Closing Ceremony Speeches – Hamamah

posted by on Aug 25, 2017

Yonatan Hanin

Hamamah (Havurah)

Before I start anything, I want to say something. It’s amazing to me that every year the TY staff team is greater than the year before. I don’t know how David finds such wonderful people, but it’s amazing that every year the madrichim, the kitchen staff, the merakzim, the roshim, and everyone is just so amazing.

Now, I will explain why they are so great. As some of you know, I didn’t know anyone when I came here. I am not part of Kimamama, I wasn’t in sprout lake, so I was worried that I would have problems making friends because I sometimes have social issues. The first day I wished that camp would end fast so I could go home. I didn’t really speak to anyone for the first week, but after a while I saw how friendly and smart and great the counselors were and I started to open up to them.

Once I opened up to my counselors, I realized that the guys in my bunk were also so friendly and open. Everyone had a smile on their faces every time I saw them and that would make me happy as well.

I really just want to thank everyone, our amazing merakezet Yana, the rest of the staff, my bunk mates, all of my friends, Andrew and David for giving my chug and me this amazing summer!

Harel Avivi

Hamamah (Aleph)

When I first came to TY this year I was very nervous. This is my first year at camp and I knew that everyone would already know each other. I was scared that I wouldn’t make any friends and that I would have trouble with my English. Good thing there are more Israelis than Americans here.

But in all seriousness, I soon realized how wrong I was. I quickly made the most amazing friends and felt comfortable opening up and being myself with this amazing group of people. I learned new things, like what a chipmunk is, how to communicate without using my phone, that Tudu Bomb is even popular in America, and how to say a lot of prayers. I had good moments and bad moments, and basically had a better summer than I could have ever expected.

The Hamamah program is all about leadership and at first I was afraid I wouldn’t have anything new to learn, since I’ve been a counselor in the Tzofim for the past two years back in Israel. But I was proven wrong once again, because I came to understand that you can never stop learning about how to be a better leader and a better person. I will never forget the amazing people I met who taught me new things and made my summer so special.

Thank you to the incredible staff and I promise I’ll never forget that I am, like all of us, a leader.