Young Judaea
A Day At Camp
Here’s a breakdown of a typical day at camp, Sunday-Thursday! (Our Shabbat programming is described on our Judaism page)
| Time | Activity | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 7:00 AM | Hashkama (Wake up!) | Every morning our campers are greeted by our director Frank over the ram kol (intercom) with the “Wakey Wakey” show. |
| 7:30 AM | Mifkad Boker (Flag Raising) |
As a camp community, we raise the flags, sing our national anthem, and get a short lesson in Hebrew from our Israeli Scouts. |
| 7:45 AM | Aruchat Boker (Breakfast) | Campers sit with their bunks and enjoy a warm, hearty breakfast. Main course could be pancakes, french toast, waffles, or bagels. There's also daily options of scrambled eggs, cereal, fresh fruit, and more. |
| 8:40 AM | T'fillot (Prayers) |
Most mornings the camp splits into aidot (age groups) for morning prayers and Jewish learning. Twice a week we bring the whole camp together for t'fillot. |
| 9:15 AM | Morning Chuggim (Electives) | Campers enjoy 3 activities of their choosing, such as archery, arts and crafts, Newstube, or Premier League sports tournament. |
| 12:15 PM | Nikayon (Bunk Cleaning) | Every day, campers are tasked with cleaning their cabins. They complete different chores each day according to their bunk’s chore chart, in addition to making their beds. |
| 1:00 PM | Aruchat Tzohorayim (Lunch) | Often a meat meal, expect hamburgers, chicken fajitas, shnitzel, meatballs and more, (vegetarian options always available!) Taking a break from the buffet, this meal is served family-style for extra bunk bonding time. |
| 2:00 PM | Menucha (Rest Time) |
A time to relax and recharge before the afternoon. Campers return to their bunks to nap, write letters, talk, or play cards. |
| 3:00 PM | Peulot Alef-Gimmel (Afternoon Activities) | Campers participate in 3 activities every afternoon with their aidah (age group), sampling everything camp has to offer, including ropes course, sports, arts, Israel education, and more! Campers will always spend one hour each day in either our pool or lake to escape the mid-afternoon Texas heat. |
| 6:00 PM | Mifkad Erev (Flag Lowering) | We hear messages or cheers from each aidah, lower the flags, sing Hatikvah, and head to dinner! |
| 6:15 PM | Aruchat Erev (Dinner) | Common dinners include baked ziti, specialty pizza, pasta with alfredo sauce, and grilled cheese with tomato soup. Just like lunch, there are always staples nearby, like tuna salad, plain pasta, Soy Nut PB&J, and our critically acclaimed salad bar. |
| 7:00 PM | Chofesh (Free Time) |
Campers use this unstructured period to spend time around camp with their friends, play games, or climb up the CYJ Hill (with staff supervision nearby). |
| 8:00 PM | Peulat Erev (Evening Activities) |
Each aidah participates in a fun night activity, such as a campfire, pool party, dance, Minute to Win It games, and glow-in-the-dark Capture the Flag. |
| 8:45 PM | Zman Tsrif (Bunk time) |
Time to wrap up the day. Campers return to their bunks to shower and get ready for bed. As a bunk, they take this time to reflect on the day together and say the Shema before lights out. |
| 9:00 | 1st Laila Tov (Good Night) |
Ofarim, Chalutzim, Tsorim, and Maginim—good night! Our nighttime guard duty, shmira, begins for these bunks. |
| 9:30 | 2nd Laila Tov | Kesher, Bogrim, and Segel—good night! Shmira begins for these bunks. |
| 9:45 PM-6:55 AM | Zman Chalom (Dream Time) |
A special time for campers to meet talking deer, eat unlimited desserts, or soar through the clouds… |
Our time at camp is so magical, we actually live in a different time zone! Camp clocks are set to Mountain Time, an hour behind Central Standard Time. (So when you see 7:00 wake up, that means 8:00 at home!)