Galil Blog

Hey Galil families. Mr. and Mrs. Dursley of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much. However, something out of the ordinary was going on at Machaneh Galil this morning. Chanichimot (campers) woke up to find their acceptance letters to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, delivered by owls, of course. Excited by the new prospect of magic in their lives, chanichimot “flew” to breakfast in the back of an enchanted truck and found themselves in Diagon Alley. Once in Diagon Alley, there was a British breakfast of beans and toast, as well as waffles. When everyone was well fed and satisfied, they used the Floo Network to transport to school. At school, there was a sorting ceremony in which all of the chanichimot were sorted into their Hogwarts house. Throughout the day, chanichimot could rack up points for their house to win the house cup at the end of the day. They did this through completing different tafkidim (tasks) well, but there was also the danger of messing up their tafkidim and losing their house points.

With the responsibility of boosting their house image, chanichimot were sent off to classes, so that they could learn how to best control their newfound magical powers. There was Potions (creating concoctions of ice cream mixed with soda and edible glitter), Flying Lessons (hopping around in a bouncy castle), Herbology (digging up different plants from the gan [garden]), Divination (palm reading and deciphering tea leaves), and, of course, Defense Against the Dark Arts (a water fight with Death Eaters). Using the skills that they learned in class, next, the chanichimot were tasked with fighting off as many dementors as possible to earn points for their house. Madrichimot (counselors) dressed up in dark robes and ran around as chanichimot sprayed them with water dyed their houses’ colors. 

While the dementors put up a good fight, the chanichimot vanquished them in the end and headed to Hogsmead to celebrate. In Hogsmeade, they enjoyed a variety of shops: Honeydukes (a sweets shop, which gave out candies found in the wizarding world), Zonko’s Joke Shop (selling whoopie cushions and other gag gifts), Gladrags Wizardwear (selling the finest wizard attire in all the land, which meant chanichimot could dress up in proper wizard robes), and there was also a silkscreen station, so that everyone could remember this yom meuchad (special day).

Even though so much happened in the day already, the chanichimot were only just getting to lunch at the Three Broomsticks. Staying with the British theme, they filled themselves up with fish n’ chips and a Harry Potter classic, butterbeer. Then, all of a sudden, the Triwizard Cup was brought out. To start the tournament to win the cup, the four houses had to compete in games of quidditch. Of course, in the end, there was a Habo Tie (a classic saying at Galil). But that was only the beginning! After the quidditch games, the chanichimot were sent into the woods to complete a maze that was riddled with madrichimot dressed up as dragons and sphinxes to look for Lord Voldemort. Unfortunately, at the end of the maze (which ended up being the brecha [pool]), Voldemort was waiting and ambushed Cedric Digorey by pushing him into the water.

After a somber pool party—due to Cedric’s big splash—the chanichimot were sent on a scavenger hunt to track down Voldemort and learn how to finally take him down. They had to run all over machaneh (camp) dodging death eaters, maneuvering through laser/red string mazes, and going through an escape room.

Once everyone learned how to take down Voldemort, they were sent to the Great Hall in Hogwarts, where Voldemort was waiting for Harry. In a surprise turn of events, Harry was not prepared enough and the Dark Lord ended up besting him in battle. Luckily, the chanichimot were quite pleased, as He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named spent his day amassing followers, and there were many. To celebrate the victory, there was a great feast of turkey legs, mashed potatoes, roasted corn, and sauteed green beans. The feast continued late into the night, and carrying on with the good spirits, there was a messibah (party). The chanichimot partied late into the night, and finally, with a day full of magic and fantasy, they rested their heads on their pillows and drifted off into their dreams.

See you tomorrow, Amos