Judaism at Camp: Part 1

When you meet someone who attended an overnight summer camp chances are the camp they attended was Jewish. Even if the camp wasn’t officially Jewish, most often the campers who attend are from Jewish households.[1] It certainly isn’t a coincidence that going to summer camp is a Jewish phenomenon, but as someone who has no background in the history of Jewish summer camps, I can only guess that it has something to do with our parents, or our grandparents wanting to celebrate our Jewish heritage after the Holocaust. Our grandparents would ship our parents away so we can learn, share and experience Jewish ideas and culture, and no we are going to camp for the same reason.  The continuity between generations is beautiful, and camp is the perfect place to carry on that intergenerational connectivity, Jewish or not.

As we all know, Yavneh has highlighted the centrality of Judaism, while also marketing it as a typical overnight camp. As I like to say to people who have never heard of Yavneh before, “We do summer camp with a big Jewish twist,” and usually people understand what I mean. To highlight my point, this is a list of Jewishly -relevant activities or programs that occur at Yavneh every day: Mifkad, Tfilot, Birkat x3, Kitah, Optional Mincha Maariv, and often a chinuch peulah. This does not even include Shabbat when the whole day is structured around Jewish programming. For someone who comes from an unobservant home or from a background with minimal Jewish education, Yavneh seems infused with Judaism at every possible nook and cranny.  However, for someone who attended Solomon Schecter/Gann Academy/Maimonides the transition from Jewish observance at home to that of our camp is quite natural. Because of this discrepancy, there is constant push/pull between teaching about our heritage versus engaging those who already know these traditions  backwards and forwards

While considering the Jewish culture at Yavneh, I have thought of four things that we do really well and four things that I think either are lacking or need improvement. I would like to begin with a quote by Josh Basseches who has aptly put into words what I also feel about the Judaism at camp: “I think when it comes to Judaism as a broad, category the things that Yavneh does well far outweigh the things that it doesn’t. If someone asked me what has been the single biggest thing that has shaped your Jewish identity I would respond, ‘Camp Yavneh.’  I did USY, and I grew up in a somewhat observant family, and these were all amazing experiences, but camp is the place where Judaism is the closest to me. It’s not because of kitah or how much I've learned about facts about Judaism nor because I learned t'fillot at Yavneh or didn't learn t'fillot at Yavneh, but it’s because of the intangibility of the spirituality that exists every summer. That is what Judaism means to me, and that is what I hold on to.”

NOTE: This post will be divided into two. I will give one example of something Yavneh does well, and one example of something Yavneh doesn’t do so well. Next week I will post the 6 remaining categories.

The Good

Informal Education/Kitah- Getting kids to sit down and learn during the summer, when all they really want to do is run around and socialize, is one of the hardest things that teachers and counselors have to do. However, once we are able to overcome the initial distress of having a kitah or chinuch peulah, the learning that occurs is fantastic. At least over the past few years that I have really paid attention, the teachers that Yavneh hires for the summer session are fantastic. Of course everyone has their own personal experience,[2] but for the most part they know how to engage the campers and stimulate good conversation and learning. Never in my life would I have guessed that at Yavneh one Shabbat afternoon this past summer, five of my kids would be late to lunch because they were learning text. I am certainly not saying that this is typical, but the fact there are teachers out there who know how to create these positive learning environments is extraordinary. In addition, when roshes and counselors have the opportunity to  program for their respective aydot, they are able to incorporate topics relevant to their campers interests. The success of teaching often relies on how well the teacher knows his audience – nobody knows these campers better than the counselors themselves.

