Machaneh is off to a great start!  In addition to the already awesome programming at Machaneh three huge inflatables honored us with their presence at Machaneh.  The weather today at Machaneh was amazing and the chanichim took full advantage of it.  The chanichim went swimming, went on the blob in the lake, and also played sports with their kevuzot.  The first league games were played today and they were quite intense.  Everyone in Machaneh is very excited for the first Shabbat, and everyone is counting down the minutes until it starts.

Camp Moshava is off to a great start, and the campers are settling in and enjoying  the sports, swimming, shiurim, and of course all of the special programming that Moshava offers.

Visitors’ Day is fast approaching and we are excited to welcome you to camp.  Please take this opportunity to see your camper and the environment where he or she is having such a terrific summer!  We want you to meet our stellar staff of madrichim and tzevet, ask questions, and get to know us.

Visitors’ Day will take place Sunday, July 10, between the hours of 12 noon – 5:30 p.m. Chicago time. We invite you to come and experience Camp Moshava, and we look forward to seeing you!

The Perlstein Resort & Conference Center is having their visitors’ weekend/Shabbaton in the Wisconsin Dells which is one hour from Moshava. While this is not a camp sponsored weekend, it is a nice way to spend Shabbat closer to camp. Please see the information below and contact them directly for further assistance.

Click here for more information about the visitor’s weekend/Shabbaton

<p>My name is Danny Kroll and I am the Rosh Machal this summer at Machaneh (Twitter: <a href="http://twitter.com/#!/machalwildrose">@MachalWildRose</a>).  This will be my fifth summer on "The hill" and my third summer as Rosh Machal.  The first week of Machal will focus on uniting the 45 Machal chanichim into one solid unit.  Machal will kick off with what has become an annual first night tradition...</p>

Hi, my name is Avi Varnai and I’m the Rosh Mosh this month. You may recognize my name from being on tzevet previous summers and from last nights Moshava Minute.  This months noseh (theme) is Giborei Ha’am, in which the chanichim will be learning all about different heroes who have played an integral role in Jewish history. Each day the chanichim will learn about a different hero and have peulot relating to that hero’s life. For example, for Noach, the chanichim will be building an ark, for Sara they will be baking challah and much more (you didn’t think I was going to give away ALL of the surprises, did you?) Its going to be a great month filled with new peulot, trips, and amazing tzevet! Can’t Wait!!

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All the buses arrived safely in Machaneh this afternoon, filled with excited chanichim (campers). Bus chaperones provided first hand testimony that chanichim let out cheers and loud shrieks of joy as the buses pulled in to camp as the chanichim got their first view of the camp’s landscape.

The chanichim were equally excited as they learned their kvutzot (bunk) assignments and were welcomed with warm smiles by their madrichim (counselors). From the bus drop-off, chanichim watched a video introducing the Noseh (theme) of the month: Giborei Ha’am (Heroes of the Nation). All the kvutzot were assigned either a biblical or modern day hero, and each hero will have a special day at some point throughout the month. The chanichim then headed over to their tzrfim (cabins) to unpack and settle in for the month of fun that lies ahead starting with tonight’s night tochnit.

Stay tuned for more details on all our special programs that relate to this month’s theme. After many months of preparation we are so excited to finally be able to implement all of the special programs that have been planned.

To view the bunk list for Moshevet Giborei Ha’Am click on “Parent Login” on the menu bar.  Once you are logged into our CampInTouch Portal click on “News”.

Make sure to check our CampInTouch section later tonight for all of the pictures from today’s opening tochnit.

Shavua Tov!

This is an important reminder.

Luggage drop off for 1st month campers is tomorrow morning, Sunday June 19th, from 8am – 11:30am.  Drop off is at the parking lot of Skokie Valley Synagogue, 8825 East Prairie in Skokie.  The truck will depart promptly at 11:30am.  PLEASE GET YOUR LUGGAGE THERE ON TIME!!  Please make sure you have the appropriate luggage tags on your child’s luggage.  If for some reason you did not receive your luggage tags there will be extra tags at luggage drop off.

1st month campers depart on Tuesday morning, June 21st, at 11am promptly.  Please have your campers at Skokie Valley Synagogue’s Parking lot by 10:30am. The buses will leave at 11:00am sharp.

Thank you for your cooperation.

