Kidz Art Camp
Our artist campers have been busy learning about different famous artists such as Robert Indiana and made clay sculptures reminiscent of his Ahavah sculpture. Some of the children made theirs with the Hebrew alef bet, and others did theirs in English letters. They have also made a paper flower arrangement along with a vase to put them in, decorated jewel boxes, and some very fun drawings made out of scratch art. Brushes up, Ready, Set, Create!

Restaurant Camp
Hello, may I take your order? Learning about cooking and learning about how to feed mass quantities all at the same time at the correct temperature is a very hard task. One must be organized and have extremely capable help. We have learned about all the different jobs that are required to run a smooth kitchen. Actually making the food items and eating them was the best part but now we can appreciate all that goes preparing a meal.

Rocketry Camp
Rocketry Camp has been a BLAST! Although making our rockets can sometimes be tricky, with a little Elmer's Glue and some help from our teacher Todd, there's no "Big Bertha" or "Pencil Rocket" that we can't build. We have built three different kinds of rockets this week and the most exciting part is of course launching them up high in the sky. Ok, some rockets did launch into trees and others came back down to earth with only a nose where did the body go? Wherever our rockets ended up we had tons of fun watching them get there.

Arts & Crafts
This week, we continued with the Noah's Ark theme. We made puppets of animals from paper bags to resemble the animals that were on the ark. We had Environment Day and created paper mache pieces.

Nature
This week, we went and looked for rocks. Then we came back, painted and created "faces" on the rocks. We gave the rocks "life" by adding "ears" and "eyes" to them! We took boxes and made recycling bins for bottles, teaching the kids the importance of recycling! We went GREEN.

Ropes
This week at Ropes, the kids had a Hebrew activity! They had to help Eliezer Ben Yehuda, the reviver of the Hebrew language, to retrieve his last words and to complete the ancient scroll by completing challenges. The campers used all the skills they have gained during the last weeks to complete these challenges. They had fun and studied new things!

Pond
This past week at the pond was bittersweet - the kids were overjoyed at being able to canoe and fish - some for the last time this summer. The kids said their goodbyes to "Snappy," the snapping turtle. We all can't wait to do it again next session!

Keshet
Keshet ended Session I with a bang! Thunderbird Lanes was a big hit, while Joe Cornell brought a dance party right to the Center! We even got to enjoy a play, performed by the kids in the CenterStage theater camp. Hope to see you next session!

B'Yachad
This was a great way to end the first session! We went on a field trip to Tamarack, where we made candles, doughnuts, and played on the ropes. We were also able to take advantage of their waterfront, which has a blob. Thursday, we had a Joe Cornell dance party and the campers had a blast. Session I was a blast and we are all looking forward to Session II!

edited by: Kimberly Ford
Jewish Family Educator

Parshat Balak
(Numbers 22:2 - 25:9)

Parshat Balak is named after the King of Moab. Balak saw that the Israelites, who were camped on the border of Moab, had grown in number. He was afraid that the Israelites would try to take over his country, so he sent messengers to Balaam, a pagan prophet, asking Balaam to put a curse on the Israelites so they could not take over the land. Balaam asks the messengers to stay overnight so that he can consult with God before answering them.

That night God speaks to him in a dream. Balaam tells God of Balak's request and God says, "Do not go with them. You must not curse the people, for they are blessed" (Num. 22:12). The next morning, Balaam tells the messengers that God will not allow him to curse the Israelites. Balak sends other messengers back to Balaam, offering him riches if he will come and curse the Israelites. Balaam tells them that no amount of riches will change his mind, but they should again wait overnight so he can find out what else God has to tell him. He has another dream where God tells him that he may go with the messengers, but he must say whatever God tells him to.

In the morning, Balaam saddles his donkey and leaves for Moab. The donkey sees an angel of God standing with a drawn sword in his hand and swerves away from the road to avoid it. Balaam beats the donkey and tries to turn it back onto the road. This happens two more times, with the angel standing in front of the donkey and Balaam beating the donkey for not obeying him. Finally, God gives the donkey the ability to speak to Balaam. The donkey says that she has never behaved this way before, so why is he beating her these three times? God then "uncovered Balaam's eyes" (Num. 22:31) to reveal the angel with the drawn sword. The angel of God tells Balaam that he appeared because he does not approve of what Balaam is going to do and that his donkey was protecting him from death. Balaam admits that he did not know that the angel was standing in the way and offers to turn back from his journey. The angel tells Balaam to continue, but that he must only say what he is told to say.

When Balaam arrives he makes seven sacrifices to God, looks out at the Israelite people from a high place and, instead of cursing them, praises them. When Balak asks him why he has done this, Balaam tells Balak that he can only repeat what God tells him to say about the Israelites. Balak takes Balaam to another high place, asking him to curse them from there. Once again, Balaam makes seven sacrifices and praises the people. Balak takes Balaam to a third place where the same happens again. Balak becomes angry and tells Balaam that he earned none of the rewards since he didn't do what he was asked, and that he should go back to his own home. Before he leaves, Balaam foretells the destruction of Balak's nation and of Israel's many victories over its enemies.

The Israelites camp at Shittim, and eventually become involved with Moabite women and worship their god. God becomes angry and tells Moses to have all of the idol worshipers killed. God sends a plague, which is ended when Pinchas, Aaron's grandson, stabs an Israelite man and a Moabite woman who are together in his tent.

Parsha Discussion
 

1. Balaam is an evil prophet who is not Jewish, yet he asks God for wisdom and advice. We know that God appeared to Moses. Why would God appear to Balaam?
2. Balaam asked the second time about going to Moab after he was offered riches. Have you ever been tempted to do something that you knew you shouldn't so you could get a reward? What choice did you make?
3. Balaam's donkey sees the angel of God first, but Balaam does not see it until God "uncovers Balaam's eyes." (Num. 22:31) Many Rabbis say that this was to show Balaam that even his eyes were under God's power. Have you ever been in a situation and not seen something that was "right in front of your eyes?" What helped you to eventually see it? What stops us from "seeing" things?
4. Before he leaves Moab, Balaam tells Balak that the "Israel is triumphant" and that they will always be protected by God. Knowing what is going on in the world today, how do you think that God is protecting Israel? In what ways will Israel be victorious?
5. One of the blessings that Balaam said was "Mah tovu ohlecha Ya'akov u'mishkinotecha Yisrael" How fair are your tents, Jacob, and your dwellings, Israel. (Numbers 24:5). We say this blessing every morning. What do you think that Balaam saw that was so beautiful? Share what you thought the Israelites camps looked like.

Ha, Ha, Ha!

Why DIDN'T the chicken cross the road?

Because it saw the donkey!