The Not So Good

Prayer- Just like learning, getting kids to engage in prayer everyday is challenging. However, unlike our educational program, I think we fail to provide a good method of achieving meaningful prayer. To be honest, going through the full Shacharit service every day is a drag for everyone. Unless you grew up in a home in which it was required to pray regularly everyday,this is a very difficult activity for many campers to get used to incorporating into their daily schedules. Trying to grapple with the real meaning of prayer takes years of experience and practice, and cannot be learned sitting in a hot room with your friends fidgeting just as uncomfortably next to you. I understand that some parents want their kids to daven regularly or learn how to lead the prayers, but when everyone is either spacing out, talking with friends, or asleep, and the same 10 kids in each minyan are the Shalichei Tzibor, it does not foster a health environment for practice or learning. In order to make use of these forty five minutes every morning, we need to be change our methods  and break out of our old, antiquated system of “sit and repeat.” I don’t care if this is not what Jewish synagogues are doing in their congregations - we need to engage the kids, not push them away. Rather than having our teachers walk around and watch the kids pray, lets have break out sessions 3 days a week to learn about different topics in prayer. As I said previously, we have fantastic teachers, and we should utilize their talents in all realms of learning, including Tfillot. What is my proposed schedule? Have Sundays, Mondays, and Wednesdays in the breakout sessions. Have Tuesdays (only because of trip day) and Thursdays be regular davening and on Thursday make sure someone is prepared to lead an engaging conversation about the parsha. Leave Fridays (Iyun Tifilah ) and Saturdays as is, even though Shabbat mornings also drag as well. One step at a time.

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[1] Unless of course it is a Christan camp.

[2] If you have a different experience, please comment. (Really, if you have a different opinion about anything I write in this entry or any others, please comment!)

[3] I have a whole theory about the feeling of magic at camp. If you want to know what it is, check back in a few weeks for an upcoming blog entry. 

Three out of six

Here are three out of six of the Shir Aydot that I picked in my top 5. Thank you Aaron Lyon for the audio for the first two.

Maalot 01

Kerem 04

Kerem 10 (video starts at 1:08)

Top Five (Top Six): Shir Aydah

Update: When I put out a poll a few weeks ago asking if anyone wanted to write an entry, I got a few people who responded yes. If you are actually interested, (even if you don't have a topic per say) let me know (email is the best way - yoni.h.silverman at gmail dot com) . Anyone K'11 and older can write if they want.


How do you win Shir Aydah?

I think the answer to this question depends on the musical talent[1] of the counselors or Kerem more so than for the other Zimriyah song categories. For an older aydah, the more complicated the song, the better the result. It is relatively easy for an aydah with musically knowledgeable members to reap the benefits of creating a great mash up[2]. I think these types of songs gives an aydah the best chance to win. Hands down.

However, most people don’t have extremely musical people in their adyah. So what do they do? I see two different options. One option is taking the route of Maalot ‘07 and Maalot ‘05 by making a medley, which musically is not as complicated as a mashup, but actually has a similar effect. Once again, usually this type of song choice wins due to the apparent difficulty of the arrangement.  In fact, all six mash-ups/ medleys that have been done over the past 10 years (including Gurim’s “Grease” medley) have placed in the top three, which includes four first place finishes, one second and one third.[3] [4]

The other way to do it is to find that perfect song. I personally think that ‘80s music is a fantastic choice. These are all of the winners or second places who used music from the 80’s: Maalot ‘01 (1^st), Arayot ‘02 (2^nd), Kerem ‘05 (2^nd), Maalot ‘06 (1^st), Kerem ‘07 (2^nd), Kerem ‘08 (1^st), Maalot ‘08 (2^nd). If you include the five songs that got top 2 finishes from the mash-up/medleys, then a combination of these categories represents 60% of top two finishes over the past 10 years.  Wow. What is it about ‘80s music that works so well for Zimriyah?  First of all, most ‘80s music is very sing-able. Many of these songs start out with a slow build-up, have a really fast-pace chorus, slow down for the bridge, and go all out for the final chorus. It’s the epitome of a good arrangement for Zimriyah, no tweaking necessary.

What doesn’t work for Shir Aydah? If you can’t sing it in English, it’s probably not a god choice. If the aydah can’t sing it or learn it, they will fail. In general I don’t think the Beatles[5] or for that matter most 60’s music are particularly good choices. Rap or Hip/ Hop: No. Slow Music: No. I guess it its pretty obvious the things that won’t work, because as described before, there is a particular song arrangement that is perfect for Zimriyah. Anything outside of this arrangement will most likely not work.

1. Maalot ‘01- Like a Prayer, Place for Song: 1^st, Overall: 3^rd.

No question, this was the best song ever performed at Zimriyah. This song went well beyond the “best song of the summer” type. The implication of Maalot 02’s performance is removed from even the Camp Yavneh bubble. My best friend Jonah Liben, who has only stepped foot at Yavneh once over his whole life[6], still can sing me the song 10 years later. This is totally wild that someone, completely unaffiliated with Camp Yavneh, can sing a Zimriyah song a decade after it was performed. This was the broader impact that this song had.

