Session 3 – Day 1: Dew can’t dampen anything!

Hi Herzl Family!

This is your pal, Tommy Hoffman, reporting live from the Director’s Porch at Herzl Camp!

It’s the first night of Third Session and Kadima and B’yachad are in full swing. The Heavy Dew (it never rains at Herzl Camp) had scant chance to dampen any spirits here on the shores of Devils Lake. 

I’ve said this before but I wish there was a way to bottle up the magic of that first walk into the Ulam. You know the one, that moment where the room erupts in singing, clapping, staff yelling “Im Tirzu!” and “Am Yisrael Chai!” like we’ve been waiting all year for this exact moment. Because we have! 

Returning campers, which is most of these third session campers, walk in like they own the place (because they kind of do), and our few first-timers are wide-eyed, a little nervous, but instantly wrapped in a cocoon of cheers, high-fives, hugs, and Herzl Hebrew. That’s how it starts…the blending of confidence and kindness, of nerves and comfort. It’s what we do here. And it’s why this place is magic.

This is Ted Talk, my nightly (except for Shabbat) reflection on the sights, sounds, and spirit of Herzl. Some nights will be long, some short, some misspelled, and all written with love and way too many commas. It’s not AI (I proudly promise…you’ll be able to tell). It’s just me, a camp guy, a dad, an alum, a proud Jew, trying to capture the soul of this place for you in real time.

So buckle up, it’s going to be an awesome ride! But for tonight…

All is well, safely rest. 

Thank you so much for sending your kid to Herzl Camp. 

‏לילה טוב

Tommy