The first full day of Maccabiah was off to an exciting start yesterday! In the morning and afternoon, campers of all ages from every team competed in various sports. As Bonim campers played Ga-Ga and soccer, those from Chalutzim and Ofarim competed in volleyball, and Chaverimers and Tzofimers participated in basketball and ultimate Frisbee. When campers were not on the field playing a sport, they still played an active role by cheering on their friends. All the while, some campers from each team began work on the art projects, including painting plaques and windows and creating recycling bins as part of tikkun olam, or repairing the world, programs.
Team meetings were held throughout the day, during which teams were pumped up and taught cheers and songs. These anthems were written by Olim spirit and song specialists, who have been working on them tirelessly for the past week. Additionally, dance and drama were kicked off, and campers had the opportunity to volunteer for these exciting components of Maccabiah. Each team creates two dances, one Israeli and one modern, and two drama productions, one thematic and one comedic. Campers who volunteered to take part also had time during the day to participate in other activities, like sports and art.
At dinner time, all of the bunks came together to sit at their usual tables and spend a meal together. Although they all might be wearing four different colors, bunkmates have the opportunity to come back together and talk about their days and the activities they were able to partake in. After a great dinner, each team went to their meeting locations to experience their first team t’fillah. Once t’fillah was over, the exciting evening was in full swing.
Each team entered the Merkaz HaSport while preforming their silent cheers to impress the judges. The teams were placed in the four corners of the Merkaz, all facing the center. The teams all cheered and were ready to show off their fight songs and sing their hearts out! Blue team’s song was to the tune of “Holiday” by Green Day, Red’s to “Drive By” by Train, Green’s to Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep” and Kelly Clarkson’s “What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Stronger” , and Gold’s to “All of the Lights” by Kanye West. Each team was accompanied by our awesome pit band composed of drums, guitars, piano, and trumpets! The teams were so loud and spirited, the judges looked overly impressed by the talent of both the song specialists as well as the campers expressing their ruach, or spirit. Between the fight songs, each team was asked to give a cheer to the rest of camp. We also had Wacky Olympics held in the Merkaz where each unit had the opportunity to perform in activities like caterpillar races, toilet paper wrap up, and a huge limbo competition! The night ended with our Eisner tradition, the bedtime Sh’ma, where everyone is linked arm in arm coming together. Today was an amazing day of Maccabiah, we cannot wait for tomorrow’s events!
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