The Answer is Yes!

So much of what we do each day at camp is planned for: from the activities that campers will choose from in their chugim, yesodot  or miktzo’ot to the daily schedule which must leave enough time to move from Village 2 to the Archery Field with 50+ campers to evening activities which are thoughtfully constructed to ensure that even Messy Night or Tie-Dye and Tacos are aligned with our 7 core values.

Of course, we value creativity and problem solving in the moment: anyone who has worked at camp knows that flexibility, whimsy and some cardboard are key supplies in a pinch when a space at camp is double booked or there is a little extra time between activities. We intentionally hire staff who, when pitched a curveball, will enthusiastically respond with, “The answer is YES! What’s the question?”

But what happens when our beloved PNW gives us less-than-24-hours-notice that a summer rainstorm will spend all day lingering over Jordan Road? 

The answer is an all-camp production of The Little Mermaid. The answer is, “yes, we can organize, coordinate, delegate and engage nearly 200 campers ranging in age from 7-16 to write a script, create costumes and sets, and produce a full play in less than 24 hours.

While the story of Ariel, Scuttle, Sebastian and Ursula is not overtly Jewish … though of course we took some liberties when bringing out some Jewish thematic elements … the ability to adapt and find joy and laughter in times of disappointment, is uniquely and inherently Jewish. And that is our joyful Jewish moment of the week … enjoy the show!

by Machon Class of ’25
July 24, 2025

Maybe it was the very first time we were around so many Jews at one time; maybe it was laughing late night way passed lights out; maybe it was the moment we finally got all the hand gestures down for Birkat Hamazon or when we FINALLY got to do the Kesher dance. Or maybe it was something less tangible, a feeling that only those who have driven down Jordan Road year after year can understand. 

The Machon Class of 2025 would like to share the moments, big and small, that have meant the most to them and that make Kalsman home:

Liminal Leadership: The Machon Experience

Are you familiar with Machon?  Our machonikkim, some would call them CITs, are entering their senior year of high school, and occupy a liminal space here at camp.  They are both the oldest camper unit here at Camp Kalsman, and, at the same time, as counselors in training they spend their summer in an extended staff orientation program, working their way toward graduating from camper to counselor.

Two weeks ago at this time, while camp was on intersession between Kallah Aleph and Kallah Bet, our counselors in training (CITs) had just finished an amazing Machon trip, on which we went sea kayaking up near Bellingham, WA. This trip marked the culmination of the “camper” part of their journey.  When we arrived back at Kalsman, our CITs received the first sizable promotion on their journey toward becoming counselors, and they all moved into camper cabins, joining teams of counselors and specialists to learn more about being a counselor and begin to take part in cabin life from a counselor perspective.

During that intersession, the CITs worked with their new co-counselors to set up for the new session, preparing for their specific groups of campers to arrive, and then, just 24 hours later, Kallah Bet began! In the past two weeks, CITs have begun to lead more programs for their bunks and units, ranging from bedtime bunktime programs to evening programs for their entire units. They ask brilliant questions about the things that they observe in their cabins: about different approaches for resolving conflict, or about how to get campers excited for unfamiliar programs, or about time management, or about how to help campers make friends. It is truly inspiring to see this new generation of counselors in the making learn to think so deeply about—and to care so deeply about—their campers.

There is about one week remaining in Kallah Bet, during which they are sure to make even greater strides. Starting in Kallah Gimel, some of our CITs will move on to become junior counselors, assuming even more responsibilities. Many more will come back to join the Kalsman staff next year.  And if this summer is anything to go on, you can rest assured that your campers will be in good care!

Camp is Full of Jewish Joy

by Rachel Chancellor, Rosh Jewish Life
July 18, 2025

As Rosh Jewish Life this summer, I have the great honor of seeing daily moments of Jewish joy. Every part of the day here at camp is filled with Jewish joy, and I get to witness it through Camp Kalsman’s 7 Core Values: 

• Leadership/ Manhigut – Watching this year’s CIT class plan their very own CIT’fillah and get excited about praying together with their campers
• Belonging/ Sheychut – Hearing all of our staff, both Jewish and non-Jewish, sing our nightly siyum for the first time
• Fun/ Kef – Our nightly shira, when all of the kids jump and sing (scream) to Hebrew songs
• Health & Wellness/ Shmirat Haguf – Staff helping each other when their co-counselors are not feeling well, emotionally or physically
• Community/ Kehilah – Kesher campers creating a kehila-themed mosaic together
• Jewish Identity/ Zehut Yehudit – Campers asking me questions about Jewish ideas in relation to their lives (after all, questions are an essential Jewish concept)
• Connection/ Hibur – Each unit forming their siyum circle every night by wrapping their arms around each other

And then there is the less obvious Jewish joy – the kind that happens doing everyday camp activities like planting a flower, flying on the Swing, paddling a canoe for the first time or refreshing some old paint. The kind of quiet joy when campers pause for a moment, glance around, sigh and smile to themselves because they realize that they are home at camp. Camp is where they can be unapologetically Jewish, in everything they are doing. I am so lucky I get to witness and experience campers and staff living out these Jewish values every day! 

