Director's Corner - Friday, June 27, 2025

June 27, 2025

You’ve Got A Friend

You’ve Got a Friend
When you're down and troubled,
And you need some love and care,
And nothing, nothing is going right…
Close your eyes and think of me,
And soon I will be there.

As we approach the close of our second week at camp, it’s clear why time moves so quickly here. Each day brings new experiences, deeper connections, and countless reasons to feel grateful. This Shabbat, the theme is Sacred Community, but I want to highlight another of our core Beber Beliefs: Kindness & Gratitude.

Tonight, before our delicious Shabbat dinner, every cabin participated in gratitude circles next to the basketball courts, an intentional practice where campers and counselors share things they feel grateful for. This simple act creates a powerful sense of appreciation and positivity that echoes throughout our camp. I believe I shared in an earlier blog about how influential the book The Happiness Advantage has been in my own life, and how daily gratitude practices help cultivate optimism, even during long, busy summers.

Additionally, our intentional focus on kindness is a vital part of shaping the camp culture we cherish. While perfection isn't the goal, we strive daily to build an environment where kindness becomes second nature. Small acts of kindness truly define our community and I see it every day!.

Let’s dig into a few fun cabin activities your campers are participating in. One pretty incredible one is led by our Jewish Life director Lara.  In her activity, campers are immersed into an escape room adventure rooted in our 5 core Jewish Life camp values.  Campers work in partnerships or small groups of three to crack codes, solve puzzles, and open a series of locks (colors, numbers, arrows, letters and shapes) each leading to the next exciting clue.  Every challenge is thoughtfully connected to one of the values and designed to spark critical thinking, collaboration, and creativity.  Together, teams will use their minds and their middot (values) to “break out” and celebrate what makes Jewish life at camp so meaningful.

Another amazing cabin activity that campers participate in is Brady’s music.  Led by our music area director Brady, campers get a chance to feel like a rock star.  They spend some time either practicing a cover of a popular song or writing a parody song or original work and then get to step into the recording studio and lay down their track.  These moments in the recording studio are met with so many laughs and shared moments as a bunk. Having an opportunity like this lends itself to more inside jokes and happy memories for them and a chance to connect as a bunk.  There is something so cool about putting on those headphones and singing into the mic!

I’d like to also highlight a few hobbies.  Let’s start with my favorite, skiing. What I love about skiing is that we follow the USA Waterski Learn to Ski and Wakeboard programs.  Check out here the different levels your campers aspire to. Campers get a taste of this activity as a cabin during cabin activity but those who have chosen this as a pre-sort hobby before camp take this for 5 days.  Our skiing staff work patiently with each camper to get them to overcome challenges at all levels.  From beginners learning how to stand up on skis while holding on to the boom, to more advanced skiers learning how to drop a ski or slalom in and out of the wake.  Every camper gets one on one instruction on how to reach the next level.  As a camp favorite it is exciting to see the parade of boats leaving the docks at the start of the hobby period full of kids and endless potential.  Being out on the lake in the hot sun giving instruction is no easy task but our staff have excelled at creating a space for learning, growth and success.  

Another favorite hobby of mine is our climbing hobby.  Our trained climbing staff facilitate some of the most fun and pride building activities on camp.  During the 5 day hobby session campers learn how to properly put on a harness and then work on tackling the many obstacles on our course.  From the rock wall to the Catwalk, to the Dangling Duo, Go for It, Zip line and heart stopping Leap of Faith campers overcome their fears and feel a huge sense of accomplishment when they complete an obstacle.  This added confidence builds them up and opens the door to taking on the challenges in other areas of camp.  

This evening marked the start of our second Shabbat of the session, and what a beautiful one it was. Campers arrived at Shabbat Schmooze dressed in their Friday best, gathering with their bunkmates to reflect on the week and express gratitude. Shabbat offers the perfect moment to pause, look around, and acknowledge the big and small things that make our time at camp so meaningful. At services, Ruchel told an inspiring story highlighting our sacred community-Kehillah Kedosha.  Her words stated that “a sacred community is not bound by tradition alone but a shared presence, purpose and care.  When all members stand together, even the darkest nights are full of light”.  

Our Jewish life team continues to inspire, leading services that engage and include every camper. It was especially moving to see so many of our campers step up to lead prayers, proof of how inclusive our community is and how it embraces all expressions of Jewish Life.

And what about Israeli Dancing? Donning their sports jerseys, campers gather on the RK courts for Israeli Dancing.  Traditional dances like “Mayim”, “Od Lo Ahavti Dai” and “Ma Navu”, which translates to “How beautiful” or “How lovely” nare mixed in with the ever popular “Golden Boy” and HaRakevet (“The Train”).  It's so much fun watching all age groups participate and really enjoy themselves while singing and dancing.  They even have replaced some of the Hebrew words with words of their own.  Some of our alumni may remember “Apples, Cherries, Berries are the fruits”.  Definitely not the Hebrew words of the song but all part of the camp fun.  

Israeli dancing was followed by a spirited song session led by our incredible camp band, with both campers and staff singing at full volume and dancing with total abandon. We hosted a special, age-appropriate song session for our Makor and Kesher campers, giving them space to sing, move, and celebrate together with friends. Tie this all together and Shabbat at Beber becomes a true celebration of what it means to be Jewish.  

Adding to the excitement of the day, our CITs returned from their adventure in Colorado! Before Shabbat began, I hosted them at my house, where they shared inspiring reflections about their journey. They expressed deep gratitude for the opportunity to experience another Jewish camp, particularly highlighting the meaningful experience of working with children with special needs. This powerful experience helped them recognize their own growth and the impact they were able to have on others. While there was understandable disappointment about not traveling to Israel, they're energized and excited to step into cabins next session, ready to lead and inspire our campers.

Meals today included:

• Breakfast: Eggs and hash browns
  
  
• Lunch: Pizza and Caesar salad
  
  
• Dinner: A classic Shabbat chicken dinner featuring mashed potatoes, chicken noodle soup, broccoli, and of course, fresh challah

As we look ahead to the rest of the session, I’m reminded once again how lucky we are to be part of this extraordinary camp family. There’s so much to be grateful for—and tonight, we felt every bit of it.

Shabbat Shalom from all of us at camp!

Peace, Love, 3BC,

Michael

Today’s trivia: Who sang “You've Got a Friend?” Send your answer to trivia@bebercamp.com for a chance to be featured in tomorrow’s blog!

Congrats to those who knew the answer to yesterday's trivia: Who sang “Lean on Me?” It was Bill Withers:

• Wendy Elman
• Jill Rivkin
• Andy Whitman
• Heather Carp
• Jessica Fonoroff
• Amy Bloomberg

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