Thoughts on Kallah

By Kallah 2010 Bloggers on 07/29/2010 @ 08:05 PM

Kallah

Kallah Reflection, Melissa Diamond -- North Texas Oklahoma Region

At Kallah, we've each had a chance to choose a creative arts elective that interests us. I'm in the elective called "Kallacapella," and it's an amazing experience. We all love the same thing- singing- and you can tell how much we enjoy singing together just by watching us for a second. When someone mentions a song title, the whole group immediately starts singing it. In our sessions, we've sung both Jewish/Hebrew songs and popular English songs. No matter what we're singing, I can't help but smile and laugh and put my whole heart into the song. We'll be performing several songs at Café Kallah, and I can't wait to share with everyone what we've been working on.

I came into Kallah as a person who lost herself over the course of the year, unsure of who she was and what she wanted to be. I had disregarded my Jewish identity, feeling slightly embarrassed because of all the stereotypes. With a difficult year in my past, I had negative feelings about coming to Kallah. I thought it would be weird to attend services two times a day, and that everyone would have had a sense of themselves and I would be the outsider.

Kallah Reflection, Hayley Goldman -- Southern Region, Atlanta Council

But all of this quickly changed. I cannot say when I cannot say how, but Kallah has truly changed me. I came in afraid of who I may encounter, but everyone turned out to be people I could really talk to. The conversations with kids my age were so deep and mind-boggling, which was so unusual to me since most kids are just about material ideas.

But I loved it. I loved the challenge that they were placing on me, and all the different views and ideas totally changed my perspective on life. I felt my first real connection with G-d. I felt myself creating my own beliefs instead of going just by the books. I felt a connection to people from all over the country. And I finally felt a connection to myself. Kallah has changed me. The educators, the staff, the teens, the environment, the classes, the opportunity, the experience. Kallah has made me a proud Jew and someone who can feel comfortable with her own identity.

Color War Rap

By Kallah 2010 Bloggers on 07/29/2010 @ 07:25 PM

Kallah

Color War, by Gabrielle Lewis
(to the tune of “the fresh prince of bel-air”)
Now this is a story all about how our lives got flipped turned upside down.
I’d like to take a minute so just sit right there.
I’ll tell you how BLUE became the Kings of Camp Perlman.
In North Pennsylvania, at a place called Camp Perlman, where ever I spend most of my summer.
Chillin out maxin relaxin all cool.
Sittin on beds inside of ours dorms
When a couple of campers were up to no good.
Started making trouble on the camp grounds.
We went to Katz and we all got scared
And staff said welcome to the Kallah color war.
I whistled for a golf cart
And when it came near, I saw Captain Planet through the side view mirror.
If anything, I can say that this day was RARE!
I said, man this is going to be great!
After all the competitions, it was finally time to announce the winner.
Blue sits on their throne as the Kings of Perlman!

Kallah Blog Group Winds Down

By Kallah 2010 Bloggers on 07/29/2010 @ 05:05 PM

Kallah

Top Ten Things About The Mock Wedding
10) Aaron and Julia just met, and then they got married
9) Julia’s name isn't Julie, Aaron...
8) Everyone got really dressed up
7) Snacks and soda
6) Speeches and vows
5) We learned how to have a Jewish wedding
4) All of us danced as a community
3) Aaron and Julia went to marriage counseling
2) Dinner was delicious and cake for desert!
1) We are all so excited to get married when we get older!

Chevruta Learning Comes to a Close
For the past day or two, the Chevruta groups have been finalizing their presentations. My group has been researching Humanistic Judaism. We spent time in the library looking through books to study the philosophy behind Humanistic Judaism. We also made phone calls to several Humanistic synagogues from various parts of the U.S. to ask questions about their congregations, practices, and views. One synagogue emailed us songs that are part of their liturgy and we are usuing them to create a mock service to present to all the other groups workkng with Jason. -Renee, Lonestar

BBG and AZA Separates
On Monday, July 26, the BBG and AZA Kallah communities participated in special separates programming. The B’nai Brith Girls of Kallah offered each other inspiring words of advice and bravely told each other about some of their most emotional experiences. Not a single individual was left untouched throughout the program. Afterwards, the AZAs and BBGs came back together as one community to declare their faith and pride for Judaism.

Blog Group

By Kallah 2010 Bloggers on 07/27/2010 @ 12:05 PM

Kallah

Top ten about Woodburne
10) Coming home with things we don’t need.
9) Getting two slices of pizza, fries, ice cream, soda, chocolate, coffee, and Chinese food!
8) A store actually called Bubby's
7) Half of a store devoted to only headbands
6) Free books
5) Signs being in Hebrew and Yiddish
4) Seeing how different types of Jewish communities live and shop
3) Buying kippot and other Judaica
2) Bus rides
1) Thinking color war was the next day, but it was a fake again!

Color War Fakeout
Since the beginning of Kallah, participants have been wondering about the Color War games. When they finally announced the event on Israel night, the community was ecstatic. The theme was to be “Mustaches of the 90s.” However, when teens went to see who was on their team, the “team list” was merely a sheet telling us to go to bed and that there was NO COLOR WAR! Then, on our way home from Woodburne a week later, the staff finally told us our real Color War teams- Harry Potter houses. As we got off the bus, excited as ever, the Madrichim handed us instruction sheets- this time saying “Roses are red, violets are blue, there’s no Color War at Kallah!” Once again we were fooled. Will we ever have a Color War?

Chevrutah Work
For the last week of Kallah we have split up into small groups to research a Jewish topic that we have a particular interest in. After talking with one of the Judaic educations, Suzie, we chose the Reconstructionist movement. We had a personal connection with the topic which made us want to learn more about it. After researching we will be presenting to the Kallah movement. –Jamie and Yarden

Tornado
When participants gathered in Katz to take pre-Shabbat pictures, the staff was alerted that severe weather was in the area. So to avoid the rain, we had menorah lighting, services, and dinner all together in the dining hall! The Friday night planning groups had to think quick on their feet to rise to the occasion, which they did wonderfully. Being in the dining hall brought us all closer as a Kallah community. Even though the weather outside was bad, the atmosphere could not have been more special.

Kallah Quotes

By Kallah 2010 Bloggers on 07/25/2010 @ 05:05 PM

Kallah

“Our 101 rotations are very influential”- Ryan Blake, Eastern-NCC

“The amount of knowledge each educator possesses creates a meaningful and relatable experience for every participant.”-Talia Katz, NRE-DC

“My favorite part of Kallah has been making connections through Judaism with teens from all over the country”- Emily McCready, SJR

“I’m having a great time!” –Joey Ben-Ami, NSR

“Every morning I wake up looking forward to finding more of my Jewish identity”-Hillary Blank, GCR

“La la la la la”-Kallahcapella group

“Kallah has made me think of things that I’ve never thought of before”- Deb Silver, NRE-Baltimore

“Kallah allows me to be one with the spiritual side of myself that I can’t experience back home”-Joey Notowich, CSR

“Kallah has opened my eyes not only to Judaism in general but to who I am”-Josh Morof, Michigan

“My favorite thing about Kallah is meeting people from all over and connecting to Judaism”-Yarden Arber, NRE-DC