Archive for 'Where Are They Now'
Herzl Campers Unite…in Morocco!
January 27, 2012 by Herzl Camp Admin, under General Posts, Herzl, Beyond Webster, Letters from Staff, Where Are They Now.
Yonatan Dotan, Sam Kaplan and Jonathan Edelman in Rabat, Morocco
By: Jonathan Edelman
Herzl Camp staff members Jonathan Edelman and Yonatan Dotan are living in Israel for the year while participating in the KIVUNIM program. KIVUNIM, a program in international Jewish education, provides an intensive academic and experiential encounter with Middle Eastern, North African, Asian and European cultures.
This morning we had a unique and historic privilege. Because of KIVUNIM’s very special relationship with Morocco, we were invited to conduct a private Jewish memorial service at the tombs of King Mohammed V and his son, King Hassan II. As few know, Mohammed V through his courageous confrontation with the Vichy French was responsible for saving the lives of the 250-300,000 Jews of Morocco. I was asked to be the photographer of this event where the president of the community of Rabat and the President of the Jewish community. Outside the tomb, I asked a local guard how often people get to enter the tomb. He told me that some Moroccans spend their entire lives living in the country and never set foot near the tomb. It was truly an honor.
Afterwards, we made our way to the home of the American Ambassador to Morocco, the Honorable Samuel Kaplan and his wife Sylvia (Yes, Jewish Americans serving in an Arab country!). I did some research about Mr. Kaplan ahead of time and found out he is a Jew from Minneapolis. I figured I’d whip out my Jewish geography knowledge and see what we had in common. Turns out the US Ambassador was a ‘50-53 Herzl Camper! It was very fun comparing our experiences at the camp.
We then had a quick picnic lunch and headed up in the mountains to the city of Ifrane for a visit to the campus of the Al Akhawayn University and the home of the original Mimouna Club in Morocco. Here we were guests of Elmehdi Boudra, this unique college student who spearheaded the creation of the club and worked together with KIVUNIM to create and design the first conference on the Holocaust in the Arab World this past September. I was truly amazed at the beauty of this campus. We had a tour of the campus, a series of discussions with these very special Arab students, a vegetarian dinner and then an evening program before heading back to our hotel. The future of relations between Jews and Arabs was clearly being formed right here in Ifrane…there is a lot going on here.
We were also lucky enough to watch the Morocco vs. Tunisia Fütbol match with the students.
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Ayze Yofi, Ayze Yofi! Ya la la la la la la!
November 18, 2011 by Herzl Camp Admin, under Herzl, Beyond Webster, Letters from Staff, Where Are They Now.
By: Anna Simon
Hey Holly Guncheon - We're so proud of you! (Photos: Shana Sureck)
This week, I attended the 2011 Grinspoon Institute Annual Conference in Springfield, MA with our board president Sue Roether, president-elect Amy Friedman and Development Director Holly Guncheon. It was an incredible conference where we had the opportunity to network with many other camp staff and volunteers from around the country. Our sessions covered everything from alumni outreach and annual campaigns to social media and marketing. Throughout the conference, we discovered how the deep connection to Herzl Camp stretches far beyond what we would expect.
Larry Moses, Senior Philanthropic Advisor for the Wexner Foundation, cited Herzl Camp in his keynote address to over 400 camp professionals and lay leaders, as having fostered a love of Judaism and life long learning for Rabbi Elka Abrahamson, one of his mentors.
One of the sessions I attended was on the topic of Strategic Blogging and led by, Debra Askanase – who runs the award-winning blog www.communityorganizer20.com. Her presentation featured our own Herzl Camp blog as an example of successful use of guest writers. So, kudos to everyone who has joined us in our blogging efforts! And, thank you all for partnering with us!
