Each of us is created in the image of God, yet none of us is perfect. This week’s Torah portion includes the transfer of leadership from Moses to Joshua. It would be Joshua, not Moses, who would lead the people across the Jordan into the land of Israel. Looking back on Moses’s leadership we see that Moses had imperfections. We learn early on that Moses is described as slow of speech and slow of tongue. The children of Israel built the golden calf under his leadership and twice Moses had trouble controlling his anger. He broke the ten commandment tablets and struck a rock in anger to bring forth water. Like Moses, we are not expected to be perfect.  

Camp provides a safe place to make mistakes, learn from these mistakes and do better the next time. Creating a community takes work. We need to be flexible; we need to compromise, and we need to learn how to communicate and really listen to one another. It can be hard to step out of the gaga game when you are not sure if you were really “out” or to apologize to your cabinmate if you said something that may have hurt their feelings.  

One of my favorite parts of camp is the nightly cabin time activities planned by counselors for their campers. These are often reflective activities that are done at night sitting in a circle all together in the cabin. Some nights campers share their “rose, bud, or thorn”. A rose is something that went well that day, the bud is something they are looking forward to and a thorn is something that didn’t go that well. By including the thorn, our campers learn that sometimes things don’t go as planned or as well as they may like, but that this is OK.  

As we prepare for Shabbat, we gather in village circles. Similar to our nightly cabin-time activities, cabin circles provide an opportunity to reflect on the past week. We pause and acknowledge what went well this past week, what might have not been done as well as planned, and what we can look forward to in the upcoming week. The communities we are building are works in process and they change and grow throughout our time at camp.   

Campers and staff often share that camp is a place where they can be their most genuine self. Camp friendships can be strong and long-lasting. Having a place that recognizes and embraces the imperfections in each of us is part of the reason this is possible. We look forward to another week full of roses, buds, and thorns. 

Shabbat Shalom. 

Lisa Handelman

Camp Director

During our Atzma’im (Inclusion) staff’s training week, we screened the Netflix documentary Crip Camp. The film highlights Camp Janed, a New York overnight camp for children with disabilities that was open from the 1950s to the 1970s. It tells the story of the camp’s alumni who banded together and led the Disability Rights movement, eventually leading to the passing of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. 

The disabled folks highlighted in this documentary speak about how their activism directly correlates to their time at Camp Janed. Before going to camp, they did not know that equitable treatment for the disabled community was something that was even possible. At Camp Janed, a utopia in which they served as valued members and leaders, they discovered that they could and should demand justice everywhere.

I showed this movie to our counselors in order to ground our work in a greater purpose – one that transcends our immediate camp bubble. Here, we show our campers that accessibility and inclusion are possible, and they can and should be demanded everywhere. In fact, not only is accessibility and inclusion possible, but I also find that it’s remarkably simple.

The basic idea of our inclusion model is that if a camper needs more support at camp than what is typically provided by our counselors, we designate a counselor in the cabin to be their “go-to” person. That counselor is trained on how to meet their needs and provide both proactive and responsive support. This model ensures that campers receive the advocacy and support that they need while also allowing for their full integration into a cabin with their peers. To us here at camp, it’s such an obvious way to create an inclusive community; we cannot imagine a world in which this Atzma’im support model would not exist. 

Unfortunately, the rest of the world has not caught up to the Jewish sleepaway camp way. This is where that larger mission comes in. When you send your children to camp, you are allowing them to be part of a community where there’s never any question that all are welcome, all are supported, and all are accepted. As they go out into the world, they are going to experience spaces where this is not a simple fact. But having seen how true inclusion is possible at camp, hopefully, they will begin to raise questions. Why are we excluding people who have a right to be an equal part of society? Why are we pushing away people who would enhance our community? Why can’t we do what we do at camp everywhere? 

Our campers will now understand that the way we do inclusion here at camp should be the standard, and they will serve as allies and advocates within their communities outside of camp. We often say at camp that we are “in the business of making mensches”. I also believe that we are in the business of making advocates. I couldn’t ask to be a part of a better business.

Hannah Stoller

Atzma’im Coordinator

At the beginning of each day when a cabin or village comes to the Ropes Course, we go over the full-value contract:

1. Safety 
2. Respect
3. Commitment
4. Listen
5. Have fun. 

These are the foundational rules for the Outdoor Adventure program at camp. Most kids have heard the ever-so-important rules of “Be safe, be respectful, and listen” in most of their life outside of camp, but what sets the Outdoor Adventure Program apart is the addition of commitment as a rule. 

A common phrase heard on the ropes course is, “Challenge by choice, but participation is mandatory.” When campers step onto the ropes course they are making a commitment to themselves and their cabinmates to try their best and participate to the best of their ability.

We respect campers’ boundaries of what makes them feel safe while empowering them to step out of their comfort zone and try something new. Each camper has their own line of where their comfort zone is. For some, it’s at the top of the climbing wall, and for others just putting on a harness can be frightening. We meet campers where they are, allowing campers to choose their own challenges while still making sure they are participating with the group and feel comfortable. On the zipline, some campers will go down as many times as they can, and for some campers just standing on the top platform watching their fellow cabinmates zip down makes for an incredible afternoon.

We celebrate all victories and cater our challenges to each group. Our campers try new things and are proud of themselves when they push beyond their own expectations. Seeing our campers grow in a safe and supported environment

is the most rewarding part of being a challenge course facilitator. 

