Week seven of Moshava Ba’ir New Jersey was Chesed Week filled with wonderful opportunities for chanichim (campers) and tzevet (staff) alike to participate in meaningful projects centered around giving to each other and the community. It was a thoughtful way to incorporate the Nine Days and importance of this time period into the camp atmosphere.

The campers helped with several charitable events, including a penny drive for Sharsheret and a pantry drive for the Paramus community. The pantry drive collected many types of unopened items, such as laundry detergent, shampoo, paper towels and canned food. There were also several eidah-specific peulot, such as eidah aleph’s card decorating for Dorot (to decrease social isolation among seniors), eidah bet’s packing and decorating bags for children participating in Friendship Circle. and eidah gimmel and daled’s trips to Five Below to purchase toys for the Sharsheret Busy Box drive. Eidah hey made pillows for the residents at Care One, and eidot super hey and bogrim participated in the MBNJ Summer 2022 Challah Bake.

On Wednesday evening, the tzevet took part in putting together care packages for Ukrainian refugees in Israel run through the Israel-based organization Kedma. Kedma empowers individuals, students and families to give back within Israeli society through its transformative volunteer programs, thereby, strengthening the bonds between Israel and global Jewry. After packaging hundreds of products, they learned about the exciting opportunity to participate in the Jerusalem Marathon in March 2023 by running with Team Bnei Akiva-Kedma and raising funds for the work Kedma does. Following the chesed event, tzevet also took part in a 3-on-3 tournament that was enjoyed by all! Overall, a meaningful and kind week was felt throughout the camp, as everyone connected with and observed the Nine Days.