Deep in the Hills January 2022

Deep in the Hills CYJ ALUMNI NEWSLETTER

JANUARY 2022

EST. 1939

CAMP YOUNG JUDAEA • 9 CAMP ROAD • AMHERST, NH 03031 • WWW.CYJ.ORG

Director’s Corner: Hello, CYJ Alums, As many of you know, after almost 30 wonderful years as a a “grown up” at CYJ, I am leaving the organization.

CYJ will now be led by alum Jon Spack, D’91 as Executive Director.

I know Jon will bring great energy and ideas to CYJ. He officially starts tomorrow, January 3, and I’ll be around for another week, helping him as much as I can to ensure another fantastic summer experience for campers and staff. CYJ has a bright future ahead with Jon at the helm!

I truly thank so many of you for the outpouring of affection, support and kind words for me and my family as I head off to new adventures. All of us — my husband and former Executive Director Ken, our daughter Rachel and her significant other Sam, our daughter Kayla and her husband Abie and our son Ari — appreciate the many wonderful friendships, experiences and memories from camp (not to mention all the T-shirts, sweatshirts and hats I’ve accumulated over the years, which I am donating to camp for the alumni archives!)

What a ride it’s been…03031 will always be in my heart. Thank you for this opportunity!

Marcy P.S. I can now be reached at marcykorn1@gmail.com.

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Welcome to our new Executive Director We are excited to welcome our new Executive Director, Jon Spack, starting January 3.

Jon has a long history at CYJ…he started in 1987 as a camper, went to Israel with the Gadna program, worked as a counselor for many years (in every age group!) and was the co-head of Athletics in 1996. Jon is deeply connected and committed to CYJ’s future.

Jon received his undergrad degree from the University of Wisconsin and received his master’s degree in Nonprofit Leadership from the University of Pennsylvania. He and his wife Hagar are the proud parents of daughters Hana and Eden.

For more than 20 years, Jon has worked in a variety of organizations that serve the needs of school-aged children and adolescents, including Coaching for Change and Citizen Schools. In addition to this incredible background, Jon is kind, thoughtful and fun-loving and of course, absolutely loves CYJ. We know all of his fellow alums wish him well and look forward to a bright future for CYJ.

CYJ 2021 Recap What an amazing summer we had!! Despite Covid protocols (testing, cohorting, masking and more), food supply shortages, changes to programming, no trip days or tours, outdoor dining in Lou Brown, a virtual Visiting Day, no intercamp sports, almost an entire first month of rain, limitations on staff time-off out of camp, and lots of other changes and challenges, the YJ spirit of fun, traditions and friendship was even stronger than ever. We so appreciate that several alums came to camp during the summer to help us out when some of our admin members got Covid. Whether it was serving food, helping out at the infirmary, joining evening programs, chaperoning counselors or buying them special goodies, CYJ alums really were there for us!!

Wonder what CYJ was like this past summer? Please enjoy this fun video put together by alum Dave Herman D’82. Thanks, Dave, for capturing all the fun we had in 2021. Click here to see the video.

What About Gadna?

Although we had planned to send two Gadna groups in ‘21, Covid and unrest in Israel derailed those plans.

Instead, the Gadna ‘20 group had the chance to work at camp for at least a month during the summer and the Gadna ‘21 group came to camp for two weeks and then embarked on a two-week New England travel adventure.

The 25 intrepid campers and their counselors renamed themselves “Nature Extravaganza” and had the chance to explore New Hampshire and Vermont beaches, state parks, camp sites and natural wonders. They hiked, biked, cooked out, attended a minor league baseball game, did some shopping, battled the elements (yes, lots of rain) and enjoyed Shabbat celebrations together. They ended their adventure in a Hampshire Hills lock-in program, watched the sun rise and ate an early morning breakfast at a local diner together.

For the Summer of 2022, we’re excited to finally offer the Gadna trip program to two groups...Gadna ‘22 and Gadna ‘21/Nature Extravaganza. Fifty-five teens will be heading to Israel at the end of June!

