Finding the Dew
March 3, 2010 by Herzl Camp Admin, under Letters from Alumni.
By Amy Shapiro
“It never rains at Herzl Camp, it only heavy dews.” Anyone who has spent time at Herzl knows this phrase well. We owe so much to the person who first uttered these words- now so ingrained into the lore of Herzl. Some of my best, most vivid memories of times spent at Herzl Camp took place during unlikely circumstances. In fact, many of these memories involve inclement weather.
So there we were – June of 1997 on the second day of our Kadimah canoe trip. We canoed all day, returned to the campsite and were all ready to start dinner when the dew began. All 120+ of us in Kadimah headed to the shelter (with no doors of course) as the dew began to fall and the tornado sirens blared.
Little by little, cabins of tired and wet campers were shuttled back to camp.
My cabin was the lucky one to get picked up last. For hours, all we had was a huge bag of trail mix - (the old school good kind with chocolate chips, golden grahams and cheerios, yum) and Aaron Gelperin with his guitar. The moment that stands out most is when we were all singing “It’s the end of the world as we know it” and at that moment – thunder clapped and the lights went out in the shelter.
A few girls burst into tears, but I loved it. Stuck inside fighting the elements all together … we had a guitar and we had each other, and that was all we needed that night.
Cut to a few years later. Summer of 2000, Ozo Shabbat. We really wanted to have our last Ozo Shabbat on the Mercaz and we almost made it… until the end of the service. It was time for Adon Olam and we were doing the version that everyone loves to hate - the long one where everyone stands up for each chorus. We made it through the first two verses, and as we stood up and sang Adon Olam, arm in arm, at the top of our lungs – the clouds burst and the dew poured … heavily
The whole camp got wet and ran to the chadar for nuggets [Editor's Note: Could this have been the week of the infamous Puchtel Nugget-off mentioned in Danny Soshnik's last post?], but it was another powerful moment I will never forget. Another day, that same summer, there was a big storm that brought the entire camp to the basement of the new chadar. It was 2000 and the building was still new and the drainage systems weren’t quite figured out yet.
[Editor's Note: Were you there that summer? Watching the water slowly seep under the doors and inch closer, and closer, and closer to your haven of dry ground?] So there we were, sweeping and mopping the water out of the basement as it was gushing down the amphitheater, while simultaneously singing and entertaining all the campers. Looking back, our ozo group and staff really came together that day.
I can think of many more dew stories – the great Muddle of ’93, board game fun in the old chadar and falling asleep to the melodic sounds of dew on the cabins. Herzl taught me to recognize the good among all the dew.
Don’t focus on the rain, focus on ways to choose your attitude, take care of those around you and make a better memory. In life, remember to look beyond the rain to find the dew.
[Editor's Final Note: Indeed we all do have our "dew" stories, and we'd love to hear yours! As for me, I will never forget the Leah Kachelmacher "search and rescue" of 2003. Leah, I make fun of you now only because you have made the rite of passage to being Herzl Staff. And perhaps some nice camper has now brought ice to your blood too as you searched trenches and ditches for a lost girl's body ... only to find them asleep in their bunk ignoring counselor's cry's!]