European Shluchim Kids Return

By COLlive staff

Gan Yisroel for European Tzeirei Hashluchim in Sweden is drawing to a close this week. Flights are fanning out from Gothenburg to isolated places of shlichus around Europe, where the children have few- if any- friends their age.

They heroically spend their year helping their parents in their shlichus. But none of them would want it any other way.

“I loved camp!” enthuses Shneur Raskin, a lively 12 year old from Cyprus.

“It was very fun. The food was great. I never had lasagna before- really! My counselors were really great, they told us stories every night. I feel sad to be leaving back to Cyprus all alone, but I know that I am going back a better shliach than before – something special – because of the chassidishe chayus I got in camp.”

“The Grand Trip and the Staff Play and Colorwar were the best!” smiles Shmuel Eliezer Pevsner, 10, from S. Petersburg, Russia. More soberly he adds, “I made a lot of new friends in camp- I’m going to miss them and my counselors very much.”

“The atmosphere in camp was lebedik, chayusdik, full of chassidishkeit in every way,” says Pinchus Bentzion Sudak, 13, from Edgware, England.

“The meals, the learning, the singing. My counselor was really fun. The highlight for me was my team’s colorwar play. It was so original- I don’t know how they dreamed it up!” he grins.

“We would like to give a hartzigen yasher koach to the incredibly devoted staff for all their work for camp and to the parents for raising such children,” says Rabbi Alexander Namdar, Head Shliach to Sweden, who is the founder and director of the camp.

The camp for European children of shluchim in Sweden was founded in 5769 by Chabad of Sweden, in partnership with Merkos L’inyonei Chinuch. The boys’ camp began only last year. The camp is renowned for its warm atmosphere and care.

“Every time I spoke to my kids, they sounded so much at home, as if they were at their own grandmother’s home. It was such a relief!” said a mother from Belgium.

“The kids you find in Gan Yisroel, Sweden are like none other than I have ever met in all my eight years of being a staff member, both because of their chassidishkeit and their wanting to be involved in everything. They are self motivated campers,” says Shneur Zalman Minkowitz of Montreal, who came back to camp in Sweden for a second year.

The campers enthusiastically participated in the production of a camper’s kovetz. This is the second of its kind, where the campers have the opportunity to express their Torah thoughts, a practice that until now belonged only to well experienced yeshivah bochurim. What’s unique about this kovetz is that it contains treasures of simple questions overlooked by most, if not all adults.

“All the chayus and the achdus and the friends… we were crying last night, because of leaving this amazing atmosphere,” says Berel Danow.

“At the same time I’m happy that I can give to people on my shlichus a taste of what I got in camp. All the focus on the Rebbe and pictures gave a real koch – of missing the Rebbe, and wanting to do what the Rebbe wants from us.”

Download Kovetz

For more info: Tzeireihashluchim.com
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