In order to do the song justice, I asked Mera Sussman, K’02 to help me give a run down of the song.

 “You can thank Micah Shapiro for this history making Shir Aydah. Micah comes from a background of beat boxing and a capella as a former member of the Tufts a capella group. Micah took all those skills together to not only create this Shir Aydah but also win himself Melech Zimriyah in 2001. This song was made up of harmonies, a capella, beat boxing, solos (infamous Jon Safran solo with one hand over his ear as he sang similar to Boyz II Men), rounds and some great hand motions.  (WRITER’S NOTE: Even though almost all of these are staples of Zimriyah performances nowadays, remember that most of these were novelties in Zimriyah back then.)  This was the one and only time this aydah came together and through hard work and dedication produced one of the best shir aydot of all time. After this Shir Aydah was premiered in 2001 it became a camp staple as something sang in the bunks, chadar ochel and even KTV.”[7]

These guys revolutionized the meaning of a Zimriyah song, not only was the melody catchy and singable,[8] they had an intense passion about the whole song. It is so clear to me that “Like a Prayer” was the gateway to what we know Zimriyah is today.

2. Arayot 09- Heartless/Live your Life/All the above, Place for Song: 1^st, Overall: 1^st

When Neal Freyman told me about this song early in to camp that summer, I didn’t really understand the implications. Even after they pulled off the victory for the song as well as for Zimriyah as a whole, I didn’t fully comprehend that it was really that good. After listening to it afterward though, it really clicked. I already articulated how important mash-ups and medleys are, so I’ll spare you a second rant, but doing what Arayot did that summer has completely redefined what a great Zimriyah song is. Listening to the song again, it was cool how they flawlessly transitioned between the different songs. As if they were all meant to be one song in the first place. Counselors know now what they are up against, and if Maalot ‘11 does not win Zimriyah with another masterpiece, I will be quite surprised.

3. Kerem ‘04- Mr. Blue Sky Place for Song 1^st, Overall Place: 2^nd 

Kerem ‘10- All These…/Kim Possible/I’ve Gotta Feeling, Place for Song: 2^nd, Overall: 2^nd

Maalot ‘06- Heaven is a Place on Earth, Place for Song: 1^st, Overall: 1^st

Kfirim ‘06- Every Time we Touch, Place for Song: 2^nd, Overall: DNP

Mr. Blue Sky- What does whistling, pretending to be in a trance, boys singing in falsetto, and repeating the best stand up of all time[9] have in common? Yep, that’s right, Kerem ‘04’s Shir Aydah. This song was funky as well as totally weird, but it turned out to be a fantastic song. It started with David Webber repeating the stand up from the previous summer in which sung to tune Ode To Joy but instead of using the German words, he used our names and called us out one by one.[10] As alluded to at the beginning, we really used tricks that aydot don’t often use when it comes to Zimriyah. And the only reason we could was because of how weird the song was, and encouragement from our equally-weird counselors,  Jon Gradman and Josh Kirstein.  They certainly inspired us to think out of the box - when it came to Zimriyah and everything else - and I think this song’s performance was certainly influenced by them.

All These…/Kim Possible/I’ve Gotta Feeling - A little back story to the making of this song: Originally, Kerem just wanted to do Kim Possible, but after telling them that it was not the best song, they put their thinking hats on and came up with a very complicated arrangement that the aydah just could not pull off. It interwove three songs by pulling out the certain segments and layering them with segments from other songs. It was really an amazing accomplishment. And as objective as I can possibly be for this[11], I do think that this song  is inherently better than the song that Leviim performend that year. It was far more complicated, had more parts, and more overlapping sections where the aydah was effectively singing multiple songs at once. But overall, I think two things doomed it to a non-first place finish. First, Kerem screamed, rather than sang, parts of the song. Second, one of the judges came up to me afterward and asked what song it was. Right then, I knew we had lost because it was mashed up too well and became too subtle. Yes, I will say it, I can completely see how Leviim deserved to win for this Shir Aydah in 2010, but at the same time, I don’t know how much better, on paper, a song could actually be. It just shows you that execution in Zimriyah is everything, and clearly Leviim knew how to get it done.

