Another Day at Herzl? In Your Dreams!
January 30, 2011 by Herzl Camp Admin, under Letters from Alumni.
By Amy Shapiro
I love waking up and realizing that I just spent all night at Herzl… in my dreams.
If you regularly dream about Herzl – clap once. Some of my most vivid dreams in life are about Herzl Camp and I’m sure other alumni can relate.
Aside from dreams, one thing that can instantly transport me back to Herzl Camp is music. With the untimely passing of Debbie Friedman, I wanted to acknowledge the role that Debbie and music in general has on Herzl Camp. Debbie was a Herzl camper herself and she truly shaped the future of Jewish Camping.
Paging through the Herzl songbooks, so many songs are Debbie Friedman’s. Classic Herzl hits like: “Not by Might, Not By Power”, the Miriam Song, the popular version of the Shema, “May We Be Blessed,” “The Youth Shall See Visions” and so many more.
I believe that Music and Ruach is the lifeblood of Herzl Camp.
Many of my favorite Herzl memories involve music:
- My first Herzl flag song– we sang a cheesy song to “Wouldn’t it be Nice” by the Beach Boys. To this day I can’t hear that song without singing the changed lyrics in my head. “Wouldn’t it be nice if we could wake up and eat our cinnamon rolls in our beds? We could say the same for matza ball soup, except of course we’d spill it on our heads.” Ridiculous, right? But that’s the beauty of flag songs.
- Singing “The Circle Game” on a Friday night, sitting by my counselor who was saying how old she felt because she was older than the last verse of the song. “So the years went by and now the boy is 20…” Twenty did seem so old back then.
- Relaxing in the staff mo on a Friday night listening to Flip Frisch play and sing for us. I always loved hearing the oral surgeon song, bunkbed nights, fire and rain and so many more. Listening to Flip play guitar and sing as a staff member helped us all feel like campers again and I never wanted those song sessions to end.
- Watching my Ozo jump and dance around to music at breakfast. Wondering how she had so much energy and ruach that early in the morning and feeling excited about the prospect of one day being just like her.
- Becoming that staff member dancing around at breakfast. Not caring that I only got five hours of sleep and focused on having fun with my campers.
- Herzl Camp musicals. I was in three and directed six. Watching the Ulam stage lit up with singing campers is a sight to see. How any campers memorize lines and pull together a production in a few short weeks with really only a couple of hours a day to work on it is a miracle!
- The first 20 minutes of being at camp each session. As a camper, running through the tunnel into the Ulam and feeling so excited by all the excited singing counselors. As a staff member, watching the buses pull up, starting to sing and not stopping until everyone is ready to hear about their cabins.
I could list so many more favorite Herzl music memories, but I will stop here. You can go back to camp any time you want. Through music or in your dreams.
What’s your favorite Herzl music memory?
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Herzl Magic Bracket: Final Four!
September 2, 2010 by Herzl Camp Admin, under Uncategorized.
At long last, the blog post you have all waited for. And by “you all” I think I am referring to Neiman, who has been more than patient waiting for me. But I digress. This is the FINAL FOUR.
Months ago, we started with 64 traditions that make Herzl Camp magical to decide which are the most magical. I think any of the original 64 would be good enough to make the final four at the average camp. But at Herzl, we’re talking about the best of the best at the best camp.
There were hard fought battles along the way, but in the end, only four teams could emerge:
Representing the Yama Region:
#2 Bikkurim
In a suprisingly not so close matchup with 12 Gates, Bikkurim advanced. While 12 Gates is relatively new (been around for just over a third of Herzl’s existence) and not universally understood, Bikkurim combines everything good about camp. You have sports, ruach, creativity, and did I say ruach, all wrapped into one event. It is truly the highlight of the summer for many campers, and that is tough to argue with. Bikkurim will face…
…Representing the Vekedma Region:
#1 Shabbos Caravan
The selection committee really blew this one by having Shabbos Caravan and Flag Songs in the same region. One might argue that they really are the same event. In the end, Caravan outed Flag Songs handily. Flag songs are great, but there are other opportunities to ruin an original songwriter’s lyrics with our nonsense throughout the summer. Caravan really is what starts the seperation of Shabbat from the rest of the week. It is magical in every way. While other camps celebrate Shabbat, I cannot imagine many do the queen as much justice as we do.
Picking between these two wonderful traditions will be tough. Can you really picture Herzl without either? I can. It would look like a certain summer camp in SW Missouri. I kid. I kid… In the other matchup we pair the Tzafona Region with the Vanegba Region.
Representing Tzafona:
#3 Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup
This was a hard fought battle with World League, but in the end the sheer happiness that everyone feels when dipping their sandwich into soup exceeds the excitement of World League. Perhaps if our Bikkurim weren’t so special, World League would have advanced, but people may get their “competitive fill” elsewhere. I am surprised that Grilled Cheese went this far, but this camp *is* in Wisconsin.
And finally, representing the Vanegba Region:
#1 Friday Night Song Session
Well, Cindarella’s glass slipper proved not to fit for the South Haks. But just because the slipper didn’t fit, I’d highly recommend wearing shoes, because it is pretty disgusting in there. Friday Night Song Session takes the tranquility that was started at the caravan and continues it through the night. Amy Shapiro put it best: “There is nothing quite like watching the transformation from crying camper with their head down on their first Shabbat because they miss their parents to crying camper or ozo on their last shabbat because they never want to go home!” So true. When I think of all the things I miss about camp, and there are MANY, the Friday Night Song Session is always on the short list.
So there you have it. Classic matchups of a #1 vs #2 seed and a #1 vs #3 seed. I eagerly look forward to your comments and perspective, because this is not how I thought the tournament would play out. So, please comment, vote, argue. Next month we crown a champion!