Incredible Camp Stories: Machzor Sheinei 2026
Rabbi Gelb shares:
As I did at the end of machzor rishon (first session), I collected great stories from the madrichim (counselors) about moments with their chanichim (campers).
Below are 10 awesome ones, and here is a link to dozens more. Camp is about these smaller, more intimate moments that happen because madrichim take the time to care.
- As a Tzad Aleph madricha, it was really hard to switch gears when Six Flags was postponed earlier in the machzor (because of bad weather) and we had to pivot to going to the trampoline park instead. However, like all my peers around me, I was determined to make the most of it. Because we didn’t have our phones, I was “bein” (“bein haChanichim” – with my campers) the entire time and overheard the most precious conversation between my campers as we were bouncing. One of them said “I love having counselors so much because they aren’t too old that they can’t do fun things with us, but they are old enough to make us feel safe and cared for.” This one sentence is the reason why I’m a counselor and affirmed the difference we are making in these young peoples’ lives.
- One of my most homesick campers decided in the last 3 days of the mini-session that he loved camp and had the most amazing time and cried when he left. He’s already signed up for a month next year.
- My campers are all obsessed with sports cards, so on my day off, I bought a bunch of sports boxes, and every menucha we unboxed them, and we ended up getting a really cool/expensive card. They all loved it and it was really exciting.
- A camper from our edah (Machon) came up to me and said she really wants to read Torah on Shabbat but doesn’t know the Torah trope. Usually there isn’t a chance to teach Machon during the summer, so I managed to record a reading for her, and she studied it and read Torah for the first time in her life this Shabbat!
- This session, we had Ilanot campers lead t’fillot almost everyday. It was so incredible to watch the chanichim take ownership of and be leaders of their own t’fillot. My favorite part was at the end, when we would say “yasher koach”, watching the chanichim cheer on their tzrif-mates.
- Matan L. and I led a music-based alternative t’fillah for Magshimim. Personally, it was my favorite t’fillah of the summer, and campers seemed to really connect too. We played the guitar and chanichim drummed and we created a song from the ground up based around gratitude. Campers shared what they were grateful for and contributed to the music however they felt fit.
- Walking back from our sneakout, my girls were all talking about the movie we watched (Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants) and they kept relating the movie to their own experience of having amazing, true friendships with the girls in their tzrif. The movie is about female friendship and they really picked up on that — they were talking about how special it is to have those kinds of relationships.
- My bunk of Bogrimers and my friend’s bunk of Machoners assigned our campers to each have a “big and little sister” in the other bunk and they now all love each other, my Bogrim girls keep going to their Machon “bigs” for advice and are talking about how excited they are to be the leaders of B-side as Machon and Niv next year.
- Earlier this session I did a “starga’ah,” a stargazing harga’ah. My girls set down towels and blankets in the Gagarina, we played slow music, had deep conversations, and enjoyed the gorgeous nature camp provides.
- My campers surprised me with a thank you poster the day before I left camp (because I had to go to college).
We hope you will join us again next summer in Palmer (or in Israel for Ramah Seminar). We begin the clock of living the 10 to get back to the 2. May this year bring you and yours only life’s finest blessings.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Ed Gelb, CEO