Josh Zwelling

Camp Director

Camp Moshava is proud to announce our new assistant summer director Shira Kroll.  She will be spending the months of June, July and August working closely with our director Josh Zwelling, along with all their staff.

Shira first came to camp in 1993 as a chanicha and has not missed a summer since.  She has worked in many different leadership roles in camp including; Rosh Sport, Rosh Plugah, and Rosh M.I.T.  Over the past few summers, Shira has worked closely with her husband, Rabbi Danny Kroll, to lead the Machal program.

When she is not at camp, she works at the Associated Talmud Torah in Chicago as a Government Program liaison, working to secure government funds for Chicago area day schools.

This summer, she will be joined with her two daughters Rayli (age 3) and Talia (18 months), and husband, Rabbi Kroll (Rosh Machal).  Shira cannot wait for the fun that awaits her in her new role during her 19th summer at Machaneh (camp).

Read about the rest of our upper staff here.

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                  Over the past 6 weeks, we have been in the midst of a contest specifically for alumni.  The task was to submit a favorite memory to our alumni page. The prize, a free shabbat in camp for you and your family.

                  Both Sam Lipshitz and Larry Hirsch will receive a free shabbat in camp.  Keep reading to see the winning entries. Larry for his written submission and Sam for his video memory.  Read below and watch the video…

“The year was about 1985, and Rabbi Kushner had recruited some twenty kids from Mexico for Moshava. They had arrived with a translator. Friday afternoon, I had just finished jogging, and was about to enter the doctor’s trailer to get ready for Shabbos, when Moish ran over (from his neighboring trailer) and said: “I put one of the Mexican kids on your bed, he’s had a stomach-ache all day”.

I went inside, to find a 12-year-old writhing in pain on my bed-with no translator, and my Spanish in nil. Examination revealed the boy needed immediate medical attention that the camp could not provide. I ran to Moish and told him that we had to go to Oshkosh Hospital quick, before Shabbos. When we got there, there was a sign at the entrance: “On-call Doctor, Pedro Gonzalez”. I told him :”Great, at least you can speak Spanish with the kid”. He laughed: “You’re from the Jewish camp, what do you need Spanish-translation for; you need someone who speaks Hebrew!”.

In any case, he said that Oshkosh couldn’t help us, we needed the facilities in Nina. We drove like crazy back to the camp, and while Moish filled his old station-wagon with food for two for Shabbos, I ran to find long-time nurse Rosalie Novick. She and I looked up the kid’s medical records, and to our horror, Joseph Goldberg’s parents hadn’t signed the medical authorization. We called them in Mexico City, and told them to call Nina.

Then Moish sped off, with only one hour till the real time of Shabbos. I didn’t hear from Moish after Shabbos, and it wasn’t till Sunday afternoon that Moish showed up again. His speeding had attracted Wisconsin’s finest, but when they pulled Moish over and found out the reason that he was speeding, the state-trooper escorted “The Rabbi” to Nina’s Hospital. There, Joseph had surgery and was OK. But Shabbos morning Moish got a shock when two sets of “parents” showed up. It turns out that I hadn’t noticed that we had two Joseph Goldberg’s from Mexico City, first-cousins named after the same grandfather. Min Hashamayim, by pure luck, I had called the right set of parents. But they weren’t sure that I had called the right parents, so, scared over the boy’s fate, all four of them flew up Friday. Landing at O’Hare, they all took a cab (for the then exorbitant price of $450) to Nina, Wisconsin. With Joseph OK, they all spent a nice Shabbos till the long afternoon.

Moish shared his Shabbos meal with them, but he had packed only food for two, not five (Joseph was in no shape to eat). Moish quickly ran out of food, and in the long afternoon, became dizzy and told the nurses about it: so they admitted Moish and kept HIM overnight. I don’t know the moral of this story, except to say that Moshava must be so much fun that a kid will suffer pain all day and, of course, not go to the doctor till an hour before Shabbos (which, thank G-d, is on Moshava Time, and one hour early).

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-Larry Hirsch

Chanich Years: 1961-1965
Tzevet Years: 1979-1989,2006
Tafkidim Held: Doctor

And here’s Sam Lipshitz’s Video memory…

Please continue to share your memories with us on our alumni page https://moshavawildrose.org/alumni/.

You can also check us out on Facebook.