The strength of our Jewish community is our membership. We are blessed by so many warm and caring individuals and families that make our community a great place to live and work. Our member Q & A section seeks to tap into that community spirit and find the mitzvot motivation of our members.

In summer of 2023, Ari and Ethan Holzer attended Jewish Summer Camp at Camp Harlam.

Thank you Ari and Ethan for sharing you thoughts on this adventure and learning experience.

Dear Greater Altoona Jewish Federation,
           
This year I had the opportunity to go to Camp Harlam in Kunkletown, PA. Camp Harlam really helped realize what it is to be Jewish. At camp, I learned a lot of different words in Hebrew. Words such as, Dining Hall (chadar ochel), and for the medical center (Mirpa’ah).

At Camp, we did a lot of activities and stayed very busy. One of my favorite activities by far was going mountain biking, in which we biked into the woods and around the entire property back to where we started. Another activity really enjoyed was going swimming in the lake. They had a bunch of big floats that we would climb on and slide off of some. There was a swing, a trampoline, and a big ball that we would have to try and balance on. Another one of my favorite activities to do is the zipline. It was so fun to be basically flying through the air. 

We often played an Israeli game called Gaga Ball which I enjoyed. In this game you would hit the ball at peoples knees and below. By hitting them there they would be out, then they would leave the circle and whoever is the last person standing wins. . At camp I also tried some new sports like Disc Golf, PickleBall, Kayaking, Ultimate Frisbee, and Water Polo.

My group (Galil) went on a big hike through the woods that took a while to finish. It was very fun and beautiful, because we went on top of a big hill and got to see a big valley. But above everything I did at camp, my favorite thing was Color Wars. Everyone in the entire camp got assigned to a color and their team had to try to win various sports and activities. There were a bunch of challenges that the teams did and earned a different amount of points.
Shabbat services were great and I really enjoyed them. They put most of the prayers into song form which I really liked because I love music. I also enjoyed participating in Services when it was my group's turn to lead them. I learned the prayer after meals which we said after every dinner. On Shabbat, we sang songs after dinner. During dinner I tried some new foods: lasagna, perogies, and quiche.

My ability to go to Camp Harlam was largely due to the generosity of the Greater Altoona Jewish Federation camp scholarship program.  I thank everyone who contributes to GAJF and encourage other Jewish kids in the area to go to summer camp! Ari Holzer

Dear Greater Altoona Jewish Federation,

Camp Harlam was one of my best and most memorable experiences. Thank you for helping us with funding.

One of my favorite activities was the lake. There were lots of inflatables to play on that included a trampoline, a weird planet thing, and a huge slide. Another one of my favorite activities were the hikes. I never realized how beautiful nature was until then. My counselors taught me about newts, moss, and how important it is to drink water. I liked rest hour where I either read or played card games with my bunkmates. Not to mention, my bunkmates were very nice kids and I got along with them pretty well. My best friend was Hunter, we would go everywhere together; sports, card games, we were even on the same color war team, blue bugs bunny.

The food at camp Harlam was incredible I loved the salmon, chicken tenders, and fried chicken. The best part was the new stuff I tried. I tried bread with syrup, a banana sandwich, and vegan pizza. (I wasn’t really supposed to get the vegan pizza, but I did anyway.)

My favorite new sports are pickleball and tennis. Some other new sports I tried were gaga ball, tug of war, and gymnastics. My favorite of the three is gymnastics. Specifically, the springboard I would try to jump over three blocks and fail horribly but it was fun.

A few ways camp helped me connect to my Jewish Identity was singing Oseh Shalom and other prayers. Another thing is the birkat hamazon after dinner when we bang on tables and sing along to it.

The most memorable moment in my opinion is the power outage and water dripping through the celing during a storm after dinner.

Again, thank you for helping with funding this amazing experience. I can’t wait to go back this year!
Ethan Holzer