Top 4 Kadimah Plays That Haven’t Happened
March 20, 2011 by Herzl Camp Admin, under Top 10 Lists.
By: Zander Abrams
Kadimah is the longest running program at Camp. It has many long-standing traditions, such as the Wall and the Canoe Trip. Kadimah is also my favorite program. I was a Kadimah camper in 2002, a counselor and play director in 2007, and the program director in 2008. Unlike other programs, Kadimah displays most of its traditions for all of Camp to see. Every summer, Camp looks forward to seeing Kadimah do the play. From my experience, picking the play is not easy. There are many competing factors that need to be satisfied, such as cost, roles, and overall difficulty. Here are my top 4 Kadimah plays that have yet to be performed.
4. Phantom of the Opera
Singing, dancing, drama, and comedy. This production would be both challenging and rewarding. I could imagine Joey Jaffe headlining as the mysterious and charming Phantom, with Madeline Rudin starring opposite as Christine. We’d have to keep the mask under lock and key in Drea Lear’s office. The only problem with Phantom would be that the younger kids may have trouble falling asleep after, but their counselors aren’t sleeping anyway!
3. The Lion King
One of the greatest Disney films of all time, and one of their most successful musicals too. This would give campers a chance to break from the mold of real people and embrace their inner animals. This would appeal to all ages, but the ending would have to be changed. I don’t think that Anne Hope would approve the part of killing Scar at the end.
Editor’s note: Rory Zamansky played a mean “Rory King” in the 1995 Ozo Play.
2. Wicked
This is a musical that both campers and staff would love. In 2006, my then camper Jonathan Edelman used to sleep with a copy of Wicked under his pillow. There are a great deal of different speaking, singing, and dancing parts. Amanute would have to put in overtime with putting costumes together. Luckily in Wicked, the witch is not evil, so we don’t need to worry about young campers getting scared.
1. The Producers
Is there anything more Jewish, more American, and more shticky than Mel Brooks? I grew up on Brooks’ films. My parents made sure my brother and I had a healthy ratio between him and Disney. I could see the Herzl production now, Yossi Kakou starring as Max and Brad Serber as Leo. Not only would Camp enjoy watching, but Kadimah would have fun at every play practice. There are some obvious reasons why The Producers is not currently a viable option, but with some careful editing and rewriting it could hit the Ulam as soon as 2014!
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Where Are They Now: Yossi Kakou
December 2, 2010 by Herzl Camp Admin, under Where Are They Now.
By Yossi Kakou
Before I start … a short summary of what I have been doing. Since December 2008, I have been in Yeshiva Ohr Somayach in Jerusalem. I came on a three week winter break trip, and decided it was more beneficial in the long run for me, and my future family and community, if I took a break from college, and learned what it means to be a Jew. The past two years have been a quest to fill myself with as much knowledge of the Torah as I can, and to deeply embed within myself Jewish values, laws, and traditions, to influence my thought, speech, and deed, and to carry with me my whole life.
I have been asked to write about Where I am Today, but the more important question is how camp helped me get to there.
So here goes…
Funny faces have meaning too.
Just a moment of effort has the ability to change a mood, a day, a summer, a life.
We say it, we think it, but few have the mindset to put it into reality.
We set our sights big- “WATER BALLOON WATERMELON CAMPFIRE LIGHTS OUT EXTRAVAGANZA”.
We want the Front page of the “Herzl Times” (so to speak) to have our picture on it with the Heading “greatest evening program ever- 3 counselors injured, 2 fires put out – made possible by so and So Friedmanburger, the counselor that never stops.”
We sometimes forget – the smile, the well timed silly face, the patient response, and the policy shtick, that extra few words with the scared camper- It’s the “little” Things that bear the fruit of a great summer in a camper’s world.
Pursuing a life of Torah and Mitzvoth requires that same sensitivity to “seemingly insignificant actions” or “S-I-A”, a phrase I have just coined….. On the spot….. Right now… (See…. still got shtick running through my blood)!!!
The Mishna (oral law) in Pirkei Avot chapter 2:1 (ethics of the fathers) says “be as scrupulous in performing a minor mitzvah as in a major one, for you do not know the extent of the reward” (for any mitzvah).
