Boys 5766 News | Camp Gan Israel - Detroit, Lubavitch City, Michigan

Camp Gan Israel - Boys 5766

News Page

My first report, Wednesday night, Rosh Chodesh Av

Hi Mommy! I can't believe I did not see you for a whole day! I miss home already! But don't worry, the staff are telling me that it's going to be a smashing summer, so I guessed that would mean without getting hurt. Don't ask why. Anyway, they brought us for some reason to the wrong side of camp, so we ended up walking to the other side because it was getting late and the busses would not have made it – you should have seen what that curvy road to the other side looked like! So, next thing we came into the Shul, where we were split into groups. First a head counselor spoke. Then some other head counselor. Then another. Three heads. Whew! What a speech! I was holding already at the edge of my bench when they stated to call out the bunks! Now let me tell you how my counselor had to come in: he tumble-sauced three times, made two headfirst double-backwards flips, jumping on the shoulders of the wrong staff member, clapping his hands, running like a wild chicken, jumping over benches, screaming out loud (why?), plus all the staff were cheering him on like they bet on him. What a counselor. He took us to a room called a "bunk", being that it this room where we are sleeping (if we do that here) and there are only ‘bunk’ beds in there. We unpacked my 8 suitcases of nosh, played tetherball, and right before my turn they called us to Minchah. The announcer on the PA person is crazy too! He was counting the numbers backwards from 10, and when he got to one, we all had to be in the Shul. The head counselor is a scary looking person (he even has a chin coming out from his beard) Then we went into a ranch called the "A frame" to eat supper. My waiter told me that the head counselors wear masks on the first day, so I should not be scared. I hope he's right. In middle of eating my pizza, someone made a Siyum HaShnaps since it's the 9 days, then we benched. Oh, you never saw me Benching so loud and clear. Because of me, we got and extra 1/8th of 6 ½’s of 12/5 of a point! Then we Davened Maariv, watched a video of the Rebbe and said Krias Shma. I have so much to write just about today, but the PA announcer person said "10 minutes to lights out", and I gotta go to my "bunk" to discuss the cheer for our "bunk" - to show the world how crazy we can be after Bentching... don't even ask...
Alright - Good Night!

Friday, Gimmel Av – My first "Bunk Trip"

Hi Mommy! You won't believe this: (One of my many) counselor(s) woke us up early today, and sent us in the van (obviously after getting dressed, brushing teeth, saying Brochos, eating nosh, washing my face, kissing the mezuzah and scratching my nose on my way out) and we went to a lake to Daven Shacharis & eat breakfast, and then (with the food still digesting) went to bungee-jump! Except the food part didn’t know how to bungee-jump so well, so he stayed at the bottom, you know? The funny part is that the head counselors did not know about it! When we came to camp, LD Zalman Deren sent us straight to learning class! The bad news is, that HC Shimmy found out! Don't ask. It's too scary. Or maybe not. We had fun, so I guess it was good after all! I'll be sending you a letter with 13 lines (read between the lines) this afternoon and fill you in with the details. Please send more nosh and 8 new pairs of pants, ‘cuz I exceeded my dietary expectations and so did my cubby-sharer. Good Shabbos family!
P.S.: Did you send me some nosh? All my bunkmates got already 13 letters or packages, or both, since camp started!

