Archive for 'General Posts'

Alumni Advice

May 27, 2011 by Herzl Camp Admin, under General Posts.

By: Aiden Pink

I am in a pretty unique position among the volunteers who write for the Herzl Alumni Blog: I am not technically an alumnus. Almost everyone else who has written for the blog over the past two years has “graduated” and gone on to get “real jobs” that pay “money.” Unfortunately, that means they no longer get to spend their summers in Webster. However, this summer I am lucky enough to make the drive up Highway 35 one more time. On June 12th, I will start my ninth summer at Herzl Camp.

Machaneh Herzl is pretty much all I have been thinking about since spring break. I cannot wait to see my old friends, eat delicious cinnamon rolls, pray on the Mercaz, paint my face for Bikkurim…I just know it’s going to be the best summer ever. And I consider myself incredibly lucky that I get to play even a small part in shaping Herzl’s success.

This will be my second year on staff (third if you count my Ozo summer), so I am fairly confident in my ability to not screw up too badly. For example, I now know from experience the worst possible way to build a bonfire (well, best if you consider the size of the fireball, but worst if you consider the potential destructive power of said fireball). Also, kitchen raids can be considered only partially successful if everyone thinks that someone else is in charge of actually grabbing the snacks (on the plus side, it could be seen as training for future members of Seal Team 6). Oh, and as effective as it is, campers do no generally appreciate being woken up with reveille on the trumpet. That goes double for campers in neighboring cabins, who also get woken up by reveille on the trumpet.

OK, so clearly I have a lot to learn. This is where you come in, alumni. Who better to ask for advice than people who used to be in my shoes? There are a lot of awesome traditions that have fallen by the wayside over the past few decades – is there a cool feature that camp should bring back? As former campers, what activities did you most enjoy? What did you most value in a madrich? And if you were on staff yourself, I am sure you have great advice to share with me and the more than 140 madrichim, specialists, program directors and Ozrim who are lucky enough to return to Webster one more time. Let me know in the comments! Todah Rabah!

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Herzl Acrostic Blog Post

May 13, 2011 by Herzl Camp Admin, under General Posts.

By: Alex Locke

Editor’s Note:  Alex has experience with acrostic poems.  As a 1994 Ozo, he performed an acrostic flag song with a hidden message.  Ask a 94 Ozo near you to see it — sheer brilliance.

Herzl Camp means a lot of things to a lot of people.  But let’s break it down to its very core:

H – Home; A camper’s away from home
E – Equality; Everyone’s a winner at Machaneh Herzl
R – Religion; No place has a stronger connection to Judaism than Herzl
Z – Zionism; Creating a relationship with Israel for those in the Diaspora
L – Learning; An important education in a non-academic setting

C – Children; The best place on Earth to just be a kid
A – Accessible; The only Jewish overnight camp in the Midwest to be accessible to all children
M – Modernized; New facilities mixed with old traditions
P – People; Where you learn to live and work with others on your own, for the first time

All of these elements embody what Herzl Camp is.  They are the pieces to a puzzle that has been creating memories for over 60 years.
So… what does Herzl Camp mean to you?

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What Makes Herzl Camp Awesome Part 1: Order out of Chaos

April 29, 2011 by Herzl Camp Admin, under General Posts.

By Avi Baron

Hello and welcome to a new bit called “What Makes Herzl Camp Awesome.” Now I know a lot of you could name off hundreds of things that make that plot
of 166 acres in Webster, WI awesome, but I’m going to focus on more
broad topics and expand in detail why each one is important. This topic,
part 1, is about creating order out of chaos. In reality though, Herzl
doesn’t create order out of chaos, which is what helps make it so
awesome. Instead, we take the naturally entropic environment and use it
to our advantage. I suppose I should have titled this “Orderly Chaos,”
but that has less curb appeal, and I watch a lot of HGTV, so I know how
this works.There are two types of orderly chaos that occurs: observable
and internal.

Observable is best seen (duh) by a visitor to camp. So let’s all put ourselves in
the shoes of a visitor to camp. It is Tuesday, July 26 and you decide to
venture out the South side of the Beit Chai at about 3:48pm (Camp
time). A staff member is getting on the golf cart carrying a garbage bag
with sheets and a sleeping bag in it. You see eleven girls dressed in
all green walking towards the Rock wall where one girl and one counselor
sit, facing towards the wall. You stumble across a few playing cards on
the ground and start to notice more placed in trees and scattered
around. Just as you bend down to pick one up, four or five boys run past
you, water from their towels and swimsuits spraying you. You look up
just in time to catch a frisbee and toss it to the tall yacher running
towards you. He asks if you’d like to play with them so you join in
their cabin versus cabin game of ultimate for 15 minutes. After excusing
yourself due to exhaustion, you begin to walk back towards your water
bottle you left in the beit chai apartment. Taking a more leisurely
stroll back, trying to catch your breath, you stop and chat with a
counselor holding a bucket of water near a circle of happy Ha’Atid boys.
He explains that most of his campers had a water chug for dalet so
they’re playing drip, drip, drop before shower time. You watch until the
type of toothpaste was guessed (Colgate total plus whitening) and are
distracted by excitement a few yards away. Walking closer, you see a
counselor handing out sixlets candy to his campers for finding all 52 of
the hidden playing cards. Happy to see him back early from his day off
and excited by the candy, they were hugging him and lifting their cards
in triumph. Almost back to the beit chai now, you see a party by the
rock wall and the one girl who had been sitting there with her counselor
was being lifted on the birthday chair. Her cabin mates had made a
dance for her and, after they performed it, they all ate cake in a
wonderful birthday celebration. Once you get back into the office, you
overhear a conversation between two staff members saying she managed to
wash and replace the sheets before anyone noticed and her camper was
grateful.

This, to me, is a regular day at Herzl Camp. What, at first glance, may seem
to be crazy green girls, wild wet boys, and litter is actually the most
glorious thing on Earth – orderly chaos. It’s like the movie “The Book
of Eli,” where you either have to be apart of it, or wait until the end
for everything to make sense. This combination of structure and play
time is part of what makes Herzl so awesome.