Helping Those in Need At the end of the summer, CYJ and Wolfoods, our food-service company, donated 311 pounds of food (which we’re told represents 260 meals) to the New Hampshire Food Bank. Sadly, one in seven people in New Hampshire are now experiencing hunger, a 69 percent increase over last year. We were proud to be able to assist the only food bank in New Hampshire; for more info, please visit www.nhfoodbank.org.

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We were excited

to debut our new Climbing Wall and Ninja course.

Campers and staff loved these new additions! And of course, we were excited for our male campers to try out our two new cabins in lower area!

Security Grant It took months of seminars and preparation, but we are thrilled to announce that CYJ was the recipient of a $100,000 security grant from the Department of Homeland Security. Here’s the press release...over the next three years we’ll be able to make significant upgrades to security at camp! Thanks to Marcy and Finance Director Melissa Hertzel for all of their hard work to obtain this grant! Click Here.

New Board Members Welcome to new CYJ Board members (and alums) Greg Curhan D’76, Ted Macnow D’98, Erica Abate Recht D’88, Dave Gershon D’86 and Stephen Lable D’87. To read more about each of our new Board members, just go to this link.

Many thanks to long-serving Board members who recently stepped down, including Paul Finger, Scott Cohen, Stu Brogadir and Mark and Ben Senders.

We want YOU! Interested in helping out CYJ this year or know someone you’d like to recommend?

We have several exciting opportunities as we form new committees. Please contact Itzy at itzy@cyj.org if you are interested or would like more information.

• Diversity, Inclusion and Equity Committee • Health and Wellness Committee • Parent Committee • Alumni Committee

Calling all CYJ Alumni Singles!

Everyone agrees that there’s something special about the connection we all feel to CYJ and to others who are part of the CYJ family. For those alums who are single, widowed or divorced, meeting someone from CYJ creates an immediate natural connection, no matter what your age. That’s why Lori Schaffer Wolf D’74 would love to create a way to connect CYJ Singles with each other. Interested, want to get involved or want to hear more about this idea? Please contact Itzy at itzy@cyj. org.

A hearty welcome!

We’d like to introduce and welcome our new Facilities Director, Steven Stoddard, and bid a fond goodbye to Sam Hochberg D’95, who has been in the position since 2013. Sam and his family have moved to a home in Amherst, where he’s pursuing new opportunities starting in early January. Sam has been very helpful in working with Steve to learn the ins and outs of the CYJ site. We wish Sam all the best in his new endeavors and thank him for his dedication and service to CYJ. Steve is a dad of three and a grandfather of one. He has extensive site-management experience, having previously worked at a camp in New England as well as a ranch in Colorado and a resort in New York. His background includes construction, boat building and Project Adventure course design, plus he’s a working musician, playing gigs throughout New England.

Reunion Recap We loved seeing so many campers, families and prospective campers at our annual camp Reunion held the Sunday after Thanksgiving.

More than 220 campers and more than 40 staff members joined us for a fun program. Everyone who attended had the chance to get a camp yearbook and a special Reunion T-shirt and joined us in singing some camp favorites, watching an awesome recap video presentation highlighting Summer 2021, and enjoying some refreshments.

The first-ever CYJ virtual Trivia Night was a

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huge success and a lot of fun. Held in early June, the Zoom fundraising event attracted participation from dozens of alums and raised more than $2,500 for CYJ! Many thanks to Ben Lichtman D’04 and Ben Broad D’02 for hosting this gettogether and to our many sponsors, including GilmanSurge.

(Alex Gilman D’02), Connections PT (Max Cantor D’03), Huntington Home Systems (Shulman family, including Larry D’72, Amy D’73, Alyssa D’02 and Ross D’06), Native Brands (Rodger Cohen, Staff ‘79-’84), Troubadour Goods (Abel Samet D’02), Swoon, and Richard Speyer D’02. It was a great way to support CYJ, see some old friends and have a blast. Congrats to the winners, the Zakar family. We’re hoping to schedule another Trivia Night this year!

