I’m coming to you live as Week 3 concludes at Camp Tavor! Camp is alive and well with the hustle and bustle of many busy campers and staff members in the midst of some magical activities! Week 3 proved to be our most action-packed week of Camp yet! From our Bogrimot tiyul (10th graders’ camping trip) to Madatz Rev (a day where the CIT’s take Camp over), there was plenty of adventure to be had! 

Our younger chanichimot (campers) were utterly delighted to wake up to the surprise of Madatz Rev, an annual tradition of Camp Tavor’s that sees the Madatz (incoming 12th graders) run Camp for the whole day with a special theme and activities based around it. This year, the Madatz themed their Madatz Rev with a Magic School Bus flavor that saw the kids following Ms. Frizzle and her students around on a series of field trips through various points of time and space. The afternoon took a dark turn, however, as the school board

voted to defund Ms. Frizzle's field trip fund, leading to her quitting and forcing our camper to boldly and bravely lead a strike to convince the school board to

reinstall her and raise the budget for field trips, all while learning a lesson about the virtue of labor and fighting for what is right.

It was very special for me to watch this Madatz Rev unfold from behind the lens of my camera, as I was a madrich (counselor) for many of our Madatzim all the way back in 2016. Even though I have not worked directly with those kids in the five years since, to see them run Camp for an entire day was amazing, and something that I could never have imagined being around to see when I worked with them in their Chotrimot (6th and 7th grade) age.

I learned a bit more about Camp Magic while I watched. I learned a bit about being a madrichol that I did not expect to learn when I signed on for the summer. Once you commit to being a madrichol, you never really stop being one. Camp’s charm comes from its community, as I’ve written about many times in the last few years of this blog, but the durability of that community is something that is easily taken for granted. But on Madatz Rev, I looked out at these kids from my perch as their mentor, and they looked back at me and said “we’re ready to do this.” What I felt was a sense of completion- the closing of one era and the beginning of another.

While the school bus may have been magical, the real magic that I felt was the glimpse into the future that the Madatz provided me with: one where, for the next years to come, they helped keep the community of Camp alive, loving, and full of promise. While their responsibilities will certainly only grow from here on out, this week proved without a shadow of a doubt that they are ready to face whatever obstacles arise for them with a positive attitude and a plucky spirit that stirs my excitement to see what they do with the rest of their summer and beyond.

Shabbat Shalom,

Nathan

Do you have an old sewing machine lying around the house gathering dust?

How 'bout some musical instruments?

Camp Tavor would be delighted to take them off your hands! All donations are appreciated and will be put to good use!

UPDATE: We are seeking used sporting goods, especially baseball gloves, footballs, soccer balls, and yard games.

Just email Randy@camptavor.org and we will help coordinate any deliveries to camp.

At approximately the center of Tavor, between the Beit-O (art house) and migrash sport (sports field) is a cluster of quaint low-slung cabins. These buildings and the intermingled trees, benches, and discarded pool noodles comprise the Amelimot Shetach (living area) -- home to Tavor’s youngest chanichimot (campers). For the past three weeks, thirty energetic and inquisitive Amelimot called this little village their home. As their mashatz (unit head) I relished the opportunity to watch this group of mostly first-time Tavorniks discover the magic of machaneh (camp) for the first time. They realized the unique value in avodah (labor). They laughed during absurd activities (sock war was a particular favorite!) And most importantly, they began to build a kvutzah – the group of similarly-aged friends who will accompany each other for many more summers at Tavor. While the amelimot head home this Sunday, I know they’ve found a second one here.

Hi there,

My name is Sunny Isenstein, and this summer, my dad Jonah is working at a really cool summer camp! My dad likes to take me on walks and our new home is so beautiful and exciting that they're letting me take some time to tell you all about it!

This week, Dad took me to this fun place waaaaaaaay at the end of camp. It was called the Moma. Dad laughed at me because I thought he was taking me to the Museum of Modern Art, but explained to me that Moma at Camp is an abbreviation for Moadon Machaneh, which means camp clubhouse in Hebrew, and that that's where kids can go to hang out with each other! That's way cooler than an art museum! So many happy kids were inside, and the Moma is air conditioned, so I got to cool off after a long day of fetching balls. I want to go play with Dad now, but I'll send you another note in just a Moma-nts notice!

Bye for now,

Sunny Isenstein

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