Now the internal part of orderly chaos. This part is best described in
analogies, so I’ll do just that, starting with an online video game
called “n game.” N stands for ninja in the action stick-figure game
where the player guides a ninja through treacherous territory containing
mines, lasers, evil robots, heat-seeking missiles and more in search
of the exit door. While working at or behind the scenes for Herzl Camp
hasn’t quite yet reached the epicness of being a ninja in a pixel world
(just a few points shy of it), they definitely shares important aspects.
If your little ninja dude is running towards the gold cubes and you
accidentally jump early, into a wall, the best plan of action is to
continue with your new trajectory and wall jump back to a different
approach, in fact, looking back, that was probably better because it
avoided the mines near the gold and got you to the exit sooner. While a
staff member might have one idea for a program they are planning, when
they actually sit down to plan it with other staff, something else may
come up, the original program location may not be available, or the 8
foot beach ball broke. No matter what happens, Herzl Camp staff are
great at adapting to new obstacles and making them advantageous.

Anyway, in conclusion, Herzl Camp is Awesome. That is part 1 (with two sub-parts if you were paying attention, so it was like a two-for-one!) Look for
the other parts coming soon!

Things I mentioned, unrelated to Herzl, that might interest you:

http://www.hgtv.com/

http://www.colgate.com

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1037705/

http://www.addictinggames.com/ngame.html

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Chag Sameach (from the summer)

April 18, 2011 by Herzl Camp Admin, under General Posts.

By: Max Puchtel

When it comes to the Jewish calendar, Jewish summer camps fall on a horribly bad lot.  Rather than grand, inspiring, enriching celebrations, the only Jewish “holiday” that campers get to experience during the summer months is T’sha B’Av!  While the ninth of Av teaches important lessons about the current religious state of world Jewry, it’s always a HUGE downer, especially for campers who are teeming with the excitement of summer, friends, and self-independence.  It’s a shame that there is not better holiday representation for the campers.

Unlike the Muslim lunar calendar whose holidays migrate through the months from year to year, ours is “adjusted” with leap months in order to ensure that the holidays fall in their appropriate agricultural season. Sukkot always falls in the autumn and Pesach/Shavuot in the spring.  But how great would it have been for modern summer camp if our Rabbi’s hadn’t made those fixes, and occasionally, some of our other holidays fell in the summer?!?!

The high holidays at camp would be quite a sight.  Blowing the shofar during ruach sessions would be fun and “apples & honey” already sounds like a shtick, but I’d be pretty upset if the fast day fell on tuna melt day!

One could see how Sukkot would be perfectly suited to the outdoor life of camp, engaging campers in creative construction of temporary shelters all over camp.  No one would throw a fuss about Herzl building new cabins anymore because one would have an opportunity to live in an inadequate and unsafe structure every summer!

Purim would fit naturally into the camp culture of “dressing up for random reasons.”  Why else would anyone ever paint themselves blue from head to toe?  Although, I’m pretty sure my campers would have used the costume opportunities to switch their identities around and trick me, and it would be hard to fulfill the mitzvah of getting drunk while being a good role model for the campers.

We all look forward to the Passover seders.  Can you imagine the entire chadar at a seder table, or forcing a taster to sing the four questions?  And what would we dunk into our tomato soup without a grilled cheese sandwich?  A slab of matza?!?!?!

Hmm, maybe it’s best that the Jewish holidays ARE confined to the non-summer months!  Luckily, camp finds many other ways to engage and develop campers spiritually; some of my best memories of camp are tied to Shabbat, services, and communal rituals.  Although I won’t be thinking about camp this year at the seder table, I will acknowledge that my summers at Herzl were indeed the defining Jewish experience of my youth.  And for that, I am grateful.

Chag Sameach!

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All I Need to Know, I Learned from Bikkurim

April 15, 2011 by Herzl Camp Admin, under General Posts.

By: Anna Simon, Community Relations and Event Manager

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Letter from the 1984 Israeli Scout

April 7, 2011 by Herzl Camp Admin, under General Posts, Letters from Alumni.

Dear Herzl Camp Family,

The words of the Herzl Camp song mean a lot — “Here’s to dear old Herzl, we’re so proud of you…”  I realized it today more than ever.  27 years have passed,  and today, as snow covers the ground, 15 degrees outside under blue skies, I came back to visit camp with my host family (my “American Parents”), Harry and Terry Cohen.

It really is unbelievable…27 years ago, in the summer of 1984, I was the Israeli scout of Herzl Camp.

It was the summer of my life!  The memories are still alive, the great chance and opportunity that I had as an Israeli youth to get acquainted with Jewish American kids of my own age, to share together happy and meaningful days…Those were, and still are a crucial brick building my personality as a mature person, as a Jew, and as a patriotic Israeli.

Today, I am a 43 year old married woman, mother of 3 girls, 2 of them active in the Zofim. I’m participating in Israel in their summer camp as kind of a “Mama Ozo”, working and serving my community and country as a juvenile judge, happy and proud to share with you a small but yet a huge part in the puzzle of my life — and that piece is the summer of 1984 at Herzl Camp.

I wish you all, my beloved Harry and Terry Cohen, who will participate this summer in the K’Shishim program, their grandson Ezra who is in his 3rd year, and granddaughter Libby who will be in her first summer, all the campers, Ozrim, Madrichim, and especially the Israeli Zofim a great 2011 summer!

Just continue as you are, with the Herzl Camp spirit.

I wish you all Shalom.

Love,

Michal Kaplan Rokman

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Mysteries of the Herzl Universe

April 4, 2011 by Herzl Camp Admin, under General Posts.

By: Danny Soshnik

Herzl Camp is built on tradition and schtick.  I often wonder(ed) why things are the way they are.  I mean, these traditions had to come from somewhere.

