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VOLUME 12 ISSUE 3

Week 3 Recap Could week 3 somehow be better than week 2? No one thought it was possible....but week 3 blew week 2 out of the park!

The SCORE BOARD Camp Chevra Leagues 2014 Junior Leagues

Senior Leagues

Yosef Yehudas Storm 6-1-4 Booses Bombers 11-0 Monday was Olympic Day! We The A-Team 5-2-4 Beymans Badboys 3-5-3 kicked it off with staff introductions! Pravers Popcorn Poppers 6-2-3 Eli's Invincible Elephants 5-5-1 Shukies Guppies 5-3-3 Prays Panthers 4-6-1 Team Green came prepared with Dovids Goliaths 2-6-3 Babanic Plague 4-6-1 banners and streamers and their Grunwalds Wizards 0-9-2 Benarbons Boulders 2-7-2 staff and generals put on a show with turtles and green super heroes! almost all the round 1 races. But round 2 The orange staff got into it as well as the generals came out carrying the Olympic belonged to Orange. Daniel Lehrer threw a torch as the entire team followed behind. football that has yet to land. The Staff After intro's, both teams jetted out to the Marathon capped Track and Field and fields to begin TRACK and FIELD. The Green Orange took 1st and 2nd place behind LT team got off to a tremendous start winning General Praver and General Goldberg's amazing run! Afterwards everyone went for Lunch...and what a treat! It was Pizza Day! YUMMMMM!!! Camp Chevra has the best Pizza! After Bentching - which the Orange team won, The Grand Plays began in the gym. Green went first and Busani put on a show, while Yurowitz couldn’t get enough of himself. Busani played himself as a Mexican and he played his imaginary mother. He did a tremendous job going

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back and forth in character. The play seemed to drag on and I still don’t know how it tied into Green or Olympics. Orange was next as Beyman played a therapist solving numerous problems: from an Irishman's voice in his head - Yosef Yehuda, to Babani- the lunatic Arab, to Shuki- the hunting Crocodile Hunter. Finally, the one problem he didn’t have to cure was Yaakov Vatch's infatuation with the color Orange! After the plays many campers went to the "Olympic" pool for races. The green team won the race. While campers were swimming the rest of the camp was involved in an All-Out Dodge ball game! The Orange team dominated from start to finish! Then came the very fun, All - Out Basketball game! It started off very slow with little scoring for the first few minutes. After group 2, 3 and 4 finished, the score was just 4-2 (Avi Greenbaum had both baskets for the Green team). The fun got started when group 5 joined the game. Zevi Samet put the Green team on his back, scoring 9 points on his own giving the Green team a nice lead. Then Shmuel Dov Klein came on and scored a few layups before the Seniors could get on the court so the Green team had a commanding lead. Daniel Lehrer cut into the lead by himself when he beat 2 other seniors in a 1 on 2 with a 3-0 score. But then the Green staff dominated behind Binyomin Pray who could not miss a shot. He hit three 3 pointers and had some nice layups (as did Yurowitz - really he did!). The Orange team tried one last show to come back but it was not enough and the Green team won the game. Finally, it was time for

the most important event: The Grand Sing. Both teams had solid songs, but the Orange team sang theirs better and got everyone rocking to the tune of Hashem Melech. When the final tally was done it was one team with 1027 and one team with 1112. And the WINNER of Olympics 2014 was team.......ORANGE!!!!! The FAST day tried to slow us down, but not even a fast could not stop the fun in Chevra. The younger boys still had plenty of time to play sports. The Bar Mitzvah Seniors took it easy, enjoying a relaxing and fun time in our state of the art GAME ROOM! Wednesday was OVERNIGHT GRAND TRIP Day!! First a full day of leagues and double swim and SLURPIES for the younger bunks. Then the camp shuttled off (IN COACH BUSSES) to LAKE COMPOUNCE! The BUSSES got off on time and we got to the PARK 30 minutes early!!! All the campers had a blast on the Roller Coasters and all the WATER RIDES and SLIDES. Eytan Hagler and Chaim Kenig and a few Seniors are still in the wave pool! Ushy and his Mega Phone were heard throughout the park the entire night.....it wouldn't be a GRAND TRIP without that MEGA PHONE! I think Kirschenbaum was in the LAZY RIVER for 3 hours straight! At MIDNIGHT we left the park and headed out to our overnight! All the campers were so excited to stay up the entire night with their friends. But only the bravest 3rd graders actually stayed up the entire night...oh and all the other kids they kept up! Sorry guys! The Seniors were treated to a Late Night/ Early Morning BBQ

