Author: Year Round Programs

My name is Lyndsey Lipson and I had the best summer of my life on Machon. We started the summer off with two days at Camp Tel Yehudah, Young Judaea’s teen camp. For some people this was their first time in Israel whereas for others it was there fifth or sixth. No matter how many times someone has been to Israel, this was the first time with Machon and everyone found it meaningful. Growing up in Young Judaea, Machon is something we all look forward to and live our summers waiting for. All throughout camp we learn about Israel and the culture but there is a difference between learning about it and experiencing it.

Standing on Yehudah Hatzair street allowed my Young Judaea career to come full circle. We wrote the names of people in Young Judaea who came before us and our own names in order to bring them with us on this journey. I wrote the name of my cousin who has been talking to me about her experience staffing machon seven years ago. She was someone who impacted my Young Judaea career and my choice to go on Machon. I will forever be thankful to her that I came on this program. One thing that I believe makes this different from any other Israel trip i’ve gone on with my family is the fact that I’m here with my best friends and making new friends everyday, even 3 weeks into the program. For many people this program encouraged them to do Year Course in the 2019-2020 year. Being here for only one month allows us to learn a portion of the history that Israel has and coming on Year Course would allow us all to learn so much more and get to experience Israel in a different way.

~ Lyndsey Lipson is a 12th grader from East Brunswick, New Jersey and serves as New Jersey Young Judaea’s Administrative Vice President

H+ was a very interesting experience for me . . . to say the least. I had heard from the people who did it before me that it is a very draining and challenging experience, but still an all around rewarding and amazing month. For me, H+, or Hadracha Plus, was one of the toughest months of my life that I will always be grateful for. The month started out with daily themed leadership training sessions such as child development, or the leadership hierarchy in camp.

Everyday was filled with discussions, fun activities and special guests from around camp. Every night we would come together in the Gazebo and spend 15 minutes journaling about what we learned that day and how we can use it to our advantage or how it made us feel. Knowing that we had such a huge impact on shaping campers lives was kind of scary at first. We were scared of messing up, or saying the wrong thing at the wrong time; in time we learned that when it truly comes down to helping campers, the training really prepared us and helped us.

The amount of self discovery and self reflection that we did took a toll of me at first. Because there were only nine of us in the program, it felt as though the spotlight was always on us. But in reality, because we were such a small group, we were stronger than ever. Knowing that there were eight other people who were going through the same experience as me, who had their own struggles, experiences and takeaways made me feel closer to my friends and to the program as a whole. When the third week came, we were spending every minute of every day with our campers, except our hour off of course.

I loved my campers so much. Because they were 11-12, they were a little bit more mature and easier to talk to then some of the other campers. I bonded almost instantly with most of my 12 girls, others took a little more time, but by the end of camp I was very close with all of them. Watching my co’s in action, and spending almost two and a half weeks learning, training, and discovering who I am helped me feel closer to the place where I spent my summers growing up. It helped me learn just how much each and every child is cared for and the impact that we have as madrichim and as influential teens. Although it was one of the most mentally challenging and toughest experience of my life, it was also one of the best and one that I will be forever grateful for.

~ Zoe is an 11th grader from Woodbury, New York and is the Pirsum (social media and communications) programmer for the LI NYC Mazkirut (Teen board).

Every summer at camp is something magical. An escape from the realities of school and stress. And yet, there was something that stood out this summer at Camp Tel Yehudah.  This summer my Shikvah (age group) at camp was called Yachad. Yachad means together in Hebrew, and quite literally sums up what the summer was all about. Yachad is the first year where campers from all four Young Judaea summer camps join together at Tel Yehudah.  I transitioned from knowing 40 or so kids I went to junior camp with to learning the names of 100 kids from all over the country and a few across the globe.

At first, the transition was quite stressful and overwhelming. The first few days everyone was attached at the hip to the kids they’d grown up with at Sprout, CJ, Midwest, or Texas. These 4 camps became what made us different and what separated us from each other. But after a while, everyone came to the same realization that we all had one thing in common: we were all Judaeans. No matter what camp we had attended we had grown up singing the same songs, dancing the same dances, and learning how to incorporate the same values into our Jewish lives. Each camp had its own spin on our classic traditions. It turned out that in the end, the camps weren’t what separated us but what brought us together, b’yachad. The bonds I made this summer were so strong and so deep that they seem to me to be unbreakable.  

I find myself these days in my room on FaceTime with my friends from Michigan, Georgia, North Carolina, Connecticut, Florida, New York, or Illinois. My mom tells me stories of when she would get in trouble for all the long-distance charges on her family’s phone bill because she had called camp friends from across the country. I think our love for our camp is something my mom and I can bond over. My summer at Camp Tel Yehudah created so many unlikely friendships that I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to do anywhere else. Friendships that were forged on the basis of togetherness and acceptance, two values that Yachad instills in its campers.

~ Manni Burach is a 10th grader from Livingston, NJ and is currently the Merakezet Pirsum (Social Media and Communications) for the New Jersey Mazkirut (Teen Board)

This I believe, that Israel is complex. That in the middle of all the conflict, the main issue lies in a difference of narrative. An inherent contradiction between the way two groups of people tell a story.

