Letter from our Executive Director

Hi, I’m Frank. I’ve am lucky enough to be employed by Camp Young Judaea Texas for the past 28 years. Here’s what I know after nearly three decades: your kid is going to surprise you this summer.

Usually somewhere between the ropes course and Havdalah under the Texas stars, when nobody’s watching — something quietly extraordinary happens. That’s not marketing. That’s just what we’ve watched happen, over and over, since 1952. No phones. No algorithms deciding what your child should care about. Just your kid figuring out who they are — as a person, and as a Jew. They’ll leave with real friendships, hard-earned grit, and a Jewish identity that feels like theirs, not yours. They’ll discover a genuine love for Israel — not from a textbook, but from living it together with their people. They’ll learn to recognize kindness in others and find it in themselves. Three weeks, and they come home different in the best possible way. Your shy kid? Might be the one leading a song they didn’t know last Tuesday. Your homesick 9-year-old? About to find out they’re braver than either of you thought.

Your child will spend their summer with 120+ passionate, experienced, occasionally sleep-deprived young adults who chose to be here — because they were changed here too.

Thousands of families have sent their kids to CYJ and watched their identity click, their confidence grow, and their people find them. There’s a spot here for your kid. Come see what the fuss is about.

Frank “the Tank” Silberlicht
Executive Director