The King of Camp Hatikvah

It was 1985, and I remember my mother sitting down one Sunday afternoon. She was holding a small white pamphlet that she was eager to share with us. It was a booklet she got from our local Jewish Community Center titled “Camp and Summer Activities for Jewish Youth”. It was a pamphlet that the UJA (United Jewish Appeal) printed each winter for parents and youth to find Summer activities for Jewish youth.

“Let’s find you a camp up North this Summer!” my mother excitedly started opening the pamphlet, and reading out the options. We had recently moved to Fairfield, Connecticut from Memphis, Tennessee a year earlier. We spent the last summer flying down to visit our Grandmother, and attend a small Jewish camp in Missisipi with old friends. But, we were eager to try something different this summer.

“Ok, girls…” my mother started reading out names of camps that had no frame of reference to any of us. She narrowed it down to a page with two New York State area camps that were not too far from home. “Camp X sounds like a nice option for you!” she said. “Let’s see…it is a camp for girls and has been running for 20 years…it is Orthodox…it has a dress code for the girls to be modestly dressed…this may be an interesting option!” My mother was excited to share this camp option with us. She herself was well aware of the camp scene. She worked in a sleepaway camp herself, and her sister Ethel had met her husband at a Summer Camp.

“Can you tell us the other option?” my sister asked. “We might as well see what other camps are available…” I said. “Then we can make the best choice!”

The next page listed: “Camp Hatikvah, in Putnam Valley New York. Modern Orthodox Jewish Camp for boys and girls. Options for 1 month and 2 month Summer camp sessions for children ages 8-15. 45 minutes from New York City.” My mother read it aloud, and we all started getting excited…it was not too far from home, and we had an Aunt who lived 10 minutes from the campsite. This camp seemed like a very promising option.

My sister Fara & I said  “Let’s try Camp Hatikvah”! And so, it was…our Camp Hatikvah journey began.

We signed up with another friend from Fairfield for two months, and the rest is history…Camp Hatikvah was our “home away from home” for the entire summer for both of us for 7 years. We graduated from camper, to wait staff, to junior counselor, and to counselor status throughout those years.  We also made life-long friends that we cherished. We also had our share of summer crushes, late nights of dancing in the snack shop, and memorizing every word to the Billboard summer hits. The summers at Camp Hatikvah were the best!

Summer months at Camp Hatikvah were a bastion of activities, sport competitions, arts and crafts, boating, swimming, Color War, trip days to Rye Playland, and more. The one person who kept it all together was Harvey Bachman, the Camp Director. Together with his incredible wife Renee, the Camp Mother, we campers and staff were cared for with tremendous attention and care.

Harvey walked around the campus throughout the day, checking up on campers, talking to staff, making sure that activities were running smoothly. Harvey made sure that he knew each camper by name and took care to remember our personal stories.

Harvey did not like chaos. When it was time to enter the Dining Hall, we were called by bunk number and entered in an orderly fashion. Of course, the room would become very loud and boisterous from the hum of excited children, the loud overhead fans, and the clanging of silverware and dishes. Harvey and Renee would sit at a table with other staff members, and watch the last bunk shuffle in and sit down. Harvey would stand up, and simply hold up two fingers, a “peace sign”. Suddenly, the Dining Hall would become entirely quiet. You could hear a pin drop. Harvey would not need to use a microphone, he could simply make his daily announcements, and everyone would listen. He was the King of Camp Hatikvah.

As campers, some of us feared Harvey, but as we grew older, we became staff members and truly appreciated his leadership skills. Harvey was a huge source of advice and guidance for many of us. He would always make himself available to anyone in need of advice with a camper or about personal life after Hatikvah. He had an open ear, and a big heart.

One summer, I was chosen to be Color War Captain. Harvey had pulled me aside one night after Night Activity with my campers. I asked him if I could think about it, and he said “Come talk to me and Renee tonight.” I settled my campers to bed, and then went to meet with them.

With trepidation, I met Harvey and Renee outside their residence, underneath a beautiful starry summer sky.  “Why are you having a hard time with this decision, Ariel?” Harvey asked.  I answered, “It is a huge responsibility, and I just joined “Hair” the Camp Play, I don’t know if I can do it all!” I had tears forming in my eyes. Harvey smiled, and replied “Ariel, you can do anything! We believe in you!”

And, just like that, with a big hug from Renee, and a big smile from Harvey, I was Color War captain of Team Rambam. I loved every minute of it. Of course, we won the competition. But, I won something greater, I gained a huge amount of self-confidence and the lesson that life is about taking on challenges and achieving goals. If we want it to work, we can always make it work. But, giving up is not an option.

Yes, that was Harvey at Camp Hatikvah, at Camp Har Zvi, at Flatbush, and at home. He was a leader and a man with a wealth of advice and foresight in so many situations. In Pirkei Avot, 4,1 it states ”Who is a man who is rich? A man who is satisfied with what he has!” Harvey Bachman was someone who emitted a feeling of being happy, content, and complete with the life he was given, and the tasks he completed. He was gifted with the ability to impart his wisdom to his own family, students, campers, friends, and his colleagues. Harvey truly will be missed by so many of us. We will all continue to share his wisdom with others.

We will never forget the lessons learned from the King of Camp Hatikvah.