Dvar Torah, Dvar Torah, Dvar, dvar...

At the very end of this week's Torah reading (for those who stay awake long enough to hear it) is a line thsat says, "And you shall be holy, for I [G-d] am holy."

You might not know it, but the Torah tells us not to eat insects. You know that 4 inch slimy cockroach that's been zipping around your bathtub? Yeah, the one that looks kind of like... never mind, I don't want to insult anyone.

You might have the attitude, "yuck, who would wanna eat that (Mordechai just got a new idea for the canteen)?" The Torah is saying that we should think, "hmmm, maybe it is good. There are even some ppl who might want to eat it. I won't eat it because G-d doesn't want me to eat it!"

There are lotsa mitzvas that are real easy to keep, because we wouldn't wanna do anything different (have you ever gotten an urge to drink blood? If you have I don't want you back in camp... but anyway the Torah doesn't let us eat blood), but it's an extra mitzva to do it because G-d wants us to do it, and not for any other reason.

So when you come back to Camp Nageela this summer, don't do it because it's the coolest, most amazing, fun, chillin, adventurous, wacky place in the world. Do it because G-d wants you to!