This Shabbat we welcomed several special guests to our Crane Lake community for our annual Camp Assembly. We had temple representatives, board members, camp ambassadors, donors, Crane Lake Alumni, and clergy join us for our beautiful Saturday Morning Shabbat T’fillah. Lower Bonim led Friday night services with the theme of Manhigut, meaning leadership. The theme celebrated by Upper Bonim on Saturday was pathway to leadership. Campers read lovely speeches that we would like to share with you.
Friday Evening Shabbat Services
Abby S., Abby M., Rebecca S., bunk 6 and 8
Abby S: The next prayer is does not have a right or wrong, and it is not said by a Rabbi. This prayer is led by you. You get to be thankful or ask for things, or pray for other people. In this prayer, we are all leaders.
Abby M: When you think about the Exodus you think of Moses leading the Jews from Egypt which is a great example of leadership. But there are also some powerful female leaders, like Moses’s sister Miriam who found water for the Jews when they were wandering in the desert and talked the princess into making her mother Moses’s nursemaid.There are many others I could talk about, from many different stories from our history. So today during the silent prayer, think about some of the female leaders in your life.
Rebecca S: Today is also Rosh Hodesh, a day that celebrates women. We think of the women who stood up for their rights. They showed leadership by showing that men are not the only ones that can be leaders. Now women in the U.S. have the right to vote, run factories and much more. Soon, we may have the first woman president. But we must be thankful for this freedom. In a few countries, women and girls do not the same opportunities as men. They are not allowed to work, or even go to school. The United States is a country of freedom. We must be thankful for this. So, during the silent prayer, please appreciate that we live in the USA, the land of the free and the home of the brave.
Samantha E., bunk 6
The Modim prayer shows thankfulness. I am thankful for the new things I get to experience here at Crane Lake Camp, for example … the Lake because you can do many activities and try new things. Modim shows me that we can take a moment to think of all the things we are thankful for. I am also thankful for the different leadership opportunities that arise at camp. I get a chance to try out new paths, and look at things differently. I can try to lead, instead of just following. Modim also reminds me to be thankful for all of the leaders here at camp, like my counselors and coaches, and all the other members of the staff. They give me the opportunities and teach me the skills I need to take on these leadership roles. I encourage you to all be thankful and show Modim throughout camp and life.
Conrad and Max., LVE
Max: It takes a person to decide to make Shabbat feel like Shabbat. Shabbat doesn’t just appear. We need to create Shabbat SPIRIT. At home, I sometimes light candles, but not always. On the nights when we do, it feels more like Shabbat. But at Camp, Shabbat feels like a different day because we make it feel different with our food, T’fillah, and song session.
Conrad: At home, my family has a Shabbat tradition to cut the first piece of challah, tear a piece off, pass it to the next person, and wait till everyone has a piece of challah so we can enjoy it together. Camp tradition on Shabbat morning is free play and breakfast buffet. This makes Shabbat feel special and different from the rest of the week. Remember that you can take the lead and make Shabbat special with even the simplest choice no matter where you are!
Saturday Morning Shabbat Services
Lexi and Robin F., bunk 2 and 4
Lexi: Leadership is key to camp. You need to be a leader for your bunk, your unit and all of CLC. Upper Bonim takes leadership roles within lower camp, just as the Olim are leaders for all of camp. Sim Shalom is about peace. The Crane Lake bubble is like a wall that protects us from the outside world, which may not always be so peaceful.
Robyn: There is a connection between peace and becoming a leader. Sim Shalom first asks for peace for us and those who are close to us, like family and friends. Sim Shalom then asks for peace for all Jews and the rest of the world. It is the same with leadership. You must start small and then you can expand your leadership to bigger things.
Rachel C., Talia J., Julia P., bunk 4
Rachel: The next prayer is Shema. Shema is about listening. In camp, we have to listen to each other because if everyone is talking no one will know what is going on. The staff in our camp lead us through camp. In order to know what to do, you have to listen to the staff. Listening is also a way for us to practice being a leader in the future.
Talia: Our staff also needs to listen to us because each one of us has an opinion. We need to be heard because by doing so, we can help our leaders determine what to do. Also, by them listening it helps us campers feel as if our opinions matter.
Julia: Speaking up helps practice our leadership for the future. In order to be a real leader, you need to speak up. Speaking up is an essential part of being a true leader. You get a head start to being natural leaders by speaking up.
Maya K. and Addie B., bunk 2
Maya: There are many leaders in our CLC community including unit heads, counselors, and Debby. These leaders help us with our problems and work hard make camp such an amazing place.
Addie: When we come to pray, we also have leaders. During the Barechu, our prayer leaders guide our community by telling us its time to pray.
Both: Please rise for the Barechu and follow the lead of our leaders as we begin to pray.
For the first Aliyah Harold Grinspoon, Marty Messinger and Howard Kaufman were called up to thestage. These three men are very important in URJ Crane Lake Camp’s development. They had a vision for URJ Crane Lake Camp 18 years ago and made that vision come alive. For the second Aliyah, past and present directors were called up who beautifully recited the Torah blessing. These directors included, Debby Shriber, Herb May, and Louis Bordman. Also called up with Debby, Herb and Louis was John Stern who was the 1st chair member on the URJ Crane Lake Camp board . When the Torah readings were complete, Senator Eric Lesser came to the stage. He spoke about his Jewish camp and NFTY experience and how that influenced his life and career. Today’s Shabbat service was an amazing experience. We honored influential Jewish camp leaders from the past and present. We came together as one Crane Lake community to show our respect and appreciation for these incredible people.
By Lindsey Blackman, Communications Specialist