Guest Writer to Blog (approved by writer's parents) Unedited. Enjoy!

By: Becca Kissel

Over the summer, I went to a Jewish sleep away camp, Sprout Lake , and came back a true Zionist. Camp Young Judea Sprout Lake is loads of fun. It helped me make friends to last a lifetime. All the counselors are really funny and wacky, but that makes them a lot more likeable. We do lots of activities! Sprout Lake has a rock wall, a soccer field, two playgrounds, a pool, a creek (the nochal), a gaga pit (gaga is a fun Israeli sport that everyone loves to play.) and new things are added every year.

We follow Shabbat and add a little bit of Sprout into our festivities. The Friday night meal is always chicken with apple turnovers for dessert. Saturday we get to sleep late (and of course, since we’re allowed to, nobody does.) or play outside for a bit if we get up earlier.

The two longest days at Sprout Lake are Tyuill (Te-yul) and Maccabia. Tyuill is this five hour hike and camp out in the woods. It doesn’t sound fun, but I always liked it. At the campsite we gather firewood for that night and put up the tents. Then we eat. Finally, it’s night time. Before it gets too dark, we all get a little free time to star gaze or play a little flashlight tag, but then we have a camp fire. We roast marshmallows and sing songs. The next day we pack up and take a bus back to camp. Tyuill is always fun.

Maccabia is truly the most exiting (and the most tiring) day in all of camp. Maccabia is the COLOR WAR!! There are four teams; all of camp is separated into the four teams. Every bunk is separated, so you might not be with your bunkmates. Each Maccabia has a theme. That way, no Maccabia is ever the same. I’d love to tell you all more about Maccabia, but that would ruin the surprise and excitement of not knowing what’s going to happen during Maccabia!

That’s pretty much it. Camp was fun and taught me a lot about Israel and Judaism. At camp they added a little bit of Sprout into the after meal prayer. We add signs and little additions to make it fun! When I came home, I felt like a true Zionist. I will also miss my two best friends from camp, who won’t be coming back to camp, next year, Oded and Shakaf; they were two of my counselors. I learned the most from them. Shakaf taught me never to give up and that anything can be fun if I add a little Sprout. Oded taught me a very important lesson: don’t listen to what others say about you, you’re always you, and you can make a difference in the world. Make every moment, a moment to remember. Because of Oded, Shakaf and the rest of camp, I’m ready to take on the world, and Make A Difference In My Own Way.



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