Kallah 2011 Wrap Up

Posted on 07/30/2011 @ 07:00 AM

The Kallah 2011 Group

As we pack our bags and clean the dorms for the last time, it is apparent that emotional ties to Kallah run deep. We have all become so accustomed to life here that the switch back home will be as weird as arriving here so long ago. There is no denying, however, that everyone has come a long way in this time. We have all tried new things and engaged in meaningful experiences, as well as making friendship ties that will last a lifetime.

We have taken classes and explored our Judaism, questioned our values, and studied our past. We visited places like Morasha and learned about all the different ways of practicing Judaism. We had an intense and competitive color war, learned about wizards and witches at Harry Potter, and bonded with our dorms through late night activities.

The way everyone here has progressed through this time has truly been spectacular. We as a Kallah team hope everyone has gained from their experiences and will be able to join their home communities and to practice their Judaism with pride and in an enhanced manor.

The friendships that were made will last a lifetime and the memories will last just as long. The participants are all packed and ready to depart tomorrow morning and will be saying their sad goodbyes in just a few hours as they get on the buses to go home. We hope everyone had a great time at Kallah 2011!

Week 2 Comes to a Close

Posted on 07/24/2011 @ 11:00 PM

We started our weekend off with a truly incredible Shabbat experience, including a service by the lake, a traditional Carlebach style experience, and a meditation service that received tremendous reviews. All of our participants were set to have a restful, meaningful Shabbat.

We relaxed through the day on Saturday and closed out our Shabbat with an amazing panel discussion, first with our educators and then our specialist staff and Madrichim. The questions teens were asking were thoughtful and thought-provoking. I was asked about my belief in the world to come, in piercings (turns out my choices come from a fear of needles more than anything else), and what I feel is the most important part of Judaism to pass on to future generations, among other things. Our teens also asked our other staff about Jewish life on campus and about their encounters with Anti-Semitism.

After the panel, we transitioned into a new week with a beautiful Havdallah ceremony out on the field. Participants sat down for a program about mysticism and magic, which looked at some crazy texts from our sages about witches, spells and more. After participants started sharing their views, our coordinators ran into the room shouting things like "expelliarmus" and "imperio" - turns out that we had rented out a whole theater to take participants to a late-night screening of Harry Potter! Surprise! Needless to say, they were pretty excited about it. We're hoping to upload the video of the reaction soon, because it was pretty overwhelming.

After a late start on Sunday (we only got back to camp at 1:15am!), we had a great day of learning and moved in to our evening program, the second exchange with the teens from Camp Morasha and Camp Mesora. We had singing and dancing - of which there are some incredible photos, participants cheered and sang songs together, played some frisbee and basketball and we ended the evening with a lot of promises to keep in touch post-camp.  Many participants said this was one of the most meaningful Jewish experiences they've had, and I am just so grateful that we got to be a part of it.

Overall, our weekend was pretty exceptional and we've got a whole week of amazing opportunities lined up as we move into our final days (already?!) of Kallah. We look forward to telling you all about them soon!

Kallah, from an Educator's Point of View

Posted on 07/22/2011 @ 07:00 AM

Enjoying a meal of pita and falafel on Israeli night

It is unique to wake up every day and work in the company of kind, educated and talented individuals. As a new member of the specialist team at Kallah and a first time BBYO employee, I am thrilled to be here. Week two of KALLAH 2011 started off on an excellent foot with enthusiastic trips to the town of Woodbourne, NY and a visit to Camp Morasha. The teens openly engaged with their orthodox peers, grappling with difficult and relevant issues. This week also marks the beginning of the specialists' specialty series. Each camper can choose three specialty electives in which they'd like to participate. I had a terrific group of kids today who were eager to explore, listen and create theatre. Working within a very specific set of rules, I divided them into smaller groups of five and asked them to create a snapshot montage of a story about Love, Loss and Reunion. The compositions were diverse and compelling. I have no doubt that tomorrow, their longer and more complex compositions will be equally entertaining. At the close of the day I had the opportunity to sit in on a Shabbat planning session. Some of the kids expressed an interest in hosting a more traditional style Torah service, while others were more drawn to an abstract approach. I offered up the medium of Dance midrash as a gateway to exploring the larger ideas in the Parsha without losing the Hebrew text. Whatever the group decides, their commitment will be wholehearted and their experience will be meaningful. These are just some of the wonderful things happening at Kallah today that I have had the occasion to witness. BBYO veterans surround me here and will casually remark that this general 'awesomeness' floating around in the air is nothing new. I still believe that it is unique to wake up every day and work in the company of kind, educated and talented individuals.

