INBOX: Dear Bochurim and Girls – In Making Your Summer Plans, Please Keep the Rebbe in Mind
‘What are your plans for the summer?’ seems to be the buzzing question in yeshivas and girls high schools this time of year.
Many of you already made summer plans before Chanukah. After all, who wants to get stuck not being accepted as a staff member at Gan Yisroel Parksville or Pardes Chana Montreal?!
Even as a waiter, I’ll grab it too!
Of course this is what the Rebbe wants! Didn’t the Rebbe himself take the time to visit Gan Yisroel New York in 5716 and 5717? This was obviously very close to the Rebbe’s heart! It’s ‘where the Rebbe lives’!
Hey but wait a minute….
Who did the Rebbe actually visit at the camp?
And by the way, what was so important for the Rebbe to do after Mariv before starting his own Pesach Seder?
Right! Visiting the Seder of those not yet frum boys and girls at Machon Chana and F.R.E.E.
Was it that important?
How about Lag Baomer parades? Who did the Rebbe come out for?
As we know the parades were only held if Lag Baomer was on a Sunday.
Why?
To enable kids who are not yet frum to experience the warmth of yidishkeit!
So who did the Rebbe visit in Gan Yisroel Parksville? You guessed it! Non frum kids.
Well yes, because camps in Lubavitch were established for such kids, not for Anas”h.
The Rebbe wanted Anas”h children to continue learning throughout the summer months, so much so that he used the expression ‘Rachmana litzlan’ on schools who close their doors in the summer!
Once schools did close their doors, things slowly shifted, and the well-known Chabad camps became a home for Anas”h children who ‘nebech’ have nothing to do in the summer.
But let’s get back to the point…
Every shliach’s dream is to have a summer camp for children in their community. After all, there are countless letters and sichos regarding using this tremendous opportunity, when children who attend public schools throughout the year and don’t receive any Jewish education, can be enrolled in a Torah environment during the summer!
These sichos and letters span from before the Rebbe’s Nesius untill the last summer sichos we’ve heard from the Rebbe in 5751!
You see, the main problem Shluchim encounter in running these camps is finding staff.
With the clear emphasis the Rebbe placed on these camps, you would expect every bochur and girl to run for such an opportunity!
Do you realize what kind of effect you as a counselor can have on a yidishe neshama who otherwise has no exposure to true Torah and mitzvos?
It’s beyond the scope of this letter but we all know countless stories of children who later became frum adults, chassidim and even shluchim and shluchos, whose spark was ignited by a young daycamp or overnight camp counselor!
Don’t underestimate your power!
Like the Rebbe says in many letters, youth are most affected by youth!
Chevre! Girls! Shluchim need your help!
In making your summer plans, please don’t just think about what everyone is doing, or where YOU will most enjoy YOUR summer.
Intermarriage is a serious and growing problem everywhere, especially in smaller communities. This is Hatzolas nefashos mamesh! Children’s lives are at stake and you can make a difference!
Search for any of the many summer camps run by shluchim serving their local, non yet frum kids. Be it a small camp in an unexotic location, not what your friends may be doing, etc etc. We know you have all the best excuses.
This is today’s Mesirus Nefesh, as the Rebbe explains in V’atoh tetzave: Making sure ‘Giluy Elokus’ reaches every Jew!
So please,
Answer the Rebbe’s call! Today!
Long time staff member
There is a camp that caters to not yet frum children called lman achai where a bachur who wants to work with not yet frum children can go. I’ve been there many years it was a great experience.
Isaac
Didn’t read most of your article, but it’s a myth to think that gan israel was for not religious kids. Learn the sicha and ask people that were in camp then and they will tell you 98% of the kids were frum. Lag Bomer parades weren’t for our kids??? !! The premise of article is wrong.
A fellow shlucha who sends kids to camp
While it’s definitely important for all of our day camps to have staff, the author seems to feel that those camps are less important then the camps for our own children. To scream pikuach nefesh, our own children are just as important and need our amazing chayausdike counselors as much as if not more. Our own families must come as a priority. I am so grateful for the camps that exist for our kids.
a bocher that went through the yeshiva system
I think this is a good point, but in order for it to practically happen there needs to be a joint initiative by the shluchim the run day camps to structure they’re camp in a way that younger kids will be allowed to work there.
my understanding is that Yeshivos and schools rather that students go to overnight camps where there is a full day structure and no places to go and get distracted etc.,
a bocher that went through the yeshiva system - cotinueation
…even in older grades like shiur daled oholei torah they are very picky on which day camps they allow bochurim to go to.
(the effort made in the camp regarding keeping the bochurim and girls separate, and tznius in general, are a big factor to my understanding.)