Heaven is Place on Earth- I remember the exact place on the highway up to Acadia National Park when five counselors driving in the van produced the clinching lyrics to this song. I know in hindsight that lyrics don’t really matter, but at the time, we needed the best of the best. We were trying to think of a pun between Maalot, Stairs, heaven, and staircase to heaven and we were having a very difficult thinking of them in Hebrew. But finally, with an inspiration from a local pizza bathroom in the middle of Maine, we got it. “Beyachad Machanenu/Gan Eden Beolamainu/Anachu Hamalachim/ Al Maalot Lashamyim. ”  In English it reads, together we are a camp/ heaven on earth/ we are the angels/ on a staircase  (Maalot) to heaven. Beautiful. Too bad judges don’t understand Hebrew when 51 kids scream it at them. I honestly think we could have said gibberish for that entire verse and it wouldn't have made any difference. We won with intense energy and passion. We had a few gimmicks along the way, but mostly this Maalot really wanted it. This is also a good place to mention that Maalot ‘06 is the only aydah in a given year with two top 15 choices. In addition, songs fromZimriyah ‘06 had 5 top 15. I guess I really liked Zim ‘06.

Every Time we Touch- I love it because it is so cute when Kfirim does a good job, because for the rest of the summer all they want to do is get up in the Chadar Ochel and sing…. Not. But in reality, they did a great job, and the only reason why they didn’t win was because Maalot beat them out by a hair. I remember right after this song came out, my sister and I would debate in the car ride to New Jew/Gann the validity of whether this would be a good Zimirah song. We ended up agreeing it would only be good for a younger aydah did it because it is too simple for Leviim-Kerem. I guess we were right. Even though I wasn’t in that aydah, and even though it is more than 4 years later, I can still sing that chorus and do the funky hand motions with my fingers. Yeah, you know hand motions I am talking about.

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[1] By this I mean music composition and theory.

[2] Remember, mash, not medley. Mashing is significantly harder.

[3] Now if this doesn’t convince you that medleys and mash-ups work, nothing else can.

[4] The only second place win (Kerem 2010) would have been first if Leviim didn’t have (or mashup of their own.

[5] Yes, Maalot ‘07 won with a Beatles medley. But, first and for most, it was a medley.

[6] Jonah grew up at Camp Ramah, New England. The only time he came to Yavneh was when Machon, the aydah equivalent to Maalot, came to visit Yavneh for an inter-camp sleepover. I not going to go into all of the details, but let’s just say this will never happen again.

[7] Yep, Leviim ‘02, the girls in my adyah, did this song for KTV and won.

[8] You bet it was an eighties song.

[9] There is no question that the standup that my aydah did in 2003 was the best stand up I have ever seen.

[10] This “motion to stand” started by David Webber, has been used multiple including most recently in 2009. Talk about an epic stand up.

[11] Which is obviously up for debate considering I was their Rosh. 

Top Five- Shir Yisraeli

Please fill out all 3 polls so I can gauge what I should be writing more about.

How do you win Shir Yisraeli?

More than any other Zimriyah song category, I believe that Shir Yisraeli is won by the actual song chosen to be performed. Usually there is not much embellishment (except for Kerem ‘03, to be discussed later) which means pretty standard hand motions and minimal H/S[1], Now, if you asked me last year, I would have said that over the past 5 years, Shir Yisraeli is won in one of two ways. Either you’re Gurim and you pick a cute song that everyone knows, or you pick a super emotional song that represents Israel’s pain and sorrow with a subtle, positive outlook, reflected in both the lyrics as well as the music. Here’s proof: starting in 2005 Leviim won with Zirchonot shel Africa, a song by Ethiopian children documenting their journey to Israel. In 2006 Kerem won with Emtza Ha Liela, a song about the current situation in Israel. In 2007 and 2008 Gurim won with Yerusalim shel Zahav and Elli Elli.[2] And in 2009 Kerem won with Mitachat Lashamayim about a relationship that is plagued by hardship, but ultimately the relationship is rekindled.

After 2009, things changed. This past summer, Leviim did a song a by an Israeli boy band, and Kerem did a song about the African Jungle. Both songs in their own way were very new. I like the change, and I hope it is a sign of what’s to come in the Shir Yisraeli category.