I’m going to share a few with you of which I know the history, and there are many more that I’d like an explanation.  So, PLEASE chime in with your answers.

B’Yachad being called Yachers:

Did you know that in their first summer in 1995, B’Yachad’s campers were informally called Yahoos?  I vividly remember a flag song in the 6th camper week by the Hanhallah, led by co head counselors Adam Chall and Anna Simon to the tune of The Beatles “Life Goes On”.  To the chorus, they sung, “We decided to call you the Yahoos, la la la it’s Yahoo Shabbat.”

In 1996, I was on the greatest B’Yachad staff ever assembled and we decided that Yahoos wasn’t intense enough for this powerful program, so we renamed them the Yachers.  To quote Tin-Tin quoting his brother on how he got the name Tin-Tin, “and it stuck.”

The Pounding on the Table After the Shabbos Meals Birkat:

This one gets (dis)credited to Jon Braufman, I believe.  Once upon a time, Herzl used to sing the long ya da da…that normally follows the y’ru et hashem after osheh shalom in the Birkat, which culminates in some pounding on the table.  If memory serves, Jon wasn’t paying close attention and jumped the gun on the pounding, by leaning back and yelling “Hey”, and the rest is history.   Hey, I don’t make this stuff up.

The Ha’Atid Song to the Tune of the Brady Bunch:

Do they still sing this song?  I wrote that song…from my internship in downtown Saint Paul when I was supposed to be reviewing second mortgages for Green Tree Financial Corporation.   And you wonder why they went out of business.

The Steps Down the Hill to the Lake Near Tzrif 25:

Not many people know about these stone steps which lead to a very private stone bench overlooking the lake.  Had I been cooler, I would be able to report a first kiss there or something…oh well.

Anyway, about the stairs, we got an email from Rivka Tal, a 60s alum from Israel (named Patti Schochet) back in the day.  She asked about the “Boathouse” and whether it still existed.  After a back and forth, I learned that there used to be a very special cabin in the woods just north of the Mercaz.  Rivka said you had to take stairs down from the path to that cabin.  So, that’s where those stairs once led.  How cool would it to have been to be in that cabin?

Those are a few that I find to be trivial and interesting.  I’m very curious on the origin of many others…

Does anyone know the history of 12 Gates?

What about the Herzl Song?  Who wrote it?

What about the wall?  When was it built and was it originally built for its current purpose (Kadimah climbing it)?

Has the Shabbos Caravan ever gone counter clockwise?  That would make for a great koontz on camp.

Where did that crazy long birthday song come from?

If you know where the origin of any of these or any other traditions, I’d be curious to know.   It would be great to have a written history of some of this stuff.  So please chime in!

17 Comments

CAMP WORKS Survey Shatters Strategic Plan

April 1, 2011 by Herzl Camp Admin, under General Posts.

By Mike Neiman

As you may recall from our early post, the Foundation for Jewish Camp recently unveiled the findings of CAMP WORKS, a landmark study revealing the long term effect of Jewish camp on Judaism.  From these findings, one of the most alarming findings was that only 6% of capable Jewish youth attend Jewish summer camp.  Combined with other findings showing that camp alumni were more likely to attend synagogue, light Shabbat candles, visit Israel, contribute to their local Federation, and marry within the faith …  this statistic was reason for alarm.

After the individual analysis of the CAMP WORKS study, community leaders from Herzl Camp, Camp Chi, Camp Ramah-Wisconsin, and OSRUI established a new strategic committee this April called the Fellowship Of Opportunistic Learnings of Summer.  Their plan was simple:  Increase global participation in the Midwest’s Jewish summer camps.  Foremost on the agenda was the pooling of staff, resources, and facilities to build a single conglomerate entity that would support this movement.  After minutes upon minutes of discussion, the decision was final.

Opening its doors this summer on the 75 acre “Summerfest” lot in Milwaukee, WI, will be a new Voltron (read “Power Rangers” for alumni born after 1985) of Jewish camping…

Development Director Holly Guncheon has already volunteered to transport all 25 newly built cabins to the Music Festival’s central fields.  When asked how the billions of Capital Campaign donors would feel about this decision, she simply shrugged her shoulders and said “I mean, we said we’d have every camper in a new cabin this summer … but we didn’t say where.”

Additional consideration was made to move the Beit Chai as well, but at 11 years old, the committee concluded that this facility is already more outdated than the original iPhone.  Camp Chi’s contribution is slightly more extreme, as they were able to petition the city of Wisconsin Dells to mobilize all amusement parks for a cross-state trek to Milwaukee.  This summer, campers will be provided top notch Chug and Evening Programming at Familyland Park, Noah’s Ark and Marley’s Bar.

Ramah Wisconsin graciously offered its Blanche Lippitz Library, filled with custom Hebrew translated play scripts.  When asked about the meager contribution, COO Benji Berman stated, “Come on guys!  What would camp be without “Billy Elliot b’Ivrit?!”

The new organizational structure is still under discussion, as directors Anne Hope, Ron Levin, Jerry Kaye, and Rabbi Loren Sykes wait for the results of their 2011 NCAA Bracket winner to take the rightful place at the top.  Unfortunately for Anne, she had Kansas winning it all.

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Herzl Hospitality

March 27, 2011 by Herzl Camp Admin, under General Posts.

By: Jeff Usem

So, if you’re half way across the country, what would you expect from your old Herzl friends?  To touch base on the phone and say hello?  To meet for a quick cup of coffee?  To grab lunch somewhere to catch up?  Maybe to invite you over for dinner?  Well, in this case, mine suggested that we get together and invited me to stay with him and his family!  This just occurred this past weekend when I sent Marty Kloner an email that I’d be in Los Angeles for work, and it would be nice to get together if he had some extra time.  While this may have happened to you somewhere too, I don’t think it’s the usual reaction when old friends are passing through town on business.

