2nd Session Week 3!

Hi Gesher Families and Friends,

Well, this is it. Kayitz 2026 has officially come to a close.

As we write this, we are closing up camp for the year, cleaning up and enjoying one last day of this magical place. It is hard to believe how quickly these eight weeks have gone by. Camp always feels like a lifetime and a single second all at once. Although we are sad to say goodbye, we are also incredibly grateful and filled with so much joy for the summer we spent together.

On Saturday, we had our last Shira (final songs), where we watched as Kvutzot embraced each other, shared memories, and celebrated everything they had built together this summer. It was bittersweet, but also incredibly beautiful to watch our chanichimot feel so much love and ownership over this place. Even though the summer has come to an end, we know that so many of the friendships made here will continue to grow throughout the year, until everyone can be back here together again.

On Thursday night, we had our Banquet, with this session's theme being Around the World. Tzevet came together to transform the chadar (dining hall) into a completely new space. Suddenly, it was no longer the room we eat in every day, but a little bit of Brazil, Norway, Japan, Morocco, Greece, and so much more. It was such a great example of the collective effort and responsibility we have seen throughout the summer. 

This also connects so perfectly to our summer theme, Radical Resilience, created by our Chinuch Talya. From pre-camp all the way through to deconstruction (post-camp cleanup), we have watched our tzevet and chanichimot take on challenges, try new things, step outside of their comfort zones, and push themselves to be their best. We frictionmaxxed!!! And we hope everyone keeps frictionmaxxing throughout the year. 

We don't want to keep you long, but we wanted to say one final, enormous thank you for trusting us with your kiddos this summer. We truly love each and every one of them, and it has been such a privilege to watch them learn, grow, laugh, challenge themselves, build friendships, and become more confident versions of themselves.

We hope they leave Gesher with full hearts, new stories, and a little bit of camp that they can carry with them until next summer. 

Love,

Noa Waserman Meinhard (Rosh)

Amy Arnold (Techni)

Rae Goldman (Melavah)

Talya Rumstein-Ellis (Chinuch)

Mazkirut 2026