I love Israel, and I would support it as a Zionist state to pretty much any end, but it has its issues. I love the culture in Israel. I love the food, the community, the feeling of being home. I believe in Israel but I also believe in peace in the Middle East. As a Jew living in New York, I have so much love for Israel. But, I also believe that if I were a Palestinian in a small village in Gaza being fed twisted (if not false) news, I would have a lot of rage directed toward Israel.

Since the creation of the State, Israel has had two very different stories being told. I think the best way to sum this up is how Yom Ha’atzmaut, “day of independence,” for Israelis/Jews, comes directly before the Nakhba, “day of catastrophe,” for Palestinians. It was a time of triumph for the Jewish people, the end to a long fight for a safe home where Jews would always be welcome. While for Palestinians, it marked them being pushed out of their home and lost.

Israel is filled with so much tension. It was built as a result of a very controversial series of events.

It is true, there are Arabs or Palestinians who want all Jews dead. Within the United states, there are Palestinians, or other people (possibly pro BDS) who want something along those lines as well. There are people who believe that the Israeli government is corrupt and oppressive. There are people who believe that Jews do not deserve a state. It is also true, that there are Jews who want all Palestinians dead. Within my own school and camp community, there are people who believe that Palestinians are evil. People who believe that they are all terrorists, that they do not deserve equality.

I believe in neither of these ideas. My idealistic self believes that there has to be a way to reach common ground. I believe that peace is possible

I’m not sure I have found find a fully articulated and coherent opinion on the current situation. I believe that the key to peace is conversation. The climate and tension in Israel is one which can only be solved through civil discourse, and personal relationships. I believe that both sides have dehumanized each other. They each refuse to look at each other for what they are, human beings, and moreover, individuals.

I believe facilitating civil conversation, active engagement with people who come from different backgrounds is what is needed. As I see most conflicts, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, at its core boils down to misunderstandings. I believe that a resolution must start somewhere. That it can be in classrooms, over social media, or in the Knesset. For any sort of progress I believe each side must make an effort, to reach out and attempt to make a change, this I believe.

~ Naama is a 12th grader from Brooklyn, NY and is the Bogrim (teen) Programmer of the National Mazkirut of Young Judaea

Yozma. I still quite honestly have no idea if anyone knows what the word means. Trust me, I googled it and everything. But I have a pretty good idea of what it looks like.

Who can count the days they hugged a camper close as they wept their worries away? Who can count the amount of laughs erupting from the bunk when somebody wore underwear on their head or attempted an Israeli accent? Having experienced all of these moments as a camper was one thing, but to watch other kids have them under your facilitation is the most rewarding form of hard work. From planning activities for the kids to telling them slightly-embellished stories, the look on their faces while they watch their counselor in amazement is more valuable than any tangible currency.

Yozma definitely presented its challenges, but each one was met with a reward. For example, I had the challenge of filling a surprise hour without starting every sentence with the infamous, “let’s play a game”. It can be so intimidating to view yourself as responsible for the summers of these kids, but Sprout Lake is Sprout Lake and they’ll have fun no matter what. The only thing anyone needs at Sprout is a sense of belonging, and at a place like this, nobody needs to ask to fit in.

I look back on Yozma as one of the biggest growth experiences of my life. It was the first time I was really put in a position of responsibility for other people, and every last moment was intense and pressured. However, the pressure was met with stellar rewards; it is safe to say making a kid smile is sweeter than any apple turnover!

~ Yael Asofsky is a 12th grader from Charlotte, North Carolina

This past summer I participated in Camp Tel Yehudah’s leadership program, Hadracha. I learned a lot about what it means to be a leader. One of the many things we did this summer was going to Washington D.C to lobby for issues we were passionate about. At the beginning of the session, we split into 10 different groups, called Tikkun groups (from Tikkun Olam) that were based on various problems people face throughout the world. I was in the women’s rights Tikkun group. At first, we looked at many broad problems regarding women, including reproductive rights and the wage gap. As our trip to our nation’s capital approached, we decided to focus mainly on the topics we agreed were most important; reproductive rights and the wage gap.

The night we arrived in Washington D.C., President Trump nominated Brett Kavanaugh to replace Judge Kennedy in the Supreme Court. This nomination played an important role in our trip because we educated ourselves on some of Judge Kavanaugh’s ideas for the future, as we already knew he was in the running to replace Judge Kennedy. We discovered that many of his plans would be very detrimental to women’s reproductive health for generations to come.  The next day was “Organization Day”. Each tikkun group split up and went to different organizations that were scattered throughout Washington. These organizations focused on some of the issues we were learning about.

The women’s rights tikkun group went to the National Partnership of Women and Families, Planned Parenthood and the National Council of Jewish Women. Each organization provided us with information about what they specialize in and gave helpful tips on how to lobby and speak to government officials. This was super helpful for the next day when we spoke with the staff of Representative Rosa DeLauro and Senator Susan Collins. These meetings were particularly important because we had the chance to try to persuade the staff of these significant representatives to vote against the appointment of Judge Brett Kavanaugh. Because of this, as a group, we did our best to try and mention the important issues that could result if Kavanaugh is confirmed. Receiving this opportunity to have the chance to help shape the future of women was unique and something that doesn’t happen every teen.  

~ Hannah is an 11th grader from Plainview, New York and serves as the Administrative Vice President of the LI NYC region of Young Judaea.