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History of CYJ

ven though Facebook (or Meta, whatever you want to call it), is facing some pretty harsh criticism these days, our alumni FB group is going strong and is a great source of connection. To join, click here.

Another FB group that we keep an eye on is the Baboosic Lake FB group.

Recently, we were asked to contribute information about the founding of CYJ and here’s what was published: “Brothers, Harry and Louis Levine and Dr. Morton J. Robbins were the founders of Camp Young Judaea in 1939. The history of the camp is interesting and so were the lives of these men.

Samuel and Sarah Levine emigrated from Russia and settled in Brooklyn, NY. Samuel had been a presser in Russia and according to the census, owned a candy store in Brooklyn.

They had seven children. Notable here were two of their sons: Harry born August 1, 1895 and Louis born March 4, 1901.

In 1939, Harry was married to Hannah Sheba Fish Levine and they had two sons, Irwin and Morton and a daughter Barbara.

Harry attended City College of New York. Later, Harry was the Massachusetts President and Chairman of the Board of the U.S. Plastic and Chemical Company.

Louis was married to Lillian Goodstein Levine. Both brothers lived in Leominster, Massachusetts (according to ancestry. com).

Morton J. Robbins was born October 16, 1897, in the Ukraine, came to the United States in 1922 and studied pharmacy at Rutgers University. He earned his medical degree at the University of Liege, Belgium, in 1927. He was married to Claire

Thank You! We so appreciate the many alums who have generously supported CYJ. Thank you!!

We have many different giving options, including recurring gifts, gifts of stock, company matches and more! (Check out our website at www.cyj.org/donate) Interested in more info or have questions? Please contact Amy Klinger at donations@cyj.org.

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CYJ past & present Robbins and resided in Nashua, where he was a physician.

Later, Dr. Robbins was the Chairman of the American Zionist Youth Commission and was the Founder and honorary President of the New Hampshire Zionist Federation.

This is how Camp Young Judaea, came to be:

In 1935, Harry Levine (according to Wikipedia) was introduced to Justice Louis D. Brandeis who commissioned Levine to organize youth activities throughout the New England area, and to start a summer camp with the program, directed by the national headquarters of the Zionist Organization of America. Zionism was a movement to recreate a Jewish presence in Israel. The name comes from the word “Zion,” which is a Hebrew term that refers to Jerusalem (History. com).

Harry and Louis Levine and Dr. Robbins started the camp in 1939, with 50 children, aged 8 to 15. They slept in tents during those first few years. (Photo courtesy of Marcy Kornreich).

The north cove of the lake at that time had no houses. The Noyes family (the white farmhouse on what is now Route 101) owned most of the acreage northwest of CYJ that included Joe English Brook, wetlands and the outlet. So the area was wooded and wild. It must have been such beautiful scenery for these children to enjoy.

Camp Young Judaea is the oldest Zionist youth camp in the United States.

(YJ Alums: Have more to add about the early days of CYJ or have pictures you’d like to share? Please contact Itzy at itzy@ cyj.org).

Itzy’s Insights and Alumni Updates Hi everyone, we’ve got lots of info and photos to share!

Babies

Congratulations to Gena (Feldman) White D’02 and her husband Jared on the birth of their second child, Spencer Jude White on May 2021.

He looks forward to joining older sister Sophia as future YJ campers.

Spencer will be in Daled 2036, if you are playing the home version.

Mazel Tov to Abel Samet D’02 and his wife Emily on the birth of their daughter, Cole Malina. If Cole is anything like her dad, she’ll play Senior Softball and will one day be Head of Athletics. Daled ‘36 is shaping up to be one to be reckoned with.

Daled ‘03 member Miriam (Iken) Goodman D’03 and her husband Adam welcomed Jack Ezra into the world on March 29th, weighing in at 7lbs and 3 oz. He will also be part of Daled ‘36, but would like an upper bunk if it’s available.

