Dear HNT Camp Schechter Parents,
I just came back from spending the day at Camp Schecter. Your kids and teens all look very happy! Daily prayers started late today ennabling me to get to camp early enough to give a dvar Torah to the kids without having to get up at an ungodly hour. After tefillah, we enjoyed a delicious oatmeal breakfast, and I taught a class on ‘Kosher Sex’ to the tenth graders. Woa! I got to see the challenge course and after lunch I furnished the kids with some delicious snacks (soda, chips, red vines) which they got very excited about even though they had just eaten this amazing lunch five minutes before. Today was “Yom Chagim” holiday day, and alot of their activities (including the menu) involved mixing all of the Jewish holidays together. It was pretty funny. As usual, I was impressed by the tremendous feeling of community in the camp. Schechter does such a great job of transitioning their campers into Odedim and then counselors. They give their counselors alot of responsibility and they handle it very well. I also love to watch the camp turn seeminly ordinary moments into opportunities for fun. At lunch, the kids did a ‘nikayon’ (cleanup) chant, and two bunks were awarded ‘great bunk cleaners of the day’ acknowlegement, to rousing cheers. It was a small moment, but moments like that are sprinkled throught the day, very effectively. It creates a great feeling of camp spirit. And….it was a beautiful day! The kids were still talking about Matisyahu’s second camp visit. Lots going on!
All the best,
Rabbi Rosenbaum
