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INSIDE&OUT

FROM THE FROM THE DIRECTOR’S DESK: DIRECTOR’S DESK: a letter from Paul and family

come back year after year, reaffirming what we all know so well: Eisner is more than a camp—it’s a home and where our campers a staff Live Eisner: Inside & Out. Alongside that, we are already see incredible momentum in our staff hiring. Many of our staff membe are returning for another summer, and I’m especially excited to sh that more than 60 Junior Counselors (including my son, Michael) w be joining us many of whom were Olim 24 campers just last summ and are now coming back for their very first summer on staff. Watching campers grow into leaders is one of the greatest joys o this work, and this group embodies the future of Eisner.

Beyond the summer, this year has been nothing short of extraordi on campus. Through our year-round retreats, school programs, rentals, and community gatherings, we welcomed nearly 5,000 participants to Eisner. From meaningful Jewish learning to joyful celebrations and transformative retreats, our campus has been a in every season. It’s hard to overstate how special it is to see Eisn buzzing year-round, touching so many lives in so many different w

This off-season has also brought moments of transition. We said goodbye to one of our longtime Assistant Directors, Adam Kohane, whose impact on Eisner and on generations of campers and staff cannot be overstated. Adam’s leadership, care, and dedication helped shape the camp we know today, and we are deeply grateful for all he gave to this community. At the same time, we are excited to welcome Brianna Cohen as our new Assistant Director. Brianna has already been a wonderful addition to our full-time team, bringing thoughtfulness, energy, and a strong commitment to Eisner’s values. We’re so lucky to have her.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, I want to extend an open invitation to you our alumni. This summer, there will be many opportunities to visit camp, whether for alumni events, Shabbat, or simply to walk the grounds that mean so much to you. Eisner is built on the stories, relationships, and memories of generations of campers and staff, and there is nothing more powerful than alumni returning home. We hope you’ll come back, reconnect, and be part of the magic once again.

Thank you for being part of Eisner’s past, present, and future. I can’t wait to welcome you back to camp soon.

With gratitude and excitement, Paul, Shari & Michael Isserles

and the Spear Family

I think Spring is around the corner - at least that's what the calendar says. The weather might tell a different story! But Spring is a time for renewal: renewing my commitment to being more active, to spring-cleaning my house (and my inbox) and to reconnecting with friends.

This past fall, I experienced an amazing coincidence. I ran into a camp friend I hadn't seen in 30 years - and her daughter and mine now play on the same college soccer team. Who could have predicted a friendship from so long ago would find itself renewed?

As we come out of the winter fog, I'm committing to reaching out more, being more present, and making space to truly experience it all. I encourage you to do the same. With so many opportunities to reconnect, say hello to friends on Facebook, Insta, Tiktok, LinkedIn. And if you have the time, PLEASE come connect in person at one of our many opportunities to be together at camp this summer.

There are a lot of Eisner alumni out there - let's find each other, virtually and physically, and say hello, give a hug, and take the time to re-engage.

Happy Spring,

Gabby, Andy, Emma, Molly & Bailey

WHEN WORLDS WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE- IN THE COLLIDE- IN THE BEST WAY BEST WAY

By Jenny (and Gabby)

Two Eisner friends reconnect decades later when their daughters cross paths in college proving camp friendships never fade.

Friendship has a way of weaving itself through our lives in unexpected and beautiful ways. A few years ago, I made a promise to myself: reconnect with the people who shaped earlier chapters of my life. Not because something was missing, but because friendships—real, soul‑deep friendships—deserve to last a lifetime. Life gets busy, excuses are easy, and suddenly decades pass. Choosing connection takes intention. And the reward is huge: picking up with an old friend as though no time has passed is truly something special. I wanted more of that in my life.

Since I didn't play sports growing up, I didn't have a team to reunite with. My “team” was the village I built while raising my daughters, the community that supported them, and one deeply formative experience—summer camp. I started attending Jewish sleepaway camp at age seven and continued all the way until I became a counselor at Eisner at 21. Camp wasn’t just a place to spend summers; it was an identity, a family, and a source of lifelong memories.

So when I heard from Gabby that her daughter would be attending Endicott College (where my daughter also attends school and plays soccer)—and even more surprisingly, would be one of just four Jewish soccer players on the team—I felt my worlds collide in the best way. Suddenly, the camp years didn't feel so far away. Watching our daughters, Emma and Lily, form an instant bond brought back the magic of camp connections and the joy of Jewish Geography at its finest. Reminiscing about our own camp days warmed my heart.

Standing on the sidelines this fall, cheering for our daughters and rediscovering a friendship I thought time had tucked away, meant more to me than I expected. It was a reminder I needed: making the effort to reconnect truly matters. They say summer camp is an experience that lasts a lifetime, but I’ve come to believe something slightly different: a friend made once is a friend forever.

As Gabby put it:

“We picked up right where we left off—talking about life, our families, our careers—while sitting in the stands at Hempstead Stadium. Jenny looks exactly as I remember. New environment, same old feeling and connection.”