Nina Schrager D’03 and her husband Justin welcomed their son Gabriel Forest on April 23, 2021. He joins big brother Milo as yet another generation of YJers begins. This one has a fun twist as fellow ‘03er Ariel Sternberg and her husband Jeff Hast happen to live across the street and welcomed their own future YJer, Noa Robin, into the world on May 29th.

Twice the Fun with Daled ‘01!! Ali (LeWinter) Felcher D’01 and her husband Joel (a Bauercrest guy) welcomed twin boys Sam and Harrison in September of 2021 and just like that, they became

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bunk buddies with Ariel Tichnor-Wagner D’01 and her husband Nick’s twins, Reuben and Maddox, who were born in April of 2021.

Keeping the ‘01 theme alive, Avi and Jess (Novick) Lasser welcomed Maya Rose into the world on April 26, 2021.

The programming duo from 2007 send their love from Seattle and now are worthy of 4 stars!!!!

Hats off to Jason Gorsky D’03 and his wife Allie, on the birth of their daughter, Shay Rita born on May 5, 2021. Her electives include swimming, music and gymnastics.

She cannot wait to try the grilled cheese at CYJ. Joshua Ritz D’98 and his wife Whitney welcomed daughter Hannah Leigha Ritz, who was born on June 18th, 2021, just in time for Father’s Day. If Dad has his way, she’ll spend most of her summers on the waterfront like him.

Sam Roth D’03 and his wife Léa are happy to announce the birth of their second son Rafael, born in San Francisco on Oct 7, 2021 weighing 6 lbs 7 oz. The entire family is doing well and adapting to life as a foursome. Sam was part of the Ramaz crew from NYC back in the day with Natan Edelsburg and Zach Rosenberg, also from Daled ‘03.

Babies

Mazel Tov to Daled ‘03’s Becky (Abrahams) Gavin D’03 and her husband Lee on the birth of their daughter, Emma Sadie on May 21, 2021. Weighing in at 7lbs 10 oz, she is a pure bundle of joy...just ask her aunt, Rachel Abrahams who is our current Arts & Crafts director!! Emma already loves spending time with her cousins, Sophie D’23, Noah and Eli both D’26. We hope she’ll choose to spend her summers with the CYJ family in the future!

We love camp couples! Carly (Davis) D’05 and Steve Speyer D’03 welcomed Benji Leo into the world on June 25, 2021 at 10:48 pm, weighing in at 7 lbs 3 oz and 20 inches long. He (and his parents) can’t wait to join his other YJ baby friends at 9 Camp Rd in a few years.

Add another future camper to Daled ‘36 as Jeff Rand D’03 and his wife Claudia welcomed Dax Cohen Rand to the YJ world on October 3rd.

Sisters having babies!! That’s what happened with Arielle (Cooperman) Murducco D’01 and her sister, Jennifer (Cooperman) Levy D’98, who became moms to two adorable little boys within six months of each other.

Arielle and her husband Richard welcomed their son, Richard “Richie” Edward, who is six months now and loves his older sister Rebecca, while Jen and her husband Michael’s son, Philip Jonah, was born on October 30, 2021. Grandpa Mitch Cooperman worked at YJ in the 70’s and is very proud as well! Mitch has already taught young PJ the opening chords of “Brand X.”

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Add another to the bunk!! Corey Schwartz D’04 and his wife Carolyn brought Romy Evelyn into the world on March 19, 2021. Romy loves dogs and baths, and she can’t wait to crawl around Lou Brown Park.

Jessie (Zakar) Meservey D’02 has added another bundle of joy to her family as she and her husband welcomed Penelope June to the world on November 12, 2021. No doubt she can’t wait to join her aunts, Sara Zakar D’95 and Kelly Zakar (staff 1996-present) plus cousins Lucy, Emma and Elise at camp.

Another baby for Daled ‘03, this time Jessica (Sandler) Siegel and her husband welcomed Noah Michael on November 15, 2021. Big brother David is very excited to assume some responsibility. And aunts Gabby D’05 and Michelle D’10 couldn’t be more excited!!