I could have met him briefly somewhere and moved along to a hotel for the night; but staying with someone gives you an opportunity to rekindle old friendships in a casual, personal way that only happens when someone opens their home (and life) to you.  I was re-introduced to his lovely wife, Tara, who was equally welcoming and interested in getting to know each other, and met his adorable kids, Dylan & Jackson, in an at-home, comfortable setting that just wouldn’t have been possible anywhere else.  I’d like to think I even bonded a little with Bruno, their huge, white dog (notice how well he obeyed me when I told him to lay down for the picture – ok, maybe I got a little help from Tara for that).  We shared old stories and looked through his old Herzl albums, trying to remember all the names of the much younger (some skinnier and hairier too) people in the pictures.  The picture with the gray, goofy fishing hats that we bought on one of our many days off with Ricky Bloomfield and Steve Gottlieb triggered some good memories (I still have mine in the basement, of course).  Fortunately, Randy (Harpo) Feldman and Paul Muchnik were sitting at a table in the picture of them dressed up in a coat & tie at staff final banquet.  It was like we had just all been together, not like nearly 29 years had gone by since camp, and probably 9 years since we had seen each other last.

Another bonus during my trip was getting together with Cheryl Kloner (actually Marty’s cousin), another friend from our Herzl days in the late ‘70’s and early ‘80’s.  She quickly found and brought along a pile of pictures that we went through with fond memories.  Even more amazing was that she had a cassette tape (remember those?) of talent show and final banquet skits, which were hysterical (I never knew there were so many versus to “The Cat Came Back”).  It was a little hard to hear, but there were even some final words to the staff of ’80 from Andy Halper – words to live by, I’m sure.  I brought those pictures back with me, so maybe some of them will be of decent enough quality to scan and include on the website or in our archives.  Thanks for saving all that stuff Cheryl, you’re the best!

Anyway, enough of the reminiscing.  There’s nothing quite like Herzl friendships! Thank you so much to Marty and his family for opening their beautiful home to me, and letting me become part of a small piece of their lives.  My relationship with his kids will never be the same after sharing chocolate-chip pancakes together in our PJ’s.  (I hope Dylan’s birthday party sleep-over went well after I left.)  So hang on to those friendships, and don’t hesitate to pick up the phone or reach out to those old friends when you’re going to be in town.  Who knows, they may even invite you to stay with them?

Here’s to Dear Old Herzl… and Herzl Hospitality!!

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Fermish me I’m Jewish!

March 17, 2011 by Herzl Camp Admin, under General Posts.

By Mike Neiman

It has pained me for years that my favorite gentile holiday cannot be combined with my favorite Judaic institution.  Sure, as Herzl staff, we were able to uberprogram around such awesome holidays like Tisha B’av and the occasional Shavuot … but we have missed out on a grand opportunity since Jewish Camp’s earliest establishment.

Summer camp is … well, during the summer.  Ok, so maybe Herzl rents out its facility to youth groups on the occasional weekend during the year, and that weekend may occasionally overlap on a secular or Christian holiday.  I’m no mathematician but, it doesn’t take a former 6th grade math teacher like Yamit Tarragon to know the odds are low that one of these holidays would occur on a Saturday so as to enjoy the whole day’s festivities during a Shabbaton.  I guess St. Patrick’s Day was just never meant to be celebrated in true Herzl Camp style.

…UNTIL NOW!

I have started the preparations early because I was bored at work today and DID do the math.  Actually, the math was pretty simple:  this year St. Pats is on Thursday and next year is a leap year.  Therefore, I would like to invite all my fellow Alumni to join me next spring up at Herzl for a Shabbat weekend where we can celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in true Herzl fashion on Saturday March 17th, 2012.

The planning committee is still working out the details, but below is a tentative schedule.

Friday:

Planning in progress by Mark Warren, please email all suggestions to him.

Saturday:
9:00am        Aruchat Boker:  Brandon Tagg to toast up delicious Green Bagels from Brueggers

09:30am     Shabbat Services led by visiting Rabbi Zalman Shimon Lent of the Duplin Hebrew Congregation

11:00pm    Morning Rotations:  Learn Gaelic with Alan Garelick, Foreign Cussing with Asaf Bitton, Limericks and Laughs with Rachel Javitch.  On the waterfront – Loch Ness Monster Watching with Loren Mintz and Tye-Dying Devil’s Lake Green with Jessica Treinish.

1:00pm    Aruchat Tzohoraym:  Flip Frisch is joined by Saints and Tzadiks to lead a ruach song session complete with “Danny Boy Leonard”, “Whiskey You’re the Devil’s Lake”, “Rocky Road to Kadimahland”, and “Theodore I Hardly Knew Ye”

2:30pm        Minucha … need our rest for the night’s festivities

3:30pm    Afternoon Rotations:  Beer Tasting with Zander Abrams … oh let’s be honest, we are all going to that one.

5:00pm    Sadnah with Roni Kornblum Falk

6:00pm    Aruchat Erev:  Corned Beef and Cabbage, with a Chinuch lesson from Sam Usem on the Judaic-American influence to switch from Bacon to Corned Beef for this traditional Irish meal.  (p.s. It’s true).

7:00pm    Evening Program:  Riverdance with Andrew Zidel

9:00pm    Laila Tov and Staff Meeting

Sunday:

Planning in progress by Nicole Rabinowitz, please email all suggestions to her.

Thank you and have a safe and enjoyable St. Patrick’s Day.

Hag Sameach and Shabbat Shalom!

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Making a Difference

March 10, 2011 by Herzl Camp Admin, under General Posts, Herzl, Beyond Webster.

By Alex Locke

As many of us know, being a staff member at Herzl Camp is one of the greatest things you can ever do.  Not only are you giving back to the place that you likely spent several summers as a camper, but you are also making a difference in the life of a Jewish child.  Whether we admit it or not, most people would love to know if they’ve made an impact on one of their campers.  Well, here is your chance.  I would like it if every single person who is reading this blog were to make a comment on your favorite staff member ever.  It could be your counselor, ozo, Mama/Papa, song leader, program director, tripper, rosh sport, etc.  If anyone made a difference in your life, or an impact on you as a camper, this is your chance now to tell them.