When I travel, I end up playing “Jewish Geography” to see whom I may know in common with someone I meet. However, I think I may end up changing that game to “Herzl Geography” as it seems I run into a few Herzl Alumni everywhere I go. (Side note: When we were at Universal Studios Islands of Adventure with our family a few weeks ago, we were waiting in line for the Harry Potter ride and turned around to see someone wearing a Herzl sweatshirt…It was my son’s cabinmate from this past summer). Herzl Alumni Sarah (Raful) Whinston, Todd Zeff and Noah Allen were all in attendance at the conference. It was great to reconnect and reminisce with all of them! Just when I thought we found all of our Herzl connections…I walked out of my last session and a woman pulled me aside and told me her husband went to Herzl in the 1970s. Then, a woman who works for Ramah told Amy Friedman that her mother (who now lives in Israel) went to Herzl as well.
And, while all these folks have current connections to other Jewish camps, it’s very clear that they have a deep and meaningful connection to the magic of Herzl. Someone else pulled me aside to say that there was something about Herzl alumni that they couldn’t put their finger on. Something very powerful and very special that seemed to be unique in the camping world. Of course, upon hearing that, I could not have been more proud to be a part of Herzl Camp and all that we do. Incidentally, we also discovered later on that the blogging facilitator, Debra Askanase, too, has ties to Herzl Camp.
The last, but most exciting, thing I want to share is about the Grinspoon Awards. This year, Holly Guncheon was presented with the Outstanding Development Professional of the year award. This award is presented to a development professional who has made a significant impact on a Jewish overnight summer camp’s long-term vitality and sustainability through increased cultivation, solicitation and/or stewardship efforts. We are so proud of Holly and are thrilled that the Grinspoon Institute honored her with this award. It is well deserved!
Shabbat Shalom!
About the Grinspoon Institute:
The Grinspoon Institute for Jewish Philanthropy is a program of the Harold Grinspoon Foundation. Its vision is to significantly enhance the long-term effectiveness of nonprofit overnight camps and other organizations that engage young people in meaningful Jewish cultural and educational experiences. The goal of the Grinspoon Institute is to guide these camps to become strategic and self-sustaining by providing coaching and consulting services along with technology assistance and a series of matching grant challenges. The Institute enhances its offerings with additional services such as conferences, professional training, webinars, the Create a Jewish Legacy Program, Technology Program and more.
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99 Ozrim Raise Phunds for Herzl
July 22, 2011 by Herzl Camp Admin, under Where Are They Now.
By: Danny Soshnik
This post is part “where are they now” and part “look at something cool that I can do for camp”.
A few weeks ago, I got an email from Phil Block, one of my Ozrim from when I was Papa in 1999. He was offering me and our fellow Ozrim a great opportunity — we could sponsor a Shabbat lunch meal this summer at camp. I thought to myself, “Self, chicken nuggets aren’t cheap. This is an expensive proposition.”
However, as I read more, I learned that Phil, along with Neal Mintz, had launched a website to facilitate this fund raising goal. All the 1999 Ozrim had to raise IN TOTAL was $500. I could pledge whatever I wanted, starting at $1.
Throw in the fact that Phil also offered to eat 20 nuggets in 5 minutes and video tape it for those who contributed $, and it was an easy decision. The 1999 Ozrim successfully raised $500 and will be sponsoring a lunch at camp this summer on Shabbat. How cool is that? You can check out the details here.
https://phundraiser.com/promotion/promotion/view/id/177
So I got to thinking…I’ll bet there are a lot of readers out there who would like to give to Herzl in various ways, but don’t always have the financial means to do so alone.
I suggest you check out www.phundraiser.com, put on your creative hat, and start making things happen at Machaneh Paradise. You’ll be supporting a great camp as well as the business endeavor of two esteemed alumni. All you need is an idea and the ability to spread the word to your friends.
If you’re motivated but uncreative, contact Holly in the Herzl office. I’m sure she can come up with some great creative ideas for you.
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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?
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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!”
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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?”
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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.”
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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.”
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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.”
