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OCTOBER 29, 2015 | The Jewish Home AUGUST 12, 2021 | The Jewish Home
THIS WEEK, WE’RE TALKING TO…
Camp Matov
BY SUSAN SCHWAMM
1, 2, 3…8 weeks of amazing summer fun! For the last few weeks, our children have been basking in the sun, swimming, singing, and soaking up the fun every day. How are they spending their time away from their desks? In this series, we speak with camp directors and head counselors to learn more about our community’s amazing, spectacular, incredible, marvelous, unbelievable (you get the point!) camps. CAMP MATOV HAS BEEN IMBUING THE SUMMER MONTHS WITH TORAH LEARNING AND LOTS OF FUN FOR THE SCORES OF CAMPERS WHO SKIP INTO CAMP EACH DAY. THIS WEEK, WE WERE ABLE TO SPEAK WITH RABBI MOSHE SHONEK, HEAD COUNSELOR, AND RABBI YISROEL MEIR SHONEK, DIRECTOR, ABOUT THE RUACH THAT PERMEATES EACH DAY AT CAMP MATOV.
Rabbi Shonek, I see there’s a new face in the room since we last spoke. Rabbi Yisroel Meir Shonek (R’ YMS): Yes, that is true, that would be me. Rabbi Moshe Shonek (R’ MS): A lot has changed in the two years since we last spoke. In the world, obviously, was Covid. But specifically in Camp MaTov, much has changed, while at the same time remaining the same.
yeshivos and could easily choose to take the summer to relax in whatever way they would enjoy. Yet, they instead choose to come teach in Camp MaTov year after year, putting in all their kochos to our wonderful campers. And it shows; Baruch Hashem our campers really shteig in the summer and come back to yeshiva ready to continue growing, ready to jump right back in, as if yeshiva had just ended yesterday.
Wow, do explain! R’ MS: As of last summer, we took over as the owners of Camp MaTov. Our mission has been to continue the mesorah of Camp MaTov from all the years, while at the same time adapting to the changing times.
That sounds like true avodas hakodesh! So, Rabbi Yisroel Meir Shonek, what’s different? R’ YMS: Well, first, the owners. Second, the logo. But seriously, immediately after deciding to take over the camp, we sat down with our dedicated division heads to figure out ways to improve the camp and make it a better experience for both the campers and their parents, without compro-
Sounds like quite a challenge. R’ MS: Yes, it definitely is. But the Camp MaTov slogan has been, is, and always will be “The Community Camp Where Learning Comes First.” We take this slogan very seriously; this is truly our mission statement. The rabbeim in camp work very hard throughout the year in various
mising on our unwritten slogan, “Providing a fun, wholesome summer experience in a Torahdike environment.” To balance the two can be a challenge, but we worked and implemented numerous changes that we felt would meet all criteria. Can you enumerate some of those changes? R’ YMS: Well for one, we changed our dismissal time. Until two years ago, dismissal for the entire camp was 3:30 PM Monday-Thursday, which the staff members loved…but the parents, not as much. Last year, we implemented a 4:15 dismissal for our two younger divisions,
