Goldman Union Camp Institute

June 19th, 2013

Cabin 17: Holy Moments 

OPENING SONG

Holiness is a term that has a different meaning to everyone. I feel holy when I step onto the grounds of GUCI when the humid air swiftly touches my face. But the most holy time in my life was at the western wall during my trip to Israel with my grade. Hearing the sounds of prayer, standing on the uneven Jerusalem stone, and touching the Kotel really made me feel holy. This was also a special moment for me because I realized in this moment of time how much history this structure has gone through. Feeling connected to our past was one of the most incredible moments that I have experienced. – Rafi

I find holiness in many different places and different times. A time I can remember when I felt at peace and “with” God was when I got to hold my 6 year old brother for the first time, when he was born. I can also find holiness when having amazing moments with my 10 year old brother, George. Moments like these, with my two brothers, are unequal to any other. But those aren’t the only time I’m in my own little world. There’s one place where I can say it’s truly magical. The place is where we are all sitting and praying in, the Beit T’filah. This place right here is unlike any other. You can find your inner peace right in here. Every day we pray in here and sing is a holy day and makes services seem nice and warm. In the Barchu there are two words that will stick with me forever: now and forever. These two words describe my holiness with my brothers and the Beit T’filah. Times when I feel holy are warm and perfect. –David

Barchu

The future, the future is what we look toward and what we hope will be exciting and new. We hope we can lead the way and make new paths. We make new transitions from past to present and mold the future. Most people say they learn from their mistakes, but what we really learn from is our past. We use every moment for our future. – Alex

Ma’ariv Aravim

Our theme is times we feel holy and when I say Ahavat Olam, which means God’s love for the people of Israel, I feel holy because that’s when I connect with God. That relates to GUCI because we learn about Israel and God’s love for it and his love for the people.  – Mason

Ahavat Olam

There are many times when you can feel holy. After all, holiness doesn’t have to be in a certain place, or with a certain object, but a certain time when you are doing something special, and you just get that feeling. For me, I feel holy doing different stuff. I especially feel holy during services. And when we say the Sh’ma that is the time I feel most holy during services. The Sh’ma is one of our most important prayers that we say and that is why I feel holy when saying it. But right after the Sh’ma we say the V’ahavta. And in the V’ahavta, it says that you should teach them to your children. And in the future, when I grow up and have kids, I will teach them to my children and feel holy doing it. So those are some times when I feel holy. Please rise for the Sh’ma. – Daniel

Sh’ma/V’ahavta

Feeling holy to me doesn’t have to be that one specific place where everyone prays and worships God, feeling holy to me is a place that is special or makes you feel special. Feeling holy can be in your cabin with all your friends, at home, or spending time with your family. You can feel holy at any time or any place you want to be, that’s what makes it so special. –Andrew

Mi Chamocha

How can you tell you’re holy? Can you see it? Can you feel it? Can you hear it? The true answer is none of these. You can’t explain the feeling. You as a being in space and time is holy. But you are only holy when you have good intentions. I am personally holy when I cannot sleep. I just think about the future, the past, and the present. The Hashkiveinu speaks about sleep. But when I am holy I am awake. – Sam

Hashkiveinu

We feel holy everyday on camp. Services, song session, and just chillin’ with my boy makes me feel holy. One of the reasons that I come back to camp every year is because of this holiness. I feel very holy when we recite the Amidah. The prayer talks about our link to our ancestors and our Jewish leaders. Connecting with our ancestors is very holy to me. Lastly, being friends with this stud and being part of the awesome GUCI community makes me feel holy. – Matt and Max

Amidah

There are many times when I feel holy, but I feel holiest during simple things, like petting a pet or hanging out with friends. These times feel holy to me for many reasons, but I think the main reason is that I have done a simple thing to make somebody or something just a little bit happier. – Jared

Shalom Rav

I feel holy during the silent prayer. This is because I use this time for self-reflection and I pray for the healing of the sick and many other things. This connection to God makes me feel holy. – Alex

Silent Prayer

I feel holy all the time, whether I’m at services, a campfire, song sessions, or just being around friends. When I was in Israel, I went to the southern wall for Shabbat services. There we stood singing prayers while curious Muslims observed from a window above. Back in the days of the temple, people used to bring sacrifices and cleanse them in surrounding mikvah. I truly felt holy there because I could feel a sense of connection to my ancestors. The Aleinu mentions being thankful and I am thankful for the opportunity to go to Israel five times and hopefully many more. – Jakob

Aleinu

Time, it passes by without a thought for most people. But, sometimes time can be holy. This can be different between people. For me, the time that is most holy is during Shabbat song session, whenever everyone is linking arms, and you might not even know the person sitting next to you. But all that matters is singing the song as beautifully as you can. For me this is pretty bad, but when my voice is joined with all of yours, a sound is raised that to me is the holiest time there could be. – Chance

Kaddish Yatom

CLOSING SONG