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camp

achdus

highlights
week 6 /

vaeschanan

g ra n d t r i p
headline

fter months of preparation


by head staff, and weeks of
anticipation on the part of
the campers, Grand Trip 2012 finally took
off on Monday, July 30. First thing in the
morning, Bunks Vuv and Suf piled into
Maytav Bus Co. #119 and headed towards
our first destination: David Elliot Poultry
Farm in Scranton, PA, for a behind the
scenes peek at how our meat is produced.
Unfortunately, despite the best efforts of

our GPS and our talented driver, Jeanetta,


we became navigationally challenged (lost) and missed our tour of the
Poultry Farm. Thankfully, we were not
fazed and simply continued on to our next
stop, Nay Aug Park Gorge & Waterfall, for
a delicious picnic lunch lovingly prepared
for us by our parents. Thank you!

pus in Waymart, PA. As our bus pulled


into Bonim, we exuberantly started
chanting Alef, Ches, Daled, Vuv, Suf!
Weve got Achdus and its more than
enough! Our hearty chants spurred us
towards great play on the fields and
courts as we truly held our own against
our opponents. Most importantly, however, were the shining middos displayed
Then it was time for Camp Achdus's first
by all of our campers during the games,
ever intercamp sports competition with
never complaining about calls by the refeCamp Bonim, held on their beautiful cam- rees and always encouraging teammates.
Our performance on the field was a true
Kiddush Hashem and inspired one counselor to remark, after seeing our middos
throughout the game I am so proud to be
part of Camp Achdus!
Following the games, we sat down to an
all-you-can-eat barbeque feast prepared,
as usual, by Mr. Beef himself (Avi
Sharfman). (A special thank you to Mr.
Shlomo Fink, father of our beloved counselor Daniel Fink and proprietor of David
Elliot Poultry Farm, for the gratis supplied
chicken!) While campers waited for their
grilled repast, Rabbi Langer of Camp
Bonim held them spellbound by an inspiring Holocaust story. Never give up hope!
Though the scheduled activities at Camp
Bonim were over, there was still more
excitement to be CONTINUED ON PAGE 2

features

The Grand Trip


Camp Achdus most extravagant escapade of the summer was a valiant success! Page 1

Siyum Hashas at MetLife Stadium


Celebrating with 93,000 brothers and
sisters. Page 2

Bowling
Hi Spot Lanes Page 3
Special Activities
Page 3

Mazel Tov!
Page 3

GRAND TRIP 2012


Continued from Page 1
had. As we boarded the bus for our journey to Camelbeach Mountain Waterpark, our driver, Jeanetta, was suddenly
faced with a non-compliant bus engine!
Camp Bonim's talented maintenance
staff graciously lent their hands, but only
the heartfelt perek of Tehillim that we
recited was effective in bringing the bus
back to life.

Camp Achdus! Due to the uncertain


weather, we were even awarded an extra half hour to run around, play on the
rides, and get soaked.

cereal, milk, and juice, and a sleepy bus


ride back to Philadelphia. A very special
thanks to Daniel Fink for bringing us
fresh milk from Scranton before breakfast, and additional kudos to Zevi The
After Maariv in the parking lot and a
delicious snack of cookies and punch, we (Boker) Vekker Carlebach for making
sure Jeanetta got up for davening.
pitched our tents and spent the night
camping at Tobyhanna State Park. But Before returning to camp, we made a
first, we received an informative lesson stop at Michael Wachs regal pool in
At Camelbeach, campers and counselors by the wildlife-loving Zecharya Michel- Narberth, PA, for our very first swim
alike had a wonderful time, riding water sohn about what to do if you see a bear since before the nine days. Thank you,
slides, spinning in toilet bowls, jumping (Tobyhanna is home to black bears as
Mr. Wachs, for your generosity and hosin wave pools, and, of course, trying to well other wildlife).
pitality. Though we tried to satisfy our
convince the life guards to say Camp
The next morning, the early-rising camp- hungry campers with pretzels on the
Achdus is Geshmak! for the video cam- ers explored the aesthetic trails of Toby- bus, we are grateful to Rabbi Chef Levi
era. Thanks to the ruach generated at
hanna leading to the breathtaking lake. for preparing bagels with cream cheese
the park, and Yaakov Kramers quickEveryone then participated in an inspir- to welcome us back in time for disthinking, we now have Ooooo, I love
missal. WOW! WHAT A TRIP!
ing Shacharis, invigorating breakfast of

siyum hashas
Can you even imagine
what it is like to join
arms with almost
100,000 Jews, all dancing
and singing, all celebrating our commitment to
Torah learning?

