Page 5-THE NEWS August, 1986
LUBAVITCH OF N. C.
The Camp Gan Israel Day Camp
Once again, Camp Gan
Israel was a smashing success.
More than forty-five children
participated in the camp pro
gram. The session, which
lasted two weeks, was the
most fun-packed and exciting
camp ever.
Every morning the children
arrived at the Lansdowne
School playground. The day
started with line-up. Campers
were selected to lead in the
singing of Jewish songs and
verses. This was followed with
special learning classes con
ducted by the counselors. The
children learned about
Mezuzah and other Mitzvoth.
After the study session, the
children hopped on to the vems
and off they went on exciting
trips. The trips ranged from
educational tours to fun filled
adventures. This included a
visit to Reed’s Gold Mine,
Discovery Place, Carowinds
and Riverbanks Zoo in
Columbia.
The older campers dis
covered the art of communica
tion, when they visited the
WTVI studio, Charlotte’s
public TV station. The
campers had a hands on ex
perience as they sang and per
formed under the lights and
cameras at the recording
studio.
Every day the children
returned for a hot nutritious
lunch, which was served at
Beth Shalom. During lunch
the children would hold sing
ing contests; they were so loud
that they rocked the building.
Some days the camp held a
cookout and picnic at one of
Charlotte’s parks. The most
interesting one was at
Hornet’s Nest Park, as the
camp gathered for lunch after
playing exciting games. The
food was being prepared on
grills, when suddenly they
were surrounded by quacking
ducks who wanted a piece of
the action. Lou Doctor, who
volunteered to help with camp,
had some job keeping the
ducks away from gobbling up
all the food. The children did
share some of their food with
the ducks.
The campers were led by ex
cellent counselors, who came
in from New York. They are
Nechama Rosier, Esti Shem-
tov, Chanie Marozov and
Rivkie Plotkin. The four are
students at Beth Rivkah
teaching seminary in
Brooklyn. The juniors also had
an excellent staff: Peggy
Davis, Mickie Salyer and
Chanie Wilson.
The campers were fortunate
to have some very good
volunteers, who helped make
the camp the success it was.
They are Eleanor Weinglass,
Ziva London and Lou Doctor.
The volunteers accompanied
the campers on all the trips
and really gave of their effort
and time.
After lunch the children
demonstrated their skills at
arts and crafts. They made
mosaic tile candy dishes,
beeswax Havdallah candles
and foil sculptures.
Campers and staff of Camp Gan Israel.
I .
Mariashi Groner (L) talking: to
Amy Wallace about camp activities.
Seth Pickholtz (L) and Chad
Klein (R) at Riverbanks Zoo.
Campers kneading the challah dough.
En|oying a day at Carowinds: (Starting upper left clockwise)
Counselor Chanie Marozov with group of exhuberant campers; riding the
Carolina Gold Rush; cavorting on the swings; the “rides" were enjoyed
by all.
The campers enjoyed swim
ming at two pools: the Klein
pool for the girls and the Wo-
jnowich pool for the boys.
Each group had their own life
guard who ensured safety and
fun. The tiny tots swam at the
Lubavitch pool under the
supervision of the counselors.
During the trips on the
vans, the children sang camp
songs and learned new ones.
Their favorite was “Heniah
Mah Tov” and ”We Want
Moshiach Now”. Each child
received a camp shirt and hat
which displayed the camp
emblem in Hebrew and
English.
A kosher label contest was
held. The camper who brought
in the most kosher labels with
a recognized kosher symbol
(like “O.U.” O.K.“CHOF K”)
was declared winner. There
were two winners: Ruth
Meyers, was number one, hav
ing brought in 9 large bags of
labels; Sloane Muller brought
in 98 labels. They both receiv
ed educational prizes.
The activities and trips were
cleverly arranged by Mariashi
Groner, director of camp. The
main empahsis was on quality
and substance. This resulted
in an excellent camp which the
children will remember for the
rest of the vear.
Thoughts From The
Lubavitcher Rebbe
Tish^ah B*av
By Rabbi Yossi Groner
The Hebrew month of Av
(which begins this year on
August 6) is one of extreme
holidays and observances.
First we have Tish’ah B’av
(9th of Av), which com
memorates the destruction of
both temples in Jerusalem.
This day is observed with
fasting and abstaining from
pleasurable activities. It is
considered the saddest day of
the year.
Following Tish’ah B’av, we
celebrate one of the most
joyous holidays in the year.
This holiday is Tu B’av (15th
of Av), which according to the
Talmud, is likened in impor
tance to Yom Kippur. Tu
B’av, commemorates the end
of the plague that killed
Jewish men between the age of
twenty to sixty.
According to chassidic
philosophy, since Tish’ah B’av
is the saddest, it causes that
the following days should be
the most joyous.
This teaches us an impor
tant lesson: Although we are
in the darkness of exile, we
need not be depressed, for the
15th of Av teaches us that the
ultimate purpose of this
darkness is the lofty levels of
the future. Thus this holiday
also serves as inspiration to be
positive, and should last the
rest of the year.
The main theme of the holi
day is Jewish unity through
love. Ahavat Yisroel — love of
a fellow Jew — is to be increas
ed to the level of true unity
amongst all Jews. This is ex
pressed in the particular
events of the day itself. On the
15th day of Av, the daughters
of Israel would go out and
dance in the vineyards; they
would be dressed in white, so
not to embarrass anyone.
This emphasizes the love'
respect expressed, to the ex
tent that all the girls borrow
ed from another, solely to
avoid embarrassing anyone.
Indeed, Torah considers
“Ahavat Yisroel” one of the
greatest principles in Judaism.
As the famous sage Hillel said:
‘‘That which you hate, do not
do to your friend (true expres
sion of love), this is the entire
Torah, the rest is its elabora
tion, go and learn.” This prin
ciple of love and unity gives
one the strength and inspira
tion to learn and fulfill the rest
of the Torah.
Simply put, the greatest and
best act a Jew can do in the
spirit of “Ahavat Yisroel” is
to cause a fellow Jew to come
closer to Judaism.
In addition to the above, the
15th of Av emphasizes in
crease in Torah study. The
Talmud states that from the
15th of Av on, the nights
become longer and the days
shorter; and since “the nights
were created only for the
study of Torah,” one should
increase in learning Torah in
to the nights.
Dial-A-Torah Talk: 365-1616
4700 E. Independence Blvd.
535-7980
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SIMON ESTROFF
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