Simply put- The Torah tells us to perform every mitzvah with the same amount of love and alacrity. Some seemingly big —- SHABBAT, KOSHER, NOT STEALING, where the importance of their cosmic greatness is obvious…
And some we might look over, like making brachot, or The maleve malke “escorting out the queen” meal I am currently eating right now! (Post Shabbat we are told to eat a meal, to honor the queen that is leaving. (Shabbat being the queen) We welcome Her by singing L’cha Dodi and Kiddush, and we escort her out with Havdalah and Maleve malke, AMAZING, (mostly because you get to eat again).
The Mishna is saying beautiful stuff though- we never know the true impact of our actions….. So do them all with focus and love! Realize the things you do have infinite consequences, and saying a truly focused SHEMA YISRAEL- (ONE LINE!) has spiritual effects on the world that we can not imagine. So to with camp- the tiniest smile or well timed comment can change a persons path forever … 1). you smile at camper, 2) sad camper, because of your smile, gains the confidence he needs, to break out of his shell and ask the kid he doesn’t know to play catch, 3) they become friends, 4) best man at each others wedding, 5) and now their grandkids are playing ball while they watch on reminiscing of the old times, singing circle game together.. ECT. I’m sure you all know of the beautiful picture I am so crudely doodling….
But in case you don’t….
COLOR WARS”…. Is just as important as “waking your campers up in the morning in a creative way” (does anyone still do that?) “HAVING RUACH” could have just as much impact as- “commenting on a camper’s cool t-shirt”
Being a counselor at Herzl Camp really helped me understand this Mishna and try to live it everyday.
Next, a main goal of camp- and arguably the most important- to instill within people a Jewish Identity. To bring Jews together, some of whom don’t know how to read Hebrew, or daven, or really anything about what it means to be a Jew, and to at least instill into people this fact – you are a Jew, and Jews are special. To say a bracha on bread before you eat, to prepare for Shabbat, to teach Jews about Tsha B’av. Kids who have grown up, with really no connection to a rich, beautiful tradition except for Sunday school, which may not leave kids really “happy” about Judaism, have Camp, which in its own special way can ignite in a Jew the feeling of “I’m not like everyone else, I’m a Jew, and I like it! It’s with that introduction to Judaism, that campers are able to explore more into the uniqueness of Judaism by going to Israel, or learning about Judaism in their own communities back home.
Getting to Yeshiva I had this feeling- this unique feeling of being a Jew. Not knowing really much about it, but knowing how nice Shabbat can be, etc. Yeshiva brought Judaism from a summer hobby to an every moment way of life. The candle that was lit by camp with songs like “may the Lord protect, and defend you……” was Ignited for me in Israel- with a much clearer understanding that we are a the chosen people with the unique mission in this world of bringing G-ds presence into it, in every act we do and word we say, which was even more unique then I had ever understood us to be. Camp introduces you to Judaism, but it’s up to the camper, hopefully to ask the right questions and take his or herself to the next step to really knowing what our 3300 year tradition is all about.
I could speak for days about camp and Yeshiva, But l end on this note.
We are all made with our special talents and abilities; they are no coincidences in why some people are better then some things then others. The last, and most important parallel that I realized at camp and has helped me so much in Yeshiva, is that every Jew has his/her own purpose, with his own tools to achieve that purpose. The loud crazy Puchtels were tailor made for….well… being loud and crazy. The amanutie cuties were designed for being arts and crafts specialist under 5 feet tall. And so to with our roles as Jews.
Each Jew has his/her own special gifts that they can use to serve their Creator. And just like a chef wouldn’t be jealous of a painters new paintbrush, because he knows the painter needs it, and its completely unnecessary in the chefs arsenal, so to we have no reason to be jealous of the loud ruachy counselors, or the funny storytelling counselors, because we have our own special gift we can give over, our own special talents that a certain camper needs, that only we can provide, and all the more so in life. We have no reason to be jealous of another’s money, or looks, because that’s what they were given as their tools to serve……. all the tools I need, I’ve been given.