3rd Session is off and running! July 15th

Hello everyone,

This is your pal Tommy Hoffman sending you the first Ted Talk (yes, it’s a play on Theodore Herzl, not a bona fide Ted Talk (I’m not that influential), of Third Session 2026.

For those of you who are new to the Herzl community, I write a note to you most every night except, of course, on Shabbat. Sometimes they’re long and detailed, sharing the day’s activities or observations from a former camp parent, Herzl Camp alum, and a guy who’s incredibly lucky to get to work in the Jewish community helping build proud Jews who love Israel. And sometimes this camper gets a little worn out and keeps it pretty brief.

I often write these pretty late at night, so please pardon the grammar and the occasional mispelling (see what I did there). But I can promise you one thing, I will never use AI to write these. Every word comes from the heart, just as organically as it gets. You’ll be able to tell because I’ll miss a paragraph break here and there, throw in a run-on sentence, and those pesky dangling participles seem to find me all too often.

The campers are here!

Because of the wildfires north of us affecting our air quality, we kept all of tonight’s programming indoors (and will continue to if necessary). We’re doing everything we can to keep campers safe while making sure they’re still having a fantastic time. As always, their well-being comes first.

Thankfully, the winds have started to shift, and it’s already made a noticeable difference over the last couple of hours.

Nonetheless, we’re off and running. It’s going to be an amazing three weeks, and there is already an abundance of joy and happiness here at Machaneh.

For you Kadima and B’Yachad parents, your campers returned to camp this morning from their canoe trip and float trip with smiles a mile wide. They’re already swapping stories and reliving memories that will last a lifetime.

So that’s all for tonight, with much more to come.

Thank you for sending your kid to Herzl Camp.

All is well. Safely rest.

,לילה טוב

Tommy