MeNU

CAMP SDEI CHEMED INTERNATIONAL 2005

By Sondra Gottesman

For those boys who traveled with Camp Sdei Chemed International and it’s Mesivta Program this Summer of 2005, the images, the sounds, the emotions, the feelings of love for Eretz Yisrael and the achdut with Acheynu Bet Yisrael, have made this an unforgettable summer and established an everlasting connection to our future, the future of Klal Yisrael.

From a chairlift ride up the Chermon to the coral reefs of Eilat; from an awe-inspiring davening at the Kotel, to the haunting melodies and mysticism of a Shabbos in Sfat; from a donkey ride up Arbel to snappling down the cliffs of Menara; from swimming in the Kinneret, to BBQ’s at the beach; from learning Torah at Ponovitz Yeshiva, to daily sdorim, morning and night, to an inspiring mincha in Bnai Brak with Reb Chaim Kanyefshy, Shlita; from Kever Rachel to Maarat Hamachpelah, to the winding streets and warrens of the Old City; from friendships formed with fellow campers to an eternal linkage of hands and hearts with our displaced brothers from Gush Katif.

When our plane took off from Kennedy airport on July 12, the excitement was palatable as the boys anticipated the activities and excursions promised on our itinerary.  But who could have predicted the many spontaneous opportunities for extraordinary experiences and cherished memories?  Like the time Rabbi Dovid Orlofsky, himself a former camper, came to speak and we never realized how much we learned while we laughed.  Or the evening Rabbi Baruch Chait, our first head counselor, way back in the 60’s, inspired us with song and story.  How about the thrill of meeting and being addressed by President Moshe Katzav as we spent a week at the Kinar Hotel in Tiveria? Or the opportunity our boys had of receiving individual brachot from Amnon Yitzchak, the famous Israeli lecturer and Mikubal?   Or who can forget hearing Rabbi Wade retell his fascinating journey that led to his conversion to Yiddishkeit?  What about that Friday morning visit to Aish Hatorah and a private talk and audience with Rabbi Noach Weinberg, world renowned “father” to the Baalay Teshuva of our Century?

And how could we have known beforehand how special would be our location above the plaza of the Kotel?  To be able to join in a minyan or recite Tehilem, at anytime of day or night; to be able to feel a connection to centuries of Jews who have poured out their hearts, cried tears of joy and heartache, given thanks and begged for mercy, at the place of the entrance to the Bet Hamikdash, in front of the ancient stones of the Kotel!!  To be able to feel a connection to our fellow Jews, today, and join over 150 thousand people in demonstration at the Kotel, in a mincha, tehilim and maariv, in supplication for our brothers who would be evicted from their homes on August 17.  Certainly the echoes of that “Yehay shmay rabah” will reverberate with our boys for the rest of their lives.

And finally, on Sunday August 21, our last night in Israel, we had the ultimate privilege to give chizuk to our homeless brethren of Netzar Chazani, Gush Katif.  Early in the evening the Kotel plaza began filling with thousands of people bearing gifts of cooked food, cakes, drinks, fruit, toys, sweaters, and balloons, to offer to those who were now homeless.  As midnight approached we heard faint strains of music and singing accompanying the men, women, and children who had come to Yerushalayim to reaffirm their faith in Hakadosh Baruch Hu, even in their time of grief.  As the people came closer we joined them in the words of their songs and the prayers in their hearts: “Ke lo yitosh Hashem Amo” (Hashem will never abandon his nation), “Nachamu, nachmu, ami” (Comfort us, comfort us), “Rachem, rachem, rachem (Have mercy).   How we danced and sang together as one people!  How we cried together with one voice!  How we tried to impress them with our solidarity!  How we promised to bring their message back to America!

And with that final “L’hitraot”, we bid farewell to the Kotel, to the people, to Yerushalyim, to Israel, to an unforgettable summer with Camp Sdei Chemed…..until next time, B’ezrat Hashem.

Rabbi Eli Teitlebaum Rabbi Moshe Gottesman      Dovid Teitlebaum

     Director                                 Director of Tours                     Head Counselor

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