How do you lose Shir Yisraeli? Nowadays? Mashina or anything like Mashina. Period.

 Best Shir Yisraeli

1. Kama Ahava - Leviim ‘10, Place for song: 1^st, Overall: 1^st

Beautiful. One of the only songs from which I think an aydah could have made money. As I mentioned before, this song falls into that whole new genre of Shir Yisraeli music that has yet to be explored for Zimriyah. I expect that in coming years, counselors and Kerem alike will be looking at songs like this one to decide what constitutes  ‘good’ Shir Yisraeli. There is no question that Kerem ‘12 is setting the bar high.

2. Halo Ya’akov- Maalot ‘02, Place for Song: 2nd, Overall Place: 1st

This is the only song in the top 15 (5 per song category) that I have had a really hard time finding on the Internet. I did find one website that has a translation to a song about Jacob called Halo Yaakov, and considering I remember the activities that Maalot ’02 incorporated into their performance, I am betting that it is the same song. But more than anything else, I remember the effect this song had on the entirety of camp. The lasting outcome of a song is so much more important than most things in Zimriyah when it comes to creating a legacy. Just like Rakevet/ HaSharm el-Sheikah, Kerem ‘03 really knew how to push the envelope and demonstrated this ability with their choice of Shir Yisraeli. During the song, Yehuda Lerea dressed up as Jacob in the Bible, did a short rap number, accompanied by severalgirls in his aydah who were dressed up as angels climbing a ladder.  Even the fog machine made an appearance. It was really cool and creative, and regardless of the fact that it wasn’t exactly singing , I think these types of performances have a significant effect on how people should think about Zimriyah. It’s a performance as much as it is a singing competition.

3. Rakevet/HaSharm el-Sheikah-Kerem ‘03, Place for song 2^nd, Overall: 2^nd 

Emtza Ha-Laila- Kerem ‘06, Place for Song: 1^st, Overall Place: 2nd

Ani Esh- Kerem ‘08, Place for Song: 3^rd , Overall Place:  1st

Rakevet/ HaSharm el Sheikah - Even just 8 years ago, a song that won Shir Yisraeli (or should have won in 2003[3]) really has no place anymore in Zimriyah ^[4]. Kerem ‘03 combined a very somber political song with a fantastic, upbeat, rock song called Rakevet by Mashina. I don’t know if it was intentional or not, but both refer to places in Egypt. Two things really stood out for me about this performance. First, In the middle of the song, there was a part where they all sang ohh ohh ohh…. While doing this, the aydah swayed back and forth together. It was totally mesmerizing. Second, after the swaying segment, the entire aydah ducked down, leaving Jeff Cohen standing as he screamed, “Gila, Gila Kogah Bodi (Gila Gila Kogi’s Body).” At the time, it seemed like jibberish and I only know what the words are because I looked them up. Even now they mean nothing, but at the time, it was a huge statement of power. I absolutely thought Kerem ‘03 had that song in the bag. Clearly the judges thought differently.

Emtza Ha-Laila-  Going into it, I really thought that Arayot (with Ani Yachol La’oof) was going to win this song. However, Kerem delivered a really nice performance with Emtza Ha-Laila. It was melodious and emotional, and I think perfectly represents what the judges want to see for Zimriyah. Josh Goldman, dressed as an Israeli soldier, held up an Israeli flag throughout the performance. It gave the song a beautiful and memorable feel.

Ani Esh- Although gurin wom Shir Yisraeli in 2008 with Elli Elli and Leviim placed second ith Od Nageah, I think Kerem 2008's perfrmance of Ani Esh is certainly up there for the most beautiful songs ever done at Zimriyah. the song didn’t  necessarily have that a “wow” factor that most of the others in these rankings did, but I do remember thinking that I wished most songs in Zimriyah were like this one. It was just a feel good song.

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[1] Harmonies/Solos

[2] Come on. Really? Yerusalim Shel Zahav and Elli Elli? And they won with that?

[3] Even though my aydah swept Zimriyah as Maalot ‘03, I am the first one to say that Kerem deserved to win for Shir Israeli that year. Shir Le Shalom doesn’t compare to the creativity that was their medley.

[4] The staff for Maalot ‘08 decided that Mashina (same band who performed Rakevet), was a good choice for Zimriyah. It wasn’t. Zimriyah in the five years since this song has certainly morphed into a different type of category with similarly evolved expectations.