First Shabbos in Camp – Daled Av

Wow! What a Shabbos!
It all started by Minchah, when HC Shimmy said that we will be competing on Shabbos. It was called a Shabbos competition. I only found out that it was for the best bunk (well, the one next to me) that competed! Or whatever that means. Anyway, we had a beautiful Kabolas Shabbos Chazzened by our very own Van Driver Reuven Giter, headed by HC Yitzi Steiner. That was some Lecha Dodi! You would have never imagined in your entire life-span time that I would have ever Davened and sang so nicely! The counselors and staff all joined us in singing. It was just out of this Shul! Or even better, out of this World! Following that was our Shabbos meal, with HC Levi Teldon getting us on our benches over and over again with the many Lebedike Niggunim! That was just something. We finished at 12:01 in the morning!!! I stayed after for a very short Farbrengen with Masmidim Learning Teacher Mendel Shemtov who was celebrating his birthday with camp. He told us many stories of the Rebbe. Then I went to sleep. Shabbos morning, I got up as usual, at 5:00 am (too bad there is no tetherball on Shabbos) patiently waiting until breakfast. We were all called into the Shul, where LD Yudi Shmotkin taught us Chassidus faren Davenen. The Aliyos for Krias Hatorah were auctioned off by HC Levi, and we were able to buy an Aliyah for a staff member of your choice through Mishnayos Beal Peh points. I bought an Aliyah for two gold’s and a red (it’s worth like 10 freezepops and a can of diet-coke and I think a Mike and Ike too), and gave it to HC Levi himself! HC Yitzi ran the Shabbos meal, and following that we Farbrenged with our learning teacher. After that I went to learn Mishnayos Beal Peh and ended up with a closet full of nosh being that MBP Director Benzion Shemtov had a store where we could have "bought" nosh depending on how much MBP we did! After Minchah we had Shaleshudos with a premiere of Shmaryonkee. Don't ask what that is. Basically, it's a group of crazy staff members that act out as - themselves. It was very funny though! Motzoei Shabbos the head counselors announced the winners for Shabbos competition (not after those crazy staff members interrupted them with crazy song from when I was a kid, mom) in order to hear that the bunk next to me won! The winners were bunk Ches, and the runners up were bunk Hey! The good news is we had a late night, where one bunk was playing volleyball, and the other basket ball. Gotta go, it's getting late! Oh, and thanks for overnighting the nosh! I knew I can count on you. I just don't know where can I store those 4 boxes of popcorn/potatochips/twizzlers&mike'n'ikes!

Sunday Morning, 5 Av 5766

Hi folks! Today is (so far) a regular day. We woke up at 5:00 am to play tetherball, not after running over and splashing my friend's Neggel Vasser, making a Bore Nefashos on the 4-pound noshbox you sent me, and, because of Ahavas Yisroel in the 9 days, waking up all my bunkmates to join me in the game. For some reason all the staff are singing songs with the words "25", or "25-8", or "25-9"... I guess this issue with numbers like the PA guy is a staff-wide problem! My bunkmates told me it's because today is the Color War breakout, and it's 25 years since they started this whole Color War thing! I'm so excited! Because, if I ever told you, I love color war. Anyway, rest period is over, I gotta run to my second activity. Bye bye!

Sunday night – Ice Skating!

I thought something was fishy. At the end of the second activity today, instead of going to Learning Classes, they sent us to the Shul where LD Yudi Shmotkin ran a General Learning Class. It wasn't raining, or snowing, or anything like that. Then head counselor Yitzi came in, and tried to continue the general learning class, but it wasn't working. So he right away covered up by telling us that we are all going ICE SKATING!! We Davened Mincha, and went onto the busses. And, if that's not enough, for the first time in the history of CGI Detroit, we went to a local trip on COACH BUSSES! We arrived at the Ostego County Sportsplex, where we lined up, lowered (or raised) the 'flag', said a Perek Tehillim for Eretz Yisroel, learned a Hayom Yom for the FIRST time about the spark of Hashem in every piece of food that gives you the real energy, and in we went to the Sportsplex where a awesome supper was quickly setup by Kitchen Manager Schenur Perl and the waiters, prior to entering the skating arena department. The staff kept on singing this "25" song over and over. We skated for a long time, thanks to ECAD Zalman Schapiro. All the staff, even the head staff joined us on the rink. Wow, was that a trip. We came back, Davened Maariv, and went to sleep. I'm still trying to figure out what's this 25-9 all about! Well, I think I'll have to 'sleep' on it. Good night!

