A Mama and Papa Ozo Challenge
September 9, 2010 by Herzl Camp Admin, under Letters from Alumni.
By Alex Locke
In trying to decide what I wanted my latest blog post to be about, I realized I like when they are interactive. And what gets people excited…. Ozos! And what do we all thrive on… competitions! So… let’s all collaborate and see how well we can do. The challenge: Let’s see how many Mama and Papa pairings we can come up with. I will start with as many as I can name. All you have to do is add any newer or older pairs by leaving a comment. Good luck to all of us… cannot wait to see how many we can come up with.
1987
Paul Schraber
Rondah Mutchnik
1988
Danny Kaplan
Lauren Berman
1989
Tommy Hoffman
Randi Bernstein
1990
Barry Golob
Tzivia Stein
1991
Barry Golob
Naomi Heller
1992
Josh Sohn
Annie Fischer
1993
Matt Lipschultz
Anna Simon
1994
Adam Chall
Ann Fiterman
1995
Corey Firedman
Stacy Kaplan
1996
Jesse Simon
Hope Frisch
1997
Alex Locke (That’s me!!!)
Mira Levie
1998
Danya Kornblum
Kevin Scharfe
1999
Danny Soshnik
Robyn Friedman
2000
Aaron Cukier
Jenny Javitch
And that’s all I can do. A pretty impressive list, if I do say so myself. So… can you add to the list?
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Thanks for Last Night!
June 20, 2010 by Herzl Camp Admin, under Letters from Alumni.
By Alex Locke
Hey Anna, thanks for last night! What a blast!!!
So last night, Anna Simon invited a bunch of Herzl alumni over for a potluck, in honor of Flip Frisch and her daughter, Scout, being in town. It was SO much fun! First, as promised, I have to give a shout-out to all of those in attendance. Apparently, a lot of them read this blog, which I love. So, here is all of the people who attended:
Robyn (Friedman) Wetter, Stacy (Kaplan) and Jesse Simon, Jesse Zimmerman, Cory and Jenny Friedman, Hope (Frisch) and Jeremy Kalin, Rachel (Tolles) and Sam Rosen, Marlene and Jim Bukstein, Roni (Kornblum) and Mike Falck, Kim (Schneider) and Aaron Gelperin, Debra Fiterman and Alex Arbit, Jon Gilbert, (Jenny) Javitch, Alyssa and Barry Golob, and of course Anna Simon, Flip Frisch, Chad, and me!
My sincerest apologizes if I left anyone out or misspelled any of the names.
So, it was a great crowd. As everyone arrived, we were all catching up. Someone of us have not seen each other in MANY years… others get together on a regular basis. It was so fun schmoozing and chatting with everyone. At one point I commented on all of the occupations there… doctors, lawyers, politicians, IT professionals, camp directors, teachers, and several non-profit workers. It is so fun to see what people choose to do with their lives.
We all talked for a long time, mixing between the groups, going from one circle to the next. There was a ton of food there, though my only complaint is I wanted to know who made what. Next time everyone needs a little table-tent in front of their dish saying what it was and who made it. The curiosity of it all was too hard on me. lol
Eventually, those who were left, made our way to the grass. We sat in a circle, Flip busted out the guitar, and we had a little lights-out song session. It was great. Following that, it was time for Havdallah. Who does Havdallah every week? No one, which is why it was so nice and special. After that, we all helped clean-up and we were on our way.
Herzl is a magical place. You spend umpteen years there as a child and then as a staff member. You eventually go your separate ways, but eventually, it always brings you back together for a little potluck, song session, and Havdallah. It links you to these people forever and that is a powerful thing. On the drive home, Chad commented on how much he wishes he had something like this growing up. He cannot believe how close and tight people are, even after they have not seen each other for years. There was also a huge age range, but everyone was together as BFFs and it was so fun. Chad also commented that he wants to donate more money to Jewish camps because it gives kids who cannot afford it, the chance at a lifetime of memories. And that, is the power of Herzl Camp. Chad and I are going up for a weekend July 2-4, and I am so excited… as is he. He got his own Taste of Herzl last summer at alumni camp, but this year he will get to see camp in action. A full on, white filled, Herzl Shabbat. And while he is not a 10 year old boy, I already know that these Herzl experiences, will give Chad a lifetime of Herzl memories.
