1) A counselor named Olya was leading the Friday night Kabbalat Shabbat service in the camp's dining hall.  Before Lecha Dodi, Olya explained to all of the campers that in this special prayer we invite the Shabbat Queen to enter into our midst, and Olya told everyone to be prepared because the Queen could arrive at any moment.  Just then little 6-year-old Sonya, dressed all in white, runs to the center of the hall and says: "We don't need to do this because everyone has already met the Queen—it's me!" 

2) 14-year-old Boris goes to a Jewish school in Samara.  At first, Boris was extremely hostile to the Jewish elements in our camp, since his parents forced him to go to the Jewish school and he dislikes the school.  In advance of Tisha B'Av, Boris, along with the rest of the campers, participated in group discussions about the nature of religious observance and personal commitment.  Pasha, Boris's counselor, was astonished to find out, when Tisha B'Av came, that Boris was fasting.  When asked about this, Boris reported that the group discussions had allowed him to understand the importance of the fast and had allowed him the freedom to choose for himself.  As Boris said: "This is my choice."

3) Ivan began camp by thinking that a Jew is a person who keeps all of the commandments, and that if a person (like himself) does not keep all of the commandments, then that person is not Jewish.  Our camp encouraged Ivan to think deeper about what it means to be a Jew.  Ivan's fellow camper Sonia said that in a way, every person writes their own Torah—not with words but with their actions.   Sonia told Ivan that it's important to understand what you are doing and that the process itself of trying to understand is important.  Such interactions at Jewish camps in the FSU are unique to the Jewish Agency.  Our camps are marked by a refreshing sense of religious freedom and pluralism.   Campers are taught about Jewish traditions and given various options for participating in the traditions.  But the children themselves are the ones who decide what works or what doesn't and whether or not to commit.