This year the Jewish Community Center camps — specifically Barney Goodman — have three shlichim (Israeli emissaries) on staff. This may be the first time the camp has ever employed so many emissaries at one time.
Almost every year the JCC has had at least one emissary on staff to interact with the campers and teach them about Israel. Usually these Israelis have been young women. This year the trio includes one man, Chen Stern, and two women, Gal Patel and Ronit Porges. The number of shlichim at the camp increased after the Director of JCC Camps Bridey Stangler went to Israel two years ago and learned more about the Jewish Agency for Israel’s program.
“I was blown away by what a fabulous training session the Jewish Agency provides and how much energy the shlichim have, and I realized what they were capable of doing at our camp,” Stangler said.
Last year Stangler changed the responsibilities of the shlichim and hired two young women.
“It went so well with two that we thought it could only go better with three. So far it has. We love having them and it makes Israel even more present at camp,” she said.
The shlichim arrived in town May 28 and will leave the area on Aug. 3, just one day after camp concludes. They are staying with several host families this summer.
Stangler explained that the three shlichim do a lot of tag-team programming, helping each other out whenever possible.
Patel is in charge of the Kol Yisroel room, which provides Israeli culture programming.
“Every year we have a room where the kids go and experience Israel in that room. By bringing in three people now they can experience Israel all over camp, and it’s nice.
Patel said she teaches the campers a different subject every week, trying to demonstrate as many aspects of Israeli life as she can. For instance, she said by using a big map she taught them about the important cities and places in Israel. Early in the camp session, Patel said she arranged Hebrew activities where they learned “some words in Hebrew and learned how to write their name in Hebrew.”
Patel, a 20-year-old from Ramat Gan, has also taught them things like Israeli birthday party games and “all the games I used to do when I was a child in Israel. Some are the same as here but some are new for them.”
Before the camp sessions are over she will have also taught them about Israeli inventions “that came into common use in the world,” and give them a chance to taste Israeli food.
“We got some Israeli Bazooka gum with the Hebrew comics,” she said, noting she’s heard that is always popular with the campers.
Two of the three shlichim — Patel and Stern — have completed their army service. This summer job counts as part of Porges’ service, and she has to report back to base immediately following summer camp where she will serve approximately one more month.
Porges, 20, said some of the kids know the Israelis have or are serving in the army.
“They think it’s cool. But they don’t really understand the variety of jobs we have in the army and what it means for us,” she said.
So Patel plans to teach the campers a little about the IDF.
“Among other things I’m going to teach them that the army doesn’t mean only combat jobs, there are a variety of jobs you can do,” she said, adding that in the army she developed education software, e-learning opportunities and instructed others how to be a teacher. She did all that on the base where they train the intelligent forces.
Porges is the camp’s song leader.
“She’s an excellent piano player and plays guitar, she has a lot of energy and she’s really bringing a special flavor to camp. KC doesn’t have a lot of young song leaders right now, so we brought one in from across the sea and she’s doing a fabulous job,” said Stangler, who noted Porges is working with Jared Schifman from The Temple, Congregation B’nai Jehudah. “Together they are fantastic.”
As the song leader, Porges said one of the songs she sings is about changing the world in Hebrew.
“I try to teach them as many songs as I can with Hebrew words. We always explain the meaning of the words so they will know what the song is about. I saw that a lot of kids know a lot of songs in Hebrew but they have no idea what the song is all about and I think it’s a pity because these are very smart and beautiful songs,” Porges said.
She also likes to teach the campers songs they already know in English, but with Hebrew words.
“It’s easier because they know the melody,” Porges said.
Stern, 23, is the camp’s sports specialist. He explains he does “anything with a ball.”
“Sometimes I don’t use the ball,” I socialize, he added.
Stangler explained, “He gets the kids in Barney Goodman up and running.”
Stern said he wanted to become a part of the Jewish Agency’s shlichim program in the United States because he has at least 15 friends who did it and highly recommended the experience.
“That’s where I got my inspiration” to do this. “I always wanted to be an ambassador and represent Israel,” he said.
Patel said she loves being a counselor, meeting people and representing Israel and the Jewish Agency.
“I’m very proud to be a part of it. It’s a great experience,” said the young woman who just completed her army duty a week before she came to camp.
Porges wanted to be a part of this program because she loves working with kids.
“It’s very interesting for me and I love my country,” she said. “I think it’s a good way to influence things and also to learn about things in the world and people in the world and different cultures.”
Because of her army service, Porges must return directly to Israel when camp ends. Patel will spend some time traveling in the United States and visiting family in Pennsylvania before she goes home.
When Patel returns to Israel she will relax and then study for college entrance exams. She said she will probably get a job and maybe do a little more traveling. She isn’t sure what she wants to study in college.
Porges will also study for her college entrance exams once she concludes her army service. Stern, who has already traveled and worked as a waiter, plans to move to a kibbutz in the south of Israel when he returns to Israel and begin his education there.
They all like working at camp.
“The kids are so sweet. Of course it is challenging sometimes but it’s still fun,” Patel said.
“I like it when they ask questions and they get what I try to teach them. One girl asked if I would be here next year and I told her I don’t know and she said, ‘Oh I want you to be here.’ I was so happy because it is these little moments when you see that you are influencing them. … To know that there is a meaning that we are here. It’s like the best moments.” Patel continued.
Porges likes that everything at camp is very positive. She especially appreciates the way counselors are instructed that the children are the most important part of camp.
“We don’t concentrate on ourselves, we concentrate on the child and what we want him to learn and the values we want to give them,” Porges said.
Porges finds it very funny that everyone in the Jewish community seems to know everyone else.
“Our families know each other and their friends and we are going together places. I think our families are amazing people, so nice,” Porges said.
Patel added, “They have really made us feel comfortable and feel at home here.”
One thing Patel has particularly enjoyed during her visit is seeing the way other movements of Judaism practice the religion here in the States.
“It was the first time we had seen women say prayers, and it was beautiful,” said Patel of her visit to Congregation Ohev Sholom.
Porges had experienced a little of that in her hometown of Jerusalem, but still found it interesting.
“The language was different, the atmosphere was different. I remember coming in and everyone was sitting together. It was very different and I liked it,” Porges said.
Stern enjoys the “peaceful environment and the good vibe” he gets here. He is from Rishon Letzion near Tel Aviv, where he said there is always “such huge pressure.”
“Tel Aviv is right in the center of Israel where all the chaos is,” he said.
“Kansas has very nice people. This is my first destination in the United States. The people are very warm and welcoming. Everybody told me just before I came here that Americans are nice and everything is big here. I couldn’t really believe it. But then I got here and everything is true,” he said.
