The Unity Behind the Competition : Maccabiah at Jacobs Camp

I am the perfect Maccabiah Camper! Competitive and energetic – always wracked with anticipation for each Summer’s Maccabiah (color war) competition.

During Maccabiah, everyone at camp (except the illustrious judges) are divided into 4 teams – Red (Adom), Yellow (Tzahov), Green (Yarok), and Blue (Kachol). As a team, we compete in many different competitions like wacky sports, Tug-o-War, the Haggigah arts competition, and an epic relay race to earn points. I also make sure that my team is always bringing the energy to get extra points from the judges (did I mention how illustrious they are???).

Those of you who don’t participate in Maccabiah each Summer may think that it divides camp, but I’m here to tell you – the opposite happens. If you pay close attention, you’ll notice how the shared goal, the intense cheers and over-the-top outfits, in fact, unify us.

Everyone wants to win Maccabiah. The competition is intense yet friendly and encouraging. We all want each other to perform well at all the different activities and try our best. I’ve never seen kids outside of Jacobs Camp cheering their competition on to do well like here.

Whether you’re trying to “Adom-inate”, “peel the banana”, tell everyone what color the sky is (apparently Green during Maccabiah), or if you’re “Blue, Da Ba Dee, Da Ba Die”, the spirit during Maccabiah is unmatched. I have this vivid memory of being in the middle of a Maccabiah chant mash when I was about 8 years old. All these tall, grown-up people—people I knew didn’t like sports and never yelled—were jumping up and down, screaming, completely losing their voices. It. Was. Electric.

During Maccabiah, cabin mates share colored shirts and accessories, do each other’s hair with tinsel, and make new friends with campers they’ve never talked to before. It’s a chance for Jacobs Camp to come together—not just within our teams, but with everyone around us—to try new things and bring the Jacobs Magic to life.

Of course, song sessions and Shabbat bring our Kehillah Kedoshah together, but for me, you can’t leave Maccabiah off the list! It’s one of my favorite things that I look forward to all year! It fills people with a contagious energy and a shared purpose that’s hard to find anywhere else. Congratulations to the Red Team for winning First Session Maccabiah! I can’t wait for Session 2 when I’ll be a Junior Counselor – sharing my love of Maccabiah with my cabin!