Monday, 6 Av 5766 – Mivtza Rambam introduced

Oh wow! What a special day in Gan Israel – I can feel it in my socks! Enthusiastic Davenings, eggs and breakfast for cereal, Holy macaroni learning classes for lunch, exciting sports leagues and activities (including baseball, volleyball, basketball, hockey, oh yes gaga, arts and crafts, biking, and survival for supper!) Then the most spontaneous event in the national history of my lifespan took place – we were dismissed to our night activity places in the Shul – but there was no night activity!! Instead, the Shul was hanging upside down with red and yellow curtains and assorted decorations that plastered my entire bunk's bench and domain, including my counselor’s visibility level. The staff were singing their head off flat on key the whole time to the tune of “25-9, 25-9, 25-9!” I finally figured it all out when the head counselors explained us how something very special is happening in Camp this summer – we’re gonna be celebrating the completion of the 24th cycle of the study of the Rambam (I think that means the My Mammadies in Hebrew or something), and starting the 25th bicycle this coming up week! There was even a real live 16 speed 64mb horsepower bicycle on stage to raffle off for all participating campers! Basically, being that the Siyum is in camp, the staff are making a big deal out of this 25 thing, and each and every one of us received our very own set of Sefer Hamitzvos with our name in it – including me!! Each night my counselor teaches me the Daily Mitzvah(s) before we go to bed with our flashlights, and the next day when I do a lot of nothings by rest period, I take a quiz to see if I remember the daily mitzvah, get myself hanged on a giant sign on the wall of the dining room by my name, and get in to raffle tickets for that 6.3 mega pixel water-bike and sets of Rambam too!! Did you know that I learned in camp to do two things at once? Look – now I will know all 613 Mitzvos by next year, while simultaneously at the same time do something that unites all Jews around all over around the whole round world with Hashem – study all aspects of His laws at the same time many other Jews are studying the same thing – get it? Can you join me too?! I’m sure we have a Sefer Hamitzvos at home online and I’m sure you can find out how to use it – because I’ll be home next month I think! I gotta go learn that awesome Mitzvah stuff now! Have a good night!

Tuesday, 7 Av 5766 – Heatwave

Weeew! It was boiling hot today – it must have been at least 90 degrees celsiheit! I heard there’s a wave of water and heat coming directly to camp today. That’s why I got a free freezing ice cold water bottle for free, plus free refills – if I decide to fill it up again from the freezing cold delicious well water in the sink that comes from the camp lake! The bottle even had my very own name and bunk handwritten on it by a label, and ten numbers, so each time I emptied the bottle into my stomach I checked off a number and received a prize when I finished ten bottles – a freezing cold bottle of water!! (Was I not supposed to refill it with soda?) Then the counselors started spraying each other up with water and super-soakers and super-soaked in their clothes! The whole camp got involved for a Grand Organized Chaotic Grand Waterfight!! Water balloons!! Bathing suites!! Sprinkler systems!! Water!! (I’m still drenched as I’m writing this to you 7 ½ hours later Mommy) Even my (water) shoes became a water holder dispenser! You should have seen my counselor try not to cry with laughter when my whole bunk splattered him with ice cold beverages down his back and on his nose!! All of a sudden it wasn’t so hot anymore, so we cooled down for learning classes and retired for the day. After Lineup, we went to the basketball field and Davened Mincha, because they wanted to break out color war in the Shul. In the end, since there is no Color War this year, they changed it to a Masmidim Play. Wow - was that some acting! I'll tell you about it when I'll call home. It was awesome! Mommy I’m having so much fun – can we move to camp? See you tomorrow!

Wednesday, 8 Av 5766 – Recuperation

This morning I felt all clean after showering with soap and shampoo as opposed to balloons and sprinklers. I drank at least a bajillion gallons of water (why is there a squiggly red line under that positive numeric estimation in my word document?). Then, in the heat of lunch, staff got appreciated with an appreciation of a staff gift. They were so well behaved when their names were individually announced with all the prefixes and titles and honors and name tags – they clapped loudly and sang songs for each other like there was no tomorrow, except there really was a tomorrow and I was starving for rest period. Oh – they each got a gift or garbage bagged wrapped beautiful customly made and wrapped state of the art navy blue 100% cotton and like ten percent cashmere camp logo with a zip up sweater attached, plus – it’s just the beginning – a navy grey scarf with a logo on the bottom, or the side, or the top, depending on which way you wear it. I guess the head staff felt that they deserved to wear them in this heat. I ended off the day with large quanititudes of water and freezepops in order to last strong supplies for tomorrow’s fast day. Plus the pizza was out of this world right onto my shirt and pants!! It’s a good thing my counselor said that bunk laundry is coming up. We sat on the floor and ate eggs before the fast remembering the destruction of our holy temple in Jerusalem hoping that my Davening and learning will bring about the rebuilding of the third Beis Hamikdosh very soon, and then went to the Shul to sit on the floor again to recite Eicha and Maariv. No beans this year! Next year with beans!!

Thursday, 9 Av 5766 – Breakfast?

