As we conclude the High Holiday season and welcome the year 5787, I hope each member of our Capital Camps community has experienced meaningful moments of connection, reflection, and celebration with family and friends. This Saturday evening, Jewish communities around the world will celebrate Simchat Torah, one of the most joyful holidays on our calendar. Simchat Torah is the celebration of both the completion of the yearly cycle of Torah reading and the beginning of it once again. Just as we reach the end of the Torah, we immediately return to the beginning, reminding us that each year offers new opportunities to discover wisdom and meaning in familiar stories.
In the coming weeks, congregations around the world will read the opening chapters of the Torah and revisit the foundational stories that have shaped Jewish life and identity for generations.
This also marks the first opportunity for campers to reconnect with the Torah stories they explored at Capital Camps this summer through our new Parsha Project.
This initiative reimagined the traditional camp Torah learning schedule by introducing campers to the Torah portions typically read in the fall, rather than the summer portions that align with the camp season. Over the course of four summers, Capital Camps campers and staff will study all 54 Torah portions, creating new opportunities to engage with the full breadth of our shared Jewish story and deepen their understanding of our traditions, values, and history.
First Session campers explored Bereshit, Noach, and Lech Lecha, which will be read in congregations throughout October. Second Session campers engaged with Vayera, Toldot, Vayetze, and Vayishlach, which will be read during November.
Together, campers retold ancient stories, reflected on themes of creation, hospitality, community, promises, goals, and personal growth, and, in true Capital Camps fashion, even played a few silly games inspired by the weekly parshiot.
In the spirit of Simchat Torah, which literally means “Rejoicing in the Torah,” I encourage families to ask their campers what they remember from the Torah portions they explored this summer. Which stories stayed with them? Which lessons still resonate? How are those themes showing up this fall?
Here are a few conversation starters inspired by the portions we studied at camp:
- In the spirit of Bereshit: What did you create at camp? What have you created or helped build since returning home?
- In the spirit of Noach and Vayera: How did you care for others and help build community at camp? How have you continued to do so this year?
- In the spirit of Vayishlach: What kind of person do you hope to become? What do you hope people think of when they hear your name?
Our hope is that these conversations continue throughout the year, strengthening the connection between Capital Camps, home, and the global Jewish community.
Just as Simchat Torah teaches us that every ending is also a beginning, the close of the camp season is not the end of our community’s journey together. The friendships, values, traditions, and lessons cultivated during the summer continue long after campers leave camp. Through experiences like the Parsha Project, we hope to inspire a year round love of Jewish learning and help campers see themselves as active participants in our people’s ongoing story. We look forward to continuing that journey with you and your families throughout the year.
As I begin my own journey as Camp Director, I have spent time reflecting on the impact of programs like the Parsha Project and the countless experiences that made Summer 2026 so meaningful. More than 900 campers and 300 staff members came together to build friendships, strengthen their Jewish identities, discover new passions, and create memories that will stay with them.
It has been a privilege to work alongside the incredible Capital Camps year-round team as we reflect on Summer 2026 and begin preparing for Summer 2027. While there are many months between now and the first day of camp, we are already hard at work dreaming, planning, and creating another summer filled with joy, growth, friendship, and Jewish meaning. We truly hope to welcome your children back home to Waynesboro, Pennsylvania next summer!
I look forward to continuing to partner with you and your families throughout the year. If there is ever anything on your mind or any way our team can support your family, please do not hesitate to reach out. We are grateful to be part of your family’s Jewish journey and look forward to all that lies ahead.
Chag Sameach,
Ilana Kornblatt, Camp Director