This past Shabbat, chanichim from around Chicago gathered for the annual Taste of Moshava Shabbaton. Highlights included an authentic Moshava style kabbalat shabbat, zemirot and night tochnit. The shabbaton was headed by Rosh Moshava Rachel Shandalov, Director Josh Zwelling and Assistant Director Shira Kroll.

This will be Avi Matanky’s 22nd summer in camp. Avi, who;s favorite meal at camp is sloppy joe’s, was Rosh Avodah last summer and is thrilled to be up on The Hill. Avi is a student at Yeshiva University’s Sy Syms School of Business and is a proud member of the National Board of Bnei Akiva of the US & Canada. See Avi in this MachT”A Moment from when he was a Madrich on Avodah.

Adir Pinchot and Sarah Bayer will be your sganim this summer for the second session of machaneh. Adir and Sarah have both been coming to camp for many years and are sure to be a fun, energetic and exciting duo that both the tzevet and chanichim will look up to. Adir, who was in our Kollel last summer, is now in his second year of study at Yeshivat Hakotel in Yerushalayim. Sarah will be returning to Machaneh after a successful summer as a madricha on The Hill. Sarah recently began Stern College for Women after a year and a half of study at Midreshet Moriah in Yerushalayim.

Moshava alumni from all over the country gathered last night in the Bayit V’Gan neighborhood in Yerushalayim, Israel for a Camp Moshava, Wild Rose reunion. The event was hosted at the Yeshiva University offices in Israel and featured a cameo by the Assistant Director of YU Israel (and former Rosh Moshava) Nava Hyman. All of the former tzevet members enjoyed reminiscing about good times at Moshava while munching on pizza and snacks. The event was led by Shira Kroll who thanked everyone for coming and encouraged all attendees to fill out tzevet application forms. Speaking of application forms, we hope that all chanichim will go to our website to register. Remember, during December, everyone who registers is eligible for our free raffle and a chance to win amazing
prizes.

Click the link below to see the Moshava Minute from the event in Israel.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JquZgAdBqRM

After a fun ice skating trip on Erev Shabbat, we prepared for the last Shabbat of the month; and it was definitely one we’ll remember! We had a beautiful Kabbalat Shabbat, and tons of ruach and dancing during dinner. Shabbat day continued with a lot of ruach and some much needed rest after Maccabia. Leading out the Shabbat, Slow Shira was unbelievable, followed by the strongest Havdallah of the summer.

Motzei Shabbat night tochniot were exciting as well! The girls enjoyed a night of zumba and swimming, while the boys had swimming and their leagues’ hockey championships. Zumba was led by our very own Orit Shattach, a dance teacher in Israel, who was joined by the Mach Hach girls. These last few days will be truly memorable, and we’ll be holding onto them until we come back next summer!

The best has yet to come this month in Moshava. After the conclusion of an extremely moving Tisha B’av, Maccabia was broken out and the chanichim went wild! Filled with excitement, everyone was divided into teams (‘ir’ and ‘kibbutz’) and will be competing to see who wins over the next two days. Make sure to keep your eyes on our website and Facebook page for pictures, updates and Moshava Minutes.
Please see below for a video of our Rosh Kollel, Rabbi Aviad Sanders, describing our Tisha B’av tochnit.

Due to technical difficulties we were unable to post the Moshava Minute from Thursday.  To view it, either click “READ MORE” or check it out on our Facebook Page. (http://www.facebook.com/moshavawildrose)

The Hill has an exciting new look this year!  We have replaced the tents with brand new, state of the art yurts.  What is a yurt, you may be asking?

A yurt is a portable, felt-covered, wood lattice-framed dwelling structure traditionally used by Turkic and Mongolian nomads in the steppes of Central Asia. A yurt is more home-like than a tent in shape and build, with thicker walls.

Our yurts sleep 12-16 chanichim in a water-proof, weather-tight, insulated and poly-canvas covered structure.  Each yurt has a domed sunroof that opens and five windows for cross-ventilation and a central drain for easy cleaning.  The 2011 Machal chanichim are the first campers to be using the yurts, and they are loving every minute spent in their new homes away from home. Be sure to check out the pictures of our latest additions to Machaneh!

“I have never seen the machal chanichim so happy to be sleeping under the stars”, said Rabbi Danny Kroll, Rosh Machal.  “They have even named their yurts!”

Thank you to our donors for making the construction of the yurts possible:

The Crown Family

Delicia and Morris Esformes

Ora and Maury Aaron

Gale and Eric Rothner

The Bellows Family

Flora and Marty Weiss

Rifka and Daniel Weiss

Raphaela and Todd Stern

1st Equity Bank

Suri and Joey Stern

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Our Yurts are featured in today’s Moshava Minute.

<p>"Soup! Soup! Soup-a-doop! Soup-a-doop-a-doop-a-doop!" As the chanichim cheer for their soup on Friday nights in Moshava, it is Avodah who comes to their rescue and delivers the delicious meal they have been singing for! Here in Moshava, Avodah responds to the chanichims'  ruach (spirit) and excitement! We work hard in camp....<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span></p>