SAC Day 13

Queridos Madres y Padres,

Today’s blog was brought to you by Margot and Josh Botwinick, our Directors of Jewish Education.

Boker tov to all!

Yesterday was Israel Day here at SAC! The day focused on fulfilling an important part of our mission at SAC: feeling a deep sense of love and commitment to the State of Israel. After Shachrit, the campers spent a few minutes writing “letters to God” which they put into the “Kotel”, our makeshift Western Wall. After the summer, we hope to bring these letters to Israel and put them in the real Kotel in Jerusalem.

Instead of our usual sessions, we had a “Cafe Dilemma” activity. Campers were given a “menu,” and at each course they got a new snack and a different dilemma to discuss. Should Israel’s public busses run on Shabbat? Should Israel trade land for peace? Should women also be required to join the army? It was a fascinating morning of discussions about hot topics in Israel today.

All of the day’s activities were Israel themed. We had IDF training, where Akiva Greenberg, a future Israeli Soldier, led the campers on stealth missions around the camp. There was Israeli Dance, where a few of our all star counselors taught the campers classic Israeli Dances (with some more modern ones mixed in!). We had a special “Growing Israel” activity, where the campers planted flowers and plants around SAC, just as Israel cherishes agriculture and planting. Our hope is that the what we planted will still be here when the campers come back next year!

At our “Israeli Shuk,” the entire camp came together on the field and went to different stations representing different regions of Israel. We had Chummus Making, where campers squished chickpeas and created their own tasty chummus. At the Limonana station, we blended lemons, sugar, ice and fresh mint leaves to make Israel’s classic refreshing Limonana drink. At the Eilat station, campers used sand and sea shells to create their own Israeli beach scene. At the Mock Knesset, each camper was assigned a different political party and had to argue a topic based on what their party’s position. At the “Shekel Making” station, campers decorated cookies with Israeli symbols, creating their own version of an Israeli coin. At the “Salad Trail” station, campers learned about Israel’s innovative methods for growing vegetables in the middle of the desert – and of course, made their own delicious Israeli salad. Finally, at the Letters to the IDF station, campers wrote letters and drew pictures that will be sent to soldiers in Israel.

In the evening, the campers had a blast attempting to decorate Israel themed cakes at Israel Cake Wars. Of course, only a couple minutes in, it turned into a massive blue and white cake fight.

With homemade falafel from our kitchen crew for lunch and a “mangal” (BBQ) around the firepit for dinner, even the food made us feel right at home.

The night ended with older bunks on their “night out” at Funland. Meanwhile, the younger bunks sat around the bonfire singing Israeli songs and eating s’mores. Their night ended with Israel Panoply, a trivia game where campers “Named That Tune”, “Named that  Famous Israeli”, unscrambled words, and more.

Stay tuned for our “Israel Day” video, so you can see all this in action!

Al Vermos,

Margot and Josh Botwinick

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August 8, 2017 · by  · in SAC Blog · Tags:

1 Comment

  1. Jason Tache says:

    Great Job.
    Chazak!
    Thank you for a great summer.