I forgot to attach these- Shir Chasidi

If you were wondering what the Shir Chasidis sound like, I was able to find a youtube video for all of them besides Ani Maamin. Enjoy.

Modeh Ani

Samachti

Yehei Yehei 

Kol Hamispalel

Top 5: Shir Chasidi

I have taken the liberty of ranking the top 5 songs in each category of Zimriyah. This is post is about Shir Chasidi. Shir Israeli and Shir Aydah will come in later posts.

How do you win Shir Chasidi?

The most important aspect of this category is catchiness. When you choose a song, you want to make sure the judges are singing it to themselves the next morning. Other important aspects include multiple parts (like a verse and chorus) a funky bridge, H/S[1], H and S together, and a lot of energy. I would love to see an aydah do a mashup/medley of different shirei chasidi because when I attend colligate Jewish a capella groups either at UMD, Columbia, Penn or here at Northwestern, I love when they combine chasidi-type songs. My favorite was when Rak Shalom of UMD mashed up Yehei (done by Arayot 02) and Lecha.[2]  It was so awesome and I am sure it would win if an aydah copied the arrangement.

What should you not do for Shir Chasidi? In general, I don’t think slow songs for this category are very successful. Simple, old, or boring songs also don’t work for Shir Chasidi. There need to be signs of creativity, or else the  songs won’t be memorable.

Note about my ranking system:

All three songs categories are evaluated based on three criteria:

1. Performance at Zimriyah

2. Impact of that song for the rest of the summer

3. How often it is referred to or talked about in future summers as being the “best one ever”.

In addition, for all three categories I give a best song, a second best song and three songs that are all ‘tied’ for third place. In general I do not like to include Kfirim and Gurim in these rankings[3], but for shir aydah I gave the top 6, and one of them happens to be Kfirim.

The fact that I was not at camp in 2005 inhibits my ability to award a top 5 song to anyone in 2005.  Sorry, but it is hard to know the impact of a song when you are 6000 miles away in Israel.

Finally, I think it’s important to demonstrate that  I don’t give more weight to songs that I was personally a part in choosing my top 15 songs. Overall, I have chosen 4 songs that I have been apart of, which is 26.6% of the songs. Besides all of Gurim and Kfirim songs (which I am not counting here) and the year I missed for Naaleh (which I I’m also not counting here) I have been a part of 27 out of 108 songs in Arayot and older over the past 10 years. This is exactly 25% (and 26.6 is extremely close to 25).

Top Five Shir Chasidi

1. Modeh Ani^{, [4]} Leviim 2008, Place for Song: 1^st, Overall 2^nd:

Before Kerem 2010 were in Kerem, this aydah struck gold with their Shir Chasidi in 2008. Modeh Ani is a three part[5] song by Shasheles Junior, and it was absolutely made for Zimriyah. It had loads of H/S built in and the tempo is just right. When this aydah performed, they rocked it. I am sure they won hands down for that song, because really no one could match their power and execution.  But the reason why this songs wins, by far, for the top Shir Chasidi (as compared with #2) was both the impact it had on the rest of camp, and more importantly, the influence it had on the aydah as a cohesive unit. After Zimriyah that year, this song took over the chadar ochel. You could guarantee that at least once a day Avi Zablocki would play this song during a meal to the delight of everyone. Campers and counselors from Gurim to Kerem would get up on the table with Leviim and sing and do the hand motions with them. The unity of camp around one aydah’s Zimriyah song was totally unheard of in the past and since.  And because of all of this cooperation and general delight for this song, it allowed Leviim to really shine as an aydah that summer. For an aydah to establish themselves it needs an identity: something to rally around, something to showcase, and something to care about. For most adyot it usually happens in Maalot. With the help of Modeh Ani, a hands-off approach of Ruth Dollinger and David Webber and 60 something kids, Leviim 2008 achieved individuality unmatched by every Leviim that I have ever seen.

