Habonim Dror Camp Tavor is a Jewish overnight camp located in Three Rivers, Michigan

Three Rivers, Michigan

Three Rivers is a city in St. Joseph County in the US state of Michigan. The population was 7,811 at the 2010 census.Three Rivers derives its name from the confluence of the St. Joseph River with its tributaries the Rocky and Portage Rivers. It is the home of St...

. The camp is affiliated with Habonim Dror

Habonim Dror

Habonim Dror is a Jewish Labour Zionist youth movement formed by the merger in 1982 of the Habonim and Dror youth movements. Habonim Dror's sister movement in Israel is Hanoar Haoved Vehalomed, the Working and Studying Youth.-Ideology:...

, a Labor-Zionist youth movement which promotes the ideals of communal living and sharing, in a Kibbutz

Kibbutz

A kibbutz is a collective community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. Today, farming has been partly supplanted by other economic branches, including industrial plants and high-tech enterprises. Kibbutzim began as utopian communities, a combination of socialism and Zionism...

-like environment. The camp promotes the ideals of the youth movement to roughly 200 participating campers, ages 9 through 15 each summer.

Affilliation with Habonim Dror

Habonim Dror is a Labor-Zionist movement which provides programing and ideology to campers. Campers perform work (avodah) in the morning, which simulates living in a Kibbutz, where communal work benefit the whole society. There is an element of Kupah, where everybody shares with the community. Campers are educated during Peulot, or age group activities, on the ideals of Habonim and topics relevant to society today.

Schedule

Camp Tavor is open in the summer with two sessions. First Session is three weeks long, with a visitors day two weeks into the session. Second Session is four weeks long, with a visitors day 2½ weeks into the session. The camp reopens mid Fall for Fall Seminar which is a fun reunion which imitates a normal Shabbat at camp.

Age groups

Camp Tavor welcomes a wide variety of age groups. The age groups are:
Amelim - Post 3rd and 4th grade,
Chotrim (rowers)- Post 5th and 6th Grades,
Bonim (builders)- Post 7th Grade,
Garinim (seeds)- Post 8th Grade,
Bogrim (graduates)- Post 9th Grade,
Madatz (counselors in training) - Post 11th Grade.

Shabbat

Shabbat

Shabbat

Shabbat is the seventh day of the Jewish week and a day of rest in Judaism. Shabbat is observed from a few minutes before sunset on Friday evening until a few minutes after when one would expect to be able to see three stars in the sky on Saturday night. The exact times, therefore, differ from...

 at Tavor is a very relaxed and reflective experience (of the soul). Friday afternoons allow time to dress nicely and prepare from Kabbalat Shabbat. Kabbalat Shabbat includes a unique flag lowering service followed by a trip to Shabbat Hill to sing and watch the sunset. Following dinner, zemirot

Zemirot

Zemirot or Z'mirot are Jewish hymns, usually sung in the Hebrew or Aramaic languages, but sometimes also in Yiddish or Ladino. The best known zemirot are those sung around the table during Shabbat and Jewish holidays...

 are sung and the rest of the night is spent Israeli Folk Dancing

Israeli folk dancing

Israeli folk dancing is a form of dance usually performed to music from Israel, with dances choreographed for specific songs. Most Israeli dances are performed in a circle, although there are also partner dances and line dances.-History and description:...

on the basketball courts.

External links

• Camp Tavor website

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