Page 8 - Issue 15

announcing harsher restrictions on the final day of
the camp.

This, to me, signified the resilience and compassion
that our movement members, supported by our
chaverot interstate/federally, contain deep within
us. The immediate response to the introduction of
restrictions in March was “how can we continue to
run peulot through this?”. The movement has not
thrived through the pandemic, that is a fact. What it
has instead done is exhibit to our Jewish
communities that it will not allow anything to
intervene in the important process that is
education, hagshama and tikkun olam. Several
times throughout our camp planning process the
thought of “fuck it, let’s just cancel it” arose - and it
would’ve been backed and supported by everyone.
Instead, we pushed through, successfully.

Take a moment to appreciate the history and
longevity of our movement. It amazes me to see the
spirit, the desire, the hunger to make the world a
better place shown by those in the Warsaw ghetto
has been passed through the generations (in no
way am I comparing the pandemic to the
holocaust). This is our movement, and that will
never change.

Alu Ve’Hagshimu

Brandon Wasbutzki, HDOZ Melb Shnat ’19