We’ve Been Busy!
We have a lot to fill you in on in the past week!
This past Thursday, August 4th, was spent learning in the morning and doing chessed in the afternoon. Shana Alef went to clear a trail in Israel. . They really felt that they were connecting to the land and had a fun time doing it! Shana Bet went to an amazing organization in Cholon called Save a Child's Heart where they visited sick children from around the world who come to Israel for heart surgeries. It was a big Kiddush Hashem (sanctification of Hashem's name) and they also took part in the great mitzvah of bikkur cholim (visiting the sick). That night, we all came back to Michlelet for our annual Talent Show! They had a great time showing off their interesting talents!
Friday morning, the girls dipersed to their assorted locations around the country for our second (and last! :( ) 'Out Shabbos'. Everyone had an inspiring and exciting Shabbos.
Sunday started off our last full week of Michlelet 2011. The theme for the week is a Time to Love, which is fitting since we have all become so close over these past five weeks. We spent the morning learning and then headed into Yerushalayim for an afternoon of meaningful touring to get us into the mindset of Tisha B’Av. We visited Yad Vashem, the World’s Center for Holocaust Research and Education. We saw the horrible persecutions our nation has gone through in galut (exile) and how much we need geula (redemption). We then continued on to Har Hertzl, one of Israel’s main military cemeteries and heard about some of the soldiers who died while protecting Eretz Yisrael. After returning to camp, we had a panel of campers and madrichot who had interesting stories to tell and a question/ answer session afterward. We realized that everyone here has stories to tell if you just ask and we were inspired to use this last week of Michlelet to get to know people better and strengthen friendships. After the panel, Shana Bet prepared an auction to raise money for the wedding that we are making on Wednesday. Staff and madrichot auctioned off food, services, late wakeup… and everyone pitched in to raise over 3,000 shekel!
The next day, Monday, was spent learning in the morning as usual and a shiur (lecture) in the afternoon about the laws of Tisha B’Av. We spent the rest of the afternoon doing chessed, by preparing for the wedding. We decorated the centerpieces, the chair where the kallah (bride) will sit, the backdrop for photos, the chuppa (the wedding canopy), and the arches for when the couple dances into the hall. We had a great time using our creative talents and knew our handiwork would make the wedding beautiful.
Later that evening, we unfortunately had to sit down on the floor, eat our egg, bread and ashes and mourn the destruction of the Beit Hamikdash (the Holy Temple). We had a very meaningful program of singing, kinnot (lamentations), a moving video, and personal stories.
Hopefully next year, we will all spend our Tisha B’Av celebrating in the streets of Yerushalayim with the rebuilt Beit HaMikdash.