Sydnie Swain

Outdoor Adventure Coordinator

We can’t believe we are already over one week into the summer! There’s been lots of fun happening all over camp the last few days. We loved spending Shabbat all together with a camp-style service, Shabbat dinner, our classic song session, and rikkud (dancing)! While there is so much adventure and fun happening around camp, the adventures are also taking place outside of camp too! Our Leaders-In-Training (LITs) are having a blast on their Israel trip and our Counselors-In-Training had a meaningful community service trip experience in Richmond, Virginia. 

While the rest of our campers were heading to Waynesboro last Sunday, 60 Leaders-In-Training (LITs) flew to Israel to begin a wonderful three-week adventure!

Highlights of the LIT Israel trip so far include:

• A scavenger hunt around the Old City of Jerusalem
• Exploring the mystical city of Tzfat
• A team-building program with teens from Ashkelon (Baltimore’s sister city) 
• A boat cruise around the Sea of Galilee 

Back in America, our Counselors-In-Training (CITs) completed their service trip in Richmond, Virginia.

Highlights of their trip included:

• Volunteering at the Weinstein JCC’s Camp Hilbert
• Creating Boredom Bags for FeedMore, a local hunger relief organization
• Learning about Ukrainian culture and creating Freedom Bags for Ukrainian Independence Day
• Spending time in the Carytown neighborhood
• Visiting the Virginia Holocaust Museum

Our CITs are now back on camp and already jumping into all their favorite programs. They helped lead activities for our Taste of Camp program for prospective families yesterday and are already looking forward to getting their cabins and specialty assignments next week! 

We can’t wait to see how our Leadership Program participants continue to grow and learn throughout the rest of the summer! 

Have A Great Day!

Ilana Kornblatt

Assistant Camp Director

One of the most special things about returning to camp summer after summer (this is my 10th year!) is watching the tremendous growth that happens throughout the camp lifecycle. Not only is it incredible seeing the confidence campers gain in a few short weeks, but year to year.

Perhaps the most significant growth is the leap between camper to staff. Our LIT and CIT programs prepare these young adults for the transition, but the investment in them continues into their staff journey through the agency’s commitment to staff development.

Throughout the summer, counselors get paired with a mentor for ongoing, real-time coaching. They also engage in weekly staff development lunches to help translate all of the things they are learning working at camp to marketable career skills.

This week, I had the pleasure of co-leading the first round of these staff development lunches. The highlight of these lunches stretched beyond the content of the session itself. What stands out to me is the counselor’s answers to the icebreaker question, “What has made you smile or laugh in the past 24 hours?”

Their answers illuminated the incredible bonds forming between campers and staff in just the first week of the session. If these small glimpses into cabin life are an indication of the larger impact the counselors make, I know your camper will come home with special memories and Jewish role models they’ll remember for years to come.

Deborah Silver

Summer Programming Associate

In this week’s Torah portion, mayim, the Hebrew word for water is mentioned 22 times.  There is the commandment to mix water with the ashes of a red cow for purification, the well which provided the Israelites with water disappears when Miriam dies, and Moses strikes the rock in anger to bring forth water. What lessons can we learn from this “water narrative” that are relative to camp?

The opportunity to be outside in nature is something we often take for granted at camp. As campers splash in the lake, take care of the animals at the farm, and sit by the stream, there are ample opportunities to explore and appreciate the nature around us. Seeing a colorful sunset, an occasional rainbow and star gazing with friends are important components of a Capital Camps’ summer.    

This past week the wildfires in Canada necessitated increased indoor programing. This change taught us two important lessons. First, it helped increase our appreciation of nature.  Losing some precious time outside reminded us how much we enjoy all that this beautiful campus has to offer.  This week was also filled with lessons about flexibility, creativity, and resilience.

Between an impromptu song session with our Benjamin campers, a multi-village Bingo game with camp swag for prizes, and even a Kaufmann Village rock concert including a visit from “Taylor Swift”, our campers and staff engaged in innovative and fun activities.

As we conclude our first week at camp, we are looking forward to seeing what Reich Village prepared during their Shabbat prep time.  We will sing, dance, pray and reflect on the week. Our CITs will return from their incredible Richmond Community Service trip in time to help us welcome in the Sabbath, while our LITs will have their own camp-style Shabbat in Israel.

We entered camp as individuals and by the end of the week have become a Kehillah, or community.  We can’t wait to taste the challah made by some of our Benjamin campers! We are grateful for the natural beauty of camp and grateful to be together.    

Shabbat Shalom!

Lisa Handelman

Camp Director

Sports are one of the many ways campers come together every day at camp. They are encouraged, welcomed, and sometimes challenged outside of their comfort zone. Regardless of the competitive outcome, I love seeing campers leave their sport laughing with a bunch of new familiar faces who help this place feel even more like home. Just yesterday during chug, I watched a rousing game of soccer with Benjamin and Reich campers. Watching campers of mixed ages branch out of their typical friend groups and unite them through the spirit of friendly competition is one of the things that make camp special. 

Each week, campers in Rookie and Benjamin Village have the chance to participate in some of the different sports we offer at camp. Campers in Reich, Kaufmann, and Macks Villages choose what they would like to participate in each week. The sports we have offered so far include soccer, basketball, tennis, Zumba, volleyball, archery, lacrosse, and 9 Square in the Air.

Through these activities, they are developing physical skills, making new friends, learning to work together, playing fairly, and trying new things. I have truly enjoyed watching your campers experience success and connection through sports this week. It’s so much more than exercise! 

Jess Dvorak

Sports Coordinator