Second Session Takes Off

Jul 11, 2025 | Camping and Youth Engagement, Friendships, Jacobs Blog, Summer 2025

Shabbat Shalom from Jacobs Camp!

I’m looking forward to seeing our community come together, all dressed in white to celebrate the end of an amazing week. Tonight we will enjoy Kabbalat Shabbat, a family-style dinner of roasted turkey, cornbread dressing and cherry cobbler, song session, services and Israeli dancing.

The first week of Second Session has flown by, and we are having a blast! You can see the excitement in our Week in Review Video!

Here is a little peek into what each unit has been up to:

Olim This week in Olim, our campers are playing in the pool and lake, getting creative in the art room, having yoga sessions, playing sports, dancing, and learning about being Jewish. They even had their own Maccabiah day, where they got to compete in a color-war style competition! They also had a fun campfire complete with s’mores, and special time with their cabinmates during their bunk nights! The girls had fun spa nights, and made slime! And the boys played fruit ninja and had a pool party! They also enjoyed a gymnastics/sports program and a fortnight program where they built cardboard forts. They are having the best time so far!

Garin Garin campers had a chance to sign up for chugim, or specialty activities based on their interests and choice, including biking, fishing, tennis, climbing, soccer, and even fun with chickens! They also got to learn a bit about songleading, spend time in Kehilah (Jewish educational programming), practice yoga, and swim in the pool and lake. They even had their own pool party in the evening, and learned how to salsa dance! One of the best things that happened was each Garin camper being paired with their Chalutzim buddy. They’ll have special time during the Summer when they can hang out with each other!

Maskilim In Maskilim this week, campers explored Specialty Camp options including Performing Arts, Adventure, Sports, Aquatics and Visual Arts, and then had the chance to sign up for the one they like best. They also got to choose their chugim which include chess, cooking, yoga, dancing, and theater. During the week, they spent time with our visiting Rabbis during Kehillah to deepen their connection to Judaism. Maskilim campers have been to the pool and lake, and played lots of sports in the evening, including an ultimate capture the flag tournament between red and green team.

Talmidim Our Talmidimers got to explore different specialty camps throughout the week including Performing Arts, Adventure, Sports, Aquatics and Visual Arts, and then got to jump right in to the specialty of their choice! Talmidim campers also got to choose their chugim with options such as podcasting, yoga, biking, art, running, gymnastics, piano, and basketball. They had an ‘around the world’ evening program where they explored different cultures, enjoyed a scavenger hunt, built forts, and had an epic water balloon fight! Talmidim were great participators during weekday T’filah in the Dining Hall earlier this week.

Chalutzim Our Chalutzimers were so happy to arrive back at camp after their spectacular trip and came into dinner late to surprise the rest of the campers on Opening Day! It was very exciting when they ran in and they hyped up the whole dining hall. They are spending their time with their chosen chugim which include podcasting, yoga, biking, art, running, gymnastics, piano, and basketball. They enjoyed a game of Amazing Race, learned Salsa dancing and even had a piñata. They also had a blast during weekday T’filah with their Garin buddies.

We are looking forward to a fun and relaxing Shabbat Saturday tomorrow full of Saturday morning T’filah, free time, optional breakfast, Shabboptionals (afternoon activities where campers get to choose what they participate in), and lots of fun!

Shabbat Shalom!

Anna Herman