L’man Achai Camper Became Frum and Returns as Staff Member

By Libby Herz

“Kids go to L’man Achai for two reasons,” says learning director Yisroel Weisberg, “To grow, and to have a blast doing it.” The overnight camp in upstate New York is geared towards boys from non-observant backgrounds.

“Kids come out and it literally changes their lives,” says Mendel Taxopolous. “When I first went,” he says, “the Judaism stuff was really new to me.” Mendel didn’t know about davening, learning classes, and he couldn’t read aleph-beis. “I learned how to read Hebrew there in my second year.”

Since 1992, L’man Achai has been infusing boys with a love for yiddishkeit. Originally the camp catered to boys with a Russian background, but today most of the boys are American.

Many of the boys are sent at the suggestion of a Shliach or Rebbetzin, explains director Yitzchok Steinmetz. “They know we provide the boys with an exciting Jewish experience.”

The camp’s state-of-the-art grounds include a beautiful lakefront, basketball, baseball, and volleyball courts. From meals, to sports, to learning class, the energy of the camp is one of fervor and chayus. “The counselors are really religious, but the chayus gets the kids going and the kids have a really good time,” Taxopolous says.

Many of Taxopolous’s friends became observant at camp. He met his two best friends there, and even though they are from different states, they look forward to being together at camp each summer. This year, Taxopolous, who had his bris during his second summer at L’man Achai, went on to study in Maayanot and is going back as a staff member. “Whether they become religious or not,” he says, “every kid has a bigger love for Judaism when he leaves. Boys may decide to marry Jewish, keep kosher, or learn more Torah.”

Being away from home is a first for many campers. But for those at L’man Achai, davening, shabbos, and wearing a yarmulka and tzitzis are new experiences, as well. To accommodate these boys, the well-trained and experienced staff are primarily educators with sensitivity to the backgrounds of their clientele. Head counselor Levi Gajer is a teacher in Oholei Torah with many years of teaching experience. Other staff members teach at Lubavitch Yeshiva and Darchei Menachem. “Head staff and staff come back year after year,” Steinmetz says.

The camp is also for kids who want an added boost of inspiration, Weisberg adds. He recalls one boy who hailed from a Lubavitch mesivta. “The boy felt disengaged from yiddishkeit,” says Weisberg, “so he came here as a camper.”

At a bonfire, the yeshiva boy sat beside a public school boy who was learning to say shma. “He was teaching kids how to put on tefillin,” Weisberg says. The boy found new meaning in his yiddishkeit, all while helping others.

Many boys become Shomer Shabbos after a summer at camp, often encouraging their families to join them. The impact of camp inspired the entire family of one former camper so much that they eventually relocated to a home within walking-distance of Chabad so they would not be tempted to drive on Shabbos.

Boys at the camp hail from California, Florida, Hawaii, Texas, Arizona, and more.

Taxopolous is looking forward to another summer brimming with yiddishkeit and chayus. “The last day of camp,” he says, “My good friend cried because of how grateful he was for his summer here.” Two week, four week, and six week sessions begin on July 5th, and August 19th.

Check out the website: https://www.camplmanachai.com/