Ukraine Shluchos Join for Camp

While others were enjoying their mid-winter vacation and the break from normal routine, over thirty girls from all over Ukraine were headed for the experience of a lifetime. Yampol, a small, picturesque shtetl with chickens running around and horses a means of transportation, was home to the Gan Israel Winter Camp for the Bnos Hashluchim of Ukraine.

The program was in full swing from the moment the campers mounted the bus in Dnepropetrovsk, and the excitement grew as more girls joined in every city they stopped in. The journey included stops in Cherkass, Kremenchug, Kiev, and a visit to Berditchev. The girls had the opportunity to start off the camp experience with the opportunity to daven at the Kever of R’ Levi Yitzchak and hear a few words from the Shlucha to this holy city. Yampol, the actual campsite and site of the Noda B’Yehuda’s shul for the brief period of time he served as Rav in the town before going to Prague, was infused with new spirit as the girls’ chayus escalated upon their arrival.

In these short seven days, the girls enjoyed a jam-packed schedule of learning, projects, activities throughout the day and well into the night, farbrengens and inspiration to last an entire year. Theme days, night activities, performances and round the clock fun kept the campers on their toes.

Aside from the indoor fun, the campers enjoyed a full-day trip to various locations in this area of Ukraine, starting with a tour of Brody and the site of the oldest shul in Ukraine, which stood before the times of the Baal Shem Tov. The girls had a grand time up the ski lifts and into the clouds above the Carpathian mountains, an experience they will always remember. To end off the exciting journey, they stopped in Lvov, and enjoyed a guided tour through this beautiful city streets, the home of the famous Mumme Sarah and its magnificent shul. The Rebbetzin of Lvov, whose family was sent to this city by the Karliner Rebbe to run the shul and the small Jewish day school, expressed her amazement at the work these young girls are doing in their hometowns in Ukraine, large or small as they may be.

Shabbos in camp was an unforgettable experience, with nigunim, farbrengens, activities and stories that lasted well into Friday night and continued the next morning. At the Shabbos day meal, the girls were privileged to hear from the distinguished guests who were visiting the hotel for the weekend. The Satmar Rebbe’s son, Harav Yaakov Dovid Teitelbaum, addressed the girls and spoke of the specialty of Efraim and Menashe. He explained that they are the ones we are blessed to resemble because they retained the holiness of the Shvatim depsite having grown up in Mitzrayim. “You, the children of the Shluchim who are retaining the Yiddishkeit and Chassidishkeit and transmitting it to others despite living far from your family and friends,” he told the young shluchos, “are the ones who will stand on the front lines when Moshiach comes.”

Shabbos ended on a high note and led into a Klezmer dance event, followed by the gala banquet. Campers and counselors enjoyed a gourmet meal, prepared by the talented and devoted kitchen staff, and then were surprised with the official roll call of Ukraine, applauding every single camper and her city. Glow in the dark dancing ended the evening, and thus began the goodbye to Gan Israel.

Before mounting the bus to return home, the camp took a trip to R’ Yechiel Michel Zlotchover’s kever to daven at the holy site. The trip was done in good old fashion style, with horses and wagons that made the girls feel like they were taking a journey back in time. Camp concluded with a visit to Mezhibuzh, giving the girls of Gan Israel the special opportunity to daven at the kever of the Baal Shem Tov, after whom the Rebbe named this very camp.

Camp was an extraordinary chance for girls to express themselves and get to know other Lubavitcher girls, a novelty that many of them do not enjoy on a regular basis. On Shlichus in cities and villages throughout Ukraine, many of the girls are one of very few, or even the only, students in their class. The bonds that were formed between the campers, and especially with their counselors, are to last a lifetime. Even as camp ends, the girls know that they can be updated with pictures and messages from their counselors through the camp blog, bnothashluchim.blogspot.com.

Gan Israel winter camp, generously supported by Rabbi and Mrs. Rafael Rutman, is a project of Beis Chana Seminary in Dnepropetrovsk, directed by Rabbi Moshe Weber. Geared for girls in Sem Beis, the students enjoy a diverse program of intense learning as well as hands-on Shlichus experience with teaching and programs within the community. As one girl described seminary, “We are given opportunities that we would never have gotten anywhere else in the world. It’s the combination of the perfect Shlichus and a full learning schedule.” Under the leadership of Rabbi Shmuel Kaminetsky and Chabad of Dnepropetrovsk, the seminary is in its second year, and going strong. Applications for the upcoming year will be opening very soon; don’t miss out on the opportunity of a lifetime. For more information, please contact Rabbi Weber at 380-63-7708770 or email [email protected].