Camp Avoda was established in early 1927 by the Young Men's Hebrew Association[4] to serve the needs of underprivileged Jewish boys. Originally, the bunks were essentially "huts" and had no screening or walls. Today, campers sleep in basic cabins which were built at various times between the late 1950s and early 1980s. Many bunks were expanded after a rise in attendance in the mid-1990s.
Organization
The camp is a non-profit entity operated by a Board of Directors and duly incorporated as Camp Avoda, Inc. It serves the needs of 125-150 campers per session.
Camp Avoda is located on a 60-acre (240,000 m2) tract of land on Tispaquin Pond in Middleborough, Massachusetts. More than half of that land is wooded area, which is used for hiking, camping, mountain-biking, and a high-elements ropes course which was constructed in 1999.
View of Camp Avoda's field
The camp's buildings, including eight cabins, the recreation hall, the C.I.T. "bungalow", the shower houses, two administrator cabins, and the "OD shack", surround the large ball field, where all field sports are played.
Ken Shifman is currently the executive director of the camp. Shifman began as director in 2008 and became executive director in 2015 after Paul G. Davis retired. Davis had been employed since 1966, making him one of the longest-serving camp directors in the United States.[citation needed]
Camp Avoda currently has a 7+1⁄2-week season, which includes a 4-week-long first session and a 3+1⁄2-week second session. Each summer there are 32–40 junior and senior counselors ranging between ages 17–24. Almost all counselors were once campers at Camp Avoda, and most are typically college students.
Most campers reside in New England, with the vast majority concentrated in the Greater Boston area. However, some campers travel from Florida, the Washington, D.C. area, New Jersey, California, and Israel, to spend their summers at Camp Avoda.
In 2002, Camp Avoda celebrated its 75th anniversary, with over 1,000 Avodians attending festivities.
Traditions
Nearly all counselors were once Avoda campers and successful graduates of the Avoda Counselor-in-Training (C.I.T.) program.[5]
4th of July Celebration
July 4 is the first pinnacle event of the summer. The camp hosts its own carnival during the day, where each bunk creates its own booth in addition to those rented by the camp. At night is the annual Bonfire and Chip Ceremony. The bonfire is built entirely by Bunk 14, who name the bonfire and place a sign at the top with the name. The bonfire can be as tall as 16 feet (4.9 m). Once the fire has started to die down, a member from each bunk stands in front of the fire and makes a speech about their camp experience. After they make their speech, they take a wood chip, and throw it into the fire. Bunk 14 is the last bunk to speak, and has three speakers. After the campers finish, staff members and administrators, and finally the director, make speeches.
Trips occur every Thursday, except during Color War. Destinations have included Six Flags New England, Red Sox games, and Water Country. In addition, there are choice trips, in which campers are given between 3 and 4 options of destination. Trips designated for specific groups of campers include the annual fishing trip (Freshman, Sophomore, and Juniors), the Bunk 14 overnight, and the Senior Canoe Trip.
Tournaments
Avoda competes in tournaments with rival camps such as Camp Bauercrest, Bournedale, Young Judaea, Tel Noar, and Tevya. Avoda also attends the Bauercrest and YJ tournaments, and hosts its own annual tournament including soccer, softball and basketball.
Bunk 14
Bunk 14, also known as "The Betty Grable Commandos" is the bunk of the oldest campers at Avoda. Typically it houses 15-year-olds entering the 10th grade, however following the cancellation of the 2020 summer due to the Covid-19 pandemic, 16 year-olds entering the 11th grade are currently Bunk 14ers. With Bunk 14 comes special privileges and automatic "alumni" status. Many alumni are often identified and identify themselves by their Bunk 14 Year.
Color War
Color War occurs during the last week of the summer. The camp is split up into two teams, "White" and "Blue", with each team including eight staff members. Each camper is placed in a division with other campers of their own age and one year above or below them. The four divisions are Freshman, Sophomore, Junior, and Senior. In each division, the two teams face each other in sports, side events, tug of wars, and other events. The point values for each event are hidden from the campers, but increase in value from the Freshman to Senior Division.
One of the traditions of Color War is the silent meals. If campers are caught talking during any of the 18 meals (6 days, 3 meals a day), points are deducted from their team.
