By: Jackson Mercer, Songleader Summer 2014
The Talmud teaches us that to truly appreciate the world we are surrounded by that each day we are to say 100 Blessings. During traditional Shacharit services we recite the Nisim B’chol Yom, a jumping point for those 100 Blessings. Our prayer books, the Mishkan Tefillah gives us sixteen daily miracles where we thank G-d for things we encounter each and every day that we sometimes do not associate with being miraculous.
For the penultimate Shabbat, Etzim, Kallah, and CIT each had the opportunity to collectively write 100 Blessings. Individually we all wrote what we are thankful for or what we take for granted throughout our days. Each camper was able to voice their gratitude, their awe, and their appreciation for seemingly mundane things. Both groups filled up our poster paper and all together we formulated more than 200 blessings for which we were thankful for. What better way to start our year away from camp then by reading the blessings of the future leaders of Judaism.
For Havdallah, as groups we recited some of the blessings we had written earlier in the day. It was not only a reminder of the beautiful and amazing things we surround ourselves with but also of our capacity to create meaningful prayer together. While the Havdallah prayer celebrates, “hamavdil bein kodesh l’chol,” Blessed is the one who distinguishes the holy from the ordinary, in the penultimate Havadallah this summer we all invite the whole camp community to remember our daily miracles which we often overlook. While Shabbat is the holiest of holies, our days are miraculous in themselves and rather than separate the holy from the ordinary, we separate our future holy of a peaceful world, harmony, and justice that we feel on Shabbat with the everyday holiness we feel when we recognize our ability to pray freely or a beautiful sunrise or any other beautiful blessing that we may encounter on any or all of our “ordinary days.”
Camp for many of us represents the Shabbat of our year. Just like during the week Shabbat is a rest from the busyness of the world, so is camp. Whether it is from school or work or cell phone reception or even just the afternoon traffic on the 101, camp is a physical, mental, and spiritual retreat from our everyday lives. Like Shabbat camp is a place where judgement is not passed, a place where peace is tangible with others and oneself, and a place where happiness is only quantified by how many songs into Israeli Dancing your Eidah gets to stay. For many campers, URJ Camp Newman is the Jerusalem we all wish to see in the future, the one we momentarily exist in on Shabbat. The hardest part for so many of us at Camp newman, including staff members, is transitioning from the obviously amazing world of camp back to the “real world.”
However like Shabbat we too have the opportunity to see more than just Camp and the “real world,” or holiness and ordinary. At Camp, our blessings are numerous. We live and thrive in this beautiful community that seems to disappear in the early weeks of August. Sometimes the rest of the year is overshadowed by the happiness we feel at camp however like on Shabbat, sometimes we only need to look at our everyday lives a little closer. AS CIT, Kallah, and Etzim taught one another, every single day we witness beautiful miracles, both on Shabbat and during the week. During the week it is often times much harder to recognize those blessings, just like for many of us who struggle finding the comfort in life outside of camp. The miracles at home may require more time and effort to notice. As we all transition back to non-camp life I invite us as a community to recognize the beauty of Camp Newman and this most recent amazing summer but for us to also look for the bits of awesomeness that get us through each day. Whether it be NFTY events or celebrating Shabbat as a family, I hope we can all find 100 Daily Miracles in the equally supportive, strong communities outside of URJ Camp Newman during the summer. 100 Important Daily Details that ultimately bring us back home to Shabbat, to URJ Camp Newman, and to our home at Porter Creek Road.
Thank you G-d for…
Making me a Jew
A roof over my head
Food on my plate
Loving and caring family
Keeping me safe
Not being hungry and going to bed full
The ability to share our ideas
Making Camp Newman
Life
Baseball
Love
Gift of friendship
The ability to communicate
Being alive and well
Family and friends
Giving me strength
Letting me be happy and live a great life
Making the sunrise
Healing the sick
Being given the opportunity to love and be loved
Having people in my life that I love and who love me
Driving to school safely
Having a bed to sleep in
Giving me the ability to make friends
My freedom
Ability to sleep
Getting breakfast everyday
Waking up each morning
My dog
Giving strength to my family
The ability to reason
Waking up in a comfortable place
Giving the ability and allowing me to see
Energy to make it through each day
Taking care of me and loving me
Being able to pray freely
Providing us will meals today and hopefully meals tomorrow
My education
Home
Giving me wisdom
Learning
Protecting my family
Our counselors
Actually getting to go to school
The ability to deal with tragedy
Smiles
Soccer
Getting to go to school
Relaxation
Happy family
Our health
Books
Writing music
Nature all around us
The people who surround me
Prayer
Medicine
The knowledge G-d gave me
Having a friend
My extremely hard working parents
For people who pretty much love me unconditionally
A fully functional body
The ability to see and think positively
Family who supports me in school
Waking up in a healthy environment
Walking
Running
Feet!
Waking up next to smiles
Having clothes to wear
Ability to chose my meals
Being able to freely express my opinions and feelings
Enjoying music
Water
Living in California
The hills and the trees
Intelligence
Going to bed and feeling safe
Patience
Waking up next to my best friends: past, present and future
The diversity of human nature
Ability to taste
Who I am
Giving us modern medicine so we can not only heal but feel better when we are sick
This breathe
Constant support regardless of my lifestyle
Having this opportunity this summer to inspire but also to be inspired
My family being financially able to send me and my siblings to camp
Making me closer to my sister this summer
Getting to spend my summer with my favorite people
The ability to make strong connections with the people and nature that surround me
Camp Newman
My Camp Newman Family
Campers
Advisors
Counselors
Eztim
Kallah
CIT