What a Thanksgiving for Brian Kracoff D’07 and his wife Lauren as they had their first child, Austin Drew right around turkey time. Sister Jen D’03 and grandparents Lauren (Potischman) Kracoff D’74 and Gary are kvelling.

Congrats to Rachel (Merkin) Welt D’04 and her husband Will on the arrival of their daughter Sophie in early October of ‘21.

Thanksgiving dinner at the Stone house added another booster seat as Julie (Tabroff) Stone D’03 and her husband Jake brought their second child, Eve into the world just as turkey was being served on November 25th, weighing in at 7 lbs and 8 oz.

Warren and Lynn Hoffman (‘60s alums) became grandparents for the first time as their son and daughterin-law gave birth to Willow Rose in early May of 2021.

She’ll miss the riflery range, but we’re sure Grandpa has many stories to tell.

Weddings & Engagements Mazel tov to Matt Simon D’06 on his recent marriage to Molly Zubrow. Matt’s siblings, Josh D’10 and Hannah D’13 were on hand as well as his parents Holly (Skolnick) D’74 and Ken.

Everyone’s favorite DJ, Dave Gallant D’01, got married over the summer to Susan Moussalli. It was a small ceremony in Narragansett, RI, with Krejci the dog as the “best man.” Dan Gallant D’04 was there for his big brother’s big day.

Congratulations to Danielle Reinstein D’08 who got married to Tom Marra in June of 2021 ( it was postponed a year) in Newport, RI. Among the guests of course were siblings Josh Reinstein D’10 and Sammi Reinstein D’12.

Dave Pratt D‘98 got married to Alexandria Barbosa over the summer with many CYJ alums attending including: Robyn (Pratt) Briggs D’95, Scott Chelist (Area Head 2000-2006), Michelle (Kaufman) Kesselman D’98 and Brian Kesselman D’96, Emily (Goldstein) Macnow (Staff 2002-2008) and Ted Macnow D’98, Mike Gorsky D’98, Matt Lewis D’98 and Julie (Gutman) Friedman D’99 and Garrett Friedman D’98, Ben Broad ‘02 and his wife, Annie plus Wayne Pritzker D‘99.

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Daled 07’s Ali Kirsch married Tom Sharpe on August 15, 2021 (they were civilly married on June 20, 2020 due to the pandemic). On hand as usual were members of the Daled ‘07 crew plus the soon-to-be Mrs. Dan Stein, Alex Easton D’09 as well as Robin Reisman, who was one of the Gadna trip leaders of the 1982 Israel Program. Trivia: Can you name the other trip leader that summer?

Mazel Tov to Shari (Hyzen) Berman D’86 on her recent wedding to Jeff Goodman (not the one from Daled ‘86 but another Jeff Goodman) on August 29, 2021 at Chandler Hovey Park in Marblehead, the same location where they got engaged!! Due to the pandemic, they had a small intimate ceremony on a beautiful day with their families by their side.

Speaking of August 29th, Mazel Tov on the one-year anniversary of Eric Kaye D’01 and his bride, Meghan Trefry, who got married during the pandemic last year at Larz Anderson Park in Brookline.

Weddings & Engagements Mazel Tov to Sam Tichnor D’05 who wrote: “Our wedding was in NYC on September 19th after a few COVID-related delays (was supposed to be August 2020, then Jan 2021...). My wife Brooke actually had a few YJ friends which came up in our Jewish geography session on our first date. Small YJ crew was in the building: Matt Gornstein, Ben Lejfer D’06, Polly Lejfer D’12, Sam Lejfer D’08, Jess Heller D’06 and Ariel Tichnor D’01.”

