At every Opening Ceremony at the beginning of the session, our unit heads are invited to deliver a blessing to our units. Here are each Unit Head’s blessing for their unit.
Bonim
You’re off to great places! Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting, so…get on your way!
Shorashim, we are so excited that you’ve started your GFC journey! As you climb your mountian this session at cmap, take advantage of the lifelong friends you will make and the meories you will create. Our wish for you is to try new things, make new friends and be yourself.
Always remember: you’re off to great places! Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting, so get on your way!
Niviim
Who lives in a cabin at GFC?
Niviim!
Absorbent and silly, as cool as can be!
Niviim!
Then drop off your luggage from E to P.
Niviim!
My wish to you Niviim is for you to take on new adventures, make forever friends, and have the best summer possible.
Kohanim
Each summer at camp begins the same way: smiling faces, hugs, campers and staff alike – full of excitement, energy and possibilities! My wish for you, Kohanim, is for each of you to hold on to this feeling of excitement and energy for as long as you can.
Remember that each day at camp is as full of possibilities as the last. You will learn new skills, try new foods, rekindle old friendships and create new ones – Yes! There will always be room in your heart for new friends; trust me – somehow it always stretches.
In the next 23 days, many of you will face a fear, learn how to share a space and how to get along with others in a way you never have had to before. The power to make this summer one of your best ever – lies within you!
Be postive! Be open to new things, be the first one to give in or say you’re sorry. Be aware of the beauty that surrounds you here and all the people in it. Remember, you won’t go home the same person who came through our gates today.
Camp will change you.
Let it.
Shoftim
What is Shoftim, Judges, judges of what?
Are you judging us? Are we judging you?
The way I see it here and now, you are your own judges. You get to judge how you look at life. But more specifically, how you judge this summer.
Here I have a bottle of water – it is half full or is it half empty? The way you judge this bottle is how you judge yourself, how you judge your summer.
My prayer for you is to judge this bottle half full, it is positive. Make your judging positive.
Open your mind. Be open to new things. Try new things. If you are new to cmap or have been here forever, then try something new you have never done.
Open your heart. Be kind to tohers. Be kind to yourself. Make new friends. Be kind to your counselors.
Open your ears. I want you to listen to the sounds of camp, the sounds of nature.
Open your eyes, look around and take in the beauty of this amazing place.
Open your mouth. Let only good things come out of your mouth, say something kind to every person in your bunk every day.
So I leave you with these words. Have the summer of your life. It is in your hands, mind, heart, ears, eyes and mouth.
Shoftim rules.
Melachim
Melachim, my blessing for you is this: let this summer be filled with challenges that make you stronger, let this summer be filled with new experiences; let this summer be filled with plenty of laughter and incredible moments. This summer, may you make new friends and strengthen the bonds with returning ones. Most important, I hope you make this summer the best one yet.
S’ganim
Hey everyone I want to start by saying let’s all have a great summer!!!
Now for the real part….
Dear S’ganim! We have some new people, some are counselors and some are campers. I hope that y’all can embrace the camp spirit and enjoy this session because I’m going to make sure it’s the best one you will ever have, and for the rest of the unit I just want to let you know this sessions is going to get so crazy and so fun!! I give you my word!
Don’t forget who’s got your back!!!
Kibbutz
Welcome to Kibbutz, this is your time! Your time to come together as a community. Your time to express yourself. Your time to choose your own path. Your time to relax and find comfort. Your time to open your mind to new ideas. Your time to connect to Judaism in your own way. Your time to learn and grow into independent individuals. This is Kibbutz… and Kibbutz this is your time.
Stefani Rozen
For many of you, this is your first summer at camp. For some of you, it’s your turn to be on Kibbutz, to be in Kohanim, or maybe to be a staff member. Maybe this summer will be your first time on the Alpine Tower or the Zip Line. Maybe it will be the first time you climb the Iceberg at Lake Jake. Maybe it will be the first time you meet your new best friend.
Some time ago, it was my first summer at GFC. I was 8 years old, and on the first day I met many people I still call friends today. And believe it or not, after all these years, some of us still get to run away to camp together each summer.
Look to your left. And to your right. The relationships that you build at camp can truly last a lifetime. Whether the person next to you is your first camp friend, or it’s the first time you’ve seen them since last summer or maybe even last month, hold their friendship close. Your lives may take you in different directions, but your friendship will continue to return you to camp every summer.