The Kadima Wall! 2nd Session Kadima & B’Yachad – July 8th
Evenin’ folks!
There are so many rites of passage at Herzl Camp, and today one of the biggest happened.
The Kadima Wall!!!
Camp is full of milestones. Some are small but meaningful. A camper reaches a new color on the climbing wall. Someone gets up on one water ski for the very first time. A camper reads Torah on Shabbat for the first time since their Bar or Bat Mitzvah. A homesick camper makes it through a tough day and realizes what they’re capable of. Those moments matter because they quietly build confidence, one accomplishment at a time.
And then there are the big ones. The ones you remember forever.
For me, I can still tell you exactly what my Kadima Wall experience felt like as a staff member (was never a camper, but it was a moment where I wish I had been one). The details fade a little over the years, but the feeling never does.
Today, our Kadima campers climbed the wall. If you’ve never seen it, it’s hard to explain. The entire camp seems to rally around them. Younger campers cheer with everything they’ve got because they can’t wait for their turn someday. Older campers cheer because they know exactly what this moment means. Staff members who have watched many groups climb still get goosebumps. For a few precious moments (for sure 5:09 at least), the whole camp feels like one giant team.
What I love most isn’t even the climb itself. It’s what happens afterward. Whatever little cliques or differences may have existed before seem to disappear. They just went through something together that only they can truly understand. They encouraged each other, celebrated each other, and pushed one another to do something hard. They come down from that wall not just as individual campers, but as a Kadima group.
That shared experience becomes part of who they are. And it doesn’t end this summer. It becomes part of the larger Herzl story. It’s almost like joining a fraternity of Herzl alumni (for lack of a better word). Ask almost anyone who has been through Kadima about the wall, and they’ll either tell you their exact time or, for sure, they’ll tell you how it felt. They’ll remember the cheering, the nerves, the pride, and the incredible sense of accomplishment. But most of all they’ll remember the coming together!
It’s one of those memories that gets bottled up and carried around for life. That’s the magic of camp. We don’t just create activities. We create moments that become part of someone’s identity.
Today, another group of campers earned one of those moments. And I have a feeling they’ll still be talking about the Kadima Wall decades from now.
So thank you for sending your kid to Herzl Camp!
All is well. Safely rest.
,לילה טוב
Tommy