High School Hebrew
מחנה קרמבו
Machaneh Krembo
Did you know that the Hebrew words for ‘trust’ (eimun אמון), ‘faith’ (emunah אמונה) and ‘to believe’ (leha’amin להאמין) share the same root as the affirmation amen אמן? Our Year 8 Hebrew students got to explore this connection during Machaneh Krembo last week. The long-awaited camp was a fun-filled educational event, which was made particularly special by the competent guidance and leadership of our fantastic alumni and ex Hebrew students – Zev Shteinman, Josh New, Rachel Turtledove, Edan Amsalem – and a group of our capable Year 11 (Hebrew) students – Michael Heymann, Noam Meretz, Ezra Hersch, Lara Fosbery, Ariella Tracton and Yonatan Amsalem. Together with teachers Rebecca Gaida, Miri Heitner and Oren Thaler they helped make the camp a great success.
A personal highlight for me was Kabbalat Shabbat in the park. At one stage students, teachers and alumni formed one giant circle, sitting in silence in a shared space. We each took time to reflect and write our own slicha before we listened to Edan blow the shofar to mark the beginning of Elul.
By Ruth Harvey, Head of Hebrew
What did participants have to say about their Krembo experience?
Teachers
Morah Gaida: Machaneh Krembo was a meaningful quality camp. The madrichim showed excellent Hadracha (leadership) skills and it felt like the camp was a perfect nostalgia item; something to look back on with fond memories well into the future. Someone will reminisce: “Do you remember the time we made our own pizza at Machaneh Krembo?… and remember ordering falafel in Hebrew?” “Yes, that is how I learned the Hebrew for tahini-t’china, and spicy-charif “. “What about when we wrote the ‘Ani Maamin Sheli’ – our values statement?” “Yes, I took a photo of it and put it up on my wall of fame”. “And when we got to do ruach with the madrichim – wasn’t that amazing?” “Yes, we just kept wanting it to continue forever”…and so the list will go on. It was a real privilege to attend camp. Perhaps it was a gift from above that we were meant to enjoy ourselves one last time on a camp this year.
Alumni
Zev Shteinman: Machaneh Krembo was an unforgettable experience for me because, as a madrich, it allowed me to share my love of the Hebrew language with the Year 8 students, while also having fun and building connections with them. I don’t get many opportunities to speak Hebrew as none of my family or friends speak it, so it was really refreshing being able to speak Hebrew freely during Machaneh Krembo. Making connections and building friendships with the Year 8 students is something I didn’t think was possible in only two days, however after playing games with them, sitting together during recess and lunch, dancing with them and getting to know them, I can confidently say that I now have many good friends in Year 8.
Josh New: In our current times, it is often hard to find the positives coming out of the global pandemic. However, Machaneh Krembo was definitely one for me! Being able to run the camp, which is usually led by Israeli Madrichim, as an alumnus, was such an awesome experience! I felt so privileged to be a part of the camp, and to lead such an amazing group of Year 8 students. Informal education is a huge passion of mine, and seeing the kids loving the activities we ran for them made it all worthwhile.
Edan Amsalem: Machaneh Krembo was an incredible experience which definitely developed my skills in leadership, teamwork and communication. I truly valued my time with the amazing Year 8 group as a madrich, and I enjoyed observing the students evolve and develop in confidence. Perhaps one of the most rewarding experiences I took away from camp, was observing the Year 8 students create new friendships and develop a sense of משפחה (family) within their Year Group. At the core of Hebrew camp, we endeavoured to cement the foundational learning of Hebrew through enjoyable yet educational games. We also strove to facilitate lasting friendships and resilience amongst the students, which are valuable skills that will see them through future challenges. One of my favourite experiences was helping the students build confidence in learning and utilising Hebrew. At first, they lacked אמונה (faith) in themselves, however, through interactional fun games, I witnessed many students build their Hebrew vocabulary. Thank you to all the Year 8 Hebrew students for making this a special and unforgettable experience.
Year 11 Camp Madrichim
Michael Heymann: I was one of six Year 11 Madrichim at Machaneh Krembo Hebrew camp. I had a great experience spending time with former Emanuel students, Year 11 students, and of course, really getting to know many of the Year 8 students. Although we were not the tanned Israeli madrichim that usually come to Emanuel, I believe we managed to give students a memorable experience in a Hebrew speaking environment. As expected, there were challenges, and I realised the difficulty of trying to be a leader and a friend to the students at the same time. One activity, a trivia game, became quite heated after I had awarded one of the teams an unfair bonus question. However, this demonstrated the students’ willingness to participate, which ultimately led to the camp’s success. Overall, the camp was a very valuable experience for me, and I believe the students learned a lot about each other and Hebrew too.
Year 8 Hebrew students
Jack Goldberg: מחנה קרמבו was a wonderful experience. I enjoyed every bit like המירוץ לקרמבו ורוח, but my highlight was definitely being a server of the falafel, where I had to greet my customers in Hebrew, take their orders in Hebrew, and make the falafels with generous portions! On this camp I learned patience, teamwork, רוח dances and, of course, I practised my Hebrew. On Thursday night, I found lying under the stars in the Waxman Drive to be really meaningful, as I felt a sense of community and spirituality discovering all of the constellations above. I was really looking forward to this camp and it definitely met my expectations. I would like to thank all the teachers and madrichim who helped prepare and run the camp over these two days. תודה רבה.
Kian Hamburger: מחנה קרמבו היה הפתעה טובה. היו לנו הרבה פעולות שאהבתי, כמו משחקים (בעברית) המירוץ לקרמבו ועוד. זה איפשר לי להפוך את העברית למעשית כי השתמשתי בה בצורה מאוד מילולית. זה גרם לי להעריך את העברית יותר. היה גם הרבה כיף! המורים והמדריכים היו נפלאים עם הרבה הבנה, וזה הפך את !!!!מחנה קרמבו לנעים! אני ממש אהבתי את מחנה קרמבו וזה אירוע שאני אזכור! תודה רבה
