I’m not a fool. I know that by writing this letter, I am setting myself up to become a punching bag on the very Whatsapp groups I am about to discuss. Since I had an up-close view of this tremendous camp challenge that was faced this week, I feel the need to express my feelings.
I am not one to give mussar. That is definitely not my intention. I simply want to give over my impressions as someone who was personally involved in this crisis and to relate what I saw as an individual. I truly hope that this type of response to a problematic situation will not become the norm and will not be repeated in the future.
A camp was stuck without a campus in the last minute, and they tried valiantly to work on an appropriate plan of action until things would fall into place. Clearly, the accommodations procured were very far from what parents or children would expect from a camp. Parents are responsible for their children’s welfare and safety. They have every right to expect that from the camp in which their child is enrolled. It is a fact that the parents and their children were let down, big time.
But was THIS the solution to the problem?
The entire idea of people’s serious problems “going viral” really creates a very terrible situation. First of all, it’s simply wrong. Secondly, it tremendously exacerbates the problems.
If people really were so upset, a better way to use their energy would have been to try to help. This koach hatzibbur could have been utilized to try to correct the problem in a quicker and more thorough way, rather than using online forums simply to gossip and bash people.
Let’s not forget that there were staff members who literally worked 48 hours straight, not eating, drinking or sleeping throughout this time. Why do they deserve to get publicly shamed? This negative feedback destroyed any energy that may have existed to try to get things right! Many mistakes were made. But taking pictures, sending them out and making the matzav look completely out of control just made things get even more chaotic.
Without a doubt, the biggest challenge of the entire ordeal was dealing with those who spread negative information, rather than spending their time rebuilding. The biggest heartache was watching the wonderful Head staff, who were working so hard but were repeatedly getting slandered across the globe by people who offered no practical help.
When did we become a community in which tolerance doesn’t exist?
When did we become a community where not only are people not given a second chance – they don’t even get a first chance?
Why is someone else’s failure “exciting?”
We all could one day be in a position of “failure,” and we all would want to be given a second chance. More importantly, we deserve a second chance.
What we learn from this situation, is that blogs, WhatsApp groups and the negativity and motzi shem ra that is shared on these forums, destroy any potential good that people can accomplish.
There were a number of parents who showed up to the camp livid about conditions they were hearing about through Whatsapp groups and on the Internet. Those same parents were present when it was announced that certain age groups were going to go home. The parents were shocked to see their children crying and begging to stay. No one cries and begs to stay when have a chance to leave a terrible situation. Clearly, the contagious negativity caused this situation to slide completely out of control.
If there would have been a positive ruach, and if we would have been able to eliminate the online negativity, we certainly could have pulled off the summer of their dreams.
In this particular incident, we are not justifying what certain people did. I am simply pointing out that it is very wrong to pounce on someone’s downfall like a hungry wolf who hasn’t eaten in weeks and eagerly shred people apart without a moment’s thought. It is well known that a person with low self-esteem needs to be fed with other people’s failures!
Yes, it is true that there are some people who do terrible things – but they also have spouses, children, parents and other family members who have done nothing wrong. When people gleefully disseminate negative stories – sometimes based on fact but often not – it really hurts innocent people.
If anyone reads this letter and discerns from it that I am condoning what went on this week, they have missed the point. If that’s what someone takes out of this message, that person is only continuing to perpetuate the negativity.
We need to figure out how to end the infiltration of the online chats, blogs, and the destruction that they spread. May we be zoche to utilize the tremendous achdus and koichos that our am kodesh is known for to create a kiddush Hashem and bring Moshiach closer.
Moshe Dovid Perlstein
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28 Responses
I feel this is an excellent piece and also very well stated.
And very true and I have nothing to add.
The blogs …i have never visited them, are obviously terrible and no self respecting yid should be there.
There are other permissible ways to entertain yourself
We appreciate all the hard work from people who stepped up after the fact.
But the reality is that as a parent, the lack of communication from the camp is a huge factor. I understand they are busy and can’t answer every call. But email exists, and it seems the camp knows how to use it. Putting one person in charge of sending ACCURATE constant updates to all parents via email / text would have gone a loooooong way to calming parents nerves. Instead, camp sent an email making everything look rosy, while kids were calling he crying stating the opposite doesn’t do much for trust. I understand the camp didn’t want the parents to know the full truth, but that just makes things even worse. In addition, preteens crying because they want to stay? They are tired and exhausted, and want a NORMAL camp experience. Of course they are crying when they find out it’s not happening. Doesn’t mean they want to stay in a chaotic environment. They kept being told it’ll all work out, so they trusted the ADULTS, and were hoping it would work out.
