Galil Blog
Friday
Machaneh (camp) Galil woke up this morning excited for the incoming festivities. Starting the day at the toren (flagpole), we sang Od Lo Gamarnu, which means “We aren’t finished yet”, and Power and Glory, two songs about empowering ourselves as a people and as the youth. We continued into Ivrit Shimushit (useful hebrew) and learned not a word, but a phrase! זה כואב, meaning “It hurts.” Remember this new word for later!
Friday muffin breakfast is always a highlight of the week, and we had so many delicious flavors to choose from! We carried next into Avodah Meyuchedet (special work) and Nikayon Tzrif (cabin cleaning), two longer blocks of cleaning so that we can make machaneh as beautiful as possible before Shabbat begins. The Madatz (CITs) prepared the delicious challah that we enjoyed for dinner later that day.
The Madatz also then led Madatz chuggim (extracurriculars) which are a collection of fun activities that the chanichimot (campers) get to choose from. Lots of lanyards were made, letters were written, pickleball was played, and frisbees were thrown. Then, we had shabbat shira (shabbat song session) a time where we learn the songs that we specifically sing during shabbat. We had yummy pizza for lunch, and delicious freezie-pops during Hyde Park, an activity ran for the chanichimot by our Bogrimot (15 year olds). All this fun was followed by free time with optional schiyah (swimming)!
This is where the real fun starts as we began getting ourselves ready for Shabbat! We showered, dressed nicely, and made our way to the toren (flagpole) to split up into mishpachot (family) groups, where we check in with our family members and the people around machaneh who live in the same places as us. From this we went back to the toren for the final time that day
Kabbalat Shabbat this week was led by the bogrimot, where they danced and sang for all of machaneh! Together, we sang songs like Ayala, a song taught to us by the Australian Habonim madrichimot (counselors) who come to Galil every summer, as well as Splendor Bridge, a classic. We all stood with our kvutzot (age groups) to sing Bo’ee towards the not-yet-setting summer sun. Afterwards we made our way to dinner, eating delicious chicken, potatos, and corn, followed by Shabbat Shira). The Oneg (directly translating to ‘joy’, this is a funny skit about the past few days) was led by the Cartivimot (the new name for Amelimot/Chotrimot) this week, and what a joy it was! It’s always fun to laugh with your friends! Rikud (Israeli dancing) was a blast, carrying late into the night. There’s something so special about listening to songs and doing the dances that our parents and grandparents did at Galil in the past! We closed the night with watermelon, and lots of excitement for the rest of Shabbat tomorrow.
Saturday
Shabbat mornings are so special. We roll out of bed and make our way to Chadar Ochel (dining hall) to indulge in delicious donuts and sweeter cereal. Bogrimot chuggim (extracurriculars) followed, a similar structure to the Madatz (CITs) chuggim from yesterday. This is an awesome opportunity for them to step into a larger role at camp and lead the chanichimot (campers) through activities with them! This goes right into Chuggim Ritzinim (serious extracurriculars), which is a time when the chanichimot can choose something that is important to them to go learn more about in a guided discussion with passionate madrichimot (counselors).
After a scrumptious lunch and a nice menuchah (rest/break) it was Zman Kvutsza (age group time)! This is an awesome time of the week when each kvutza gets to spend quality time with each other having fun and getting to know each other better. The Tzofimot had a special activity run for them, where they were blindly paired with each other and then spent the rest of the time deep in conversation with their partner getting to know each other and asking fun would you rather questions! Musicale is the next part of the day, and it’s one of our favorites! It’s a time when the Bogrimot organize a musical talent show for machaneh and any chanichimot and madrichimot have the chance to perform. This week the Bonimot gave a spectacular performance of ‘I Want It That Way’, complete with all the adlibs and solos that come in the real song!
After dinner and another restful chofesh (free time), we all headed to the kikar (field) to close out shabbat with a beautiful Havdallah. Laying in a spiral around our madrichimot singing softly, while playing with your friends hair and reflecting on the week, looking up at the pink clouds and the setting sun: it was the perfect end to a perfect weekend. Finally, it was Medurah (bonfire), a time when we get to showcase our non-musical talents, and perform funny skits to make our chaverimot (friends) laugh! A highlight was Froggy and Gnu, a Machaneh Galil tradition, which is a hilarious duo skit put on by members of the Bogrimot. What an incredible way to end the night by the bonfire, with fireflies floating around, and laughter in the air.