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....because they are the Seniors! What an awesome night!

times...and jumped into foam pits all day! The Senior Division had league games as they get ready for PLAYOFFS AND CHAMPIONSHIPS next week.....BOOSE'S BOMBERS have still not lost a game yet! But all teams will be gunning for them in the playoffs!!! King Ushy’s Column

Lack of sleep could not hold CAMP CHEVRA down! First activity was a giant SENIOR DIVISION/STAFF/HEAD STAFF baseball game. Elisha Beyman hit 2 moon shots. Yeruchum Dear had a few nice shots of his own. Some great hitting and fielding by both teams which ended in a tie! But this game will surely continue! After lunch while the Junior Division went swimming, the Senior Division challenged the STAFF to a giant DODGEBALL game… and Guess who won?????? The CAMPERS!!!! The day ended with our annual CHEVRA SCAVENGER HUNT. The entire camp went out to try to solve the puzzles and search for the hidden codes! The SENIORS and BUNK REUVEN the youngest bunk in camp - found the most codes. Bunk Levi and Yissachar tied for 2nd. The PRIZE??? The winning bunks were rewarded with a TRIP TO BOUNCE on Friday. The Seniors passed on this trip, in hopes for a trip to the BATTING CAGES instead... hmmmmm it might just happen! The week ended in style as the Junior Division bounced around for hours at BOUNCE! They played DODGEBALL, BASKETBALL....I think Meir Pollack and Mattis Weinstein even dunked a few

ARE YOU READY TO GO TO LAKE COMPOUNCE???" That was what I shouted on my (new) MEGAPHONE to all the boys on our coach busses right before they sped off to the trip. The response from the boys was quite emphatic. Everyone was excited to start the trip and try out every single roller coaster Lake Compounce had to offer. Our campers from last year knew that they were in for a real treat with last years memories still fresh on their minds. The new campers were well informed by their friends what was in store for them. The excitement was palpable and boy was I stoked! I even treated some of Camp Chevra's alumni staff members to join along the fun, so we were all able to relive the moments of running wild in

a water/amusement park for 3 undisturbed hours. I left right after the bus and as we were driving, anticipation and excitement was running wild all over my body (wearing my Chevra shirt of course!). Boy oh boy, I can't

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‫בס"ד‬ even fathom what the boys were feeling! They were probably sitting on their coach busses next to their friends talking about which rides they would try first. Maybe they were just sharing headphones listening to some music (acapella, of course), or maybe they were enjoying the DVD'S being played on the busses Provided by Mizrachi! Whatever they were doing everyone was surely antsy to just finally arrive to the park so they could get the night started! Well we did arrive B”H, safe and sound just as planned! After a quick attendance and double checking everyone's groups off they went... After seeing off all the boys my friends and I made our own grand entrance. I had my all important brand new megaphone (did I say that already) on my shoulder and ready for action!

The truth is that I didn't get to go on many rides because for the first time I realized that I actually enjoy watching our campers go on these rides and witnessing the smiles on their faces. These were moments that I truly got to cherish and it was far more rewarding for me than to actually be on the rides. Every corner that I turned I saw groups of Chevra boys running from one ride to the next. Of course most of them felt the need to give me a brief description of how awesome this place is and how they want to come back again next week. I was basking in joy listening to them talk a mile a minute and basically had to remind them they