I guess what your not seeing is the parents of these girls who haven’t changed in two days. These parents who are in the city working who can’t get to their stranded kid! The parent worried about the kid whose in the heat for hours not knowing where her luggage is! This mother after a long day is sitting out with her neighbors when her daughter calls and says she’s so hungry!!
These mothers are worried about their children!! What exactly did you think would happen in a crazy case like this??
I totally agree with the letter. My nieces have gone to Camp Malka and always had a wonderful time. It is a shame it has come to this.
Well, YWN was eager to come up with the beautiful headlines camp drama yesterday which I found disgusting. Less and less we resemble Hashem’s nation. We’re becoming exactly like the goyim around us and our level of tzidkus reaches only to being to the right of the political spectrum, as if that’s all is required of yidden. We’re lost.
No we don’t need to stop online groups. What we need to stop people collecting $8000 for summer camps registration without responsible plans. Same as we had last year Passover cancellations. No its not OK to still from your brother, and we will shame u publicly.
No we don’t need to stop online groups. What we need to stop people collecting $8000 for summer camps registration without responsible plans. Same as we had last year Passover cancellations. No its not OK to steal from your brother, and we will shame u publicly.
First of all nothing that you said is correct
They were not left last minute without grounds because it was under construction and they knew it wouldn’t be ready.
My guess is your related to this Hiller guy and are just trying to cover up for him
This letter is filled with misinformation and blatant chutzpah.
1.) “A camp was stuck without a campus in the last minute”. Nothing to say to this except “”HUH??!””
2.) “making the matzav look completely out of control just made things get even more chaotic”. No one “made” anything “look” like anything. Everyone who came to pick up their children were horrified by the dysfunctional and completely chaotic scene that met their eyes, accurately portrayed by the pictures that went viral.
3.) Most campers were crying and begging to go home.
4.) This camp is a business that took peoples $, and hurt a lot of people. This story should go viral to ensure the irresponsible evil that took place here cannot happen again and that parents are refunded every dime they paid. Several parents have spoke to me and I’ve already set them up with a class-action attorney who is in the process of drafting a demand letter to start.
I totally agree with this article, but the first place to stop all this is to get rid of the comments feature on all the frum news sites. People have no business commenting on the news. Let’s keep the site to give the news and that’s all,
The biggest gossip spreader did it again. Oh and he says it’s all lishem shomayim of course. All in the name of hashem.
Remember “Failed Messiah”? We now have the same thing. Except he lives in the heart of Lakewood, with kids in Yeshivos.
Does Perlstein own this camp or not?
Reminds me when YWN exposed that Pesach program who stole everyone’s money and then the guy threatened to sue for exposing him LOLOL.
What happened to Choshen Mishpat?
I’m just trying to understand what in the world the camp was thinking when the buses left Lakewood to the camp which was no way near ready. Did they think hashem would magically get everything done in time?!
This is really sad. Not sure the point os this letter was.
@JOJO
Well, it can’t be as bad as the crook who closed down his Pesach program in the Tamarack Lodge, back in the 90’s, literally erev Pesach, and then the same gangster abandoned his Pesach program in the Sans Souci in Miami Beach in middle of chal hamoed. They always manage to get away with it.
As far as the camp itself, my older daughter went there the very first year it opened, and the next year as well and loved every minute of it. No complaints.
What’s truly shocking is the Community’s absolute silence to the Biden Admins Yesterday imposing SANCTIONS ON FRUM JEWS WHO LIVE IN YEHUDA and SHOMRON, including a woman with 8 children and many more!! This will leave them unable to Travel to the USA, and in Financial ruin! Their crime? They are Jewish and were protesting against Hamas!
Where is the outcry against this dangerous targeting of Jews?
It can be YOUR relative next!!
Yet, the Biden admin has taken no action at all against the violent pro Hamas and antisemitic Hate groups in NYC, LA and Chicago! And neither has the NY city Mayor, governor and DA!
How insular can we Jews be in the face of this escalation of antisemitism by our Governments?!
Hold on!
A parent signs up a child with the understanding that their child will have a normal camp experience running water food …..
Things WERE CLEAR THAT THE CAMP DIDNT KEEP IT’S WORD TO HUNDREDS OF PARENTS.THAT DOESN’T SEEM TO BOTHER YOU .THEY RUINED KIDS SUMMER .NOT ALL PARENTS ARE RICH. THEY SAVED MONEY TO SEND THEIR KIDS TO CAMP.WHAT DO YOU SAY TO THAT TZADIK ?