Guess when I fasted ‘till? – all the way until breakfast! Incidentally, Break-fast is spelled that way, apparently. So, where do you want me to start with? My socks tied around my bed as a sign to wake me up in the morning for cocoa club? My learning teacher? The jaw breakers in the canteen? Thank the One Above for the laundry department center. My shirt kept getting stuck to the ceiling when I would try to throw it into my laundry bag. There are no rules of gravity in camp, obviously. That’s why the staff flew up to the baseball field for the camper-counselor baseball game without no explanation, except that they were fasting. It was neat to see slip on slippers and water shoes miraculously become major league cleats, on the mound and in right field. Professional announcements and real live broadcasts and sound affects on the PA were brought to us by “The Home Depot” and “25-9”, proud sponsors of the official CGI Softball League Semi-Finals Conference of Bats. You should have seen the staff make professional, experienced, amazingly-talented bobbles and bloopers and errors. They must have realized what power-hitters sluggers and clean-up sweepers we were, and were trying to forfeit in a moral and ethically politically correct way. It was obvious we were going to win against them, so we did!! Like 68 to 3!! Nice game. We had snacks while the staff stood on in utter drooling and disbelief. We Davened Mincha really hard that the staff should feel better. The Tropicana and homemade chocolate covered cookies were a life-saver for their systems. And then, in the middle of a silence exercise – I was introduced to my very own custom-made-on-camp-premises laminated Birchos Hashachar and Krias Shema card that I can use in camp and at home (and when I sleep in the woods)!! Please have a prominent place to hang my chart in my bedroom prepared for me when I make my grand arrival home in like what – 2 ½ months or something? I got dismissed to rest for the night from those cookies, but not quite yet! My bunk got to clean our hands with soap and fold the Challah for Shabbos, while simultaneously decorating our faces with flower in honor of Shabbos!! T.G.I.F. tomorrow and we’re taking a swim and a shower! Good night!

Friday – Learning Trip

What another unbelievable fun day today! I heard my name announced as one of the campers who excelled in Learning Classes and will be going on the ‘learning trip’! We packed onto the bus and slammed right in to the indoor roller rink and swimming pool for indoor skating and swimming!! You should have seen my Learning Teacher trying to skate in his bathing suite! Then we came back to camp for a lunch and clean up for Shabbos – an amazing experience! The staff got us to be so Lebedik and energetic like a cold freezepop while singing and dancing at the same time!! My bunk is going for Shabbos competition big time! (b.t.w. there’s a bicycle hanging from the A in the A-frame – I think it’s for the winner of the raffle for the Sefer Hamitzvos campaign. I can’t tell you how I found out.)

Smashing Shabbos - Second week

What a smashing Davening and chocolate cake for breakfast! I even looked in-side my Chumash the entire Krias Hatorah and received a prize!! The meal was phenomenal and so were the cold freezepops my counselor got for my entire bunk! We sang and ate to our stomachs delight for hours on end, until we had learning class Farbrengens and my learning teacher told us one juicy story after the next! I did tons of Mishnayos baal peh and got tons of nosh! We had a smashing Shmaryonkee for shalosh seudos – remind me when I get home and I’ll tell you the whole thing. And guess who won Shabbos competition?! Bunk Gimmel were the runner-ups, and bunk Yud and bunk Tes were the winners!! It’s not over – instead of being dismissed straight to bed, we were dismissed to get our flashlights and sweaters for a grand BONFIRE!! What awesome piece of art, flames sparkling in to the ashes and fireworks! We sang songs and ate marshmallows until I realized it was getting late and I should get some sleep before I maybe see you tomorrow!

Sunday - Visiting Day

What? Today is visiting day?! I think that’s when you get visited by tons of assorted nosh, cheesecakes and fruity pebbles, brothers and sisters and pet dogs. The canteen was selling pizza, onion rings, hot pretzels and hotdogs and French fries like hot potatoes. There was even two larger-than-life moon inflatabounce rides that were like moon walks! I nearly made two head-on mid-air collisions with my counselor and nearly landed in the lake on top of some visitors taking their visitees out for a boat spin. To top it all off, the staff prepared a very dramatic traumatic staff choir, to the beat of “Hey-dum-diddle-dee-dum”, flat on key with the rhythm of “I’m a hippopotamus”, to the tune of “Bubbies boarding house”, while harmonizing the song of “One is Hashem” and “boom-bada-boom-bada-boomba-boom-badada…” and “Haveinu Shalom Aleeeeeeeeeichem” – truly an everlasting unforgettable memory of life experience. Like 30 staff members visited me and took me to the canteen for free of charges, except I think they had to pay for it, apparently (free refills didn’t really work). By supper the staff went ballisticly bananas – screaming COLORWAR and BEEVO BEEVO BEEVOWAK, but to no avail since it was just a fake breakout which I knew the whole time. And then for night activity we played this silly game when the chairs are supposedly supposed to make music, like musical chairs, and when you run out of chairs to sit down on you’re out and you win a prize?! Like, come on!? Tell you more tomorrow!

