Everything I’ve learned about Life, I learned at Herzl Camp
May 16, 2010 by Herzl Camp Admin, under What I Learned from Camp.
By Max and Zach Puchtel
Part 6 – In the Old Chadar (1 of 2)
So there we were, Zach and I, about to enter the old chadar during a common Herzl rite of passage: Shabbat afternoon lunch!
We entered, beaming from a fresh victory in Ozo Park where the Ultimate had resembled something more like Calvinball (100. We didn’t know all of the rules back then). The tables were set into four long white rows, and campers and staff were beginning to enter in a mad frenzy to take seats. We had foolishly entered on the North side of the chadar, near the boating side stairs. (101. Doh! 102. Beehives get excited around shabbas) Zach and I always sat near the kitchen on Shabbat afternoon lunch in order to participate in the EVENT, and we had to make it there before the seats were filled. (103. Reasons for sitting next to the kitchen, and the EVENT, shall be explained next time). Now stood an important question: which aisle should we attempt to run down in order to make it there in time?
I asked Zach about aisle #1, to which we looked and he responded, “That won’t do, because we’ll get caught behind that group of female Deevers oodling over a pre-pubescent Charley Rivkin and Reuben Rischall.” (104. They were better pre-testosterone) “Ok, what about aisle #2?” “That won’t work either, Max. Alex Locke, Debra Fiterman, and Natalie Fursetzer have assembled a group of campers to continue working on a flag song that will be sung three weeks from now.” We both looked down aisle #3 and realized immediately that there was some sort of emergency that would block our path.
This was proving to be difficult.
“Max, I think there is a clear path down aisle #4!” “Don’t be fooled, Zach. Aaron Gelperin is standing there, scouting the aisle for small, weak campers which have been separated from the herd.” And aisle #5 was also impossible, as David Bender, years before the discovery of his enormous tongue, was practicing his “quaking”, which sent waves of vibration emanating in all directions, causing people to flee before him. (105. DO IT!)
“Zach, we’re doomed! The seats are filling near the kitchen! We’ll never make it in time!” Zach entered into a state of deep contemplation. With his eyes closed, head tilled down, and fists clenched, he had to solve the riddle. (106. The stakes are always high at Herzl). Emerging from his state of enlightenment, he exclaimed, “I’VE GOT IT, FOLLOW ME!” Back out the door we ran around the outside of the chadar! In what seemed like 3 seconds later, we were sitting at a table adjacent to the kitchen, ready for what lay in store for us.
With us at the table were the masters of the EVENT, Marc Warren, Jesse Simon, David Jurisz, Joey Jaffe, and any other large Herzl people of the 90’s that you can think of. The EVENT was about to begin. There were a lot of big people at our table, but also a lot of necessary little people at the table. For some reason we had stolen 4 extra trays from neighboring tables, and the little people were tightening their shoelaces. This was going to be an EVENT to remember.
To be continued……
(107. If you think you know the identity of the EVENT based on the clues, submit your guess in a comment to this blog post!)
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Herzl Magic Bracket: Round 3, Tzafona Region
March 24, 2010 by Herzl Camp Admin, under Uncategorized.
By Danny Soshnik
It’s march. Spring is in the air. Everyone has brackets filled out, telling all their coworkers, “I had that upset”, intentionally omitting every upset they had that didn’t come to fruiting. Yep, March Madness is good. Who would have thought a #13 could beat a #4 in the first round? Yep, that’s the way it goes (Hazak V’almatz defeats Kitchen Raids in a shocker).
No, we’re not talking about the NCAA; we’re talking about the Herzl Magic Bracket. We’re on the first round of the Tzafona region and we have some fascinating matchups!
1 World League
16 3 AM Wakeup for the Airport Bus
World League is the true Chugim success story. While chugim have come and gone (Yo Mama Drama, anyone?), World League’s immense success is startling. The Chug is celebrating it’s 21st anniversary this year, and I believe it is still on top. The most amazing thing is that the real football league the Chug was named for only lasted 2 years. I was a big fan of the early wakeup for the airport bus, mostly because I was often the cause of the 3 am wakeup. My thought – once camp is over, it’s over. Might as well get on a plane and get home. I always wondered what went on at camp after the bus carrying the most important campers left. In my mind, the rest of camp was in agony. Soshnik’s prediction: World League, no question
8 Speed Letters
9 Overnights
The speed letters were great – a chance to comment on the orangeness of the cabins without having to write anything. As a camper, speed letters were always the first, and usually last, letter I’d send home for the summer. As a counselor, speed letters were plenty entertaining too. Overnights are intense. Just ask Fun Bobby. I was always fond of the overnights when they were off site, and Klugman’s Forty. Situated right on the St. Croix River, that overnight spot was great. I triumphantly threw a rock all the way across the river into Minnesota and thought I was the man. When the cool kids played “spin the flashlight” with the girls in the other tent without me, I realized that I wasn’t. Danny’s prediction: Since overnights aren’t uniquely Herzl, I’ll go with speed letters.
