Mysteries of the Herzl Universe
April 4, 2011 by Herzl Camp Admin, under General Posts.
By: Danny Soshnik
Herzl Camp is built on tradition and schtick. I often wonder(ed) why things are the way they are. I mean, these traditions had to come from somewhere.
I’m going to share a few with you of which I know the history, and there are many more that I’d like an explanation. So, PLEASE chime in with your answers.
B’Yachad being called Yachers:
Did you know that in their first summer in 1995, B’Yachad’s campers were informally called Yahoos? I vividly remember a flag song in the 6th camper week by the Hanhallah, led by co head counselors Adam Chall and Anna Simon to the tune of The Beatles “Life Goes On”. To the chorus, they sung, “We decided to call you the Yahoos, la la la it’s Yahoo Shabbat.”
In 1996, I was on the greatest B’Yachad staff ever assembled and we decided that Yahoos wasn’t intense enough for this powerful program, so we renamed them the Yachers. To quote Tin-Tin quoting his brother on how he got the name Tin-Tin, “and it stuck.”
The Pounding on the Table After the Shabbos Meals Birkat:
This one gets (dis)credited to Jon Braufman, I believe. Once upon a time, Herzl used to sing the long ya da da…that normally follows the y’ru et hashem after osheh shalom in the Birkat, which culminates in some pounding on the table. If memory serves, Jon wasn’t paying close attention and jumped the gun on the pounding, by leaning back and yelling “Hey”, and the rest is history. Hey, I don’t make this stuff up.
The Ha’Atid Song to the Tune of the Brady Bunch:
Do they still sing this song? I wrote that song…from my internship in downtown Saint Paul when I was supposed to be reviewing second mortgages for Green Tree Financial Corporation. And you wonder why they went out of business.
The Steps Down the Hill to the Lake Near Tzrif 25:
Not many people know about these stone steps which lead to a very private stone bench overlooking the lake. Had I been cooler, I would be able to report a first kiss there or something…oh well.
Anyway, about the stairs, we got an email from Rivka Tal, a 60s alum from Israel (named Patti Schochet) back in the day. She asked about the “Boathouse” and whether it still existed. After a back and forth, I learned that there used to be a very special cabin in the woods just north of the Mercaz. Rivka said you had to take stairs down from the path to that cabin. So, that’s where those stairs once led. How cool would it to have been to be in that cabin?
Those are a few that I find to be trivial and interesting. I’m very curious on the origin of many others…
Does anyone know the history of 12 Gates?
What about the Herzl Song? Who wrote it?
What about the wall? When was it built and was it originally built for its current purpose (Kadimah climbing it)?
Has the Shabbos Caravan ever gone counter clockwise? That would make for a great koontz on camp.
Where did that crazy long birthday song come from?
If you know where the origin of any of these or any other traditions, I’d be curious to know. It would be great to have a written history of some of this stuff. So please chime in!