Our final Shabbat services were led by Nitzanim and Olim, the youngest and oldest units on camp. Here are some of the writings they read for the Crane Lake community on Friday night and Saturday morning. Their words made our last Shabbat together incredibly special.
By Ashlee
This is my first year at camp and I was warmly welcomed. I was taught a lot of traditions like the special CLC birthday song and the lunch time song – Everybody Dance Now. I am now a part of these traditions. That have been going through this camp from well honestly I don’t even know how long they have been going on but my guess is a really long time. They are passed down form camper to camper to camper over the generations. Avot/Imahot is a prayer that reminds us of the generations that came before us.
By Liv and Shoshana
Liv: The next prayer is the Modim. The Modim is about thankfulness.
Shoshana: We are thankful to have met each other because of the rachamim that we have shown each other.
Liv: Rachamim, or compassion, is our Jewish value for the week and is most definitely something to be thankful for. Last year was my first year at CLC. It was Shoshi’s 2nd year, so she knew a lot more about camp than I did.
Shoshana: Liv was clueless about sleepaway camps, so I decided to reach out to her.
Liv: Shoshi helped me around camp and was by my side 24/7.
Shoshana: We both live in Brooklyn and are thankful that we met each other. As we say the Modim, think about what you are thankful for, whether it is compassion, friendship, or anything at all.
Together: Be thankful for your friendships – we are!
By Madeline and Sarah
The prayer we are about to recite is called the Kedusha. The theme of this prayer is holiness. At camp, everything we do and see if holy. We take for granted the experience of camp when we need to appreciate every aspect. As we are Olim and this is our last Shabbat together, we want to remind everyone to cherish every moment at camp, to live every camp experience to the fullest and to appreciate and cherish the holiness and the blessings that camp has to offer.
By Becca, Sam and Eve
Becca; The next prayer in our service is the silent prayer. Please use this time to realize how blessed each and every one of you is for the chance to be at Crane Lake Camp.
Sam: Especially for Olim 14, we are all so blessed to have led the camp during color war this year. No think about how you want to spend your last day here – who you want to spend it with, what you will do in the last few hours of Summer 2014.
Eve: Take this time to count your blessings because the chance may be gone before you know it.
By Avery
This is my 7th year at camp and each year has gone by very quickly. This, being my final year as a camper, I have taken some time to think back and reflect on my times as a camper. Yes, there were many great memories throughout the years, like Olim 14 winning fight song. However, I found myself struggling to remember all of them and it hit me. I should have taken more time as a camper to count my blessings at each great moment of my camp experience. This is because each of these moments combined to make your camp experience the best it can be. The next prayer is Yismechu. This prayer speaks about celebrating special moments. During this prayer, I encourage you to take some time to remember some of your great moments at camp and when a great moment happens, keep it in the back of your head so that you can remember and celebrate them.
By Noa and Emily
Noa: One of the most common phrases used the end of camp is “Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.” We all wish this was easy to follow, but it’s impossible to go through such an amazing experience without wanting to experience all of it again.
To Olim 14 and anyone else who isn’t ready to leave, think about how much you have changed – whether in the past week, over the whole summer or since your first year. Think about all of the friends, skills, and memories that you will keep the rest of your life. Even if it doesn’t make it easier to say goodbye, it’s amazing that we had the experience in the first place.
At the end of the service, we recite the Mourner’s Kaddish in honor of those who are no longer with us. An interesting thing about this prayer, though, is how it doesn’t talk about death. Instead, it reminds us how amazing it was that our loved ones had lived and had been part of our lives in the first place. This may not make losing someone any easier, but it does soften some of the sadness.
Emily: Even though we are upset by the loss of someone lose to our hearts, The Mourner’s Kaddish celebrates life and teaches us to appreciate the people and the blessings we have been given.
Yesterday, after Sing, many captains were crying, myself included. Now, looking back, I recognize the incredible blessing it was; the best four days of my life with the best people in my life.
Although it is difficult not to be sad, the memories and the people are what brings a smile to my face. I thank you all for this blessing. I hope we all can appreciate it as much as I do.
By Emily and Kenna
This week’s Torah portion is Eikev. In it, Moses gives a speech reflecting on the Israelites journey through the desert. This portion is only a small part of his speech, which takes up the entire book of D’varim, meaning words. The words that Moses says reminded them of the highs and lows of their journey. He reminded the Israelites to appreciate the blessings God grants them throughout their hard journey. They were blessed with the gift of manna when they were hungry, clothes that didn’t wear out and feet that did not swell. These blessings from God helped to make the 40-year journey of the Israelites less of a struggle.
Like the Israelites, we reflect back on all the blessings we have been given throughout out 9-year journey at Crane Lake. Even though all the changes like the art shack to the Beit Am and the old dining hall to the Chadar Ochel, we are still thankful for all camp has taught us and given us. The journey may not have been easy, and there may have been some bumps along the way, but it has taught us how to deal with problems and handle certain situations. We have been blessed with a safe place to express our Jewish identities and have been blessed with lasting friendships with only 24 hours left in our journey as Crane Lake campers, we appreciate the friends we have made including each other. Personally we would like to thank all of Crane Lake for changing out lives and blessing us. Thank you Olim 14 for blessing us with all of your love and friendship. We wouldn’t have wanted to make this journey with anyone else.