The winner is usually announced through a fixed race or game of some sort, in which the counselors representing the winning team win. The winning team then jumps in the lake.
Color War Record
Year
Winning team
Losing team
1972
White Patriots
General Carl Rottersman Captain Jon Bamel, Arthur Mendelsohn
Blue Braves
General Steven Woolf Captain George Brockman
1973
White Cougars
General Bobby Gilberg Captain Neil Sandler
Blue Brigade
General Danny Bauman Captain Steven Bender
1974
Blue Israelites
General Robbie Coppel Captain Phil Lukoff
White Cobras
General Brad Barry Captain Gary Epstein
1975
White Wizards
General Robbie Coppel Captain Jerry Gordon
Blue Tide
General Mike Katz Captain David Bamel
1976
Blue Rockets
General George Brockman Captain Robbie Satloff
White Eagles
General Robbie Coppel Captain Bruce Bender
1977
Blue Destroyers
General Stuart Bram Captain Ken Sandberg
White Kings
General David Goodman Captain Mike Ross
1978
White Cosmos
General Eric Yaffe Captain Glen French
Blue Diamonds
General Phil Lukoff Captain Gary Greenstein
1979
White Warriors
General David Bamel Captain Neil Schneider
Blue Cyclones
General Mitch Rubin Captain David Snider
1980
White Avodians
General Paul Kleinmann Captain Richie Mintzer
Blue Aztecs
General Robert Satloff Captain Evan Yampolsky
1981
White Sabres
General Steve Aronson Captain Bruce French
Blue Galaxy
General Steve Camiel Captain Paul Simon
1982
Blue Sting
General Mike Roth Captain Alex Sherman
White Warlords
General Steve Aronson Captain Mike Saperstein
1983
White Falcons
General David Snider Captain Richard I Lefkowitz
Blue Dragons
General Mike Rutstein Captain Jon Lee
1984
Blue Express
General Evan Yampolsky Captain Lee Kaiser
White Magic
General Andy Stone Captain Larry Gold
1985
Blue Demons
General Paul Simon Captain Jon Feldman
White Spray
General Mark Solomon Captain Danny Gold
1986
White Spartans
General Peter Spider Lebowitz Captain Josh Camire
Blue Crusade
General David Wertheim Captain Brett Smith
1987
White Cougars
General Davida Bones Captain Jimmy Sklaver
Blue Pythons
General Gary Solomon Captain Stu Glasser
1988
Blue Shadow
General Jay Yampolsky Captain Adam Kaufman
White Lightning
General Russell Katz Captain Jon Cohen
1989
Blue Storm
General Mark Glovin Captain Ariel Waldman
White Raiders
General Ken Shifman Captain Brian Malamut
1990
White Panthers
General Ken Shifman Captain Jake Farquharson
Blue Stampede
General Russell Katz Captain Bobby Zuker
1991
Blue Scorpions
General Jeff Blocker Captain Aaron Katz
White Knights
General Andy Spear Captain Josh Kaswell
1992
White Empire
General Stu Glass Captain Spencer Kimball
Blue Assault
General David Wilcov Captain Darryl Malamut
1993
Blue Sharks
General Jeremy Agulnek Captain Jason Kurtz
White Heat
General Ricky Hyman Captain Jeremy Steckel
1994
Blue Predators
General Jeremy Agulnek Captain Dan Gold_Pitegoff
White Seminoles
General Ricky Hyman Captain Scott Bookman
1995
Blue Devils
General Jeff Vetstein Captain Sam Chates
White Wolves
General Bobby Zuker Captain Adam Hatch
1996
Blue Grizzlies
General Jeremy Agulnek Captain Josh Schneider
White Wildcats
General Mark Sokoloff Captain Jesse Fanuiel
1997
Blue Justice
General Jeff Vetstein Captain Greg Lazaroff
White Bulldogs
General Ken Freeman Captain Jon Ostroff
1998
White Vipers
General Spencer Kimball Captain Josh Damm
Blue Rebels
General Aaron Agulnek Captain Dave Pratter
1999
White Force
General Eric Levy Captain Matt Aschaffenburg
Blue Tide
General EJ Kimball Captain Matthew Chella
2000
Blue Dynasty
