Boom! It sounded like a cannon blast. Campers got up from their afternoon activities to see what the commotion was. Then they heard another loud noise and gathered at the quad. Seemingly out of thin air, a mass of Olim campers and staff members, clad in red, blue, green, and gold, emerged playing drums and cowbells. It became clear that this outrageous and incredible outburst could mean only one thing… Maccabiah!
Monday afternoon showcased a surprising and exciting afternoon break. The Olim drummers were led by a local percussion group, the Berkshire Bateria. More groups of Olimers came together and herded the rest of camp to the hill behind the Merkaz ha Sport. The campers gathered before a stage, on which sat a massive book titled The Great Bubble Battle, by Dr. Seuss. Smoke appeared and the book slowly opened. Out of it hopped this year’s Rosh Maccabiah, Nate Archambault dressed as the Cat in the Hat. He explained (in rhyme) that the four teams will each compete for glory and victory. Each team has its own them, as well as a bacsktory: red is courage, green is strength, blue is commitment, and gold is spirituality.
The break ended with all campers making the Maccabiah pledge to retain their spirit, sportsmanship, honesty, and connection to the Eisner community for the next few days. Team-colored bandanas were distributed to campers to inform them of their team. Each team then went to their base location, and Maccabiah 2012 officially began!
Each year a highlight of camp season, each year a contagious excitement reaching far away! Thanks for letting us follow and “participate” in the rejoicing!