By Valerie Issembert, Drama Instructor

Our Time At Kallah

Posted on 07/21/2011 @ 07:00 AM

Rapping about Biblical topics

Here at Kallah we’re learning to appreciate a lot of the things we take for granted in our daily home lives. For instance we love pasta; So much so that we’ve eaten it every day for the past five. We’d like to take this opportunity to tell all of our mothers how much we appreciate their cooking as well as the kitchen staff here at Perlman. What else does Perlman make us appreciate? Here’s the short list: Rain boots, air conditioning, the importance of waking up an hour early to pray, the importance of sleeping an extra hour to not get sick, mouse traps, cracking eggs to make scrambled eggs, and carbs. Lots and lots of carbs.

We’ve been encountering lots of new experiences thanks to Kallah. Yesterday we had the chance to meet kids from two orthodox camps in the area. It was a really enriching field trip for both sides because we got to learn firsthand about each other’s lives. One of the highlights for the Kallah kids was hearing the orthodox kids talk about their choice to be shomer ngiya. Imagine a life where the only person of the opposite gender you ever touched was your spouse! Yeah… we thought so.

So that’s what’s up in PA. If you’d like to respond to this post please give us a call or shoot us an email during chofesh. Just kidding we don’t really have any, but that’s okay. We love our classes, chugim and creative arts electives! That’s all for now folks!

Submitted with Undying Love for Ka11ah, Zach Singer, Kolbo, Katz, 3, ½, Library, Big tree, PA, Large Quad, Small Quad, Ampitheater, Leadership Village, A lodge, Canteen, and dorms 1-9 (except 6 ‘cause there’s a tree growing in there), You, me, and Sam and Bobby

Judith Ilana Cohen, Eastern Region, North Carolina Council

Alana Calen Ben-Zeev, North Florida Region

Jaclyn Nicole Pavlofksy, Kentucky Indiana Ohio Region

My Kallah Experience, by Alli G.

Posted on 07/19/2011 @ 07:00 AM

Visiting a local Orthodox synagogue in the area and learning from the Rabbi

We're on the second week of Kallah, and I already know that I'm not going to be ready to go home by the 31st. Kallah is an amazing environment – it's the only place I know where people make friends by talking about their religious beliefs, and thinking doesn't make you weird. The backdrop is incredible – even when it's raining, it's beautiful. I was placed in a class here about spirituality and nature, and this morning we talked about the Jewish beliefs on plants and animals. Because this is one of the ways I personally connect to my Judaism, these discussions are really interesting to me.

But the best part of Kallah for me is the opportunities I've been given to participate in the activities I already love. I'm in a group here called Kallahcapella, and we'll be performing at Cafe Kallah at the end of the session! We're talking about doing 4 songs, but I can't tell you what they are – it's a secret! I am very active in choir at home and am creating the a capella arrangement for one of the songs here, and could not be more excited. I also did a theater elective today, and discussed working with Valerie, the drama director, on getting ready for college auditions in some of my free time. Kallah is amazing because I can get these experiences that I would be having at home, but in a great place and with a Jewish perspective. Relating theater and music back to my personal spirituality makes this program great for me.

I'm looking forward to everything I will learn in the next two weeks. Yesterday, I was asked when I've felt most at peace with myself and connected to G-d. Without a doubt, it is here at Kallah.

By Alli G, Mid-America Region St. Louis Council