Magshimim has a night of Boys and Girls Bonding
Yesterday morning, Magshimimers woke up in some unusual places. The banim (boys) woke up in the “treehouse” a huge, two story wooden structure in the middle of the woods (not actually built in a tree). The banot (girls) woke up in the (air conditioned) beit k’nesset, the home to our moadon (meeting area), where we have activities and teffilot (prayer service) every day. The banim and banot had slept away from their bunks that night to participate in bonding activities in order to get to know each other a little bit better across the divides of physical bunks. The madrichim led these activities for much of the night and morning, and I found myself walking back and forth between the beit k’nesset and treehouse for a few hours (which some of you might know is not a short walk)!
The banim had a rugged outdoors experience. Once they got to the treehouse after dinner, they cooked bananas on the fire. With the help of the madrichim, the filled bananas with sugar and other toppings, wrapped them up in tin foil and then threw them right in the fire. After just a few minutes, a madrich would take the banana out of the fire to find the sugar melted and carmelized – a delicious snack! In addition to enjoying the bananas, the banim loved the time that they got to spend together sitting around the fire telling stories and having fun. Once it was time to go to sleep, the banim had the option to sleep in tents around the treehouse, or in the treehouse itself. A brave few even chose to sleep on the fenced-in roof of the tree house, directly under the starts. Luckily there was no rain at all, and it was a beautiful, cool night for a camp out!
The banot had a completely different night. They started out by congregating outside of the beit k’nesset, where they left their mark on camp by decorating some of our traditional camp benches. In groups, the banot painted these benches to represent what it means to be a Magshimim girl. It will be so nice to come back in many years and still see their designs being used in the chorsha (grove) on Friday night when the entire camp gathers together to daven. The banot were then surprised with the fact that they would be sleeping in the beit k’nesset. They were all very excited to be able to sleep in the air conditioning after what has been a very hot summer. They all huddled up in their sleeping bags and watched a movie. Though they were so tired, most of them actually fell asleep before the movie was over.
To become bonded across tzrif lines is one of the key goals of Magshimim 2012, and it was a successful night all around!