Shabbat Shalom after Maccabiah Madness : Week 3 in Review

Shabbat Shalom from Jacobs Camp! 

We’ve had another incredible week here at camp! The summer is flying by, and we are having so much fun! You can see what we’ve been up to in our Week 3 in Review Video. 

We’ve just wrapped up a thrilling and fun Maccabiah, or all-camp color war! Campers were sorted into Red (Adom), Blue (Kachol), Yellow (Tzahov) and Green (Yarok) teams for an epic two days of competition! This is one of my favorite times at camp because campers get to know each other across units and age groups creating a truly strong community bond. The winner of this session’s Maccabiah is THE RED TEAM!!

Now we are coming back together as one big family for a Shabbat dinner of roast chicken, potatoes, carrots and challah, followed by song session, services and Israeli dancing. Before we do, I want to share a bit about what each unit has been up to!

Olim A+ We are so happy to have our Olim A+ campers with us all First Session! They are having a blast in kehillah, song session, swimming in the pool and enjoying the lake. They got to experience Maccabiah for the first time, and it was so much fun! We had our Olim talent show, each cabin had their own special bunk night! The girls relaxed and pampered themselves at a spa night while the boys conducted silly experiments. Everyone participated in camp tradition of s’mores around the campfire. 

Garin Garin had an amazing week clambering on the lake toys and cooling off in the pool. During the day, they’ve played sports of the typical and wacky variety and learned more about Judaism with our visiting faculty in kehillah. In the evenings Garin traversed camp in an intense game of Capture the Flag, participated in a silly fashion show, and showed off their talents in the Garin Talent Show! Some of the biggest news for Garin this week was the big reveal of their Chalutzim buddies. Chalutzim campers are paired with Garin campers to hang out with during song session and chofesh (free time after dinner). This is such a fun piece of Jacobs Magic that provides the intergenerational friendships that Jacobs Camp is known for. I know this experience makes the Garin and Chalutzim experiences so special. 

Maskilim It has been so much fun to see our Maskilim campers bonding over shared interests in their specialty camps! Adventure has been up in the ropes course! Sports has been enjoying plenty of softball! Aquatics is always in the lake or the pool! And from painting, to clay, and bracelet making, art makes cool new things all the time! These campers played basketball in the Athletic Complex, shared their unique skills at the talent show, and participated in the long-time HSJ tradition of messy night!

Talmidim This week in Talmidim, we had so much fun with cabin bunk nights – a special program planned by the counselors just for their cabin. From adventures around camp and canoes in the pool to relaxing tie-dyeing and painting they were memorable nights for all. Our Talmidim campers began to learn about the time-honored importance of skit-making. They wrote and performed skits about their own superpowers to much laughter and applause. Talmidim specialty camps continue to be a hit with this group. Adventure, Arts, Aquatics, and Sports give these campers a jam packed day of fun and new skills to hone.  

Chalutzim Chalutzim campers have finally arrived, and they’ve hit the ground running! They have explored the lake toys including the brand new Nautilus, done stand-up paddleboarding on Lake Gary, and had the brand new Discovery Ropes Course (Disco Course for short) all to themselves. To get a jump on getting to know each other, Chalutzim participated in “platonic speed dating” night where they broke the ice on getting to know each other. They also got a little taste of Maccabiah competition by bringing the muscle for the other units in tug-of-war. They are so excited to compete next session! 

Solelim Our Solelim participants did an amazing job bringing the Maccabiah hype for our campers! They are doing an a great job running evening programs and continuing to get closer with their assigned camper cabins. Their counselor counterparts are so happy to have them on board to help out! When they aren’t helping out around camp you can find them chilling with each other around The Richard “Dick” Orgel Bayit.  

New for this Summer are our Cabin Plaques. In support of our culture of care for our facility, Garin, Maskilim, and Talmidim are all designing plaques for their cabin where they write their names, inside jokes, and memories (instead of the walls or bunks). These plaques will commemorate their time this Summer in their cabins when they hang in the building for years to come! 

We are looking forward to a relaxing Shabbat tomorrow, compete complete with Optional Breakfast, cartoons for our early risers, and lots of fun throughout the day!   

Wishing you all Shabbat Shalom,

Anna Herman