Magshimim puts the honor back in the aliyah

This summer, Magshimim has adopted a new custom. On Mondays, Thursdays, and Shabbat, when we read Torah, we make sure to make our chanichim's (camper's) aliyot special. Whenever a chanich or chanicha is called up to the Torah, their madrichim (counselors) say the reason that Magshimimer is getting the honor that week. It has become a very nice tradition, as the chanichim enjoy hearing nice things their madrichim have to say about them, and other chanichim look forward to hearing about their friends. We have enjoyed truly putting the honor back in the aliyah, as it is usually the chanichim who read Torah who get the praise. While we have had some amazing Torah readers this summer, it has added a nice, new element to Magshimim to compliment the chanichim receiving the aliyah. Madrichim mention thing like their positive attitudes, stepping out of their comfort zones, trying new activities, and helping out around the tzrif (bunk).

In addition to this tradition, Magshimim has had some really nice tefillot (prayers) this summer. This past Shabbat we had a wonderful discussion led by Rabbi Gelb about God and the role He plays in our lives. It was amazing to hear the thoughts our kids have about this topic. On Sunday we had a really nice discussion about miracles, how we define them, and how we can recognize them. We are looking forward to some more exciting tefillot coming up this week!

While we're on the topic of tefillot, here is a picture from our kids during mincha today on Tisha B'Av: