The Ultimate Song Session Setlist
March 24, 2011 by Herzl Camp Admin, under Top 10 Lists.
By: Aiden Pink
One of my most cherished memories in my years at Herzl Camp was getting to play piano and sing “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” during Song Session on my last Ozo Shabbat. This is dear to my heart not only because I’m a total ham who loves performing in front of people, but also because Song Session is by far the best part about Herzl, no matter what the Herzl Magic Bracket might say. It has everything that makes Herzl great – continuity with the past, deft mixing of Jewish and secular content, incredibly gifted campers and staff, and little campers sitting a bit too close to fire.
I’ve been lucky enough to have been at Machaneh Herzl through the tenure of six immensely talented Roshei Shira – Flip Frisch, Bryan Grone, Noah Sugarman, Dan “Gordo” Goldschmidt, Jonah Chilton, and Bobby Lewis. Each of them has introduced amazing songs – and in a few cases, wrote new Shironim. So I attempted to the ultimate setlist for Friday Night Song Session, one that would mix Hebrew and English, and older classics with contemporary hits. Bear in mind that my first year of camp was 2001, so I’m not aware of some songs people might have sang back in the day. Also, I’m pretty sure my list would make the lengthiest Song Session ever, but I had an incredibly difficult time cutting it down. I really have a new appreciation for the work that goes into essentially creating a concert every week. Anyway, without further ado, here are my choices.
- “Mitachat Lashamayim” by David Broza. A good, solid pick to start the Song Session, with an added bonus of being easily mashup-able. By the way, look up the English translation to the lyrics; you’ll be surprised to find out that all this time you’ve essentially been singing the Hebrew version of Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get it On.”
- “Fire and Rain” by James Taylor. One of my favorites, for no other reason than substituting “Moses” for “Jesus” in the third verse.
- “Waste” by Phish. This one’s not in the book, although for the life of me I can’t understand why. Great guitar solo.
- “Sabbath Prayer” from Fiddler on the Roof. A great duet, and those minor chords are very poignant. This is the second-best song from the best musical ever (the best is “If I Were a Rich Man,” obviously, but that wouldn’t really work on Friday night).
- “Simple Twist of Fate” by Bob Dylan. Yes, I know there are more popular songs by Bobby Z in the canon, but I’m picking this precisely because it’s one of his lesser-known songs. I remember seeing it in the old blue Shironim, but I can’t remember anyone ever playing it. Help me out, alums. I’m really curious: Was it ever sung? Did it sound OK? Any effort to expose campers to obscure Dylan tracks is fine by me.
- “Al Kol Eileh” by Naomi Shemer. Does anyone know why people go “Pshhhhhh” during the chorus? For those who don’t know, the Official Herzl Version™ of this song now has people clapping their hands in air and making a noise like a waterfall. I’ve always wondered who the first guy to do that was. Did everyone at his table give him dirty looks, or think he was crazy? I guess it’s one of those Herzl shticky things.
- “Falling Slowly” by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova. To the best of my knowledge, this has never actually been sung on Friday night. I think that’s a shame. If there’s one Oscar-winning Irish duet about boats that needs to be sung in the Chadar, it’s this one.
- “Ani V’Ata” by Arik Einstein. By the way, it’s about at this point that the Tasters are asleep.
- “Gravity” by John Mayer. This was probably the coolest single song I’ve ever heard at Song Session, sung by Bobby Lewis and Jonathan Alter with dueling guitars on the first Shabbat of 2010. People were snapping so loud at the end of the song, I thought the roof was leaking.
- “In My Life” by the Beatles. This beautiful song about appreciating friends and memories is incredibly meaningful when being sung to campers and staff who don’t see many of their friends 10 months out of the year. I know it gets me every time.
- “The Circle Game” by Joni Mitchell. This narrowly beats out “Cat’s in the Cradle” to win the “song about growing up way to fast” slot, only because the last verse of “Cat’s in the Cradle” is incredibly depressing, and “The Circle Game” ends on a much more hopeful note. Seriously, I don’t want to leave the Chadar ruminating on parental failure – it’s a total downer.
- “Leaving on a Jet Plane” by John Denver. Yes, I’m assuming that this is the last Shabbat of the summer. Make sure you have a box of Kleenex handy.
- “Tfilat HaDerech” by Debbie Friedman. Really, is there any other choice?
Kadimah, stick around for Israeli dancing. Everyone else, back to your tzrifim. What songs would you put on your ultimate Shabbat setlist?
Shabbat Shalom!
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Camp Music in the Real World
December 19, 2010 by Herzl Camp Admin, under Herzl, Beyond Webster.
By Lois Amdurski Butwin
From Day 1, Herzl Camp welcomes music to the daily life of our campers.
Over the years, whatever your age, aren’t there certain songs that automatically bring you back to some event, some person, some activity at camp? When I was a camper back in the “60’s ( I know, how I could I be that old??!!), Peter, Paul and Mary’s “If I had a Hammer” was popular. Camp announcements and wake up were done on a speaker system called the “ramkol(sp?).” Music was often played as a wake up call and sometimes the words were changed to camp words. For instance, the Beatle’s “Yellow Submarine” was sung as “We all live in an orange machaneh, an orange machaneh, an orange machaneh….” To this day, I still think of the camp words whenever I hear that song.
Whenever I am at our synagogue or any other one for that matter, I love when the congregation sings a Hebrew song which I know from my Herzl Days. It can be “Oseh Shalom” or “Ani Maamin” and I always feel proud that I know the song and more importantly that I learned it at Herzl.
Another Peter, Paul and Mary song that has only recently stopped bringing a lump to my throat is “Jet Plane.” My friend, Barb Gutkin” played it for me one year before camp was almost over and I have always loved hearing it. (Todah Rabah to my son, Andy, for giving me the 4 disc set of “The Best of P,P & M, so that I can listen whenever I choose!)
As a counselor, I was once one of the planners of Bikkurim which way back then was a 3 day program with a theme. That year, the names of the teams were from a “Fiddler on the Roof” tune and I still do not know the real words to that song- only the ones we made up for our theme song.
The music industry has undoubtedly benefited over the years, from all of us purchasing the music we loved from our camp days as soon as we returned home to the real world. I know I did that and so did my kids, especially when they were campers. If the music didn’t come from a special camp program then it was the music the counselor played to help wake them up, go to sleep, during minucha, or whenever.
So……………..over the next week, think about the songs that bring back special Herzl memories for you and let the rest of us know what they are. Your memories may help someone else think of that certain friend or experience that was special to them. Shavua Tov!
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Tips for a Successful Ozo Interview
December 9, 2010 by Herzl Camp Admin, under Top 10 Lists.
By Alex Locke
This coming weekend, I will once again be conducting Ozo interviews at the Herzl Office. As we all know, being an Ozo is a big deal, though life certainly does go on if you are not an Ozo. But I digress… this week’s blog post are tips for a successful Ozo interview.
- Be professional. While we are not looking for you to arrive in a suit, it certainly makes a statement when someone takes the interview seriously and looks nice. Think about the image you want to portray while asking to be hired for a job.
- Relax. You are not meeting the President of the United States or the Queen of England. We are just current and former Herzl campers/staff/board members who are trying to get to know you.
- Be passionate. Tell us why you love children, what it is that brings you back to Herzl year after year, and why being an Ozo is so important to you.
- Be yourself. We want to meet YOU… the person who loves Herzl as much as we do. Don’t tell us what we want to hear, but tell us your honest answers.
- Have confidence. We are looking for young adults who can confidently work with children, so don’t second-guess yourself. Be confident and be positive.
- Follow directions. If there is a deadline to get your application in, meet it. If, when you arrive at the office, there is a sign telling you to sit in the chair and wait for us to come get you… sit in the chair and wait. Don’t come strolling into the office.
- Be on time. Did anyone else notice that this is… #7, be on time?!?! Okay sorry, that was a flashback moment. But truly, be on time for your interview. Better yet, be early so that when we are ready to go, you are all set as well.
- Have fun! Herzl Camp is about having fun, so while your interview should be serious, you should also feel free to have fun with us.
And with that, I wish the 2011 Ozrim candidates, good luck! I look forward to meeting all of you!