And wedding congrats to Josh Levitt D’10. Let’s hear it from Josh himself: “The wedding took place on September 18th at Red Maple Vineyard in West Park, NY. The ceremony was up on a hill overlooking the Hudson Valley, where ~250 friends and family watched us walk down the aisle along with our parents, siblings, and oneyear-old niece and nephew ... After reading our vows and breaking the glass, we enjoyed a beautiful cocktail hour with some crazy good food, a whiskey bar, and a beer canoe (yes, a canoe filled with beer).

At the end of the cocktail hour, everyone was shuttled into the main dining room where we were welcomed in by the band and had our first dance. What followed was several hours of nearly nonstop dancing, punctuated by dinner and speeches by our parents and siblings... It was a perfect and unforgettable day.” Mazel Tov to Jon D’79 and Marni Levitt and to Alexa Levitt D’13!!

Michael Menachem D’97 and Donna Mizrachi were married on October 10, 2021 in Los Angeles, CA. Best man Jesse Menachem D’01 was in attendance as well as Jessica Mehlman D’99.

Another LA-based YJer got hitched on August 28, 2021, as Lisa Kerness D’93 married Jeff Gottleib in a small ceremony with close family and friends attending including her sister, Sheri (Kerness) Krugman D’91.

If you attended the 80th CYJ Reunion in 2019, the big news that day was the proposal of Dan Stein D’07 to Alex Easton D’09. From Dan: “All is well with the Daled ‘07 Group. We have seen the group expand with several weddings as well as engagements! Most recently, I married Alex with YJ alumni spanning a decade of Daleds in attendance! Scattered across the northeast, Daled ‘07 remains in contact constantly through brunches in NYC and Shabbat dinners in Boston. With many 30th birthdays and the crew expanding rapidly, we continue to have lots to celebrate and look for any occasion to do so!”

CYJ Healthcare Moms Visit Israel Oh, that YJ connection! Five CYJ moms working in the healthcare field were nominated for Momentum’s “Healthcare Hero” program, which featured an all-expense-paid trip to Israel in November and a year of follow-up seminars and meetings.

The five healthcare professionals (who dubbed this trip their own “Gadna” experience) included Kelly Zakar, CYJ Medical director (far left); Davida Rubin-Baker, Infirmary Director (far right); and three moms who all sent their kids as campers and counselors: Jodi Comins, Dr. Deborah Reich and Dr. Traci Portnoff.

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Words and Deeds BOOKS, ARTICLES, ETC. Andrea Malkin Brenner, PhD (D’83 and CYJ Board member) just published the Talking College™ Card Deck, the original discussion prompts for college-bound students and their parents/guardians.

As a college transition educator, author, and former professor, Andrea is frequently asked which conversations help prepare high school students and their parents for a successful transition to college. The end product, the Talking College™ Card Deck, does just this: it’s filled with prompts for the most important pre-college discussions about “adulting” for collegebound students and their families. The cards encourage parents to share their expectations, provide guidance, and communicate support and help soon-to-be college students engage in dialogue and gain confidence in their independent decision-making. Each deck includes hundreds of discussion prompts covering eleven different themes. Perfect for high school juniors and seniors who are talking about college. For sale on Andrea’s website and on Amazon.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• It’s more from Daled ‘83 as Jackie (Davidson) Kopito tells us: “I went to Camp Young Judaea for many, many years and was in Daled ‘83. My twin sister, Amy Lombardo and my younger sister, Michelle Davidson Friedman also went with me. We all have very fond memories of YJ! Amy sent her boys Ari and Isaak for many summers as campers, and this year they were counselors. Michelle sent her son Jack for the first time this summer and he loved it.”

Jackie recently wrote “Twintastic”, a fiction book for tweens ages 8-12 that was released this past October (and available on Amazon) or at Jackie’s website.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• Also from Daled ‘83, Jessie Fein wrote an article earlier this year about exercising during the pandemic. Check it out here.

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Not to be outdone, we have another author, this time from Daled ‘82: Maggie Sarachek, who wrote “Anxiety Sisters”...check out her website here.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• Lauren Stiller Rikleen (Staff ‘70s) is a lawyer and prolific writer. She’s had a couple of articles published in the Daily News and another in the Boston Globe.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• Another YJer out in Los Angeles has been making waves: Doree Shafrir D’92’s book “Thanks For Waiting” has been a hit; perhaps you heard Doree speak on NPR as well.

