Camp Holds Mock Wedding

Cathleen Manville – Orlando Judaism Examiner

There are all kinds of summer camps: sports camp, space camp, sleep-away camp, boy scouts camp… Well Chabad International proudly hosts one of the fastest growing networks of summer day camps for children, and this one takes a new spin on two age-old traditions, summer camp and Judaism.

Camp Gan Israel (CGI) can be found in almost every major city in the United States, as well as various countries around the world. There is even one in Orlando at the Chabad of South Orlando on Universal Blvd. The CGI network prides themselves on providing a new and exciting experience each day of the four week long camp by using daily themes to teach about the history, traditions and culture of the Jewish faith. These themes typically include things like Brachot Day to learn about different Jewish blessings and Mitzvah to teach kids the value of charity. However, recently the Chabad of Naple’s local edition of the Gan Israel day camp took time to teach it’s kids about the unique traditions and customs of a Jewish wedding.

The children dressed the parts and learned the process including the Tish, Kabbalat Panim, Processional, and Chuppah Ceremony. They even learned the reception traditions including the traditional grapevine dancing and the lifting of the bride and groom on chairs.