And then came the funniest twist:

“My husband Andy recognized Jenny’s last name—because he went to overnight camp with her brother. Only in the camp world could decades‑old connections crisscross like that.”

We both feel a renewed sense of gratitude—not only for this rekindled friendship but for the reminder that camp friendships don’t fade. They wait, patiently, until life brings you back together.

“A FRIEND MADE ONCE IS A FRIEND FOREVER”

Our shared history is steeped in the traditions, laughter (mung juice) and community of that view from the hill or the glistening coming off the lake. It wasn’t just about camping in the woods, Maccabiah, or learning a new Israeli song or dance, it was abo meandering trips down memory lane because our long term me these days is better than our short term. We navigated the tran from childhood to young adulthood together, forming lifelong relationships in a place where our Jewish identities were nurtu celebrated. We were free to be ourselves, sharing big dreams experiencing the simple joys of being together.

Life has thrown many of us curveballs. While there were divergent paths among us in terms of where we landed geographically (CT, FL, MA, MD, NJ, NY and PA), career paths (from doctors to lawyers, teachers to financial wizards, consultants to marketing geniuses to spear heading non profit outreaches, as well as becoming actors and entrepreneurs). It’s crazy to know that some of us married fellow campers, bumped into one another on trips 2500 miles away from home, went to the same college and yes even lived in neighboring towns working on the same street as one another.

While we have been pulled in different directions our friendships have remained a consistent force, a reliable anchor to a time of innocence and growth. Jewish camp offered us a safe space, a community that embraced us and taught us the value of investing in people. The sense of belonging has carried through the years, reminding us that we always have a place we can go back to, where we are known and seen. Together we have grown from campers to staff, and now into the people we are today.

We are truly better people for having met one another. There was a strong consensus how our years at Eisner provided such a solid foundation for each of us and directly contributed to who we ’ ve become. We are grateful for our friendships and the family we have created for one another. While the yearbooks we shared that day reflected back on great memories of when we first met in Tzofim and Olim (in the early 80s as campers) and later becoming machon and full time counselors, it’s the new pictures that we took that day that will paint the next forty years of our happiness. At the end of the day, as our lifelong friends were leaving and saying our goodbyes, we hugged and cried together as if we were back in front of the dining room boarding the buses to head home.

knew these were my people, I knew this is where I belonged. Within the first couple of weeks of my full eight week experience, I met Andrew AJ Liebowitz, “Liebs.” I’m not sure I felt love at first sight, not that I would have even known it so young, and I wouldn’t say I knew this was beshert just yet. It was camp!

Raised at Eisner, both AJ and his older brother Sean, had established themsel at Eisner with the help of Robin Gossett, their mother. She had even started th Day Camp at Eisner. AJ knew Eisner and Eisner definitely knew him. Camp watched him grow up.

Our love story didn’t come until later on. Fast forward through the adventures we had summer after summer as friends no time it was 2008. I had just graduated from The Hartt School with a Music Education degree, broke up with my college boyfriend and landed my first job Westchester, NY. I moved from my home on Long Island and I was pretty lonely my new spot. Starting over was daunting, but I was determined to succeed. I h a pretty newish tool at my fingertips to locate people who I knew around me, Facebook.

I searched through my “list of friends” on Facebook to see who I knew in my area. Andrew Liebowitz popped up and quite frankly, I had no idea who this w I had always known him as AJ and I’m not sure I ever figured out his legal nam When I looked at his picture, something told me to reach out, so I did. He was finishing up his senior year at Muhlenberg. I sent him a message, he wrote ba we hung out, went on dates and we ’ ve been together ever since! AJ proposed March 15, 2010. We had AJ’s Aufruf up at camp Summer 2012 and were wed on August 18, 2012.

I fell in love with him because his values align with mine. I fell in love with the way he cares about other people. I fell in love with the inside jokes, centered around camp, that we share together. I fell in love with the idea someone truly knowing me to my core. Eisner did this for us. This love, this is why my son attends Eisner, and why my daughter will probably follow when she is old enough. My children deserve to find themselves in a safe Jewish environment. One where they will learn and practice the values that will shape the people they will become. My children deserve to find their love! So I’m passing it down, l’dor vador, to the next generation of the Liebowitz family. They may or may not find their partner at Eisner one day, but that they learn to love themselves and their neighbors through the values they obtain at Eisner, this is the goal.

Building a Shalom Habayit means letting the village help you. I have the strongest village I could find. Eisner, the village that shaped and built AJ and myself. And now, the next generation has it too. Here is to finding love at Eisner in no matter what form it might take!

21+ Alumni Mitzvah Weekend 21+ Alumni Mitzvah Weekend

Friday, May 15 - Sunday, May 17

Other

Friday, July 10th (6 PM - 8:30 PM)

Tuesday, July 21st (10:30 AM to 12:00 PM)

Saturday, August 1st (9:30 AM - 11:30 AM)

Olim ‘25 Day: Saturday, August 8th

Last year, Eisner and Crane Lake Camps raised over $200k for our scholarship fund! This success came from over 40 “Camp Champions” who helped us fundraise!

C o n n e c t w i t h

Eisner Camp

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