The summer camp I went to when I was young is a very special place to me, and always will be, and thus I jump at the chance to go there, even for an evening. This evening I was invited to an Alumni Shabbat at Hilltop, and so… I spent Shabbat at camp (arriving a little late… grrr… over 2 hours from El Segundo to just north of the Ventura County line near Malibu). Some observations from tonight…
- They are still in ha tof (the tent) for dining, but progress on rebuilding the dining hall is going well. Most of the walls are up and the roof is on, but they still need to finish it, complete the wiring, lighting, floors, and windows, and of course, reequip it. Gersh indicates it must be done by September 14th; I know they are planning a dedication sometime in October.
- Gersh also indicated that they had 10 celiac campers at CHK this session, and had a separate dining line for them. They are looking at exploring that as another market, which I think is great. Alas, he didn’t think the kitchen at Hilltop would be able to support it.
- You realize it has been almost 30 years since I was last a camper? That’s almost two generations of campers!
- They’ve erected a large wooden menorah at the Hilltop chapel. I guess the rivalry with Kramer isn’t dead yet. But do they still sing “We are Hilltop, Mighty Mighty Hilltop”?
- The song and dance sessions get louder and louder every year. Where do the kids find the energy? I remember I had it once, but we did song sessions around the tables.
- I made the suggestion to the resident director that it might be nice to invite the alumni to lead a Shabbat Chill, sharing stories about the past days at camp.
- My how the dance sessions have changed. Where we had record players with the main amplifier system, they now just connect an iPod to speakers. Of course, we had to change the records and they would wear out over a summer. That doesn’t happen with the digital music.
- Liability takes some of the fun out of camp. I remember going to the beach in the back of a hot stakebed truck, and going to either Leo Carillo or Pt. Mugu. They use buses now, and take the kids to Zuma.
- I also remember the campers leading Shabbat services. It now seems to be lead more by counselors. Were creative services a product of the 1970s?
- But with all the changes, some things never change. The joy of a Shabbat service, in a chapel under a clear blue sky, looking out over the ocean and the miracles of creation, sitting in a space shaped by the joy and love of thousands of campers over almost 40 years does create a communion with God, and does refresh the soul. Spending a Shabbat in a Jewish community, singing and dancing and watching a full moon reflecting over the ocean is true ruach. It just makes one feel good. This was topped off driving down the hill, listening to a soft jazzy version of Hatikva (sample) from Ruach 5767
Shabbat Shalom.
[Crossposted to cahwyguy and ghc_for_life]