Shoafim Banim/Banot Bonding!

Last week, just before Shabbat, we decided to take a different approach to our medurot (campfires) in Shoafim. To build some special connections within our edah (division), we split up the banim (boys) and banot (girls).

The banim had their medura by the tzad bet agam (B-Side waterfront), so our madrichim (counselors) had the wonderful idea of having an evening swim for all of the boys.

Though I only stuck my feet in the water (wouldn’t want to intrude too much on the male bonding), it looked like a blast. They splashed around, played football, dug trenches, and passed around a Frisbee.

The simplicity of having a smaller group and adding in some water was a wonderful success. Here you can see the point when the football game morphed into take-down-our-awesome-madrich-Gil:

After the swim, the banim warmed up and dried by the campfire for some s’mores. The banot also had a fabulous evening! Taking a different route than the guys, our madrichot planned a very meaningful activity about appreciating our flaws and embracing our insecurities.

All of the banot contributed to the peulah (activity) and helped create a safe and supportive atmosphere for discussing what it means to be a female and how we learn to be comfortable with ourselves. It was a beautiful thing that was only made even better by the presence of Hershey chocolate bars. Our banim/banot bonding was a great success!