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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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Where Are They Now: David Waller
January 9, 2011 by Herzl Camp Admin, under Where Are They Now.
By David Waller
It is usually around this time every year that I wonder how I will be spending summer. For the last 5 years (Yes 5 years, I enjoyed school so much I took a victory lap), I would always come home during winter break and stop into the Herzl Office for a meeting with Anne to figure out what I could be possibly doing next.
I’ve done pretty much all you can imagine in terms of jobs at camp, including: bunk staff, rosh rock, outdoor activities coordinator, rosh sport and Tzofim, Noar, and Kadimah Program Director. Going into last summer, I honestly thought that it would be my last considering I had just recently graduated from college and would be looking to move onto into the next phase of my life. After spending the past 6 summers on staff, I really thought I knew and understand all the ins and outs of running a summer camp. Boy was I wrong.
For the past couple of months, I have been working in the office in St. Louis Park and have really been exposed to a much different side of camp then what people see over the course of the summer. I used to never think about how programs got assigned to certain cabin groups or that each year the budget is different from program to program. These are things that they typical summer staff member does not think about, or even need to know about, to be completely honest.
One thing that really sticks out for me in terms of bettering myself for later down the line, is that working in the office during the offseason has really made me look closer at the small things.
I came to realize that many programs or events can be successful with good planning, but the only way for them to be great is to make sure all the small things get worked out. Along with the small things, the only way to really make sure you get all the details worked out is by looking at the big picture. You have to be able to see the situation from different sides, for example being able to look at a situation from both the camper, staff and Hanhallah view points. All of which are different, but each very important for a program to run smoothly and safely.
To wrap things up, being able to see the inner workings of how Herzl Camp runs has really made me appreciate the work that everyone puts in year-round. All that work put in by Anne, Drea, Gary, Holly, and Dale really makes everyone else’s jobs that much easier. So if you haven’t told them how much you appreciate the work they do, make sure you do so!
Shavua Tov!
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Where Are They Now: Yossi Kakou
December 2, 2010 by Herzl Camp Admin, under Where Are They Now.
By Yossi Kakou
Before I start … a short summary of what I have been doing. Since December 2008, I have been in Yeshiva Ohr Somayach in Jerusalem. I came on a three week winter break trip, and decided it was more beneficial in the long run for me, and my future family and community, if I took a break from college, and learned what it means to be a Jew. The past two years have been a quest to fill myself with as much knowledge of the Torah as I can, and to deeply embed within myself Jewish values, laws, and traditions, to influence my thought, speech, and deed, and to carry with me my whole life.
I have been asked to write about Where I am Today, but the more important question is how camp helped me get to there.
So here goes…
Funny faces have meaning too.
Just a moment of effort has the ability to change a mood, a day, a summer, a life.
We say it, we think it, but few have the mindset to put it into reality.
We set our sights big- “WATER BALLOON WATERMELON CAMPFIRE LIGHTS OUT EXTRAVAGANZA”.
We want the Front page of the “Herzl Times” (so to speak) to have our picture on it with the Heading “greatest evening program ever- 3 counselors injured, 2 fires put out – made possible by so and So Friedmanburger, the counselor that never stops.”
We sometimes forget – the smile, the well timed silly face, the patient response, and the policy shtick, that extra few words with the scared camper- It’s the “little” Things that bear the fruit of a great summer in a camper’s world.
Pursuing a life of Torah and Mitzvoth requires that same sensitivity to “seemingly insignificant actions” or “S-I-A”, a phrase I have just coined….. On the spot….. Right now… (See…. still got shtick running through my blood)!!!
The Mishna (oral law) in Pirkei Avot chapter 2:1 (ethics of the fathers) says “be as scrupulous in performing a minor mitzvah as in a major one, for you do not know the extent of the reward” (for any mitzvah).