I will start.  While I had great bunk staff, program directors, and others, my favorite would have to be my Mama Ozo, Ann (Fiterman) Miller.  For those who know her, Ann is one-of-a-kind.  She is easily one of the funniest people I have ever met, she is a “dugmah” in every sense of the word, she is positive, and overall made me want to be a good staff member.  Ann was always someone that could put a smile on the face of an upset camper and you could not help feel her ruach when you were near her.  And if you ever said “Announcement” (I typed it, I did not say it out loud), Ann would treat you to a VERY long and full rendition of the song.  Most people don’t even know how long that full version really is.

Editor’s Note: I have no idea how the song really goes.  I know that it is much longer than this version.

Ann, if you’re out there, perhaps would you be willing to record a similar video on how to sing the song the right way, and we’ll post it to the blog?

In my professional career, when asked about leadership, I often think back to Ann and the example she set, and frequently think of her abilities and her ways of motivation.  So, Ann… thank you for being an incredible staff member for me, and for many others!

Okay, here is your chance.  I highly encourage every person reading this to participate.  Leave a comment and tell us who your favorite staff member is.  If you care to, give us some details.  If not, at least just write the person’s name.  Give them the recognition you have always wanted to, by saying, “You were my favorite Herzl Camp staff member,” because even in the “real world,” that still means a lot!

Editor’s note: This is reminiscent of that night during every staff week — a great tradition.  Don’t be shy, people love hearing that they’re loved!

6 Comments

How Being a Counselor at Herzl Has Helped Me As A Parent

March 6, 2011 by Herzl Camp Admin, under General Posts, Letters from Alumni.

By Robyn Badiner Bedil

It’s been 11 years since I’ve been on staff at Herzl (when did I get so old!), but those experiences continue to impact on my life on a daily basis.  I like to think that I still possess many of the traits that made me the fun-loving, ruach intense counselor that I was back then, but life certainly has changed.  Instead of residing in a simple wood cabin with 10+ girls in Webster, Wisconsin, I now live in the suburbs of New York with my husband, my almost 3-year old daughter Emma and we will welcome baby boy into our family this coming May.  On the surface, the two situations seem quite different, but I have found that my days of being a counselor at Herzl have helped me tremendously as a parent.  It seems like I get a new Facebook message every day about somebody that I was an ozo or on staff with in the late 90s that has become a mom or dad and I wanted to share a few of the lessons that I learned as a Herzl staff member have shaped me as a parent.

Always be ready to go with energy and excitement (even when you may not feel like it)
I never got enough sleep as a Herzl staff member.  I remember the dreadful feeling of having your alarm go off at [7am] after only turning out the lights a few hours earlier.  It was a challenge to pry open your eyes, let alone think about the campers that were waiting on the other side of the paper thin wall for you to jump start their day.  But to those campers, they couldn’t wait to see what amazing thing you had in store for them.  It didn’t matter how you felt, you had to get out there and be fabulous.  Being a parent feels exactly the same way.  When I hear Emma’s footsteps next to my bed at 6am on a Saturday morning (and no – there are no cinnamon rolls waiting downstairs for me), my first thought of “just five more minutes” is quickly taken over by my desire to get up, put on a big smile, and get the day going with excitement and energy.

Instill a love and excitement for Judaism as part of everyday life
One of the most important long-term takeaways from Herzl camp is an appreciation for Judaism.  Because Judaism is key part of everyday life at camp, I clearly remember the Jewish songs, traditions, and prayers that I learned and lived at Herzl, but if you ask me to remember anything from my years at hebrew school, I’m at a loss.  I am hopeful that establishing traditions and proactively living a Jewish life will instill this same appreciation in my children.  Ever since Emma was born, my husband and I have made a concerted effort to have a Shabbat dinner every Friday night.  We’re both working parents so our Shabbat dinner deviates from the traditional Matzah ball soup, chicken and potatoes that we all grew to love at Herzl (instead it usually consists of pizza, candles, grape juice, and Challah), but its a special time for us to be together, to think about the week, and to say the blessings.  I love that Emma now leads us in the prayers over the candles and Challah.  In fact, she has been known to get a bit confused sometimes and start reciting the blessing over the Shabbat candles at birthday parties when a big cake with candles comes out.

Feel free to be silly and re-experience being a kid
Where in the world (besides Herzl) can a person act like a total nut (think Chartreuse Buzzards, Chugim Follies, or almost any ruach session) and be admired for it? The best counselors at Herzl were the ones who got involved in whatever it was that the campers were doing – not the ones that sat on the sidelines during chugim or Tzrif time.  The key to having fun as a staff member was to throw yourself into the activities and to act like a kid yourself.  One of the best aspects of being a parent is getting to re-experience some of the joys of childhood.  Becoming engaged and acting like a kid allows you to have a lot of fun yourself.  I’m not one of the mommies that sits on the park bench talking on her cell phone while the kids are playing.  Instead, you will find me playing with the kids … going down the slide, running up and down the fields, and singing all of the silly songs.  (Note – I understand that in a few years Emma will find this behavior very un-cool so I don’t plan to do this forever).

Sing the Shem’a Before Bedtime
As a camper, I had the pleasure of having Flip Frisch as my Maba counselor before her rise to ruach leader stardom.  That meant that every night was a lights out song session with the master and we all loved hearing her sing the Shem’a to us before peacefully falling asleep.  Although I don’t have Flip’s voice, I always sang the Shem’a to my campers before heading out for the night and I know that years later, many of them still remember those moments.  When I became a parent, I decided to incorporate this tradition into our family and from the day that Emma was born, she has heard the soothing words and beautiful melody of the Shem’a before going to sleep.  She now loves to sing the Shem’a with me and it is a beautiful bedtime ritual that I hope will stay with us for many many years.

