That well, jokingly referred to by Munkies as the “Be’er Miriam,” serves camp to this day
Last week on Erev Shabbos, the Camp Munk campus in Ferndale, New York, bustled with activity as Shabbos preparations reached a feverish pitch. Until suddenly, the water supply came to an abrupt stop, leaving hundreds of campers waiting to shower and the kitchen staff unable to continue the food prep.
Rabbis Pinny Munk, the camp director and his son Yechezkel Munk, the camp manager, sprang into action, attempting to get the water supply going again, unsuccessfully. Then Mrs. Ray Munk, the camp’s matriarch, heard about the predicament. Quietly, she took out her Tehillim and davened to the true Property Manager. After just a few minutes, the wells sprang back to life and once again, water flowed through the camp grounds, sending the relieved campers back to their showers and the kitchen crew to finish the seudah prep.
Later that night, during the Leil Shabbos seudah, Rabbi Munk explained that his mother’s natural reaction of turning to Hashem — and the immediate response — had a precedent right there in Camp Munk, almost 70 years earlier.
In the summer of 1955, Rabbi Pinchus Munk’s grandparents, Rabbi Yechiel Aryeh Munk and his rebbetzin Mrs. Martha (Miriam) Munk, had established Camp Munk for boys and purchased the current campus on Queen Mountain Road in Ferndale, New York. With just two weeks to go before the boys arrived, a local official came to inspect the campus to confirm everything was functioning. Yet after completing his inspection, the official grimly informed the Munks that the water supply wasn’t adequate; as such, he would not be able to issue the permits for the camp to open. Their dream of a Torah summer camp hung in the balance.
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