The campers of Lman Achai, who mostly come from public schools, got an infusion of Jewish pride, learning and socializing through a variety of activities and trips.
By Anash.org Reporter
The second week and the end of the first session came to a close this week at Lman Achai Camp in the Catskills.
The campers, who mostly come from public schools got an infusion of Jewish pride, learning and socializing through a variety of activities and trips. Uniquely through the inspiration of the camp, most of the campers wore their yamulka and tzitzis during the camps many sports leagues, “which is uncharacteristic as many of them are coming from public school” said head counselor, Levi Gajer.
Their inspiration carried over later in the week when they visited a water park and were careful to wear their yamulka and tzitzis between water rides. Levi Gajer said, “We talked to the kids before we went about Jewish pride” and clearly, the talk resonated.
Thursday night the campers had a BBQ, bonfire, and kumzitz. the counselors used this time to drive home a lot of the different yiddishe values they learned during their time at camp and farbregned late into the night.
Friday before shabbos the campers all got together to make challah for their upcoming shabbos together. Over Shabbos, the boys enjoyed an authentic Shabbos experience. Lman Achai offers “TBH” Torah by Heart, an initiative where campers learn certain concepts by heart such as brachos, benching, basic tefillas, and the like. About 85% of campers participated and received a special award for doing so.
Motzei Shabbos, the campers were treated to an experience unique to Lman Achai. The camp hiked to a place where when it’s a full moon you can see an entire mountain range. There they sang Ani Maamim and danced together to make it a special experience for the campers.
During the Sheva Asar B’Tammuz fast, Sunday, the camp introduced a brand new library of Jewish comic books for the campers to enjoy and to help pass the time.
Finally, camp ended with a 2-hour long hike, where campers and counselors were able to enjoy the wonderful creations of Hashem. Counselors took this time to bond and farbreng with their campers making the long hike a beautiful and memorable experience.
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