Check out the book and all things Doree here.

3RD PERIOD ATHLETICS At YJ we are beyond proud of Jake Curhan D’13 for making the Seattle Seahawks roster for the 2021 season.

Jake mainly plays on the offensive line during Field Goal attempts and Point After attempts. The CAL Berkeley alum certainly has his share of fans as a bunch of alums made their way to Seattle on Halloween ‘21 to cheer him on as the Seahawks pummeled the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Each time Jake took the field, the YJ alums would cheer loudly, which prompted the fans nearby to ask, “Why are you going nuts for a point after attempt?” Once they told the fans who they were rooting for, they also joined in cheering on Jake!!

Not to be outdone, Jake had a road game versus The Washington Football team on Monday Night Football on Nov 29th and CYJ was there to represent as Daled ‘13 including Shelbie Fishman, Jason Robbins, Zach Geller, Jacob Kaplan, Jackson Bunis and Ethan Katz along with Jake’s aunt Julie (Curhan) Cottineau D’80 and dad and CYJ Board of Directors member, Greg Curhan D’76. A tough night for the Seahawks, but a good night for CYJ.

CYJ Sports Connection And just because it’s so rare to have a YJ Alum play professional sports, we’ll plug Josh Zeid again. He was a camper in the mid 1990s but has pitched in the MLB for the Houston Astros and the Detroit Tigers franchises.

Most recently, he pitched for Team Israel in the World Baseball Classic. Pretty cool!!

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the Astros, was attended by, Dan Hammer D’90, David Ratner D’86, Wayne Goldstein (Judaica Director ‘05-’19), Jenn Miller D’12 (and her dad, Charlie), Lauren Shron D’11, David Robbins D’80 and Jason Robbins D’13, plus Sam Stein D’13.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• Just south of us in Newark New Jersey, two old friends from Daled ‘91 met up at the Bruins-Devils game. Ricky Paster and Jon Weiner got to reconnect as the pucks went in the net (the B’s won 5-2).

A big shout out to Steve Lepow for winning his over 70 softball league. Steve, who played on the first CYJ undefeated softball team in 1962, is still at it at the age of 75. This year he played on two championship teams. His team in the Western Mass Relics Softball League ended in first place and won the playoffs with a record of 23-4-2.

Steve also played on the Western Mass Relics Tournament Team (comprised of the better players in the league) that entered the Cape Cod Classic Softball Tournament in September. They won the championship, beating the New Hampshire Nemesis 13-5.

Steve says he owes his success to CYJ and Coach Fred Konefsky. Besides playing competitive softball, Steve Lepow is on the board of the non-profit organization Rachel’s Table and drives three days a week for them.

Rachel’s Table rescues food from restaurants and grocery stores and brings it to food pantries and shelters.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• Who doesn’t love a YJ run-in at Fenway Park?

There were a slew of YJers at Fenway during the Red Sox playoff run this past fall. The last victory of the season, a 12-2 shellacking of

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••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• Former ESPN Milwaukee personality and Daled ‘91 Mitch Nelles got together with ol’ friend Jon Spack earlier this fall in Chicago as they watched their Wisconsin Badgers get smoked by Notre Dame.

It’s an annual tradition... the meet up, not the Notre Dame beatdown :) ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• A shout out to Adina (Kessler) Dahlin D’83, whose daughter, Aliya was named to the USA U18 Women’s Volleyball team and will be competing in the 21st Maccabi games in July.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• An update from Alex “Loogie” Dubrow, D’13 who is playing professional basketball in Israel. Alex plays for Gilboa Maayanot and is averaging 12ppg, 6.5 assists per game and 4 rebounds. Alex’s brother is our current Head of Athletics, Adam “Doobie” Dubrow D’10.

