Photos: Elimelech Goldstein
On the final Friday of the summer campers and staff of Camp Gan Israel of Florida gathered to celebrate the achievements of all campers as part of their 15th annual MBP Award ceremony.
Following an introduction by camp’s Learning Director Isaac Mintz, the campers were congratulated on their collective summer achievements – camp’s gift to the Rebbe: 6 full Mesechtos, 153 Perakim Mishnayos, 1,847 Mishnas, 45 Perakim Tanya and 3,979 lines of Tanya.
A total of 60,579 lines of Torah. The camp’s totals matched or surpassed almost every single achievement category of the past four summers (these totals do not include what was learned in the final week of camp!)
This was followed by a video of the Rebbe accepting similar gifts from Chassidim in the past.
Campers with the highest amount of points were then honored: 1st Place: Mendel Feigelstock; 2nd Place: Menachem Biton; 3rd place: Levi Yitzchok Konikov.
Each camper was then called up to receive the sefer or seforim they ordered from camp’s seforim catalog, based on their final point total. Accompanying them to the stage was a multimedia presentation, displaying their name, total points, major learning achievements and seforim they would receive.
A special thank you was given to Rabbi Dovid Zirkind of baalpeh.org whose database enabled the tracking of each camper’s progress throughout the summer, and Rabbi Sholom Heidingsfeld of Cheder Menachem, LA, for the use of his MBP Handbook – a work that camp has since doubled in content.
The administration and camp staff of Camp Gan Israel Florida, under the leadership of Rabbi Yossi Biston and Rabbi Yossi Goldblatt, wish all campers increased success in their limudim. It is their hope that the campers’ accomplishments and achievements continue into the school year, give much nachas to the Rebbe and as explained in the Rebbe’s Sichos, bring about the revelation of Moshiach Now, as it is written: אין כל הגלויות הללו מתכנסות אלא בזכות המשניות.
Kol hakovod! Machayil el choyil