As a counselor at Herzl, you needed to adapt your style as the summer progressed because the needs of the youngest campers in the 1st session were quite different from those of the teenagers that filled the camp during 3rd session.  In the same way, each year of parenting brings new challenges but I know that my Herzl experiences will continue to help me grow and evolve as a parent.  I look forward to a day not too far in the future when Emma will be a Herzl camper and begin to experience some of this magic for herself (thanks to her Auntie Alisa “Weesie” Badiner, Emma already now knows the Herzl song by heart).

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What a Difference a Decade (or Two) Makes

March 3, 2011 by Herzl Camp Admin, under General Posts, Letters from Staff, Where Are They Now.

By: Anna “Neener” Simon and Flip “Flip” Frisch
Ghostwriter: Stacy (Kaplan) Simon

Editor’s Note:  Anna Simon and Flip Frisch became friends in the mid-’80s when they discovered they were the only girls their age who actually wore their tie-dye shirts at home. If you don’t know the names of these legends of legends, you were either born in the 1960s or earlier, or the 1990s or later.  That, or you need to lay off the lem-lem.

Anna was a longtime camper, Ozo, Staff Member, Mama Ozo, Head Counselor (thrice, I believe), and as of recently, a full time staff member for Herzl.  Her last summer at camp was 1997, as Camp Director.  In short, there aren’t many people with a stronger tie to camp than Anna.

Flip was at camp for 19 summers.  From Amanutie Cutie, to her most prominent role as Song Director, nobody had a bigger impact on camp for the last quarter of its existence than Flip.  Her last summer was in 2002 as Teva Director.

When 20 and 30 somethings think of Camp, they invariably picture Flip on her guitar Friday Night.  If you ask Flip about her most memorable time at camp, she’ll tell you that it was when she was live-in for the best N’Divim Group in the history of camp (1993).

Stacy the ghostwriter was Mama Ozo for the finest Ozo Group in the history of camp.  She and her husband Jesse met at camp and have three future Chartreuse Buzzards.

This summer, along with Anna’s son Zach and Flip’s daughter Scout, they will both return to camp – Anna will be in charge of Community Relations, and Flip will serve as a Scholar-in-Residence. They hope to bunk together. If Anna requests Zach and Flip, Flip requests Anna and Scout, and Scout requests Flip and Zach, do you think they’ll end up in the same cabin?

When we compare their conversations from the last time these two worked at camp together to today, it might sound like this:

Anna then: “If we both bring up 4 white outfits for Shabbat, we can switch sometime during the summer and then we won’t ever have to wear the same thing twice.”

Anna now: “No one will notice if I wear the same outfit every Shabbat, right?

_______________

Anna then: “I’m tired, but I don’t want to go to sleep and miss anything.”

Flip then: “Can’t we just sleep when camp is over?”

Anna now: “I’m tired. Let’s go to sleep.”

Flip now: “Let’s just try to stay awake until 8 this time, okay?”

_______________

Flip then: “Marlene and Shelley are fun, but they’re so old! They’ve got to be at least, what, 30?

Flip now: “Hi, new Shelley.”

Anna now: “Hi, new Marlene.”

_______________

Flip then: “Don’t walk in front of me, I may not follow, don’t walk behind me, I may not lead. Just walk beside me and be my friend.”

Flip now: “Go ahead and walk in front of me. I have no idea where this caravan is supposed to go.”

_______________

Anna now: “Hey, the new doctor is my old camper!”

_______________

Flip then: “Can I borrow your boom box to use during our flag song?”

Flip now: “Can I borrow Zach’s old high chair for Scout to use at camp?”

_______________

Anna then: “Cabin 9 is so great – it’s small and cozy, and just 88 steps from the Central Haks. You can sleep late and run to flag-raising just in time for Oh Canada.”

Anna now: “Whoa.”

_______________
Flip then: “I wonder if I should use Sun-In to make my hair look cool.”

Flip now: “I wonder if I should wash that grey right out of my hair.”

_______________

Anna then: “I hope there’s a cute boy in Amanut!”

Anna now: “Boy, it’s cute how Zach enjoys Amanut.”

_______________

Flip then: “Let’s swim the lake! Let’s see who can jump farther off the floating dock! Let’s try the new rock climbing wall and then ride our bikes around in the woods!”

Flip now: “Ow. My back.”

_______________

Anna then: “I cannot believe we get to spend another summer together at Camp! It’s the best place on the planet! Let’s sign up to sit together for Shabbat. And go star gazing! And eat grilled cheese and tomato soup! Oh, and just so you know, I’m going to go to great lengths to avoid taking the swim test.”

Flip then: “I know. And I don’t ever want to grow up and leave camp and have to get a real job.”

Anna now: “Some things never change.”

_______________
Flip’s packing list then:
baby bottle for Kool-Aid
flashlight
baby oil
two-piece bathing suit
alarm clock
shorts I can wear on a bike
book of favorite poems and quotes

Flip’s packing list now:
baby bottle for actual baby
nightlight
SPF 30
skirted bathing suit
two year-old
shorts i can wear in a golfcart
goodnight moon

Editor’s Note: For those who read the blog who are lucky enough to be at camp this summer, make it a point to introduce yourselves to these old ladies.  I hope I’m going to that one!

Shabbat Shalom!

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New Celebrity, Old Staff Look-Alike

February 24, 2011 by Herzl Camp Admin, under General Posts.

By Danny Soshnik

That’s right, an old Saturday Night Dinner Game makes its electronic debut. In truth, I don’t when the Celebrity Look-Alike game began, or even if it still goes on.  But in my day, the all-veggie dinner included a side of comic relief, usually at the expense of the staff.

In the 1990s, there were some look-alikes that were as predictable as the jokes in 12 Gates.  Jason Grais = George Castanza. Dan Parsow = Yoda.  Those are the obvious ones.

Like everything else at camp, I loved this tradition because it was predictable and reliable. Even if we had a tough time coming up with new matches, it never got old to me.

