August 2, 2025 – Middah of the Week – Respect/Kavod

Shabbat Shalom, Camp Louise!

This week, we talked about respect…something that doesn’t always come so easily.

It made me think about a part of our Saturday morning Shabbat service called “Who is Wise?” This particular part is from Pirkei Avot which gives us advice for daily living.

Now if you are an alum, you can surely recite this to yourself – probably without even looking at the words.

Our ancient sages also said:  To love G-d, you must first love one another.
May we come to have understanding of other people’s faiths and have compassion for everything that lives.

It was asked:  Who is wise?

The answer:  Those who learn from every person.

Who is strong?

The answer: Those who control their passions.

Who is rich?

The answer: Those who rejoice in their portion.

Who is honorable?
The answer: Those who respect others.

How simple it sounds.  If only, we could all do them – how much better our world would be.  So at camp, we start small by respecting ourselves, our bunkmates, our counselors, servers in the Dining Hall, the security guards, the staff who teach us activities, the staff who hands out canteen and mail, our environment, nature, the goats and chickens on our farm, and pretty much everything and everyone around us.

It was my pleasure to recognize these 9 campers for demonstrating the Middah of the Week – respect/kavod.  Every little moment counts and adds to the bigger picture in creating the Camp Louise community that I am so proud to be a part of.

So let’s all try to be wise, strong, rich and honorable.

Shabbat Shalom,
Alicia