Session 3 …that’s a wrap and thank you!

Hi Herzl Family!

Well folks, the final night is upon us. I can’t believe summer 2025 is coming to a close. This is the part where I start to choke up 

A – because I’m a crier

B-  because I’m celebrating the gift you’ve given your kid.

I told the campers at the beginning of the summer to not compare this summer to last summer because every summer has its own story. It has its own different weave of fabric and it has its own unique memories. Though some of those traditions that get carried on year-over-year may appear the same but to your camper it’s never happened before and their experience was completely unique. 

The gift you gave your camper this summer was a gift of learning, a gift of peace and comfort, a gift of interpersonal education, a gift of confidence, a gift of intrigue, a gift of trying, a gift of pride, and I could go on and on and on and on, but what you gave them mostly was the gift of Judaism and the gift of loving Israel.

It was a privilege having your camper at camp! And we hope that your camper continues to keep Herzl Camp in their bones forever and ever and, while they can, they come back to visit us in the summer. 

I wanted to think of this really comprehensive long final TedTalk for you, but I can’t seem to find the words tonight because (for those of you who really know me know I’m telling the truth), I’m  choked up and sad that summer is over. 

Tomorrow morning we will be getting kids onto the bus and the tears will be in abundance.  They’re not tears of sadness that it’s over, they truly are tears of tremendous joy that it happened. As your camper goes back out into the world, I hope they keep with them that pride that they gained here, I hope they keep their Chai, or their Hebrew name, or their Star of David necklace in clear sight around their neck and I hope they have pride and comfort knowing that they have a place that they can call home.

‏עם ישראל חי

 So for the last time in the Summer 2025…

All is well, safely rest. 

Thank you for sending your kid to Herzl Camp. 

‏לילה טוב

Tommy