lose the building, we lost a pivotal part of our childhood and the memories that came along with it. All of the chanchim (campers) who are here now don't know Galil with a moadon, that's how quickly generations at Galil turn over.

It takes about three summers for something to become "the way it's always been."

When the groundbreaking ceremony commenced, speeches were given, tears were shed, and Galil 2010 entered through the would-be doorway and claimed the new space as their own. Check out our dance on youtube! And then we transitioned into Alumni Day by singing the song, simply as it sounds, "We were here in 20TEN, 20TEN, 20Ten! We were here in 20Ten, where is '09." And from there we had Galil alumni chant the years they were here all the way back to 1948, where apparently it was so cold on Labor Day

people remember freezing their butt's off. Considering that Galil's first summer was in 1946 and we only missed those first two summers, that's pretty impressive. If that doesn't evoke nostalgia, it's hard to say what does.

After the ceremony we shmoozed through lunch as generations ate with generations and chatted about whatever "back in the day" meant to them. We snacked on fresh tomatoes from the gan (garden), went on tours where alumni found their signatures in the tzrifim (cabins), and looked at some of the oldest pictures in Galil's history. Without a doubt this was one of the most inspiring days that Galil has ever seen. This place

has made such a difference in the lives of so many people, giving us all the opportunity to share in that together just completes the cyclical nature of it all.

Thanks to all those who came and we look forward to seeing you, with our new buildings, next summer on our Second Annual Alumni Day!

...Check Out

M.C. SHMOLLY

Nitzanim: A Taste of Galil

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It was really only a matter of time before we piloted a program to integrate younger chanchim (campers) into life at machaneh (camp). It took a lot of work to create our pre-3rd graders here, but we finally managed to do it. On Wednesday morning Margot, Maya, Rachel, and Sophie arrived at Galil not knowing much about what they would encounter over the next four days. The goal of the program is to give younger campers a taste of life at machaneh (camp) including varied parts of our seder yom daily schedule and even get to see shabbat! As you can see by this picture, these girls and their madrichot (counselors), Molly and Talia, are taking their time at Galil very seriously. Just the way we like it.

Even though the program is technically called "Taste of Galil," we gave them a shicvah (age group) name to fit into the swing of Galil life. We are calling them Nitzanim, which is the hebrew word for buds or blooms. Makes sense, right? The Nitzanim will be here until Sunday morning, and we hope to leave nothing but a sweet taste in their mouths and an eager feeling for the summer to come.

...Check out until Sunday and Shabbat Shalom

M.C. SHMOLLY