were wasting time talking to me, the rides were only for 3 glorious hours. This night turned out to be different than what I expected it to be. I was under the impression that I was going to the park to take a very much needed break, and that used to mean going on all the rides. Things are different lately I guess because that was not the part I relish these days. I am a proud person that has a tremendous amount of gratitude to Hashem for giving me the opportunity to make these boys summer a memorable one. However, I did get to go on one ride - Don't forget that my friends didn't exactly travel two hours not to go on any rides - and this ride was really something else. You probably guessed it, it's the" Boulderdash"...That ride goes so fast it took me a couple of minutes to regain my composure when it was done, but it was definitely fun! When we got back to our overnight spot the Juniors had some refreshments and off to bed those tired little guys went (some not too tired?!), but not before a special story was heard from a very special someone! The Seniors were treated to a BBQ (Yes, at 2 in the morning, hey it's camp), cooked up by our very own chef Chaim Kenig. After that I cannot tell you what happened because as you all know I am not a young man anymore and I needed some sleep so off to my very own bed I went. Right before I shut my eyes the last image I had was a quick recap of this fine day, and with those thoughts...zzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

A message from Rabbi Neiman In this week’s Parsha the Torah teaches us the power of speech. What makes us humans greater than the animal kingdom? It is our power to speak. So much so that we are referred to as a medaber (someone that speaks), which is higher than a domeim,

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‫בס"ד‬ tzomeiach or chai. However, the Maharal explains that there is another level called a Yisroel, a Jew. We need to understand what that means. The explanation can be found in this week’s Parsha, where the Torah tells us that we as Jews have a G-dly power of speech. We can make a purely innocent object as assur as chazir by making a neder. This power of creating a new Issur is only found by Jews. The world says, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” I think for a Goy that may be true, but us Jews know that words are extremely powerful. In fact the whole Churban of the Bais Hamikdash is attributed to the power of speech. As a Jew I believe WORDS CAN AND DO HURT. The things

we say and the way we say them are extremely dangerous and we need to watch our speech. We need to train ourselves when we are young, while it’s easy to change. We should concentrate never to hurt others with words, especially in a moment of passion. I myself walk around in camp trying to help the CHEVRA realize the gravity of this, and I must say b”H that the boys, by and large, get it. As parents you should take the credit, and at the same time take the chizuk to encourage the boys to reach the level of not just a medaber, but a true “Yisroel” asher bicha espaer. Yisroel Neiman

Parsha Questions Rabbi Busani 1 Reuven 1. What’s the name of this weeks Parsha? (Matos) 2. What is a “neder”? (A promise one has made and one must keep, ex: “I promise I will not eat by you again”) 3. Who can take away the neder of a girl? (her husband, her father (if she is under Bas Mitzvah) 4. In this weeks Parsha they fought against_______as revenge for the story of ______. (Midyan and Balak) 5. Which 2 shevatim came to complain to Moshe about the land? (Gad and Reuvan) 6. What was the condition Moshe made with them to get what they wanted? (they must come and fight the battles in Eretz Yisroel) Rabbi Mass 2 Shimon 1. What does Rashi teach us from the fact that Moshe spoke to the heads of B'nei Yisroel before speaking to the rest of them? (That we give over information to the more honorable people before the rest of B'nei Yisroel) 2. What does a "NEDER" mean? (A promise to do or to uphold something)

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3. What is the difference between an "ISSUR" and a "NEDER"? (An "ISSUR" means not to do something, whereas a "NEDER" means to do something) 4. Under what age does a girl have to be to have her father take away her "NEDER"? (12.5) 5. How many people do you need to take away a "NEDER"? (3) e.c.6- What does the Ohr Hachaim teach us from the fact that Moshe said "that IF you go to war ALL of you will survive"? Why not just say "go to war and you will survive"? (That we all must at least do our best and try to accomplish what we have to in life. So therefore Moshe was telling them; "IF you try to (your best) to win the war, Hashem will help you win".) Rabbi Rawickie 3 Levi 4 Yehuda 1. 2.

