Revitalizing tired campers, Camp Yachad’s band, the Shabbatones, rocks in Shabbat at the JCC.
Photo by Elaine Durbach
Shabbatones concert
This Friday, July 24, the Camp Yachad’s band, the Shabbatones, will give an additional concert, at a pre-Shabbat celebration bringing together camp families, counselors, and local clergy at the JCC of Central New Jersey in Scotch Plains.
The 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. event, including dinner and activities, will be hosted by the J Connection, an outreach program linking the JCC and local synagogues, which is funded by a grant from the Jewish Community Foundation of the Jewish Federation of Central New Jersey.
The cost is $36 per family; $15 for additional extended family members
For more information, contact Leslie Klieger, J Connection director, at 908-889-8800, ext. 259, or jconnection@jccnj.org.
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July 23, 2009
On Friday afternoons, the kids troop into the gym at the JCC of Central New Jersey looking thoroughly played out. They flop onto the floor or — if they’re little enough — into the arms of counselors. Camp Yachad, the Scotch Plains JCC’s summer camp, keeps them so busy all week with games and sport and crafts and swimming, by the time the weekend arrives, they look more than ready to rest.
As at other camps, Shabbat at the JCC is welcomed first with quiet blessings over the candles, wine, and hallah; the prayers are led by Nita Polay Levin, who coordinates the camp’s art and Jewish education programs. The kids also get a chance to put their donations into a big tzedaka jar.
And then everything changes.
The Shabbatones — Camp Yachad’s very own rock band — take over. The next thing you know, those floppy figures are up on their feet, hands in the air, dancing first to the Israeli and American anthems and then to a series of Israeli folk songs, with a dose of rock thrown in.
The band is led by camp codirector Mike Goldstein. It started back in 2005, when he and other musical counselors realized they had what it takes to rock the joint. Each summer since then, the band has come back with returning musicians and new talent.
This year’s lineup includes Goldstein singing and playing bass, Ben Saks on guitar, Jack Marcus singing and playing guitar and drums, Beth Kasper and Lindsay Traiman singing, and Patrick Cerria on drums.
These camp minstrels aren’t just garage band enthusiasts. A number of them perform with other groups, and a couple of Shabbatones alums have turned professional. Former member Amy Toporek had a starring role in the touring production of Hairspray and is currently playing a lead in Shout, on board a cruise liner touring the Mediterranean. Another ex-Shabbatone, Russell Fischer, is on Broadway, playing in Jersey Boys.
Asked if there’s another Jewish camp with such an asset, Goldstein, a longtime musician himself, replied, “I don’t know of any other camp that rocks Shabbat like Camp Yachad. I doubt that it would be possible….” Judging by their resurgent energy, his campers agreed.
Parents are invited to share the pre-Shabbat celebration, and a number of them gather on the bleachers at the back of the gym to listen, sing along, and take pictures each week. This year there is an added treat — complimentary refreshments served to them in the cafe courtyard beforehand. That part starts around 2:30 p.m.; the Shabbat event begins at 3.
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