2. Kol Hamitpalel- Maalot 2006. Place for Song: 1^st, Overall:1^st

Classical battle for the rights to a Shir Chasidi, take one. As a Zimriyah enthusiast, and as a first year counselor in Maalot, I was delighted to present my co-counselorswith a fantastic choice for Shir Chasidi. I knew that my sister Tali, who was in Kerem that year, wanted to choose this song for her aydah’s Shir Chasidi. I spent the first week of camp arguing with my sister that we should have the song, and that she has no claim, but at the same time telling my co-counselors that we should just let Kerem do it. Maalot relented, and Kerem 2006 put it up for a vote. In one of the worst decisions made about a choice of Zimriyah song, they did not chose Kol Hamitpalel but settled for the techno version of Tehilat Hashem. Maalot ‘06 quickly snatched it up and the rest was history. Unlike Modeh Ani, it did not have a full lasting effect, however, execution-wise, it was spot on. That year Maalot ‘06 brought so much energy, if it weren’t for a bad song choice for shir Yisraeli, Maalot definitely could have swept.

3. Yehei, Yehei, Arayot ‘02. Place for Song: 1^st, Overall: 2^nd.

Ani Maamin, Maalot ‘04. Place for Song: 1^st, Overall: Tied for 1st

Samechti- Kerem ‘09. Place for Song: 3^rd, Overall, Tied for 2^nd.

Yehei Yehei- Yehei and Lecha[6] are probably two of the most popular songs by the group the Cheveri in the past decade if not across the entire genre of Orthodox Jewish male singing groups. It is no wonder than the song was so great. Arayot that year had a stellar performance, especially for being in Arayot. One of the main reasons though that it made this list was the lasting impact it had and continues to have on camp. Even though people don’t necessarily know that Arayot ‘02 performed this song for Zimriyah, the song is still, even 9 years later, a big camp hit. This is in large part to Arayot ‘02.

Ani Maamin- Once again, another great Shir Chasidi by Kerem ‘05’s age group.[7] Part of the allure of this song is that for the first minute or two of the song, it is very slow and melodic. This completely breaks my mold for a winning Shir Chasidi. Anyway, at the time, this performance, as well as my aydah’s royal screw up of Rak Chazak, was the reason Kerem ‘04 did not win Zimriyah. Too bad. Maalot deserved it (I can’t say the same thing about Leviim.)

Samechti- Classical battle for the rights to a Shir Chasidi, Take 2. This time it was between Jordana Suldan and Talia Schwartz.  Friends from the same school in Baltimore, each wanted to do the song for their respective aydah. Both of them thought that they had claim to the song and I was stuck in the middle of their heated argument.[8] Talia attested that she found the song and showed Jordana, so therefore the song should be rightfully hers. However, Jordana claimed that she had heard the song independently of Talia. A battle at the beginning of camp ensued, and when Kerem ‘09 chose the song I ended up agreeing with Jordana only because she was in Kerem. I promised Talia that if presented with the same dilemma next year, she would automatically get the song. Even though the song didn’t place highly, I think there was a general consensus afterward that they deserved to win for that song. There were H/S all over, and Gavi Bohan blew us away with an amazing solo in the middle. Too bad Kerem 2009’s Pokemon couldn’t stop Arayot from being the darkhorse that year[9].

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[1] Remember from my first post about Zimriyah that H/S means Harmonies and Solos

[2] It was done by Plugat Maase in 2008. More on this song later.

[3] Mostly because their songs are generally not good enough, and Gurim/Kfirim represent multiple Kerem years so it is impossible to assign credit to a particular Kerem. You will see later why that is important. 

[4] Before I begin explaining about the song, it is hilarious to note that the counselors did not get the words right when teaching their kids the words. They thought it was “Histotev HeHarim “ or “surrounded by mountains,” when in fact the words are EDIT: “Yitkaber Keari,” or “be strong like a lion.”  They even had a hand-motion to accompany this phrase where they would raise their hands and circle around. It was not discovered until much later when Lianna Brenner learned the real words at her Seminary. And to think we are supposed to say these words everyday as we are waking up…

[5] even better than the recommendation of two

[6] A fantastic song performed in  Maccabiah 2008

[7] In fact they choice another very popular chasdic song of Veahaveta by the Miami Boys Choir.

[8] This is because I was Talia’s rosh, so obviously I had to defend her, but in addition, I was friends with Jordana’s sister at that time so she felt I should be on her side. Woah, camp drama. Woah.

[9] What am I saying ‘too bad?’ I would have been very upset if Kerem won. Besides Maalot, Arayot would have definitely been my second choice.