09/09/2026
27th of Elul ✨
"One of my favorite lessons from summer camp is resilience, taught through the experience that, "No matter what, you pull in singing!"
It was “the 80s”. A charter bus full of campers was making its way from camp back to the Dallas area when it broke down on the side of I-35.
It was hot. We were tired, hungry, thirsty, and anxious. Rumors spread that we might have to walk back to camp because an older camper insisted that's what had happened "one summer." But the counselors calmly followed their plan. Another bus was dispatched, we transferred safely, our parents were notified, and eventually we were back on the road.
When we finally pulled into the parking lot, I looked out the window and saw a crowd of exhausted but relieved parents ready to collect their children.
Just then, a counselor stood up and called out loudly with both hands cupped on the side of his mouth, "Snap, clap! Snap, clap!" before counting to four in Hebrew - the familiar opening to our flagship camp song.
Forty campers immediately joined in.
As we sang, I glanced out my open window (it is a core memory that at this time, the buses were not air conditioned) of the bus to see the mood outside change. Parents' shoulders relaxed, smiles appeared, and frustration melted into gratitude. Even as a child, I was amazed at how quickly our counselor transformed the moment. Instead of delivering 40 weary campers to annoyed parents, he delivered 40 joyful campers whose singing reminded everyone to take some things in stride.
Years later, during my own counselor training, I learned that "No matter what, you pull in singing!" was one of the enduring lessons our camp director instilled in generations of counselors.
Sometime in the 90s, serving as a bus counselor myself, I had the chance to put that lesson into practice when, sure enough, my own bus of 40 campers was delayed on I-35."
-Aliyah Kuchinsky, Director of Philanthropy & Member Engagement
