Color War

We send our kids to the YBY day camp. YBY is the other school, the one I went to but choose not to send my children to school there. However, the camp is decent, our oldest had a great time there last year, and I think it is valuable, especially in a smaller community like Detroit, that kids are exposed to all the other kids their age in the community. So before we begin, let me say I like the camp, I think they do a good job, and I would consider sending my kids to camp there again.

Last week, they had color war, and you guessed it, the colors were Blue and Orange. Blue's theme was Olam Haba (the world to come), and Orange's theme was Olam Hazeh (this world).

I didn't mind the color scheme, because as far as the camp is concerned, Israelis really a non issue. Also, there have not been any orange rallies in Detroit, so aside from a few people with orange bracelets or t-shirts, there is nothing about the color orange or blue that would make the average kid cringe.

I did feel bad for the orange team, though. Red, blue green and yellow all have words that rhyme with it. How much does it suck to try to right a song for orange.
How can you cheer for a team that you can't write a good chant for. Its like cheering for the Chicago Blitz of the old USFL.

But whatever, my kids were both on Olam Haba Blue.

Anyway, each week, the camp sends home Shmoozeweek, its weekly newsletter. My kids think it is hilarious, and I amuse myself by proofreading it and finding spelling mistakes (What can I say, I do it with everything I read, from menus to newspapers, and I make no apologies for it.) This week's edition included pictures of the team's posters and their songs.

So I am reading the Olam Haba them song, and it is the story of Rabbi Yehudah Ben Tradyon (I think), a rabbi who was being killed by the Romans. The Kinot we read yesterday tell us that the Romans covered Rabbi Yehudah with wet sponges so that he would live longer and suffer more. A Roman soldier asked Rabbi Yehuda if he could remove the sponges and ease the rabbis suffering, and if he too would get rewarded with Olam Haba. The rabbi told him yes, and both the rabbi and soldier died very quickly. A Bas Kol (heavenly voice) came out, and said Rabbi Yehudah and the Roman soldier both earned Olam Haba.

I think to myself, this is an odd theme for Olam Haba, but I keep reading. The next theme song, for Olam Hazeh, is about a sick old dying man. I don't remember what the story was though.

I know that there are two pervasive themes in everything about Judaism. They are death and food. But is it really necessary to make that the theme song for both teams. How about the concept of being in Olam Haba and connecting to God or the midrash about how in Olam Haba, everyone is in a room eating soup, but their spoons are too long, and in heaven, they help one another eat, while in hell, everyone is trying to get the spoon in their own mouth and no one can eat. Or the idea of living in Olam Hazeh with the opportunity to do Mitzvot, especially Bein Adam L'chaveiro miztvot.

I flipped on further through the magazine, and found a poster for Olam Haba. The poster, which was actually a diorama, looked good. It was a split scene. The road toward the left showed the path to Olam Haba, which was littered with sefarim, and had some people sitting and learning. There was a Pasuk going across the whole scene, which I was not familiar with and had trouble reading. SO far, i was OK with the poster, but the thing that got me was the "evil" Olam Hazeh sign.

Toward the right, there was a crumpled up dollar bill, large buildings which I suppose represented offices and going to work, a Jerusalem Pizza logo (Yes, they are more than just the sponsor of our hockey team) and a 7-11 sign.

I know that the kids who go to this school and camp are a bit more to the right than I am, or at least their parents want their children to be farther to the right, or at least appear in public that they are farther to the right, but how many YBY parents would be comfortable with a poster that, when talking about the evils of Olam Hazeh, used a kosher pizza store, a kosher (under rabbinic supervision) slurpee store, money and working to depict the evils of this world.

I know a lot of YBY parents, I went to school with them and see them in my community all the time. I think this poster was absurd, and I think most of them would agree with me.

Anyway, after reading Shmoozeweek, my oldest picked it up and started to read it. I asked him what he thought about the sings, now that he had some distance as color war was over, and he read them for a minute. Then he looked up and said "What the heck does a roman soldier story have to do with olam Haba. How was that our theme song?