5 Puddle Jumping
12 Dressing up for Saturday Night Dinner
Puddle jumping is amazing fun. I’m always amazing how many people thought the best jumping was along the caravan circle around camp. With all the rocks and gravel, you all but ensure that you’re only going foot first and not going to really land on anything but your feet. Me, I always liked it in the sports field. Wide open, not a rock in sight. The best puddle jumper I ever saw was Dave Jurisz, who, with a full head of steam, dove head first, reverse arched his back, and could slide 30 feet on his slightly larger than average stomach. Dressing up for dinner is a funny one. Always good to see the entire staff showered and clean for the big Saturday night staff meeting. Also fun when all of camp did themed dress ups (sports jerseys come to mind). Danny’s Prediction: My vote is for the “other” heavy dew activity at camp.
4 Kadimah Canoe Trip
13 Deaver Song
This is a great matchup. I love the Kadimah Canoe trip. So much so that I actually skipped my own intersession in 1997 to go on the canoe trip as extra staff. Great food, bonding, the stressful writing of the Kadimah song – all good things. And what’s a good canoe trip without drama – getting lost in 1990, tornadoes, Ricky tipping. The Deaver Song, in my opinion, is the greatest program song in camp (followed by Maba). Short, energetic, easy to remember, and no cryptic lyrics to make you feel like you’re on the outside of one big inside joke. This song is so good that it was copied by Alex Locke for the K’Shishim song. Danny Soshnik: I’m calling the upset here – The Deaver Song is my Northern Iowa (sorry Jayhawk fans). If you’ve read my other posts, it is no surprise that I lean this way – I love every single thing about the N’Divim program, may it rest in peace.
6 Cabin Raids
11 B’yachad Blindfold Walk
Raids were really fun –sneaking around camp, waiting in the dark to run in as your counselor posed as the Schmear. Then the awkwardness ensued. Boys sitting on trunks talking to each other, trying not to make eye contact with the girls in their bunks. At least there was milk and cookies. And it didn’t feel contrived at all, right? The B’yachad Blindfold Walk must have come from some lousy fraternity hazing ritual. Kids woken up in the night, escorted around Ozo park, being yelled at about how they need to come together. Yep, sounds exactly like my freshman year. BTW, Neil Fink is a ruthless hazer. I wonder if they still do this tradition. Danny’s prediction: Toss up for me.
3 Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup
14 Camper/Staff Celebrity Look A-likes
To me, this lunch is the best single meal in camp. Who doesn’t like baked (let’s not kid ourselves) cheese. My favorite was always the “dump and run” system for hoarding all the grilled cheese sandwiches we could before the kitchen would run out. Dan Rodich was a fantastic dump and runner (or so we told him so he would continue to get us food while we ate – I know, we’re bad people). The look alike game is great, though the same names get tossed around each Shabbat. True, there are some classics – Dan Parsow = Yoda, Jason Grais = Costanza, that guy who was a camper in 1995 who looked like Quentin Tarantino). I still think I look like Shawn Kemp. Danny’s prediction: Stop reading this blog and go get me a grilled cheese.
7 Israeli Dancing
10 Mo Cheers
Israeli dancing has come a long way. In the 80s and 90s, it was an optional activity after Friday night songs before lights out that nobody opted to do. It took place in the empty Beitan. In 1993, our Deaver directors, Adam Chall and Jen Horovitz, told us that we had to go and we thought they were insane. The real insanity followed – it was a blast and we never missed again. They became more formalized under Steve Mintz, and people actually learned the real words and real dances. I wonder how Israeli dancing is doing in the post-Mintz era. The mo cheers have evolved nicely with the times. It used to just be “our mo (clap, clap, clap)” repeated. Originality paved the way for creative cheers for all the groups. On a side note, my personal favorite is when Ha’Atid claimed the Ulam as their own mo in 1996. Danny’s prediction: I vote for Israeli Dancing.
2 Ozo Mo
15 Maba Song
The flagship of all Mo’s is undoubtedly the Ozo Mo. It’s haunted. It’s decrepit. It should be condemned. It’s…great. The Maba song gets the short end of the stick with this seeding and in this region. Not even the best song in its own region, it doesn’t have much chance in this first round test. I was never in Maba – my first year was in 1989, going into 6th grade. But I always loved their song. The cool thing was I still got to sing it without having to go to their Hebrew classes. Yishmichu Mabaim!
That’s the region in a nutshell. I think that this region has some interesting matchups. What about you? One more region than we’ll tackle the entire second round. That’s when the matchups get really interesting.