And the Winner Is

Yet some of the greatest English songs on Jewish albums, especially many of those nostalgic JEP songs from the ‘70s and ‘80s, were products of Color Wars past. There was “Dear Nikolai,” a Camp Kol Ree Nah alma mater, “Times of Joy,” which was a Camp Agudah’s marching song, and so many others.

Some things about camp never change — like the breakout to get everyone into the Color War spirit. Actually, any time during the last few weeks of camp, if so much as a plate of soup is dropped by a waiter, everyone screams “Color War!” I tried to find the individual who coined the lyrics to the famous Chabad tune: “Campers, counselors, have no fear, there will be Color War this year, 1, 2, 3, 4 — we want Color War, 5, 6, 7, 8 — we don’t want to wait.” A few people said it was Eli Teitelbaum a”h, but somehow, I’m not sure the words do his legacy justice.

Benny Friedman relates that the first job he ever got paid for was a Color War breakout at Camp Romemu. They had a professional makeup artist try to make him look like his uncle Avraham Fried. He wasn’t sure anyone was fooled, but it was close enough to keep the campers happy.

Both Abie Rotenberg and Rabbi Baruch Chait reminded me of the famous breakout that took place in Camp Manayim. At Maariv after Tishah B’Av, as everyone was heading in to break their fasts, an elderly rav with a long white beard addressed the camp and, in a serious and almost tearful voice, told the campers that a crucial mistake was made on American calendars and that Tishah B’Av really began that night. It obviously didn’t take too long for the campers to realize this was a breakout, but it really did scare a few hungry boys, thinking they’d have to fast another 24 hours…