Monday - Siyum HoRambam

Finally! 25-9 IS HERE! Tonight there was an awesome set-up in the dining room, with real live colored table clothes decorating the cups and colorful napkins. Plus a program menu guide to make sure we knew we were eating mushroom & onion soup as opposed to the pineapple and strawberry desert or the franks in blanks for the appetizer (although personally, the franks in blanks was really my main course as opposed to the rice, pepper stew and french fries I had for desert). On the maim head table there were two sets of Rambam being auctioned off or something to the winners of the raffle for those which take the daily Sefer Hamitzvos Quiz – winners are… Ben Weiss of Bunk Vov and Elchonon Chaikin of bunk Ches!!! I was expecting them to lower the bike from the ceiling, but they raffled off a different vehicle that was wheeled in instead, and the winner is… Levi Deren of bunk Alef!! The Camp Rabbi, Rabbi Lifshitz made a superb spontaneous Siyum completion on the spot in front of everyone’s eyes, and we all sang “U’mala Haaretz, Deia Es Hashem, like a fish covers the sea” and learned a beautiful new song written and composed especially for our Siyum in Lubavitch City by our very own dedicated staff member of Masmidim Fitche Rabin!! It was beautiful to see the whole camp sing together. We then watched a special video presentation showing how the Rebbe made a Siyum in his house!! Then we actually rendered our very own rendition of the Daily Mitzvah as planned in our bunks under our pillows and bunk beds with our counselors and fell fast asleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep (I just dozed off with my finger on the e key)…

Tuesday - Beevowac

BEEEVO BEEEVO BEEEVOWAK! BEEEVO BEEEVO BEEEVOWAK! That is how I was rudely interrupted from my short sleep. Apparently the head counselors had a real live argument broadcasted live over the PA system and broke out the canoeing trip and overnight instead! So we quickly packed our complete overnight kit site bags, including loads of sunscreen in case the bonfire would get too hot, sauerkraut and diet ketchup to munch on in the event of a tipped canoe, and 7 triple AA batteries for my sleeping bag (and a sweater of course). We then ran to the Shul for Shachris and then a quick breakfast and before I knew it we were standing in front of the Manistee River in our bathing suites (the younger four bunks went rowing down the lane with bowling balls instead of an ore in place of the river). I’m telling you – rowing for 3 hours straight is really really fun! My bunk ate an average 6.8 hotdogs and hamburgers on the Richter scale each! Singing camp songs around the glowing fire was really inspiring and uplifting – just like my stomach. I slept in the dirt in my sleeping bag for nearly 5 1/2 hours until the bonfire got suffocated by the staff who conked out in it after being up the whole night to guard us from the cold, friendly raccoons who shared in our marshmallows, and beans. ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ.

Wednesday - What a day!

I was awoked to the sound of my friend’s foot in my nose, and my counselor snoring by the other bonfire site. I packed my garbage bag into my sleeping bag and Off, and velcroed my slippers to my camera and flashlight. The fire was put out by sand and water, and that’s it. We Davened bright and early in the morning with birds singing harmony and the smell of breakfast as the background music. (Bunk Tes left in their own 4-wheel-off-road-15-passenger-van back to camp early in order to participate in the special Hanachas tefillin Ceremony of Refoel Polter of Bunk Tes!) What a breakfast deluxe!! Appleboppers and cereal for milk, scrambled eggs and chocolate milk and OJ and cheese were just some of the breakfast commodities the staff cooked and defrosted on premises! Some of the staff were still fleishigs for whatever reason I can’t think of, and invented an original imaginative recipe of stir-fried eggs and bite-size hotdogs (they must have stayed fleishig for a really long time after that one). We boarded the busses and arrived back in camp just in time to take a shower and change into fresh non-toxic clothing and take a well deserved nap in a, well, rather clean bed. I jumped up by lunch to a finish off with regular day in camp, but was surprised to learn that it was Menachem Mendel Rappaport of bunk Gimmel’s birthday – and HC Levi Teldon’s birthday all on the same day, at the same time (maybe they’re brothers?). What a day!! I can’t wait to tell you all the things I’ve learned here!