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Machane Herzl, you are so full of Shtick!
May 27, 2010 by Herzl Camp Admin, under Letters from Alumni.
By Mike Neiman
What are Herzl staff known for, greater than any other camp staff? I know what you are thinking, “Mike, obviously Herzl is about the grilled cheese and tomato soup!” … well yes, Alan Garelick would agree with that, but its not where I’m going here. Herzl Camp staff have thrived (thriven?) for over 60 years on one very special quality … Shtick.
You can’t really define “shtick”. It basically is EVERYTHING we do at camp. From our breakfast routines, to programming events, to story-telling, to flag songs, to event introductions, staff games, cheers, chugs, programs, bus rides, waving goodbye to bus rides … everything Herzl does is laced with that wonderful little sweetener … Shtick.
I never realized how big a part of our camp life it is until I spent a summer working on the east coast at a camp that “thought” they had the most creative program in the country. Oh really? You guys have color wars? And you think it would be creative to announce it with a boring son at flag raising? Wooooooooow. Those staff thought they were the greatest creative minds on the planet. And although my summer of ’04 was a fun time, it doesn’t hold a candle to one Shabbat at Herzl. Just think of all the creative uniquities (yep, its a word) along that encompass 24 short hours in Webster. From Aaron Rischall’s 2000 Ozrim “I love Shabbas” introduction at Friday lunch to the 2005 Ozrim tribal drum-beat Havdallah performance, one thing stands out every single summer… Shtick.
I love it. Literally everything Herzl does is enhanced by our creative staff and love for shtick. You can actually find it in every part of the daily schedule. And don’t think that’s a bad thing! Shtick is the heart and soul of Herzl Camp. Its our identify, its our memories, its the tradition and passion that keeps us coming back year after year. Think about it, every part of the day is full of … Shtick.
(i can’t remember the actual schedule, but work with me here!)
7:30: Creative shtick-induced wake-up from your Ozrim
7:50: Flag raising, with (since 2005) … cabin led “shtick”
8:00: “Hey Kadimah, today for t’fillot, we’re doing the whole service backwards!”
8:30: Hot Ceral for breakfast? Someone get Jesse Simon a mic…
9:20: “For today’s Nikayon, the Rate-a-room theme is Saved by the Bell”
10:00: Chug Aleph. Other camps have Aerobics … Psh, Herzl has “Navy Seal Training”
11:00: Chug Bet: Harry Potter Chug is actually playing real-life Quiddich? I’m going to that one!
12:30: Lunch, this can’t possibly have shtick? What’s that Aaron Gelperin? “Cheese is great, I really love it, its’ yellow and orange and green…”
1:30: Minucha. No shtick here. WRONG! Tzrif 11 is reading the blueprints and working out the strategy for tonight’s kitchen raid.
2:00: Chug Gimel. World League of Herzl Sports, need I say more?
3:00: Taste of Herzl is finalizing their dance moves to N’Sync’s Bye,Bye, Bye while B’yachad works on their Avodah ring
3:50: Nosh. Save your milk cartons, we want them for a lifesize statue of Theodore Herzl we are building in Ozo Park
4:00: Roni (Kornblum) Falk, what’s your favorite part of camp? Sadnaaaaaah!!!
5:00: “Hey Tzrif 5″, “Hey What”, “Roof Ball, Tzrif Time, be there” “We’ll School ya!”
5:50: Flag lowering, again with (since 2005) … cabin led “shtick”
6:00: “You spilled, you spilled, hug a pole, hug a pole”
7:00: Ha’atid staff are busy setting up Tochnit Erev, where Nate Wohl will finally get to “wed” his secret love, Rachel Javitch.
8:00: Tochnit Erev! Can you name a program without shtick?? And when its over, get in a big circle and cross your arms, right over left for “Rod Hayom, Shemesh Dom…”
9:00: Lights Out. Tzrif 11′s Black Ops plan to infiltrate the kitchen store room is ruined by a locked door, damn. But wait, Ozo Zander found a key someone must have left behind!
9:30: Laila Tov to David Bender’s rendition of “Go to Bed” (sang to the tune of Semisonic’s Closing Time)
And don’t get me started on specialty days…. (sigh) I love this camp. Shabbat Shalom!