Rosie Gilbert

Camp is home. Camp is a place where you can break free and people will accept you for who you are. I have had so many fun experiences this past month. One of these experiences, Maccabiah, taught me that although I’m only in Alumim, no matter what we can all still make a contribution to a team.

In one of our peulot we learned about life in shtetels- small Jewish towns in Europe before the Holocaust. Through designing and simulating life in these communities we learned how everyone can make a difference that impacts the larger group…. just like at camp. Whether it be large scale or small. Even putting a smile on someone’s face and brightening someone’s day can make a world of difference.

In the Alumim peulot we focused on how Jewish heritage has shaped our Jewish communities today. On trip week we visited the National Museum of American Jewish History and learned the timeline of the Jewish people. Learning this history with the same group we learned and lived with in camp helped the knowledge soak in because of the conversations we’ve continued to have with each other. This summer has been one of my favorites and I can’t wait for next summer and new memories in Yachad 2016.