General Spencer Kimball Captain Sam Glick
White Warriors
General Dave Brown Captain Dave Kivowitz
2001
White Lions
General Barry Morgan Captain Josh Coran
Blue Terror
General Adam Miller Captain Sawyer Emmer
2002
Blue Gladiators
General EJ Kimball Captain Steve Mendelsohn
White Patriots
General Josh Schneider Captain Brian Norcross
2003
Blue Giants
General Adam Miller Captain Matt Glick
White Titans
General Greg Lazaroff Captain Jared Shalek
2004
Blue Buccaneers
General Adam Miller Captain Benny Bershad
White Outlaws
General Evan Traiger Captain Jonathan Katz
2005
Blue Mafia
General Todd Miller Captain Justin Lukoff
White Tigers
General Mike Pemstein Captain Cory Schneider
2006
Blue Venom
General Sawyer Emmer Captain Eli Rodrigues
White Dragons
General Mike Pemstein Captain Sam Brenner
2007
Blue Animals
General Dan Gollinger Captain Eddie Bernson
White Spartans
General Erik Silevitch Captain Sascha Bercovitch
2008
White Phantoms
General Matt Norcross Captain Jason Hefter
Blue Army
General David Fine Captain Brendan Hefter
2009
Blue Monsters
General Adam Rubin Captain Paul Sockol
White Mustangs
General Jonny Singer Captain Brandon Banker
2010
White Assassins
General Cory Finkelman Captain Marc Gleason
Blue Heroes
General Ethan Gurwitz Captain Sam Watman
2011
Blue Barbarians
General Richard Katz Captain Harrison Bamel
White Legends
General Josh Coran Captain Jake Alexander
2012
White Mercenaries
General Ben Rubin Captain Drew Lukoff
Blue Gators
General Eddie Bernson Captain Benji Satloff
2013
Blue Goblins
General Jason Hefter Captain Ben Shale
White Prophets
General Jacob Dennis Captain Louis Yarmolinsky
2014
Blue Vikings
General Joey Sherman Captain Abe Watman
White Chiefs
General Jacob Dennis Captain Dan Chafetz
2015
White Olympians
General Sam Watman Captain Eli Sabin
Blue Apes
General Louis Douglas Captain Max Waltzman
2016
White Villains
General Jared Fixler Captain Ross Halpern
Blue Bears
General Louis Douglas Captain Zac Roth
2017
Blue Wizards
General Joshua Cohen Captain Sam Waltzman
White Royals
General Drew Lukoff Captain Nate Goldberg
2018
Navy Seals
General Abe Watman Captain Adam Alter
White Avengers
General Wes Fixler Captain Sawyer Busny
2019
Blue Anarchy
General Shay Wenglin Captain Charlie Zuker
White Jaguars
General Ty Goldstein Captain Michael Shnidman Jr.
2021
White Avalanche
General Jay Blumenfeld Captain Jason Karas
Blue Conquerors
General Max Waltzman Captain Cole Busny
2022
Blue Demons
General Nate Goldberg Captain Matt Brayer
White Armada
General Ethan Shifman Captain Jacob Demeo
2023
White Huskies
General Owen Sherman Captain Ryan Jacoby
Blue Bandits
General Max Kleinmann Captain Jonah Bramson
2024
Blue Revolution
General Charlie Zuker Captain Zack Leibman
White Flames
General Alex Shifman Captain Danny Karas
Alumni Association
Since 1987, the Camp Avoda Alumni Association has hosted a full weekend dedicated to Alumni events, which typically takes place the weekend before the campers arrive at camp.[6] t is common for Alumni members to stop by throughout the summer to interact with the current staff and campers.
In addition to the Alumni Weekend, the Avoda Alumni Association hosts events throughout the off-season at various Massachusetts locations, including: Billiard Nights, Family Day at Gillette Stadium, and the annual Thanksgiving Football Game. The Alumni Association also hosts fundraising and charitable endeavors aimed at providing scholarships to campers for the summers.
Notes
^See "Avodah" article for the meaning of the word.
