There’s something for everybody! Session 2 Kadima & B’yachad June 25th
There’s Something for Everybody!
The dew stopped dewing, the sun started shining, and camp was in full camp form. I know I kind of said that yesterday, but with the sun out and all outdoor activities on as normal, this was classic camp.
There was a genuine happiness in the air this morning at Degel. Everybody was remarkably on time. I was shocked and proud, of course. I forget which Tzrif helped me with Degel this morning, and I’m sorry about that, but they insisted that when we raised the Israeli flag, we sing Am Yisrael Chai because it was one of the songs they heard on their very first day as younger campers.
There’s something that gives me a lot of pride and gratitude in our ability to do what we do here when a kid has Am Yisrael Chai (our fast camp version) as an earworm in their head all day long. They get to learn that here more than almost anywhere else. They learn that this is a home for Jewish people and that Israel is a home for Jewish people. No, we’re not there physically, but we’re celebrating it right here in this tiny little pocket of Webster, Wisconsin.
Today was a sleep-in day, so we didn’t have Degel until 9:00 a.m. We do that once a week. It helps maintain health and happiness here at camp. We put the kids to bed a little earlier on Tuesday night and let them sleep in on Thursday morning. We started doing that a couple of years ago, and it really seems to have moved the needle in helping kids fully function during their short time here in paradise.
Right after breakfast, the kids jumped into Tochnit Boker (Morning Program). This morning’s programming centered around Zionism. Campers imagined and created their own versions of a Jewish homeland and learned what it means to have a safe place they can individually call home. It gave them an initial understanding of what Zionism is, why we need it, and set them up for future programs where they’ll learn even more about Zionism in practice.
Then Chugim (activities) had kids running all over the place! Some were at the high ropes course, some at the climbing wall. There was a soccer game going on and a flag football game happening, I think that was World League. And we had a full and noisy waterfront.
All is right in the world.
Lunch was as abnormally normal as lunch can be. There was a plethora of schtick. Kadima got to reveal to the whole camp that their play this year is going to be Wicked, which had its own magical extravaganza on display (every broom in camp now seems to be missing). And of course, there were a couple of birthdays, so some kids got to get up in the chair and we got to sing the longest Happy Birthday song ever written.
I got sidetracked after lunch during Minucha (rest period) and Chug Bet with some camp business that needed tending to, but I was able to get down to the waterfront for Chug Gimel and hang out in the Sailing Chug. I watched one of our awesome Israeli staff members, who is a master sailor out of Eretz Yisrael, teach the kids every little part of the sailboat and how the wind controls the sail.
The entertainment was that he kept saying, “I don’t know the word, but…” and then teaching them the Hebrew version.
These kids are going to become great sailors who know everything about sailboats in Hebrew. If any of them go on to sail later in life, it would be hilarious watching them recall that you need the Ruach (which actually means wind) at a certain angle against the sail.
And after about twenty minutes of teaching the basics, they were all in sailboats. There were four yellow sails working their way around just off the shores of the Herzl Camp beaches.
It was a great sight to see.
As I made my way back up, there was a camper sitting on one of the swings at the Teyelet (the playground area just above the waterfront). One of the Chugim we offer is Teyelet Games. The Teyelet has all kinds of things, volleyball, 9 Square, a big jungle gym, and more. It’s our very very miniature version of the Teyelet in Tel Aviv.
Anyway, this kid was just sitting there by himself in the shade, swinging back and forth.
I walked up and said, “Hey, don’t you want to get in the game?”
He said, “No, I was hot.”
I said, “Okay. Is everything good?”
He said, “Everything is great.”
I said, “Do you like your cabin?”
He said, “I love my cabin.”
I said, “Do you like your counselors?”
He said, “I love my counselors.”
Ironically, one of them happened to be the same guy teaching sailing.
Because of my inherent parenting instincts, my first concern was that maybe something was wrong because he was off by himself. But we talked a little more, and he was just…happy. He was simply enjoying some peace and calm.
Not the kind of kid I would have been. I’d have to be in the mix, running around and playing the game. This kid had done that too, but right then, he wanted a few minutes to sit, cool off, and comfortably watch the world around him.
He watched the trees. He watched the birds. He sat on a swing, completely content.
Of course, I asked him if he knew everybody in his cabin.
He said, “No. I made some new friends.”
It’s been 48 hours, folks. That’s how fast this happens. This kid has made what may become lifelong friends, because it happens here all the time. Those friendships get stamped onto their souls almost from day one.
We had a guest here today doing some training with our staff in the Beit Ruach (not House of Wind, the Herzl spirit, our gym) around some sporting skills. He looked around and said to me, “Wow. It looks like chaos. Is this organized?” (I’m impressed with my use of quotes today.)
And I said, “No. This is a perfect murmuration.” (I actually got that word from “Theo of Golden”, which I loved, because I’m not that smart.) But that’s exactly what’s going on here. Everyone’s in sync. Even though they might be doing different things and moving in different directions for a millisecond, somehow they all know exactly where they belong.
It’s a beautiful murmuration.
This camper is a little tired, so he’s going to hit the bunk. I’ll chat with you again on Saturday night as tomorrow we welcome the Shabbos Queen.
But for now, thank you for sending your kid to Herzl Camp.
All is well. Safely rest.
לילה טוב,
Tommy
PS – (been doing this a lot this year) There is a new HerzlCast, it can be found on Spotify – Season 3 ep 4 – Ozrim Gold pt 1 – give a listen and hear from 4 Ozrim about their camp journey.