It’s working – July 18th
Hi everybody,
I don’t know if you’re a fan of Dan Senor, Bret Stephens, or any of the other Jewish thinkers and influencers out there, but one thing they all seem to agree on is this: there’s no mystery to teaching kids to be proud to be Jewish and to understand and love Israel for what it is to the Jewish people. You send them to Jewish summer camp and Jewish day schools. I, of course, prefer Jewish Summer camp because that’s my forte.
And I can tell you they are unequivocally right.
I’ve been back for three summers now after a 30-year hiatus, and Shabbat this weekend was, quite literally, as good as it gets. I’m not exaggerating. I honestly don’t know how it could have been any better.
Shabbat began with our signature Caravan, with everyone dressed in white and our B’Yachad campers leading because it was B’Yachad Shabbat.
The Shabbat Committee inside B’Yachad has worked incredibly hard over the past few weeks preparing for this weekend, and it showed. They were in perfect form! They were united as one and completely supportive of one another, which I’ll come back to in a minute.
Once we finished the ever-comical flag songs, which, naturally, were all to the tune of songs about smoke and fire since the air had finally cleared and camp was back in full bloom, we arrived at one of my favorite moments of every Friday evening.
At the end of our flag-lowering, after the Herzl Camp Song, Hatikvah, and the Star Spaangled Banner are sung and just before we head to the Mercaz for Kabbalat Shabbat, everyone who has been an Ozo gathers into their own little Ozo groups. Each group does its own goofy, schticky tradition in small circles scattered throughout the big circle of camp.
I always love watching the younger campers take it all in. Some laugh, some just stare in amazement and some are already imagining the day they’ll be standing in those circles themselves. This week, though, I paid special attention to the B’Yachad campers.
In just three short weeks, their lives as campers will come to a close. The next time they return to Herzl Camp, it will be as Ozrim. They were watching a group of peers so deeply connected to one another celebrate that connection. Watching them bask in the joy, friendships, traditions, and memories they’ve been fortunate enough to build here at Machaneh Paradise. Before long, they’ll be the ones standing in those circles, and another generation of campers will be watching them.
From there, we made our way to everyone’s favorite place at camp, the Mercaz, where we prepared to welcome the Shabbos Queen.
The B’Yachad campers opened the service with every single one of them standing together on the Mercaz stage, singing to the entire camp.
One of the gazillion cool parts was simply watching them. You could see the joy, the comfort, the confidence, and the tangible bond..the connectedness.
To me, it felt like a celebration of simply being a kid. A kid away from all the things that make being a kid hard. Away from school pressures, social dynamics, constant comparisons, and, yes, here I go again, the phones.
If you’ve listened to the podcast (and there will be another one tomorrow featuring our B’Yachad campers), one of the things this last group of Kadima campers talked about is the freedom that comes from not having their phones. It fills me with pride.
I’m proud that their parents trusted us enough to send them here, and I’m proud that these campers have embraced the kind of genuine connection that only happens face to face. For these few weeks, they’re not being tested by the outside world’s politics, pressures, and algorithms. They’re simply here in concert with nature, friendship, Judaism, and each other.
The older campers have a tradition here where they “rip their cool cards.” It gives them permission to stop worrying about looking cool and instead fully embrace the Jewish Zionist camp experience. They lead not just from the podium, but through their participation.
The younger campers watch these camp heroes with admiration, and little by slowly they begin ripping their own imaginary cool cards. That’s how the journey begins.
That’s how kids discover that it’s actually pretty cool to be Jewish.
Kabbalat Shabbat at camp is a whole different world from what many of them experience at synagogue or Jewish day school. The prayers are the same and the words are the same. But camp wraps them in dancing, hand motions, harmony, laughter, and choreographed movements that somehow make centuries-old prayers feel brand new.
It’s camp at its very finest.
After services, we made our way to the Chadar to enjoy not just a traditional Shabbat meal, but all of the traditions that were born right here at Herzl, from the moment we walk in until the final notes of Song Session.
The theme of B’Yachad Shabbat was “Side by Side,” and appropriately they opened Song Sesh with Lo Yisa Goy, a song that reminds us to “just walk beside me and be my friend.” There couldn’t have been a better anthem for the weekend.
The talent of our Yachers was on full display throughout Song Session. Campers were singing, playing guitar, playing piano, and the entire Chadar was completely in flow.
But there was one moment that made me glow with just a little extra pride. A camper who began the session testing nearly every boundary we put in place, and who has steadily grown day after day, walked up to the microphone all by themselves and, to everyone’s surprise, confidently led a song with a beautiful voice.
But honestly, that wasn’t even the best part. The best part came when they finished. Eighty-some campers and staff erupted into applause. They weren’t just cheering for a great voice, they were cheering for confidence, they were cheering for growth (the growth of their friend and that that they could recognize in themselves), they were cheering for courage, they were cheering because one of their friends had fully stepped into this experience. That’s a camper who’s going to make a GREAT Ozo someday.
Danya and I often find ourselves sitting back, smiling, and simply soaking it all in.
Because this is working!
Thank you for trusting us with your children.
And thank you for sending them to Herzl Camp.
All is well. Safely rest.
,לילה טוב
Tommy