Thursday - Staff Play

Good Morning! Today is Zevy Shusterman of Bunk Yud’s Hanachas Tefillin Ceremonial Gathering – Muzzel Toff! A Smashing Shachris pursued, and so did my energy to receive pictures of the Rebbe as rewards for Davening and Bentching and learning nicely, all placed in my very own custom made Photo Album! The weird thing was the Shul got locked from the inside for the rest of the day… could it be colorwar? Maybe a staff picnic? I’m just a bit foncused. Those staff always keep me in funspense. It couldn’t be the staff play - ‘cuz after supper and a silence exercise we were dismissed to our bunks to get a sweater and a flashlight for a Grand Bean Hunt – leftovers from the overnight may I suggest. But then we were dismissed back to the dining room for what – canoeing courses? Finally after Maariv we were relieved from the suspense ‘cuz it really was the staff play! We watched the staff playing Sefer Hamitzvos for bak-set ball, canoeing on the stage in the lake, singing spanish gospel songs while escaping from brainwashing each other or the Marranos of her Majesty the Inquisition, since the Shliach was the Pedro, and many other adventures that showed us how not to get nispael, or influenced for that matter, from anyone around you – and to the contrary, to influence them in head.

Third Shabbos

What a smashing kadoozer wopper shabbos we had, with Bunk Beis and Bunk Zayin winning Shabbos Competition. I would write more but I have a toad stuck in my throat since I was playing in the awesome man-made river on the steps of the A-Frame and I’m currently receiving therapy in the infirmary. Sorry. Mommy.

Sunday - Color War Breakout

Oh yes! When I awoked this morning, like, I was already bouncing and jumping to the roof of a giant bunjee jumping course trampoline in Traverse City – ‘cuz bunk Beis and Bunk Zayin won Shabbos Decompetiotion! Then we arrived back straight in to the A-Frame (ouuuuch!) right on time for the Learning Class’s test which I passed with flying colors! After lunch was the grand camp picture production with real disposable and also non-disposable cameras! We received our camp t-shirts for the occasion and were told to keep wearing them for the rest of the day, since the donors of the new bunk houses on camp grounds will be coming soon for a pop-by. During activities the office managers walked around and offered us founding campers the opportunity of a lifetime to have our name engraved on a plaque in the new bunkhouses for just one dollar, so I put down both my name and my counselors nick name for just two bucks a piece!! THEN, IT HAPPENED. REAL LIVE DONORS AND SUPPORTERS NAMED TED AND BOB ARRIVED TO CAMP IN STATE OF THE ART MODERN 1970 FANCY CARS!! They shook the staff’s hands and surveyed the potential area of groundbreaking and cornerstone opportunities and really liked it so they decided to donate a cornerstone and a cut ribbon to the ceremony – plus some sort of AC system for next years bunkhouses. Apparently however they were just kidding, ‘cuz they scream out Color war! And I’m still confused about if they really supported the bunkhouses and the breakout and what’s gonna be with my 2 dollars?! Back in the Shul we got split onto teams after being explained the two themes – Eved Neeman and Eved Poshut – and watched some really hilarious staff make a fool out of themselves and each other at the same time! I better get some sleep since I tied a sock around my bed to help me fall asleep to help me wake up earlier tomorrow morning to learn Mishnayos Baal Peh! I’m bed tired!

