B’nai B’rith Perlman Camp in Lake Como, PA is a magical place where you meet lifelong friends and discover new parts of your identity along the way. I am so excited to share sample schedules of a day in the life at ILTC and Kallah. I went on both programs this past summer, and attending Full Perlman was the best decision. Many people ask how Kallah and ILTC differ from each other. In short, ILTC is leadership based and Kallah is Judaism and self-discovery/identity-based! Both are incredibly meaningful and such a great way to spend your summer.

ILTC- Schedule from July 5

7:45 AM Boker Tov! I was in Dorm 11. We usually woke up 30 minutes to an hour before breakfast so we had enough time to get ready in the morning.

8:15 AM- Independent Shacharit. This day was not a Community Shacharit. Community shacharit means that everyone at ILTC attends this morning service together and it is not optional. Independent shacharit is optional and you can attend it if you’d like to; it is not mandatory! Each day was either shacharit or community shacharit in the morning.

9:00 AM- Aruchat Boker/Breakfast- Breakfast is held at the dining hall at Perlman! There are many different breakfast options, and tea, cereal, and coffee are offered every day. Egg McPerlmans are the most famous Perlman breakfast food. Before eating meals at Perlman, we say the Birkat, which is a prayer that gives thanks for the food we have.

10:00 AM- Kavanah. Kavanah takes place before blueprint. It is daily framing with some inspiration and goals to keep in mind for Blueprint, which was given by Ian Kandel.

10:15 AM- Blueprint (Leadership Training). Blueprint is the main activity of ILTC. My blueprint leader was Moe Wittenberg. Our blueprint group was so incredible and inspiring and I was so lucky to have Moe as my blueprint leader. We also had a madrich co-teaching with Moe. His name was Simon Hanono, and he helped create BBYO Mexico. Hearing about his BBYO journey was so motivating. All of the leadership staff blueprint leaders were so amazing, and I’m so glad I was able to meet them all. Blueprint is the classroom environment where you are taught crucial leadership skills alongside other teen leaders from all over the world. Blueprint is typically hands-on lessons or activities.

12:00 PM- Following Blueprint was Sivuv. Sivuv is also known as the traditional camp activities such as rock climbing, beach volleyball, lake swim, cooking, arts & crafts, sports, etc. Sivuv was a rotation so it varied every day, but different pods were assigned to different Sivuvs every day. On this day, my pod had Pool! We got to swim in the pool which was tons of fun and a great way to relax after Blueprint. Below are some pics from my film camera from the pool. (Pro tip: highly recommend bringing a film camera or go pro to Perlman)  

1:00 PM- Lunch at the Dining Hall! Lunch is always fun- there is a lot of cheering and spirit.

2:00 PM- Rest Hour. Rest Hour is time spent with your dorm. Usually, you will spend rest hour helping to clean and tidy up your dorm, and then the rest of the Rest Hour period is free time in your dorm or in the area around your dorm. It is different from Chofesh because you can’t leave your dorm area.

4:00 pm- How To. How To Workshops were always so much fun and a highlight of my day. Below is the list of How To Workshops that were offered on July 5. There were so many different options and each and every one of them was so interesting and valuable.

4:45 PM- Chofesh. Chofesh is free time that you can spend anywhere in camp! One of my favorite things to do during Chofesh when offered is to walk the loop around camp. It is a great hike with gorgeous views, including cows.

6:30 PM- Mincha (Independent). Independent Mincha is the optional afternoon service you can attend towards the end of Chofesh and right before dinner.

7:00 PM- Aruchat Erev/Dinner. Dinner is also a very fun meal; there is a lot of singing and chanting. Everyone has so much spirit at dinner and there are various meal options, along with a dessert. Everyone’s favorite dessert is on Shabbat. It’s shabbos cake! I can confirm it definitely earns the title of best Perlman dessert.

8:00 PM- Perlman Speaker Series. On this day, we were lucky enough to have speakers at Perlman share their inspiring stories. The speakers went until nighttime services. Following the series, this night was Community Ma’ariv, which meant everyone had to attend nighttime services- rather than Independent Ma’ariv, which is independent. Community Ma’ariv takes place in front of the Perlman tree and it is one of my favorite parts of Perlman. It is so magical.

After services, K’far BBG and K’far AZA meetings were held to wrap up the night. That means that every BBG at Perlman met in one group in their K’far location and the Aleph’s met in theirs. On Saturdays, we had K’far programs at night. However, on this day, they were just nightly day wrap-ups. After K’far meetings, we had dorm time until bedtime. Bedtime is usually up to the dorm, but it is never too late because we have to wake up early. Getting enough sleep at Perlman is so important!

That was one day at ILTC. I hope you attend ILTC in Summer 2022! If you have any questions about ILTC, reach out at any time.