3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

If a man makes a neder that he'll eat nevailah is he also not allowed to desecrate his word? (No) Why? (Because the posuk says “La’assur Issur”, meaning that only a thing that you were permitted to do/eat etc. and then you prohibited upon yourself, these words you shall not desecrate, but things that where anyway prohibited like nevailah the neder a man makes to eat it has no affect.) Until what age can a father hold back his daughter's neder? (11) If a married woman makes a neder who can revoke her vow? (Only her husband) In which bracha of Shemoneh Esrei do we mention rain? (Second – ata gibbur) In which bracha of Shemoneh Esrei do we ask for rain? (Ninth- Bareich Aleinu) In the story we told (which is actually a Rashi in Gemara Ta'anis 8A), why did the mans children die in such unusual ways like chocking by a weasel and drowning In a well? (Because he promised to marry someone else) Rabbi Sweet 5 Yissachar 6 Zevulun

1. Both Jews and non-jews where gifted with the power of speech. What makes our speech different than the non-jews speech? (We have the power to make things ‫רוסא‬, like Hashem. They do not! 2. “‘Ish Ki Yaddur Neder LaHashem” why doesn’t the passuk say “Ish Ki Yaddur La’Hashem Neder” (If we say LaHashem we may not live further to say the next word, which will cause us to say Hashems’ name in vein!) 3. After a father is matir neder for his daughter, she still needs to ask forgiveness from Hashem. Why? (There are two parts to every sin which require a proper kapparah- the outcome of the sin and the mere fact that one is rebelling against his Commander, even if the sin wasn’t actually done!)

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Why was Moshe told about his death specifically after the Parsha of nedarim? (We aren’t always able to keep the nedarim that we make so we are able to be matir them, but Hashem always keeps His promises) Rabbi Berg 7 Dan 1. How many soldiers from every shevet were sent to fight Midyan? (3,000- 1,000 fighter, 1,000 to take care of food and weapons, 1,000 to daven- importance of Tefila) 2. Why did Moshe Rabeinu have to force Am Yisroel to fight Midyan? (Am Yisroel knew that Moshe would die after they fought Midyan and therefore they did not want to go because they loved Moshe- importance of having proper respect and love for our leaders) 3. How was Bilam killed/ (Bilam was able to fly using witchcraft. Pinchas had the holy “tzitz” on his forehead and raised his head towards Bilam and was able to shoot him down (sort of like the iron dome)- we need to be so thankful that we have the iron dome in Israel)

Learners of the Week: Rabbi Mass: Yaakov Koegel Rabbi Busani: Pinny Berger Rabbi Rawickie: Moshe Engleman Rabbi Sweet: Avrumi Sheinfil Rabbi Berg: Nosson schuh Rabbi Neiman: Eli Goldberg Have a good Shabbos!

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Campers of the Week: 1-3 Bunk Reuven: Tzvi Gross

Bunk Shimon: Sruly Greenfield

Bunk Levi: Aryeh Leib Rotkopf

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Campers of the Week: 4-6 Bunk Yehuda: Yaakov Grama

Bunk Yissachar: Nitti Heinemann

Bunk Zevulin: Shmuel Dov Klein Bunk Dan: Yeruchum Dear

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CHEVRA STAFF 2014 Head Staff: Executive Director— Moshe Genuth Executive Director— Ushy Schwartz (917) 288 7756 Head Counselor— Yitz Greenbaum (917) 972 7505 Learning Director— Rabbi Yisroel Neiman (848) 299 6546 Swiker Directors— Michael Tintner, Meir Kirshenbaum Pre-School Director—- Shoshana Silber (845) 671 9670 Chevrawesome Counseltators: (and JCs) Bunk Reuven— Yitzy Grunwald (Moshe Praver) Bunk Shimon— Yosef Yehuda (Dovid Gerstinblit) Bunk Levi—- Avi Yurowitz (Shuki Reifer) Bunk Yehuda— Yaakov Vatch (Daniel Weiser) Bunk Yissochor— Yonatan Busani (Yaakov Babani) Bunk Zevulen— Elishe Beyman (Yonatan Benarbon) Senior Division Head— Eli Goldberg (Binyomin Pray) Rabbeim: First Grade: Rabbi Busani Second grades— Rabbi Mass Third and fourth grades— Rabbi Ravitzky Fifth and Sixth grades— Rabbi Sweet Seniors: Rabbi Berg The Essential Coolness™

Videographer: Yaakov Babani Office Staff: Eitan Hagler Eitan Striks Chaim Kenig Mimi Einhorn