By Daniel Flash, Rosh Eidah
Thursday, July 17, 2025

This past Sunday, 28 Kesher campers and 11 staff embarked on a rememberable camping trip. After our hour long drive, we stepped foot into Camano Island State Park and were greeted by the bright blue water of the Saratoga passage and by the big green trees of the pacific north west. After setting up our tents and settling in, we enjoyed activities such as swimming, hiking, soccer, and making s’mores. For dinner, we even enjoyed making and eating Poike, a South African rice dish. At night, we enjoyed Siyum under the bright star lit sky, and smelled the crackling wood and smoke of our campfire.

After a long and (partially) comfortable night of sleep, we awoke, cooked homemade pita and shakshuka for breakfast and then departed back towards Kalsman. However, no Kesher trip is complete without a lunch of pizza before returning to camp, which is why we stopped at a nearby park and enjoyed Dominos pizza. After pizza, we headed back to camp where our day of camping came to a close.

I am so grateful for the opportunity of sharing these fun memories and activities with our Kesher unit. Going camping, making meals together, helping each other build tents, and spending time with one another shows how much of a community we are and how we all value each others’ presence.

The rest of this week was filled with camp fun: we continued working on our Kesher Projects (Junior CITs, rebuilding planter boxes and redecorating the pool doors), went deeper in mosaic magic, trailblazing and ropes training, camp-favorite time at the lake, in culinary arts and with our visiting artist Spike Kraus! One evening we recreated the Amazing Race television show all around camp, another night we had Spa Night with face masks, pore strips, nail polish and hot chocolate, and last night we played “Taskmaster” with mini games, brainteasers and challenges to think outside the box and beyond the “rules” off the game to win, creatively! Hilarity ensued. 

As our second Shabbat rolls in, I am sad that this session is almost over, but excited that we still have time to make so many more memories. Again, this Kesher group is really something special and I cannot wait for our last week together at camp.

by Smoody, Associate Director
Friday, July 11, 2025

On Monday, I took my dog on a hike I’ve never done on camp before. As we walked into the woods, the sights and sounds of camp disappeared almost instantly. It was as if I’d been transported to woods far away from the 200+ people on camp.

I reached the end of the hike and turned back and suddenly voices started to filter through the trees. I couldn’t make out individual words, but I realized quickly the voices were campers singing at the beginning of siyum (our closing circle each night). As I got closer, I realized that at the end of the first full day of camp for Session Bet, the campers were singing the words, “Live your life with arms wide open, today is where your book begins, the rest is still unwritten,” from the song “Unwritten” by Natasha Bedingfield. My eyes welled with tears.

Even on this trail that felt at once so far from camp, the energy of camp reached me. Our campers really were on the precipice of something new, beautiful, and exciting. New friendships have started to form, campers have already started to try new activities that are quickly becoming favorites, they’ve learned a beautiful new version of Oseh Shalom in T’filah (services). Our campers were truly at the beginning of an unwritten book, a book they each will write, filling the pages with the magic of camp.

I imagine them writing about their Rosh Eidah (Unit Head) giving them a shaving cream mohawk during Messy Twister night. Or maybe describing how the whole dining hall erupted into song and dance when “Popular” from Wicked was played for bussing music at the end of a meal. I bet they’re writing about sitting with their cabin during mifgash (morning circle) and hearing a cabinmate share about what a day in their life is like. Probably there’s a whole page dedicated to the Camp Dog Wedding between my dog, Manny, and Rabbi Ilana’s dog, Kallie, when they got to create dog wedding attire or write a dog ketubah. A few will write about learning how to take care of their curly hair from our Dreamweaver this summer (her whole job is to make camp magic!).

Whatever it is that ends up in their books, at Camp Kalsman, our campers are the authors of their own story. We supply the moments but they make the magic.

At Camp Kalsman, we strive to create an environment where every camper and staff can be their true and best selves. Even in our sacred community, mistakes and conflicts occur and everyone has the ability to grow and learn. Kalsman is taking steps this summer to become a restorative community. A restorative community aligns with our Jewish values because it is is rooted in the desire to create a more compassionate, inclusive, and accountable society. A restorative community embodies that ideas of t’shuvah or repair when responding to conflict because it works to repair the harm and promote mutual understanding. The goal is not only to respond more humanely to wrongdoing but also to proactively nurture a culture where everyone feels seen, heard, and valued.

Restorative communities:

• See relationships as the key to meaningful community
• Center, model, and make decisions rooted in their core values
• Have clear and clearly articulated expectations for all community members and roles AND take time to develop/teach skills needed to meet expectations
• Build new structures and systems that center youth voice, slow down decision-making process, create time and space
• Prioritize time for meaningful connection using regular circle practice and one on one conversations
• Are not afraid of conflict and see conflict as an opportunity to strengthen relationships, develop skills, and meet needs

The first step to establishing a restorative community is to establish a baseline through community and relationship building. In order to start every day from a place of connection, we added a morning Mifgash, or meeting, to the day to build community based in values and will start the summer with an orientation to express expectations and make sure each camper knows all the resources on camp.