I’ve been thinking a lot about what it means to relax and reflect. Sometimes it feels like in order to succeed in the world, you have to constantly be going and forget relaxing. Shabbat, of course, is meant to be the opposite of that, being the day when even God rested, but it can be hard in this ever-busy world. Even on a trip like Havaya Europe, days shouldn’t mean constantly hanging out with your friends and blasting music but also breaks. Whether it’s taking a nap on the bus or reading a book on the beach, observing relaxation and reflection comes in many different ways. Just like Judaism, where there are different denominations ranging from Orthodox to Reform and different cultures like Ashkenazi and Sephardic. Today we visited a Sephardic Orthodox synagogue in Albufeira. One of our members, Ari, experienced that “the women were forced to sit away from the men, which to me seems really sexist, but to the people there it was normal. I was able to open my mind to new concepts by witnessing that even with it being different from what I’m used to.” While it wasn’t comfortable and relaxing to us, it was to that community. Just like how on this trip we have all had to learn to get used to each other, we have to learn to get used to the differences of the world. But thankfully we aren’t alone in this world, and communities such as camp can bring us together. Trip member Geff expressed that “in life, it doesn’t really matter what’s happening; it matters most who you’re doing it with. As long as you’re surrounded by the right people, every moment can turn into a great experience or even a lifelong memory,” as trip member Geff expressed. As someone who hadn’t felt Jewish until camp, I completely agree with that statement. Taking that leap to go to a Jewish camp as a daughter of a non-Jewish mother, where I was worried no one would consider me so, was a giant leap but so so worth it. “We are so lucky to have thriving Jewish communities at camp. When we were touring old Jewish neighborhoods and synagogues in Spain, we learned how some of these spaces now have zero Jews living in them because of what happened in the past,” as Ruben reflected. So I encourage you to try something that someone else finds comfortable in your own way to recognize other ways of living. Whether it’s participating in Rikkud with headphones on to lessen noise or passing a friend’s book around to read together, there truly is no right way to relax. You might find that you enjoy it, or you might not, but you still learned and grew from the experience by trying. I was unsure what to write about Gery, but he is extremely close to our hearts, and even in a time as difficult as now, I know he would be happy that we are enjoying ourselves in a country he loved, proving that sometimes in moments difficult and full of grief it is important to spend time as a Havaya Community and live our lives joyfully blessing our loved ones memory. As you go through your last days of camp and your final Shabbat, I encourage you to relax even in your busiest days because those can create the best experiences and memories.

Shabbat Shalom!