More YJ Alum News 7th PERIOD

Congratulations to Allison Jeter D’19 and the Natick Girls Soccer team for winning the Division 1 State Championship. Allison was the starting goalie for the newly crowned champs. Of course her mom, Jill (Bloomstein) D’86, uncle Eric Bloomstein D’88 and brother Eddie Jeter D’17 couldn’t be prouder.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• She was one of the best athletes ever to grace Foster Field, but now she gets it done in pediatrics. Check out this story about Mel Baskind D’05 in the Boston Globe recently. Click here to read the article.

Fun picture of Daled 04 alums gathered with their future camper kids for brunch! L to R: Hannah (Lejfer) Armstrong with daughter Maxine, Dale (Levine) Klasko, Anna (Kriegel) Weiss with daughters Emery and Scarlett, Lauren (Goldman) Snyder with daughter Marlo and Rebecca (Goldberg) Cantor with son Devon and daughter Noa. ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• And say hello to some of our younger alumni (and a few current staff) as this crew got together at UMASS earlier this fall. They included (from left): Boden Pollack D’ 17, Seth Jablonki D’17, Noah Heinstein D’18, Noah Lieberman D’18, Max Pozner D’17, Eddie Jeter D’17 and Beckett Herman D’17.

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Mel’s sister, Julie Baskind Gilman D’02 is married to fellow ‘02 member Alex Gilman and they are both from Framingham. Alex is a multi-generational YJ alum — we recently received an amazing video from his mother Ellen Hearst (YJ 1964-1971) who interviewed her mother, who will be 100 this March (and is also a YJ alum) on the early days of CYJ with her brothers. Check out the interview here.

Lots of Boots!

At our recent camp Reunion, many camp families contributed to our recent boot collection for Jewish Family Service of Metrowest. Here’s a writeup and photo about our efforts: CLICK HERE. If you have any questions, please contact Marni Israel at marni@cyj.org.

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Mazel Tov to Samantha Perlman (D’10) on recently being re-elected to the Marlboro (MA) city council. You can check out what Samantha is up to here.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• What’s better than running into a YJ alum during live music? Michael Menachem and Courtney Bell, both of D’97 saw each other at the BeachLife Festival in Redondo Beach, CA. They were seen grooving to ‘90s favorites the Counting Crowes, The Revivalists and the Wallflowers.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• A nice piece from Mark Sokoll (YJ early 70s) and president of the JCC of Greater Boston (and a fellow Deadhead, btw) CLICK HERE.

A Few More From Itzy For you General Hospital fans, Steve Sobel D’88 was recently featured in a story arc playing a gangster alongside “Joey Novack”. Steve will also be seen in season 3 of Waterworld as well as commercials for Home Depot (alongside his wife Marita) and Toyota.

BTW, when I was a camper, Noel Raphael (staff 80-81) used to announce soap opera updates in the Old Dining Hall. It was fun schtick, from what I recall. I can’t remember what I did this morning but I can recall 1981 like it was yesterday :) ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• And just as we were going to press, Jacob Kaplan D’13 made his on screen debut on Saturday Night Live during the Billie Eilish episode. He played himself “the coolest page ever” in Kyle Mooney’s “Kyle’s Holiday” video. Check it out here.

His mom, Nancy Berkowitz Kaplan D’82 must be kvelling!!!

Jacob was best known at YJ for belting out “La Bamba” in the dining hall on random occasions.

And finally, I just want to take a moment to personally thank Marcy Clebnik Kornreich D’71 for everything she has done for camp and for me as well. I started working with Marcy in 1993 (her cousin Janet Weinstein Zanger D’85 and I were her first Assistant Programmers) and when I returned as Head of Judaica (insert joke here) in 2003 I was amazed at how camp was transformed into a big family; that was due in large part to Marcy’s enthusiasm and “buying in” for each camper and counselor. I look forward to carrying on the traditions and spirit that she instilled at CYJ for the next generation of campers.

“CYJ 2021...Can’t wait until 2022!”

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