By Peter Young
It’s hard to believe that we have been in Israel as Nachshon Cohort 2 for less than three weeks. We have already had a lot of incredible experiences and one of my favorite moments was our post-Shabbat drum circle at the opening conference. As someone who has played drums for many years, I often find drum circle activities to be noisy and off-beat and not very musically inspiring. On the other hand, our group was in the right state of mind for this event. Our Shabbat really gave us freedom to relax and do what we wanted and for the first time since we arrived, we weren't all together. When Shabbat ended and we headed down to the beach for the bonfire and drum circle, there was a magical feeling of coming together again, ready for the week to come.
We brought wood for a fire, food, and drums. It wasn't easy getting down to the beach with all of this stuff but it felt like we were back in camp again after a week of feeling quite pampered. It was a great feeling to be outdoors in the sand shlepping things down a cliff! I also liked the opportunity to help my friends carry items down to the beach when they had trouble. We made a bonfire and put all of the drums into a circle around the fire and before anyone could realize it was happening, there was music. Throughout the evening there was never a moment of silence. People were smiling, laughing and dancing. It was rare to see a drum without someone playing it.
This experience reminded me of the power of community, music, and Shabbat. It is incredible to see how close we had become as a group in just one week. We started as complete strangers and in less than a week we became a unique family of 22 special individuals threaded together by Judaism and a love for camp. The music of the drum circle really allowed us to let loose in a way that encouraged us to bond even more. Shabbat in Israel was very different for me as opposed to home or at camp. At home Shabbat is almost entirely focused on Friday night Shabbat dinner. At camp Shabbat is a huge celebration full of joy but often I reach Havdallah exhausted. Here in Israel it has been different; there is no option but to stop, breathe, think, and rejuvenate for another week ahead.
Many of us enjoyed our time on the beach and, two weeks later, we still talk about some of the fun times we had that night. However, I had a special experience that made this night exceptional for me. At the end of the night as we packed up our things I asked if I could play a song with the group. I wanted to end the night with siyum, a mix of shema and hashkiveinu that we sing at the end of every day at Camp Hess Kramer. I'm not a song leader and I do not usually play music for people but it just felt like the best possible way to end an incredible day. Everyone stood in a circle around me with arms wrapped around each other. My ukulele was severely out of tune but it did not matter one bit because the warmth and beauty of the voices and hearts around me was enough to outshine any misfortune I could see in the previous or upcoming week. This moment was extremely uplifting for me and set the tone, not just for another great week, but for the whole journey we are embarking on together in Israel.
