Shabbat Week 1

Sharing their Shabbat experiences for this blog are our director Rabbi Kenny Pollack and Hazan Aryeh “Haham” Greenberg.

 

Kenny:

Shabbat was fun and it seemed like it had the right balance of fun, singing, chill time and great food. Meals were plentiful and the kids loved the meals. Friday night we got the full camp picture, had a very inspired tefillah and an energy packed dinner with late night pizmonim. We learned a lot about the flow of dinner, tefillah and candle lighting and we are going to make it even better next Shabbat. We had a great dairy lunch, full of Bourekas, quijado, salmon, rice, amazing homemade hummus, and ice cream sundaes for dessert. It was followed by a lot of structured chill time which has been desperately needed. The vibe during the afternoon was, as our special guest Al Maimon described, like “Heaven”. The day is currently ending with the CIT’s watching a movie and the rest of camp at a bonfire with Quinn.

 

Aryeh “Haham” Greenberg:

• Friday, I spent most of the day before Shabbat putting up the Eruv with the help of some of the B4 boys, specifically Bodhi, and staff members including Quinn, Al Benoliel, Jakie Levy, and the site director Brandon, a non-Jew who asked me very intelligent questions about the Eruv. An improvement this year: we made the ten foot vehicle clearance doorways with PVC poles anchored by rebar. Throughout the very public Eruv building process the crew and campers asked some great Halachic questions.
• I managed to make it into the camp picture at the very last minute and got to see all the kids cleaned up in their Shabbat finest. Ke Zehud! (What a privilege)
• While the women went to light candles, which I heard was beautiful, we filled the 20 minutes with mnemonics for remembering all of Rambam’s 14 books.
• Post-dinner Pizmon-mania: This year many Sephardic Shabbat and Simchat Torah tunes were sung with gusto and unprecedented accuracy, thanks in part to the scheduled Pizmon-mania sessions that each bunk had on Friday afternoon.
• Adir Kevodo was sung beyond the letter gimmel, for the first time in years. Ki Eshmera Shabbat, D’ror Yikra, and many other classics were sung with almost as much gusto as Big Gedalya Gumber (Ashkenazic tune, but with a Sephardic flavor).
• Rounding out Friday night was the perennial staying up late with the Torah readers to perfect their Torah and Haftarah readings.
• On Shabbat morning there were a number of candy throwing episodes in honor of people who had their birthdays, and the reading was excellently done by Alon Yehezkel, Isaac and Jakie Levy, and Zack Ben-Ezra came through with his usual loud, clear Spanish-Portugese Haftarah.
• During Seudah Shelisheet I was struck by G1 with their tiny bossy voices giving it to their rival group B4. Too many Hadrosos (humorous show-offs) and Hanumes (little mademoiselles) did their thing and kept me chuckling. I was touched by their interactions.
• Saturday night after Havdallah, we had a spirited singing of Lihvod Hemdat Levavi. I was also able to use my new Bluetooth speakers to walk around broadcasting Yehoram Gaon and the Revivo project.
• As far as nature goes, I saw baby deer multiple times, and heard the roaring of the Pacific Ocean.
• So many adorable kids and a dedicated staff make for a magical little community. I noticed kids watching out for their buddies, or just kids helping someone who could use encouragement and a helping hand. It made an impression. Mash’allah Ben Porat Yosef! (lit: Praise to Ashem for the fruitful sons of Yosef) It’s so beautiful that we have such spunky Sephardic campers.
• An hour ago I was in Sarah’s tent teaching kids to write their names in Solitreo (old standard, nearly extinct Sephardic handwriting). They thought of it as code writing that only a privileged few could read and write. And now I’m off to teach Ladino 101.
• Over and out from Sephardic Adventure Camp!