Closing Ceremony Speeches – Bonim

Ori Kulas

Bonim (Aleph)

This is my second year in Camp TY and those two years, two sessions have been amazing. Last year, I was still a young kid and I didn’t really understand that camp would give me such important values and lessons.

This year in Noy’s Bonim chug I have learned so much about how to become a leader and to be careful and respectful towards the community. Also in this session I made new friends and I learned from them about new cultures. I was also able to hear about how people look at Israel, my country, from their points of view. Even with all of our differences, it was great to see that all of my friends and myself had one thing in common, we all strive for PEACE.

Thank you so much to everyone for this amazing summer here at TY. I’m going to miss all of you very much and I hope to see you all soon in Israel!

Yoelle Gulko

Bonim (Havurah)

Taking part in the second session Tel Yehudah experience has been unique, life-changing, and absolutely unforgettable. I started camp feeling a combination of nerves, nostalgia and excitement for another journey through the long-awaited camp life. Now, I can look back at my nervous skepticism and laugh. This summer was everything I hoped it would be and more.  My bunk has been a lucky combination of old friends that I have been looking forward to reuniting with, newer faces that I quickly befriended, and counselors that I feel I can tell anything. We’ve become so close, that whenever a counselor isn’t with the bunk for their time off, it feels like I haven’t seen them in weeks. I was especially comforted by having my merakezet, Michella, return to camp after having been my counselor last year. The combination of such supporting chanichim with dedicated madrichim has shaped an experience that warms my heart.

This might sound a bit weird, but I like to think of camp as being kind of like the Salad Bar in the cheder ochel. A salad made up of just lettuce would be boring and kind of gross, but camp is a whole combination of different people who come from from all over the world. It’s an amazing meeting-place for a multitude of traditions, practices and identities that are accepted, desired, and combined to make one big community. For instance, during an activity we did with the Aleph bonim kids, I was able to learn so much about life in Israel in comparison to life in American just by speaking with Ori. Being given that one chance to bond with him and learn about his life was an amazing educational opportunity.

In each activity at camp, I have the opportunity to be with my friends, learn something new, and thoroughly enjoy myself. For example, during rikud, I feel like I can connect with the music on an emotional level while I’m also surrounded by people who want to dance with me and see me happy. Also, Israel update allowed me to have a tiny window into daily conflicts, hardships, and pride in Israel that I would never have know about if it hadn’t been for those who contributed so passionately.

TY is a place where people can truly be themselves and collectively form a bond. It’s a place to put a pause on all the troubles in life and just be you. A place to discover a new part of who you are and what you strive to be. And who knew this paradise could be found right here in Barryville, New York.