The daily tasks of the weekly Toranim include waking up the EIE’ers in the morning, leading the Birkat (the prayer after meals) in the evening, helping the Madrichim clean and lock the classrooms at night, and assisting the Madricim with morning preparations for Tiyulim (trips), such as packing lunch and getting everyone on the bus.

Although it may sound like being a Toran is just a lot of extra work, it provides all of the participants with a great opportunity to fill a leadership role in the group, and the Toranim really do have fun with it!  For example, even in just the past two and a half weeks, the Toranim have come up with different and creative ways to wake up their peers in the morning.  Be it a Backstreet Boys serenade, or a “Boker Tov” from the friendly face of your peer, being woken up by the Toranim sure beats the sound of an alarm clock. 

The greatest part about the Toranim is that on Wednesday nights, the Toranim for that week have the opportunity to run their own peulah (program) for the group.  This provides the participants with experience in leading and organizing a group, as well as allowing each and every one of them to play a pivotal role in the EIE program.  This peulah can be anything, from teaching a group a song from their home camp, to running a group building activity.   The first two sets of Toranim took this opportunity to organize a fun activity for the group, giving them a break from their long days of studying. 

During the first week, the Toranim used tables to create a make-shift Ga-Ga pit on a grassy area on Kibbutz Tzuba.  Ga-Ga, a popular game at summer camps in the U.S., is a game where the players stand in a pit and use the walls (or in this case tables) as bumpers to hit a ball up against to get out the other players, somewhat similar to dodge ball.  The EIE’ers were able to run around, let out their competitive sides, and have a great time, all in a program organized by their peers. 

This past week, the Toranim organized a Roommate Talent Show, where each group of roommates was to perform a talent in front of the rest of the group.  With some singing, dancing and musical instruments, and a special appearance of the Madrichim singing and dancing to “Mamma Mia”, again the group was able to relax, laugh, and enjoy each other’s company in a peer-run environment.

 

  



Check the facebook page for more pictures and videos from the Talent Show!

nftyeie.org/facebook

L’Shanah Tova,

Dani