Monday - First Day of Color War

I woke up this morning to the smell of my friends razor sharp sock falling on my head, he tied it there in order to increase the chances of waking me up to get out of bed in order to study some Mishnayos by heart. I doubled my quota twice and earned some extra points for my team. When I walked into the Shul I was taken aback with surprised eyes by the interior decorating skills and techniques the staff were able to professionally produce, I mean maybe we should get them for our house! The blue team even had blue decorations! And so did the red team, except they had red decorations. We Davened really hard for those Laffy Taffy’s and Mike’n’Ike’s, and watched two Halacha Lectures on the topics of Loshan Hora and not carrying on Shabbos. After breakfast we had a short learning class and then team time where we were taught a song that sings about our teams theme speech (we received sugar for that as well). And then lunch, and then our theme song presentation retaliation rendition in front of the whole camp – including the judges and Webster! After that we played awesome relay ray races matches against the opposing winners to shed those sugar grams we devoured throughout the day. We even Davened Mincha in the basketball court due to some Arabs and robots roaming around the Shul. Basically, the team of Eved Poshut brought out their theme by displaying a show about two Israeli soldiers who are told to go on a mission and not to touch the trigger before a certain time without understanding why in heavens name not to; they almost do due to a close call, but it could have turned out to have been friendly fire since the enemy were partially hidden over ground underground Mossad agents like the FBI CIA Special Swat Forces Unit. The team of Eved Neeman expressed their theme by a play demonstrating the chilly Cold War, where America invented robotic soldiers via a space-out named Einstien to replace humans, Russia finds out and stops them, but America replaces the robots back to humans anyways, since they just follow orders without a heart or a head of their own. I literally fell asleep head first into my bed on my head. ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ…

Tuesday - 2nd day & Grand Sing

Someone woke me like a log of wood with a B-2 Super-Negel-Soaker-Vasser X2100 right on my upper nose – exactly where I had been sleeping just moments before. I staggered to lineup, one of the largest I’ve ever seen in my lifespan. We did some really live Pesukim and Davened Shacharis like a neon green Zours amongst ten Twizzlers. Then came two Halacha Skits on the theme of dispensing saliva during the Aleinu services on the Shabbos, and bowing and knee-buckling by Boruch-Ata-Hashem in case a tree passes down and away. By team time we repracticed our theme song like a Bajillion times just in case we forgot it, then our Purim and Chanukah Lebedike Niggunim, and finally our Alma Matters, just in time for our outdoor-takeout-drivethru-to-go-chinese-lunch. We played some hectic tournaments and recreational sports and races and finally got dressed in costumes for my favorite part of Color War – THE GRAND SING! Team Red was dressed as tourists lost around the world and team blue got dressed back in time in ancient Egypt! The A-Frame was spectacular!! There was a real live ‘Big Ben’, ‘Leaning Tower of Pizza’, ‘Eiffel Tower’, Globe, Backdrops, Double Decker Busses, Nile River, Pyramids, Mummy, Sphinx, Royal Chariot, Palm Tree and Judges Table!!! We sang and danced and laughed the night away with song, dance and freezepops and heard all about our themes from the judges, theme speeches and theme songs! It was so uplifting, to hear a Grammen on my counselor and watch a Rosh Hashana/Yom Kippur/Simchas Tora Cantorial Davening. We even got to stay after the Grand Sing Festivities and sit around in a circle with our staff and sing one song after the next. All in all it was a fantabulous Color War!

Wednesday - Lazy Day

Today is Lazy Day, except only until lunch. After Shacharis, a short breakfast and Learning Classes, we got into line to hear the winners of Color War! “Really both teams won” the judges could be seen rehearsing. “We still haven’t figured out how one team had 7/12’s of 5/8 of a ¼ of one ½ a point more than the other team, but it’s currently under investigation”. Yeah right. “the winning team…of Hiskashrus war… 5766… is… none other then… Vayehi Bimay L’hoidois UliHalel… the team of AVODIM!!! (is that corn or what?!)… the winning team of Eved Ne’emon!! SPLASH!! SHPRITZ!! SPLOSH!! SWIM!! I’M DOING THE BACK-STROKE IN THE FLAGPOLE AREA!! At least I drenched the Judges and the Generals and all the staff, and I understood both themes and will apply it to my lifehood!! The rest of the day went on suspiciously normal until night activity when I sensed that something was up the NAD’s sleeveless pants! During Brother’s night, he questioned the Steiner Family and somehow squeezed out of HC Yitzi that tonight we would be spending 6 hours on a GRANDTRIP TO THE BUSSES! We’re going to sleep only to wake up a few hours later…