The other day, I was was watching an ESPN interview with Adrian Gonzalez, star first baseman who just got signed by the Boston Red Sox.  I knew I’d seen him before.  I paused my DVR and said, I know that guy!

Well, not really.  But I did use to work on staff with his look alike.  Now, I haven’t been in contact with him since 1998 or 1999.  I hope it is ok — I ripped his picture off of a phenomenal video that Jesse Zimmerman put together with the 1998 staff mugshots (which I don’t remember taking). This is worth watching — just hit play and enjoy.

Anyway, who does Adrian Gonzalez look like?

This guy?

David Adelman — if you play baseball as similarly as you look to Adrian Gonzalez, you can afford to finish off the Capital Campaign yourself.

And for all the loyal readers…if you have ever wanted to contribute to the blog but didn’t know how, send me a picture and celebrity look-alike.

Herzl may lay claim to Bob Dylan, Bryan Greenberg, and Debbie Friedman as its famous alumni. But with the look-alike game, we can claim to resemble far more famous people.

Shabbat Shalom!

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IM TIRTZU…………………

February 20, 2011 by Herzl Camp Admin, under General Posts.

By Lois Amdurski Butwin

Did you know that the beloved tune to the “ Im tirtzu…..” that we sing at Herzl was written by Debbie Friedman? Yes, THE Debbie Friedman!

Back in the day, during the early to mid 60’s, there were 2-3 girls hired as babysitters for Hanhalah with young children, volunteer doctors’ children, etc. In 1967 or 1968, Debbie Friedman was one of those babysitters. I have no idea what the criteria were for choosing Ozrim at that time or even how many applicants there may have been each year. What I do know is that Debbie Friedman, THE Debbie Friedman, was not chosen to be an Ozeret and
was hired as a babysitter instead. OY!!!! I sure am glad I was Ozo age back then and didn’t even understand what the Board of Directors did, let alone how ozrim, staff, etc. were selected.

Sadly, Debbie Friedman, THE Debbie Friedman passed away last month. I got a call from my step-sister in LA asking me if I thought she was the same Debbie she remembered from Herzl in the 60’s. Unfortunately, she was. Having known Debbie in her babysitting days at camp, I was very excited when she began her career as a songwriter, singer and inspiration to so many people during her lifetime. I think her first album was “Sing Unto God.” When I was Mama Ozo in 1973, I had the vinyl album, and we sang some of those songs as part of our Ozo Shabbat that summer. It was a spiritual experience for everyone.  Some of the campers and staff were familiar with the music from their home synagogues and others experienced Debbie’s music for the first time at Herzl.

Debbie was a very friendly, spirited and warm person. Whenever she performed in the Twin Cities, I went to the concerts. I brought my children when they were younger or went with friends and my husband. Debbie always had an extra minute before she left the venue to greet family and friends from when she had lived here. She had the ability to make each person feel important and special and that she was genuinely happy to see them again. I made sure to let her know that “her” Im Tirtzu is what was sung and loved at Herzl now. She lit up and thanked me for letting her know. Even though she was not accepted as an ozo way back when (Editor’s note: That’s akin to Michael Jordan’s coach cutting him from his freshman basketball team, isn’t it?  As Julia Roberts said in Pretty Woman, “Big Mistake.  Huge”), she did have a soft spot in her very big heart for Machaneh Herzl.

Im Tirtzu Ain Zo Agadah, if you will it, it is no dream. Debbie’s spirit will live on in all of our hearts and minds whenever we sing prayers to the tunes she created.
Shalom, my friend.

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The New Kid on the Block

February 16, 2011 by Herzl Camp Admin, under General Posts, Letters from Staff.

By Mike Neiman

That’s right.  That crazy popular beloved icon of the nineties is back.  Oh sure, it was a different era and the tune only fell on ears of an older generation   … but the comeback has begun, and already making another huge impact on a very familiar Block.

In the old days, this Kid was just a good old boy Hangin’ Tough.   Goofing around, enjoying the change in culture surrounding him, just waiting for a bright new star to break out.  And You Got it, The Right Stuff is what he had from the very beginning.  Only it didn’t stop there – every year the legend of this New Kid grew and grew.  As the mid 90s went on, his popularity developed alongside his age and maturity.  And so year after year, Step by Step, he made his way up the ranks.  From one hit to the next he moved up the charts, eventually ended this career at the very top.  And even though he was at the pinnacle of his career (and where so many others had dreamed of saying they got to do), if you asked him, he’d say “This One’s For the Children”.

And then into the shadows he departed.  The time to move on had come.

But once you’re a star, its hard to stay away.  So after a short hiatus, he thought to himself, “Let’s Try it Again.”  Only this time, it’s not for another Magic Summer Tour.  No, now it is about more than just the Summertime.  It is time to Face the Music from here on out – today, Tonight, tomorrow … this Kid is back in full swing and ready for the world to hear what he has to say once again!

Please join me in welcoming the much-anticipated comeback of the New Kid on the Block back to the spotlight and stage.  Ladies and Gentlemen, forget about Donnie, Danny, Jordan, Joey, and Jonathan…

Well, ok, Danny.  But not that Danny.

In the most celebrated move of his career to date, Mr. Ruach is back and better than ever.  It is my pleasure to introduce back to you the newest member of the Herzl Board of Directors and the new Herzl Alumni Blog Manager … Mr. Danny Soshnik!

Please Don’t Go Girl.

Shabbat Shalom!

Editor’s Note: Let’s give Mike Neiman a hearty Yasher Koach for making this blog what it is  — a reliably interesting, fun place for alumni to relive their Herzl twice a week.  Big shoes to fill here.  Please feel free to let me know what you’d like to see out of the blog at soshnik@gmail.com.

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But it won’t be the same Herzl…

February 10, 2011 by Herzl Camp Admin, under General Posts.

