We LOVE this place!!! Session 2 Kadima & B’Yachad June 24th
We Love This Place!
It was the first full day of Second Session, Kadima, and B’Yachad. And though there was quite a bit of heavy dew…because, of course, it never rains at Herzl Camp, it only heavy dews, it didn’t dampen spirits in the slightest.
We had our first flag-raising ceremony, which we call Degel (short for Hanafat or Horodat HaDegel), and the Ozrim spread their ruach (spirit) right out of the gate to get everybody up and ready for the day. They sing this awesome remade version of the Modeh Ani prayer before every morning Degel, and their enthusiasm is uncontrollably infectious.
We raise the American flag and, of course, I give some commentary about our 250th anniversary which, for those of you playing along at home, is called the Semiquincentennial (I was an American History Major and didn’t have to look that up!) Then we raise the Israeli flag and sing Im Tirzu, Hatikvah, or Am Yisrael Chai. And lastly, we raise the Herzl Camp flag. We do that because it represents the many thousands of campers who have experienced this place before these kids with the same joy, the same ruach, and the same amazing Jewish camp experience that these campers are now jumping into.
I’m typing to you tonight from the porch of the Director’s House, and it turned into a beautiful late evening, which is especially welcome after the abundance of dew, thunder, and lightning. I can hear the loons singing to one another from the lake, reminding us that we’re really living in their world.
So many awesome things happen, even on the dewey days. I talked about this a little during First Session for those of you who may be hearing it again, but it still stands out so remarkably to me. These campers come here and do all kinds of fun Chugim (activities) and all the other special days like Bikkurim, Yom Yisrael, and so much more. They learn how to waterski. They learn how to climb on the high ropes course. They learn how to play pickleball. They learn how to play fairly in a basketball game. They get to join World League, our session-long sports competition where campers who sign up are broken into teams and compete for the ever-coveted World League championship shirt.
But we’re not just teaching kids how to play a sport or learn a skill.
Our staff, who get so involved coaching and teaching, are modeling great behavior. They’re modeling sportsmanship. They’re modeling peer support. It’s really remarkable to see.
There are always a few competitive kids who take it hard when their team doesn’t win or when they can’t get a new skill right out of the gate. But whatever dent that makes in their day disappears quite literally in seconds as they walk off the field and back into the fray of fun.
I continue to be enthralled by the enthusiasm of a kid. On a rainy day, I’m sorry, a dewey day like today, they couldn’t go out on the boats and they couldn’t play on the soccer fields. Instead, they ended up playing random games, basketball, and gaga in the Beit Ruach (our giant gymnasium). The kids in Amanut (arts and crafts) didn’t even notice because they were happily tucked away in an indoor space.
But on days like today, they’re just basking in the joy of being together and having conversations. They’re talking to one another. They’re not sitting with friends scrolling on phones, showing videos and memes. They’re learning the art of conversation. They’re learning the beauty of peer-to-peer connection. They’re learning how to connect with people they may never have met anywhere else in the world, except at camp. They share a true love of something that brings them together without even trying.
I’m feeling a little verklempt tonight because I saw it in full force today.
Tomorrow, I’ll be walking around and seeing Chugim in action, and I’m going to give you a full report of what I see. But I can tell you right now what I’m going to find. I’m going to see kids trying something for the very first time. I’m going to see kids basking in play. I’m going to see kids doing things in our Tochnit (programs centered around Jewish and Israel education) that are unique. They’re unique because camp gives us extra creative license. We’re at Herzl Camp, and we get to approach Jewish life and learning through the lens of fun in ways that are different from a synagogue or a classroom.
We all have our place in our Jewish community support system.
Camp is that extra-special place that gets to do it all through the lens of joy.
That’s all I got for today. It’s been an awesomely long one.
But for now, thank you for sending your kid to Herzl Camp.
All is well. Safely rest.
,לילה טוב
Tommy
PS – For the second night in a row, I’m sorry about our power issues. We are up in the Northwoods, and even though we technically have high-speed internet, it’s rural high-speed internet (which is a hair faster than my dial-up Prodigy email from 1993. It goes out more than we’d like, which has limited our ability to upload things and get information out on time. Please be patient with us, we’re doing our best. The weather front over the next few days looks perfectly summer, and we’re looking forward to some beautiful camp days ahead.