By Galil Campers (rising 8th graders)
Group 1: On this Saturday morning, we focus on traditions. Camp is full of traditions, rituals and routines. A tradition is pre-cut bagels every Saturday morning, or steaming broccoli in a coffee mug at every meal! Another one is going on the stream hike together year after year. Or having shaving parties on our nonexistent porch every Friday before Shabbat! It’s a family tradition to not only have a bat mitzvah but to also spend time at Camp Harlam. In my family, it’s a tradition to good on family bike rides every Saturday morning. It’s a family tradition to drive to Massachusetts every Jewish holiday. Although we all have different family traditions, a tradition that we all share is coming back to camp year after year.
Group 2: The Galil hike. 10 miles long and a tradition that is carried by the unit of Galil every year. Some of us didn’t like it, others do, but we all get through it. Despite the fact that my hike was 4 days ago, and my legs still hurt, I found joy by bonding with friends. My Galil hike was an interesting time. I got 1.5 hours of sleep, ate the best pasta I would ever have, played card games, ate oreos and bonded with my friends. We will all carry on traditions in our lives. Whether it is passing down a talit (prayer shawl) from parent to child, or an old bed time story, all traditions have lots of meaning.
Group 3: Camp Harlam is our happy place. It’s a place where friends become family. Living in an old bunk and seeing al of the past Harlemites names written on the walls makes me feel surrounded by tradition. There are a lot of different examples, of traditions all around camp such as: Milk Squad, song sessions, Spa Night, Rak Dan, and fried chicken on Shabbat. Camp is full of traditions and a place where people make more everyday.
Group 4: Camps many traditions allows everyone to find joy in our summer. As we stand here in the beautiful chapel in the words, everyone should take a moment to think about all the amazing things that camp allows us to do, and all the opportunities it creates. In our home we live in for the majority of the year, many people face judgement and stress. On the other hand, at our home away from home, camp, it is easier to be ourselves. The traditions of camp such as dining hall games where campers enjoy cleaning up, or losing our voices at song sessions and singing out hearts out. All these traditions at camp bring everyone closer together, which allows us to find additional joy of just being with one another.