By Debra (Fiterman) Arbit

I was recently at a colleague’s home for dinner who has a son currently on staff at Herzl. Naturally, all dinner conversation was consumed with talk of camp; staff hirings, schtick, ruach…the works.  And as with most conversations about Herzl in 2010 and 2011, we started talking about the massive renovation and construction going on at camp.

“Herzl won’t be the same without the old cabins,” the guy said.  “Campers will never know what it is like to sweat through your shirt during minucha or be able to read graffiti on the wall.  They will never know a cabin with a loose floor board or with a counselor’s room that is petitioned off by a bed sheet.”

I thought about what he said and could not help but hear my own voice in his.  Only that voice was from about ten years ago when the new chadar was being built.  I clearly remember thinking “But campers will never be sweating profusely into their tomato soup?  How will ruach sessions even happen in air conditioning?  No more campers will trip on that uneven part of the chadar floor while holding a tray of tuna melts.  Surely, camp will never be the same.”

Well, I went back to camp this past summer for the first time in a long while as a board member and I have to say: Camp is still the same.  Sure, things have changed.  But camp has not…and never will.

So while I can completely understand this new counselor’s concern, I have no worries.  Because no matter how many cabins we construct, chadars we knock down, tennis courts we re-pave or (gasp!) Ozo Mos we rebuild, Herzl camp will always  be Herzl Camp.

Shabbat Shalom!

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R.I.P. Old Chadar

January 28, 2011 by Herzl Camp Admin, under General Posts.

By Aiden Pink

Last month, when I was in town from college, I drove up to Herzl with a dozen or so other madrichim as part of “Wacky Wednesday” staff training. When I walked around camp, I was struck by how things looked pretty much the same as it does during the summer, even under two feet of snow and a giant field where the Old Chadar and Tzrifim 19-22 used to be.* Everything seemed pretty normal. Of course, “normal” is all relative.

Two summers ago, my dad came up for Visitor’s Day for the first time since he was on staff in the early 80s. I gave him a tour, but my dad was really confused. The Marp was now at the north end of camp, the old Mercaz was abandoned, the Teva overnight site was in a completely different spot, there were flagpoles where the Central Haks once stood – everything was different! The landmarks that defined his summers as a child and teen no longer existed. Even so, he still felt at home, because the traditions and the ruach, those ineffable qualities that makes Machaneh what it is, are still alive and well.

Last summer, most of the “classic” tzrifim were replaced. Those cramped, dirty, sweltering, beautiful, history-laden cabins had connected campers to the past. It seemed like every cabin had “Bobby Zimmerman” written somewhere on the walls (they were fake signatures, of course – I wrote one myself on one occasion). One of my friends when I was a camper in Ha’atid boasted of sleeping in the same bed – back right corner, top bunk, Tzrif 9 – as his father. With the changes already in place last summer, I wasn’t sure that camp would be or feel the same with the new tzrifim. But the ruach persisted, and camp stayed shticky, and the summer was a resounding success. Some campers even took advantage of their new digs and actually slept.

Every year, like a phoenix, Herzl reinvents itself but preserves its identity. Legendary staff members “retire” and enter the real world, and new Ozrim join the ranks. Buildings are built and demolished, campers rise from Taste to Teva, new chugim are created and fall out of fashion. The only constants are the ruach and the traditions. We still do Shabbas Caravan, but now the path is a little bit longer. We still do Israeli dancing, but now the circles are a little bit bigger. We still do 12 Gates, but now the microphones are a little bit louder.

When I toured camp a few weeks ago, it barely registered that the Old Chadar was gone. Of course, my first year at camp was 2001, so I never ate in the Old Chadar. But it was my Mo in Nisiya, and it was the site of my great Bikkurim floor hockey triumph. And, of course, I know the Rosemary story.**

Even so, I view the demolition as an opportunity  rather than a tragic loss. The 2011 staff will think up new traditions and chugim that will take place in the space, and Herzl Camp will continue to thrive and grow. I’m sure my kids will be confused when I tell them that people used to eat where the Quidditch field now is, just like I was confused when my dad said he used to poop in what is now the flag circle. Hearing the old stories will remind them, and us, that what is most important and special about Herzl is what stays constant.

*The only “classic” cabin still standing is Tzrif 18, which makes it even creepier than it already was.

**By the way, Rosemary has officially moved into Tzrif 18. Maybe a change of scenery will allow her to move on.

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Herzl Parents Need Regalia too!

January 21, 2011 by Herzl Camp Admin, under General Posts.

3 Comments

Sidebar Widgets New and Improved!

January 17, 2011 by Herzl Camp Admin, under General Posts.

By Mike Neiman

Ok, I have recently come to the realization that very few of you probably leverage the tools on the sidebar of this blog.  In fact, if I had to guess, most people get their blog updates via RSS or Reader feeds these days and rarely make it to the actual blog site.  Is that bad?  No way!

In fact, these are great ways to stay technologically ahead of the curve … though it means we get less measurable traffic to the actual page.  And since no one doubts the usefulness and pleasure of this blog to all Herzl Camp Alumni, we will let the low “hit” numbers of our site analytics slide …

However, I KNOW that most people don’t use the sidebar widgets … because, frankly, some of them were not working!  Long geeky story short, our codeblock in the blog had some of the functionality pointing to an old address and therefore caused issues such as tags, comments, and searches from working correctly.  Did you try putting your name in the search box to see if you’ve been mentioned?  If you did, you probably got an error page.

But fret not, schmutzbusters, all your IT issues should now be resolved!  All pages have been updated with consistent tags of alumni mentioned, and you can accurately search for yourself in the text box on the right side of the page.  Or, even better, check out the new widget at the bottom of the sidebar!  Now you can go right to the “Alumni Mentioned” section and click on your name to see who mentioned in you.  The bigger your name, the more times you have been mentioned in this blogosphere.  Who doesn’t love a little popularity recognition … right?!

Happy Reading!

P.S.  If you have trouble viewing the site cleanly, please leave a comment explaining which type of browser is having issues so we can troubleshoot.  I know this has been a problem in the past.  Thanks!

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