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HaChayal, Minnesota – A Huge Success

“HaChayal – Ein Mishpachah” is the camp slogan. That is because HaChayal is nothing more then a family. The camp consisted of 30 bochurim with 7 staff members; Director – Yosef Plotkin, HC – Levi Raskin, Counselors – Yossi Bryski, Moishe Chanowitz, Levi Cole – Learning Teachers – Zalmy Lowenthal, Schneur Wilhelm.

Being the size it was gave the opportunity for every camper to receive the attention necessary. This is just one of the many advantages of HaChayal.

More pictures in the Extended Article!

HaChayal is constructed of a steady learning program starting with Chassidus before davening followed by Seder Nigleh that consisted of Gemara, Shulchan Aruch and Inyonei Geulah U’Moshiach. And again in the evening after sports a shiur in Chitas and a couple times a week a ‘farbrengen class’.

Over the summer, HaChayal went on trips on an average 3 times a week, including a 4-day trip in the beginning of camp and a 3 day trip towards the end of camp.
The trips started from the regular trips such as Amusement parks, Paintball Shooting, Laser Tagging, ATV’s to as original as Archery, Postville Shechita, Jet Skiing, Mountain Sliding, Cornfield Mazes, and finally the famous Black hills and Rushmore Mountains.

Trips were as far as Nebraska or St. Dakota to the Rushmore Mountains. In all, 7 states were covered: Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Wisconsin, St. Dakota and of course Minnesota. Over the summer a total of app. 3500 miles were covered. The long journeys served as an opportunity for the staff to farbreng with the bochurim especially since transportation was on a shuttle bus thereby giving a real farbrengen atmosphere!

Over the summer we went on a couple Shabbatons – the Shabbaton’s proved to be very special. The young bochurim got to see how the Rebbe’s shluchim are literally everywhere doing the Rebbe’s work. Every time we visited a state whether it was the Shabbos spent with Rabbi Katzman in Nebraska or spending a night in the Chabad House of Kansas City with the Weinbergs or with Rabbi Jacobson in Des Moines, the bochurim got to see what Shlichus is all about – all this summed up in boosting the bochurim in a serious way, that they too should one day want to join the Rebbe’s army of Shluchim. We take this opportunity in thanking the shluchim for their warm hospitality and role model they gave and showed the bochurim.

The last night of camp HaChayal held a beautiful banquet. At the banquet, the bochurim received awards and recognition for their efforts over the summer. In the wee hours of the morning the bochurim made their way to the airport heading home re-energized and refueled with yiddishkeit and chassidishkeit for the forth coming year.

The huge success of camp is due to the director Yosef Plotkin and the ibergegebene staff who literally gave it all they got Yomam V’laylo – ‘bli guzma’, and last but not least to the Rosh Yeshivah Rabbi Nachman Shyi’ Wilhelm.

Please visit their website at www.hachayal.com

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15 Comments

  • parent

    i had a som there and i must tell evryone that the staff all around including the office were great ebergegeben in evry way the chasidishe hanhogos and hachlotos that the boys came back with halvai it should last thru out the yeshiva year

    being in the same seviva as a great and chasidishe yeshivas kayitz only helps

    i strongly push all parents if you have a boy for eny one of the two minnesota summer programs to cahp arein and give yor son a time of his life

  • Yossi

    this is way cool we did the same trip brge water, mt rushmore and where’s the pitctures of the shabbaton in Omaha?

  • Lauren

    AMAZING SUMMER! Looks like a program that is surely giving the Rebbe lots of nachas. Kol ha kavoid!

  • A happy parent

    The staff was amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Moshe, Yossi, Levi ,Schneur, Zalmy, Levi, You guys did an amazing job!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The Food was delicious. Thankx to the culinary staff. The trips were awesome!! The kumzitz at 2.30 was almost as good as walmart at 3. Now they can all be schoctim. I dont know what was better the trips or the staff?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!? Yes my son spent an amazing summer In Hachayal. Boys in GI u can learn from these amazing staff.