Camp L’man Achai hosts water excursion and color war

The second session at Camp L’man Achai started with a bang as many new campers from all over the country joined and jumped right into the fun! The adventure began with a challenging, scenic 2.5-mile hike down the slopes of the Upper Catskill Mountains and ended at Pepacton Reservoir in New York City. Despite the long hike, it provided plenty of time for everyone to bond.

The excitement at camp continued. A few days into the session, campers took a trip to Aquatopia water park where they met other frum campers and made the most of their time swimming and enjoying the water before the Nine Days. The teens and BMD group even visited a beautiful waterfall where they splashed in the roaring water.

The camp began the nine days with the Color War, where both teams showcased talented skits, TBH (Torah by Heart) and a series of creative relay races, including completing a human obstacle course and racing with a chicken in your arms, as well as the classic egg-under-the-chin race. Later, each team presented their self-composed theme songs.

To conclude the day, the first team, Team Kosher, performed an incredible play in CLA where a counselor explained to a camper the importance of keeping kosher, even in challenging environments like public school. He told stories of Jews across generations, including a heroic story from the Spanish Inquisition where someone risked their life to ensure kosher food for the Jewish community.

Team Tefillin followed with an equally fantastic play. This one also began with a counselor explaining to a camper the importance of wearing tefillin and emphasizing its significance outside of the Jewish community. They told stories from different times in Jewish history where Jews risked their lives to wear tefillin. To apply it to the current situation in Israel, stories were told involving the hostages. Both plays were excellent and left everyone awestruck and inspired.

The next day, the teens went on an exciting paintballing trip and definitely had a lot of fun. As it poured with rain for the next two days, the camp turned into a muddy playground. Despite the weather, the campers and counselors had a blast sliding down mud hills and playing “steal the salami.” One camper said it was one of the most fun days he’s had in a long time, because at CLA, every day is a fun day.