Simply put- The Torah tells us to perform every mitzvah with the same amount of love and alacrity. Some seemingly big —- SHABBAT, KOSHER, NOT STEALING, where the importance of their cosmic greatness is obvious…
And some we might look over, like making brachot, or The maleve malke “escorting out the queen” meal I am currently eating right now! (Post Shabbat we are told to eat a meal, to honor the queen that is leaving. (Shabbat being the queen) We welcome Her by singing L’cha Dodi and Kiddush, and we escort her out with Havdalah and Maleve malke, AMAZING, (mostly because you get to eat again).
The Mishna is saying beautiful stuff though- we never know the true impact of our actions….. So do them all with focus and love! Realize the things you do have infinite consequences, and saying a truly focused SHEMA YISRAEL- (ONE LINE!) has spiritual effects on the world that we can not imagine. So to with camp- the tiniest smile or well timed comment can change a persons path forever … 1). you smile at camper, 2) sad camper, because of your smile, gains the confidence he needs, to break out of his shell and ask the kid he doesn’t know to play catch, 3) they become friends, 4) best man at each others wedding, 5) and now their grandkids are playing ball while they watch on reminiscing of the old times, singing circle game together.. ECT. I’m sure you all know of the beautiful picture I am so crudely doodling….
But in case you don’t….
COLOR WARS”…. Is just as important as “waking your campers up in the morning in a creative way” (does anyone still do that?) “HAVING RUACH” could have just as much impact as- “commenting on a camper’s cool t-shirt”
Being a counselor at Herzl Camp really helped me understand this Mishna and try to live it everyday.
Next, a main goal of camp- and arguably the most important- to instill within people a Jewish Identity. To bring Jews together, some of whom don’t know how to read Hebrew, or daven, or really anything about what it means to be a Jew, and to at least instill into people this fact – you are a Jew, and Jews are special. To say a bracha on bread before you eat, to prepare for Shabbat, to teach Jews about Tsha B’av. Kids who have grown up, with really no connection to a rich, beautiful tradition except for Sunday school, which may not leave kids really “happy” about Judaism, have Camp, which in its own special way can ignite in a Jew the feeling of “I’m not like everyone else, I’m a Jew, and I like it! It’s with that introduction to Judaism, that campers are able to explore more into the uniqueness of Judaism by going to Israel, or learning about Judaism in their own communities back home.
Getting to Yeshiva I had this feeling- this unique feeling of being a Jew. Not knowing really much about it, but knowing how nice Shabbat can be, etc. Yeshiva brought Judaism from a summer hobby to an every moment way of life. The candle that was lit by camp with songs like “may the Lord protect, and defend you……” was Ignited for me in Israel- with a much clearer understanding that we are a the chosen people with the unique mission in this world of bringing G-ds presence into it, in every act we do and word we say, which was even more unique then I had ever understood us to be. Camp introduces you to Judaism, but it’s up to the camper, hopefully to ask the right questions and take his or herself to the next step to really knowing what our 3300 year tradition is all about.
I could speak for days about camp and Yeshiva, But l end on this note.
We are all made with our special talents and abilities; they are no coincidences in why some people are better then some things then others. The last, and most important parallel that I realized at camp and has helped me so much in Yeshiva, is that every Jew has his/her own purpose, with his own tools to achieve that purpose. The loud crazy Puchtels were tailor made for….well… being loud and crazy. The amanutie cuties were designed for being arts and crafts specialist under 5 feet tall. And so to with our roles as Jews.
Each Jew has his/her own special gifts that they can use to serve their Creator. And just like a chef wouldn’t be jealous of a painters new paintbrush, because he knows the painter needs it, and its completely unnecessary in the chefs arsenal, so to we have no reason to be jealous of the loud ruachy counselors, or the funny storytelling counselors, because we have our own special gift we can give over, our own special talents that a certain camper needs, that only we can provide, and all the more so in life. We have no reason to be jealous of another’s money, or looks, because that’s what they were given as their tools to serve……. all the tools I need, I’ve been given.