Becoming Machon

The CLC Blog

Home » Becoming Machon

The Machon Summer Leadership Institute at Eisner and Crane Lake Camps is an intensive leadership development program for rising high school seniors. It is designed for hardworking individuals looking to challenge themselves and actively engage in their own growth within a Jewish context throughout the summer and the school-year. Through the lens of Jewish values, Machonikim discover what it means to become a productive and successful member of the camp staff community, explore their Jewish identities, and gain valuable skills as Jewish leaders.

So far this summer, Machonikim have participated in programming focused on developing them as leaders on camp, and they have begun shadowing and internships to help them better understand the camp experience “behind the scenes.” This leadership programming and shadow time have both helped the Machonikim start to see camp as staff members, rather than campers. As one participant recently put it, Machon teaches how to create camp, rather than simply to expect it to happen. During our first Shabbat morning services, our Machonikim led us in prayer and inspired us with their reflections on their leadership journey:

“At camp, I rarely ever notice the passing of time. Days turn to evenings and I often find myself saying that the morning’s activities felt like years ago. Being at camp for four days feels like four weeks, however when it comes time to leave, it feels like only yesterday that we arrived. We move through cycles here in the bubble, often without realizing how far we’ve come. The same can be said for my time at camp as a whole. Since my first day in the bubble 8 years ago, I’ve moved through summer after summer, cycle after cycle.  As it was happening, I never noticed myself change, but looking back now, the person I was is world’s different than the person I am today. Nitzanim made me more adventurous, Bonim made me more kind, Chaverim taught me what it means to be a friend, Olim made me brave and my first week of Machon has made me understand just how much camp has given to me. These changes happened every day, however it was not until I looked back on the past years that I was able to see a full picture of my time at CLC.”

– Denali

“As Machon, we are in a spot of newfound responsibility as leaders on camp. For our past 6 summers, we looked up to our counselors as they guided us along the path of becoming young adults. Our counselors helped us grow and accept ourselves for who we are and now it is our turn. This summer, we came back because we want to shape our campers in the same way that our counselors shaped us. Whether it was something small like fishbowl at night or helping us overcome fears the first few summers, it is because of our counselors that we are here today. Our counselors acted as role models and helped us to make friendships that will last a lifetime. We want to learn the skills we need to be able to inspire our future campers to be the best people they can be. Camp is a place where we have always felt loved and accepted for who we are, and now it’s our job as leaders to help the next generation of campers feel the same.”

– Noam and Annabel

“If we were given 250 words to describe our friendship, one of the first things we would include is that Noodles still calls Daniel “new,” even in his eighth summer. While Daniel is not new by camp standards, in this incessant reminder of Noodles’ extra summer at camp, he is playing on a Crane Lake convention that stigmatizes newness. From screaming “new” during the Birkat Hamazon to admonishing a camper’s lack of Color War knowledge, newness can carry a negative connotation at camp, and one that new campers desperately wish to avoid. Typically, though, the longer one spends at camp, the more they distance themselves from this aura of newness, both in the ways that others treat them and in the way that they think of camp themselves.  This year, however, as Machon, we are new once again as the baby-faced members of CLC staff, entering both an old environment and a new role at the same time. Staff meetings, staff lounge, staff curfew, staff responsibility. All of it has made us realize what we would give to experience camp again for the first time. To be overwhelmed by Rec Hall plaques, stand awestruck at our first Maccabiah Breakout, drive through the silver gates next to the red gates for the first time. In other words, to fall in love with camp again.  In all of this, we have discovered that part of camp’s greatness is its’ novelty. Rather than shrinking from it, we should embrace it. From our camp generation to yours, we encourage you, regardless of whether this is your first year or your last, to seek out the value of newness.”

– Noodles and Daniel

Watching the Machonikim while making this transition has been truly inspiring. We look forward to watching them learn and grow throughout the rest of the summer, and we know that this next generation of staff members will do Crane Lake proud.