Danya’s Shabbat Message – Week 4: A Place in the Circle

Dear Families –

I am delighted to share this week’s message. I’m Danya, the Director of Camp & Culture at Herzl Camp. I get to spend my summer with our incredible staff, Ozrim, and campers. For the past few years, I’ve sent a weekly Shabbat message to camp families so you can share in the Herzl magic and stay connected all summer long.

This week, the Shabbat blog turned into the Havdalah blog, and now it’s become the better-late-than-never Monday edition.

It’s been one of those weeks where everything seems to happen at once, and I never quite found the time to sit down and write. The week has been packed with so many blog-worthy moments from Bikkurim, the Habonim Teva overnight, B’yachad Avodah, and so much more. I’ll save those stories for another week.

One of my favorite parts of writing these blogs is collecting moments I see throughout the week. Sometimes they’re big, public moments that everyone is a part of. Other times they’re smaller interactions that I notice as I’m walking around. With nearly 600 people at camp, there’s no shortage of moments worth remembering. This week’s moment was a blink-and-you-miss-it kind of moment that I happened to catch at the Mercaz during Shabbat services.

Whenever I’m at services at my synagogue, and it’s time to rise for the Amidah, I’m instantly taken back to the Mercaz.

As a young camper, I never thought much about the meaning of the Amidah. I was mostly focused on how long services felt, and that all I wanted to do was sit back down on those old, uncomfortable Mercaz benches. I knew that once I made it through just a few more prayers, Shabbat rotations were up next, and that meant Olympic Tanning at the Mercaz for me.

Somewhere along the way, services stopped being something to get through and became something I found meaningful. Not because I suddenly became more religious, but because I felt deeply connected to something that had been happening long before I got here and will continue long after I’m gone. Every time I stand for the Amidah, I’m joining generations of Jews who have stood for those very same words. I’ve always found that very comforting, and especially over the last few years.

That’s what I found myself thinking about this Shabbat as I scanned the crowd at the Mercaz.
The younger campers are still figuring services out. They know to stand when their counselors tell them to and sit back down when it’s time. Every week, the prayers become a little more familiar than the week before. It may not be the part of Shabbat they look forward to most, but as campers grow older, something changes, and they find services to be a meaningful part of their camp experience.

One of the prayers the campers look forward to singing is Oseh Shalom. This past Shabbat, just about everyone jumped up from their seats, formed large circles with the people near them, and began to dance and sing together.

I noticed two campers standing just outside one of the circles. They looked unsure whether they wanted to join but seemed really interested in what was going on. A few seconds later, the circle opened, and the two campers standing outside it were now a part of it. I never saw if it was another camper, an Ozo, or a staff member who brought them in, and it didn’t really matter. Someone noticed them and knew what to do – such a simple gesture with a great impact.

Years from now, most campers won’t remember exactly what happened on the second Shabbat of second session in 2026. But they’ll never forget the feeling of Shabbat at camp. And someday, when their rabbi asks the congregation to turn to the page with Oseh Shalom – they too will be instantly taken back to cinnamon rolls for breakfast, dancing and singing at the Mercaz, and the spectacular view of Devils Lake.

Wishing you a delightful week ahead. I’ll see you back here next Shabbat – right on schedule (probably).

-danya