The Power of the Herzl Community
September 19, 2010 by Herzl Camp Admin, under Letters from Alumni.
By Zander Abrams
Some of you may know that I have moved to Iowa City to attend the University of Iowa College of Law [Editor's Note: Darn, I didn't know that. I need to keep more up to date with my '05 Ozrim!]. I had only been to Iowa City twice before. I visited once for an admitted student’s day and another time to find my apartment, each visit lasting under 24 hours. I moved down not knowing anyone in my class. But I knew that I would not be alone in Iowa City because of the strong presence of Herzl Camp.
As soon at I hit the scene, the Herzl staff from Iowa reached out to me: My first Shabbat meal in Iowa City was at the Lipman’s household (Michael Lipman had been my camper when I was an Ozo and worked his first year on staff this past summer); Also former staff and camper, Caylin Braverman, sent me a message as soon as she found out I had moved to Iowa City and showed me around downtown; And I couldn’t write about Iowa City and not mention Georgia Flaum, who was incredibly welcoming too.
This last Shabbat was Yom Kippur. I went to the University of Minnesota for my undergrad and so I have only done High Holiday services at the Adath Synagogue with my family. After working at Herzl, going to Yom Kippur or Rosh Hashannah is like being back at camp. The hall is filled with campers who are ecstatic to see their former staff. My experience in Iowa was similar in that I saw Herzl campers, but this time they were more confused and surprised to see me than what would happen at Adath. Even more unusual, Herzl campers were the only people I knew!
Herzl families in Iowa City were warm and impressive. Walking out of Kol Nidre services, I was offered to go to break-fast by at least three different families. As a new comer to Iowa City, these invitations meant more to me than it probably did to the families offering them.
So what is the point of this? Herzl camp gets an overwhelming amount of their campers from Minneapolis and St. Paul. The members of the Board of Directors are all from Minnesota except for a recent member expansion to Kansas and Missouri. The administration for Herzl is based in Minneapolis. But the Herzl Community is more. The Herzl Community reaches to Kansas City, St. Louis, Omaha, and even to Iowa City [Editor's Note: And other places too ... where are you from, reader?]. While living in Minneapolis this Community took the role of my friends, but in Iowa City this Community has taken the role of my family.
So keep in mind, parents, when you’re sending your kids to camp, (among many other things) you are helping your child build a network that spans around the Midwest Country! If you would have told my parents in 1996 that sending me to Taste of Herzl would help me build a network in Iowa City, they would’ve thought you crazy.
But that’s just what it did. This High Holiday season I didn’t spend it alone, and it was because of Herzl Camp. Shavua Tov!
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A Herzl Reunion at Sde Boker, Israel
April 25, 2010 by Herzl Camp Admin, under Herzl, Beyond Webster.
By Tali Minsberg
This is a story for our grandchildren.
After joining the Israeli army and making it into Oketz, one of the most prestigious units in the army, especially for female soldiers, it was time for a Tekes Hashbah (Israeli Army “Swearing In Ceremony”) for my friend Katja Edelman.
The night before Katja’s Tekes, I got an e-mail from Katja’s parents saying that they missed their flight to Israel due to a flight delay out of Kansas. Despite the fact that their flight would land just 90 minutes before the ceremony, I had a feeling that somehow they would make it on time.
You could say I’m optimistic.
After meeting with two of Katja’s friends, taking 3 buses, and hitchhiking the final 6 kilometers, we arrived at Ben Gurion’s grave at Sde Boker to see Katja’s family. Thanks some extreme team work, determination, and a helicopter too, Katja had a whole cheering section as she swore into the Israeli army. What is pretty unbelievable is that I’ve known Katja since I was 10 … when we were
pink-soffee-wearing Ha’atid campers at Herzl Camp in Webster, Wisconsin.
Ten years later, I was standing over Ben Gurion’s grave, looking at the picturesque view of the Negev, watching a fellow ’06 Ozo swear into the Israeli army.
Not only that, but as I stood in awe of the view over the dessert, someone tapped me on the shoulder. I turn around only to find that it was an Israeli saliach that worked at Herzl in 2007. (I couldn’t have made that part up, believe me.)
So there we were, (get it?!) three Herzl kids standing in the Negev, thousands of miles away from Webster, Wisconsin but
all bonded by Shabbatot in white and chugim in the sports field.
Back in Jerusalem, Anna Allen, Georgia Flaum, and Emma Peck-Block, three fellow Herzl campers and staff, were eager to hear all about Katja’s tekes. You’ve heard it a million times: friendships you make at Herzl camp are ones that will last a lifetime.
I am not surprised that those friendships all make their way to Israel.