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Dear NCSY Camp Sports Parents,
We had a very exciting week here at NCSY Camp Sports! This past Shabbos was fabulous with an inspiring Friday night davening with dancing and singing that continued through to the meal. After the seudah, we had a great oneg led by our super advisors. A few of our staff members shared their “life stories” that were very inspiring to the NCSYers. There was also a post oneg-oneg that the NCSYers started back in the dorm - it was a very special night! The ruach continued through shabbos day, with an amazing davening and Shabbos day meal. The day ended with alumnus Jeremy Lavitt speaking about comparative religions. We ended shabbos with singing, and Rabbi Fried spoke to everyone about not missing opportunities. After havdala we enjoyed our typical motzei shabbos, with late night bowling and pizza.
Sunday morning we had a late davening which was followed by a very meaningful program. Ari Kahn ZT”L, a former camp advisor, head counselor, mentor to all of the camp upper staff, OU Board Member and wife of NCSY’s Camp Maor Director, unfortunately passed away this year. Ari was a very special person and inspired many of us with his love for everyone. NCSY and Ari’s wife decided to honor Ari’s memory with all NCSY summer program particpants taking part in the Ahava pledge to, as Ari always said, ”Love ya Brother”. We watched a video about Ari and his brother Avrumie came to camp to tell us how he always thought he was his only brother, but apparently many others felt the same way. Each NCSYer received a “love ya brother” bracelet. Hopefully you will hear more about this program in next week’s update.
Sunday night in conjunction with our morning learning we played a huge personalized game of ”Guess Who”. It was a tournament with specially designed boards. All the game pictures were replaced with pictures of campers. This was a great lesson that showed how everyone has unique qualities, something we are learning about in our morning chaburas.
On Monday we had another great morning of learning followed by a trip to Guppy Gulch. It is an amazing former quarry now filled with water and inflatables. The water was warm, the inflatables fun and the NCSYers had an amazing time. I cannot describe the venue in words and I highly recommend looking at the pictures on our website to see the fun. The day ended with a moment that was a great image of Camp Sports, where we find something for each NCSYer. All at the same time, some NCSYers had a bonfire kumzits, others played frisbee, and others tried their hand at fishing, everyone had a fabulous time.
Tuesday we learned and played two league games. After dinner and mincha we had our annual free throw and frisbee contest fundraiser. We have raised over $700 to help a sister of one of our camp alumni who needs help getting a prosthetic limb. We are also donating some of the money to Hatzalah of Maryland who participated in the recent search for Rabbi Bauman. We hope to talk more about the effort that was made to find Rabbi Bauman ZTL on Sunday and hopefully have someone who participated in the search speak with the NCSYers.
Wednesday, we went to the Inner Harbor and an Orioles game with a brief break in between for a torrential downpour. At the Harbor the NCSYers had a chance to win great prizes with a camp scavenger hunt. Following dinner on historic Federal Hill, we went to watch the Baltimore Orioles vs, the Washington Nationals. What made the game even more fun was that every NCSYer was assigned a random player from one of the teams. If that player did something in the game (hit home run, stole a base, etc.), the NCSYer got points which later turned into awesome prizes.
On Thursday we ended the week with a fabulous day of learning, sports and staying cool with lots of water. After maariv we had another night of optional mishmar learning with a packed Beis Medrash. Following the learning and a short kumzits, we raffled off some amazing prizes and everyone had cholent and kugel.
We are looking forward to a great Shabbos and a meaningful fast.
Rabbi Jon Green
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