n Wednesday, August 1,
Camp Achdus was privileged to join Klal Yisroel in
celebrating the twelfth Siyum Hashas of
Daf Yomi, at Metlife Stadium in East
Rutherford, NJ. A limited block of seats
in the front row of section 250A, normally sold at $100 a pop, was obtained
by Zevi Carlebach through Oorah, to
bring this unique and unprecedented
experience to Camp Achdus campers

Week 6 / Vaeschanan

and staff. Seats were assigned on a


first-come, first-serve basis to staff,
older campers, and even parents.
The tickets were offered free-ofcharge; a small fee was charged for
the transportation which was arranged through Camp.
Everyone, from the youngest
campers learning mishnayos, to
the Holocaust survivors celebrating
their completion of Shas for the
An aerial view of Metlife Stadium, which held its largest
umpteenth time, was forever
crowd ever during the 12th Siyum Hashas.
changed. Discussions conducted
afterwards with participants confirmed this statement. You dont walk
As we davened maariv, led by Rav Lazer
into such an event, and come out the
Ginsburg, together with the biggest minsame person. Such an event reminds us yan since the days of Bayis Sheini, a rewhat we are privileged to be a part of;
sounding Amen! Yehei shmei rabba
that we are not alone, but part of a
shook the stadium like it has never
mighty kingdom of dedicated servants of shaken before. An amazing and inspiring
Hashem, from every country and every Kiddush Hashem, that those who were
culture, united as one only by our com- not there will never understand...
mitment and love for Torah.
campachdushighlights

recent activities
Tie Dye
On Wednesday and Thursday, campers
from Alef through Suf (though more
from the younger bunks) assiduously
dunked and squeezed their plain white
t-shirts in an attempt to funnel their
creative energy into colorful tie-dye
shirts. Super huge shkoyach to Padre
and Binyomin Rosskamm who sacrificed their aridity and clean clothing for
the sake of this messy activity. Please
make sure to compliment your child's
tie dye shirt, even if it is a little too loud
for your taste.

Bowling
On Tuesday, Bunks Daled Kuttun and
Daled Gadol went to Hi Spot Lanes. We
had a ball! When asked to express his
feelings about the trip, one amateur
bowler said, I love the feeling of not
being pinned down! A more proficient
participant said, I always get strikes.
And now its a good thing! All said and
done, Daled had a great time, even
asked to go back again, and cant wait
for next weeks trips to Laser Tag
(Tuesday) and Clementon Water Park
(Thursday)!

Chuck E walked around the room, gathering all of the erlicheh kinderlach and
bringing them to the prize counter. As
an inspirational jingle sounded, all who
were gathered did the Kazatzka and
other dances, and Chuck E showed his
good midah of Nedivus (giving) by
showering us with free prize tickets!
Each boy (small and large alike) received
Chuck E. Cheese
25 tokens to spend on all of the eideleh
On Thursday, Bunks Alef Kuttun
games provided by the establishment.
through Ches Gadol went to Chuck E
Cheese. Not five minutes after our arri- Many boys earned tickets that were
val, we were graced with the presence redeemed for a large variety of leveled
prizes. Anyone who had between 1 and
of a special guest, Chuck E, himself!
1,000,000 tickets receives a smiley face
ring, a package of stickers, or a pencil
(unsharpened), thanks to the continued
Nedivus of Chuck E and his comrades.

Mazel tov!
Camp Achdus would like to
wish a big Mazel Tov to counselor Avromi Boehm on his
engagement last night to
Deena Baker of Toronto!

Week 6 / Vaeschanan

and counselors. On Thursday, we investigated just how close these relationships are, when bunks tried to answer
questions like what is your counselors
favorite thing to do on a Sunday? and
How often does your counselor brush
his teeth?

Sports
Bunks Vuv and Suf played blindfolded
kickball, in which every position is
manned by two players, one seeing and
one blindfolded. Seeing players can kick
and catch, but their blindfolded partners, under the direction of their seeing
mate, must run and throw. Daled
played four-way soccer, which has four
teams, four goals, and a bunch of added
excitement. Ches Gadol played Hot Potato, in which all the kitchen hands
Special Activities
must pass the potato before it burns
All campers have been participating in
age-appropriate special activities. Some their hands. Ches Kattan played Human
Pinball, where all the kids save one
are creative spinoffs of popular games
while others are wacky new ones. Here stand in a circle and using their arms as
flippers attempt to hit the player in the
are some second-half special activity
middle with the ball. Whatever the achighlights:
tivity, campers are broadening their
Know Your Counselor
horizons and discovering new vistas in
We invest great effort in facilitating
having a blast!
close relationships between campers
campachdushighlights

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