Director's Corner, Monday, June 15, 2026

Monday, June 15, 2026

Worry no more
Oh, worry no more
There’s an open door for you…

Hello Beber Camp community! I woke up this morning with a feeling of immense gratitude. I am grateful for our amazing campers, our incredible staff, our beautiful site, and this caring, supportive village that makes it all possible. You all give kids the opportunity to become campers—to learn and grow together, to have fun, and to be part of an uplifting community that is bigger than themselves. Together, we make Beber Beber.

We had an extraordinary first day of hobbies today! After breakfast (waffles!), I headed to the pool to spend time with our Makor girls during instructional swim. Our Aquatics/Pool Area Director, Brad Pollack, has done incredible work preparing our pool staff and facilities to be ready for this summer. Thanks, Brad! 

Hobby Wheel Field was humming with excitement as campers ran eagerly to meet their hobby specialists this morning. During first hobby, I joined Makor volleyball on our Alayna Borowick Memorial courts. Two of our Israeli staff were leading the hobby and I left feeling rejuvenated from the smiles on our campers’ faces and proud to have so many wonderful Israeli staff members.

After a delicious quesadilla lunch and a peaceful menucha (rest hour), I decided to sample a few different activities during second hobby period and made my way from basketball to tennis and then yoga. The weather could not have been better for being active outdoors, and I enjoyed starting things off with a game of Knockout to test whether I still had any basketball skills left. There is something special about stepping onto the Ron Kaplan Courts. I have so many wonderful memories of playing basketball with Ron over the years, and those are moments I still cherish today. Every time I am out there, I find myself thinking about the impact he had on so many campers and staff.

After basketball and tennis, I finished the period by slowing things down with yoga and giving my body a much-needed stretch. One of the things that made me smile throughout the afternoon was seeing last year's CITs leading hobbies this summer. It is one of the clearest examples of the Beber experience coming full circle. Just a year ago they were developing their leadership skills as CITs, and now they are confidently teaching, mentoring, and creating meaningful experiences for campers. Watching that growth in action is one of the most rewarding parts of camp.

We finished our first full day today with spaghetti and meatballs for dinner, GA (general activity, a time where campers can play and socialize with friends from every age group), and divisional opening evening programs. Every year, our fantastic division leaders and head counselors create a divisional theme that reflects the fun, compassionate community we have here at Beber Camp. This theme carries into daily programming and communications, with divisional kickoffs happening at today’s evening programs! Read more about our First Session 2026 divisional themes below, and stay tuned for tomorrow’s intro to our division leaders!

Makor: Mission Makor‍

Makor kicked things off tonight with a very serious mission: an important astronaut was missing, and they could only find him by completing sets of fun, creative challenges! Through impressive teamwork, Makor was able to complete their mission successfully. Some may say that the astronaut they found looks suspiciously like Hobby Director Bob Goldwin, but I’m not sure about that. What I am sure about, however, is that Makor is on a mission to have the best summer yet!

Kesher: Keshing Waves

A fun play on “catching waves,” First Session 2026 Keshing Waves is all about the surf, sand, and sea! While Lake Beulah may not be big enough to have surfable waves, Kesher is inventive enough to create summer bucket lists (r’shimas in Hebrew) to help them thrive in the sun (with sunscreen on!) all summer long! At their evening program tonight, Kesher also made messages in a bottle for their future selves to reflect on at the end of the session. I know Kesher is going to “kesh” waves, friendship, and new possibilities all summer long!

Ramot: RamotChella

The Coachella music festival may have taken place in April this year, but, luckily for Ramot, RamotChella has just begun! Tonight, the basketball courts were dotted with celebrity sightings - among the celebrities were Taylor Swift, Noah Kahan, Benson Boone, Justin Bieber, and Post Malone. Interestingly, at the time of Ramot evening program, none of the area directors were anywhere to be found. Maybe they were waiting in a VIP section somewhere to get celebrity autographs after the show? Each Ramot cabin ended tonight with a personalized cabin setlist of their favorite songs at Beber so they can jam out together and bond all session long!

Pioneers: Harry PIOtter

Harry PIOtter solemnly swears that they are up for having the best summer ever! Our Pios were sorted into houses tonight through a fun series of get-to-know-you questions. Our Pioneer program is extra special because it is the summer where every camper the same age comes to camp at the same time for the first time and campers who have been living parallel summers in different sessions finally meet! Our Pios ended their evening program by writing letters to their future selves that they will look back on at the end of the summer. Mischief managed!

CITs: CITournament

Tonight, our counselors in training (CITs) began their summer of training and teambuilding! Through electrifying sports challenges and intriguing scavenger hunt clues, CITs worked together to reveal their summer theme during tonight’s evening program. I am thrilled to watch our Beber CITs thrive this summer through exemplary leadership and everyday demonstration of our Beber Beliefs (more on the Beber Beliefs in a later blog).

Thank you to our wonderful division leaders, head counselors, and programming team for bringing ruach, intention, and inclusivity to every program. We are definitely in for another summer to remember!

Peace, Love, 3BC,

Michael

Yesterday’s song was Vienna by Billy Joel. Congratulations to our correct answers:

• Daniel LaDeur
• Shari Graham
• Mitch Greenfield
• Sarah Factor
• Andy Whitman
• Yoav Lurie
• Dana Saltzman
• Amy Bloomberg
• Julie Houghton
• Michael Stern

Can you name the artist behind the song “Worry No More?” He’s one of my favorite singer/songwriters and hails from Philadelphia! Send your guess to trivia@bebercamp.com, and I'll reveal the answer in tomorrow’s blog!