Thursday - GRAND TRIP

Armed with my camp cap, camera, sweater and 25 cents, I boarded the most fanciest First Class USA Coach Busses in the World, equipped with light fixtures, interior curtains and an indoor restroom. I put my head down for just one second and picked up my heavy head at none other then… CEDARPOINT AMUSEMENT PARK – AMERICAS ROLLER COASTER! FOR JUST ONE DOLLAR – YOU CAN BE A WINNER and stuff like that!!! We Davened a smashing Shachris, and thanks to the Dedicated Staff had not only Sugar Cereals and chocolate milk, but freezing cold apple & orange juice and piping hot scrambled eggs as well!! We entered the park and sang many songs like “Gan Yisroel”, “Listen Listen every Jew”, “Who knows One?”, “I’m A Jew and I’m Proud” etc. on all the long lines for rides such as the “upside down and only 7 cork-screws Raptor Roller Coaster”, the “not so upside-down but standing up sideways Mantis Roller Coaster”, the “accelerate to 120 MPH in 1 second to a 90 degree angle 400 feet in the air and then go down at a 90 degree angle”, “the tallest, the fastest, the biggest drop, the sharpest angle Roller Coaster” – all nothing in my eyes (since they were closed). The scariest ride for me was the Ferris Wheel, since it got stuck while I was upside down on top and had no one to sit next to (and watch the Head Staff go free-fall bunjee-jumping at the top of their lungs). For lunch we had our personal custom pre-packed-with our name on it-6 course lunch box, including 3 choice sandwiches out of, tuna fish, egg salad, peanut butter, peanut butter and jelly, just jelly, American cheese, sliced vegetables, cookies, noodle salad, Laffy Taffies, and a personal bottle of water. We went back into the park for more nauseating fun and carousel rides and returned just in tine for a smashing Mincha and BBQ with amazing hotdogs and buns and ketchup and mustard and relish and pickles and soda and ice and potato salad and fresh salad and apple juice and forks. Back into the park for no-lines rides, I managed to go upside down 319 times in under 1 ½ hours!! When I returned to our outdoor-indoor dining room and Shul there were chips and salsa and cookies and drinks waiting for us to devour which we did. We ate Maariv, said Krias Shema, and boarded the busses back to camp after the most amazing Grandtrip ever!!

Last Shabbos

This Shabbos was like a piece of schnitzel covered in ketchup!! It was AMAZING!! I got myself to cry 6 times throughout Shabbos bye the Goodbye parts of the songs, as well as when my friend spilled the entire serving bowl of Cholent and beans on what’s left of my Shabbos pants (don’t worry, it tasted fine with some mustard). We blew the roof off the A-frame and Shule until we actually saw the bare rafters and A-frames with that song “listen listen”! And a little pet midget shamaryonkee even came to entertain us like a hole in my nose. After Maariv, Havdala, the video and Krias Shema, the winners of Shabbos Competition were announced – Bunk Daled and Bunk Vov! Then the staff had a collective respective nervous breakdown of songs and meshuggas before they announced the winners of Bunk Competition 5766!! The winners are … Bunk Ches!! The Runnersup are… Bunk Hey!! Every bunk had a latenight and a late night (or morning – Bunk Yud?) in order to be more overtired for the next day…

Sunday - Trip Day

If I were the president of this camp, today would be called trip day. ‘Cuz like every kid went on a trip or got a prize. There was Bunk Competition trips, Shabbos Competition Trips, Learning Class Trips, Talmid Hashavua Awards, and Trips to the Canteen and back. I’m all tripped out. I can’t leave camp or get on another bus for a while, so I may have to stay here just a bit longer, like ‘till Shavuos perhaps or something. Please send Cheesecake in the mail. My counselor said he will not eat it. Period. Unless it’s good. Good night.

Monday... Oy Vey... Last Day...

Today after breakfast we went to the mikva in the lake and sat down to right a Pan to the Rebbe at the end of the summer with all my feelings and hachlotos. We packed our bags sobbing all over the bunk like a bunch of bananas. I picked up my Arts n’ Crafts project, all my lost and found, my prizes for Mishnayos Baal Peh, and finally traded all the doubles of pictures I had until I finally got the whole set! – I’m so proud of myself! And then the Banquet! What an event! Awards! Prizes! Songs! Soup! And then… and then… we lined up for the final flag-lowering and line-up for summer 5766… sniffffffff…ahhhhhhhh…sniffellllllll…huffy…puffy...Goodbye Gan Yisroel… farewell to those wonderful times…how much will I miss what…I’m leaving behind…I’m making a promise…your lessons I will not forsake… a much better person…of me they will make…the summer has come to an end…on to the busses the campers ascend…see you next years Gan Yisroel…

Goodbye Gan Yisroel Lubavitch City 5766!

Past news archives: Boys News 5767 | Boys News 5764 | Color War 5764 | Color War 5763