WHENEVER THERE IS A DISHONEST BUSINESS DEAL DONE BY A FRUM GUY THEY CAN ALWAYS COUNT ON PEOPLE LIKE PERLSTEIN TO DEFEND THEM.
IF WE ARE MISJUDGING PLEASE GIVE US THE FACTS.NOTHING YOU WROTE EXPLAINS WHY A CAMP TOTALLY MISLEAD PARENTS AND RUINED KIDS SUMMER. IT DIDN’T HAPPEN IN 2 DAYS.
INSTEAD OF YOUR VIEW POINT GIVE US THE FACT OR MAYBE YOU CAN’T .
Playing victim is not going to get the parents sympathy. .
Milliom dollar question and there is no explanation how in heavens name the camp arranged buses for over 700 girls to come up to to the hotel charging 200 dollars pp knowingly that the hotel has maybe 200 beds… There is absolutely no excuse for this. A camper i know was there and I have everything documented. The kids did not get anything normal to eat and there was no drinks the entire day until some Chasidishe guys showed up with food while there’s pictures of you and the staff in the office with pies of pizza. There was no staff to watch the campers while lowlife goyim were roaming around between the girls
Oh but it’s the whatsapp group problem cuz this is really normal.
Half the girls didnt get their luggage and had no toiletries and basics and ones that did had nowhere to put it.
How do you have the audacity to blame the parents.
As parents, we deeply appreciate Rabbi Perlstein, the staff at Camp Malka, and everyone who contributed during this difficult situation.
We agree with Rabbi Perlstein’s point about the harm caused by blogs, WhatsApp groups, and negativity, including motzi shem ra. It’s important for all of us to learn from this.
However, there are points raised that require clarification from Rabbi Perlstein and those involved. We arrived to pick up our daughter before the official announcement, intending to bring her home until the situation stabilized and her basic needs, like a proper bed, could be met. What we witnessed was shocking and appalling.
Given what we saw, could you please explain how “we would have been able to eliminate the online negativity, we certainly could have pulled off the summer of their dreams?” The building was condemned, and the girls had to leave. How can online negativity be blamed for this?
The reality is that some adults made serious mistakes and our children were the korbonos. Focusing on online negativity as the reason for not achieving “the summer of their dreams” won’t prevent such situations in the future.
First and foremost, I would like to thank you very much for what you did as a parent that my child got sent home I know you Worked very hard to try to keep as many as you could. On a sidenote I think everything is saying is 100% true besides for the fact that it was a last-minute thing that came up not that it’s anyone’s business Besides, maybe the parents not that we could do anything about it but if you wanna be honest, that’s not reality
The letter writer was careful to not name the camp.
Not sure why it is mentioned in the headline…
Alos, is there any heter for the original dissemination of this story?
It strikes me as lashon hara with no toeles…
So Pearlstein acts as if this was an unfortunate outcome that could not have been known or anticipated by the Camp staff who labored selflessly to care for hundreds of girls they shlepped upstate while fully knowing there was nowhere for them to go. How stupid does he think the parents are?????
If you don’t have the proper permits to run a camp or program within several weeks before the start date, you alert the parents immediately so they can make whatever contingency plans they might be able to arrange for their kids. If within several days of the start, you still don’t have the permits, you CANCEL the program and provide immediate refunds rather than still shlepping them to nowhere and only then at the 11th hour telling the parents, “we have a problem”.
These types of fiascos happen all the time and sometimes it is beyond anyone’s control. Unless there are mitigating factors operative here, which haven’t been disclosed, this sounds like a combination of greed and gross negligence. Again, perhaps Pearlstein could explain WHY this wasn’t foreseeable
You know why we suffer from so many scams, shoddy products or experiences, failed Pesach hotels & camp fiascos?
Because under the guise of Halacha we are told we can’t say anything. Because under the guise of “Rachmonis” we must give people chance after chance. Because (& most importantly) of “Shidduchim” we need to stay silent & pretend nothing happened.
I don’t know many details but from what I’ve gathered they were “hoping” to have a campus ready just in time (& even pushed the opening off by a week) which is extremely irresponsible.
Who collects thousands of dollars from parents on “a hope & a prayer” everything will work out (& what was “Plan B” if it didn’t)?
This sounds like many of the horror stories we hear about Pesach & other events.
But let’s keep paying these people top shelf money for bottom shelf services because they have children “in the Parsha”
Mindboggling.
Yeshiva World, you are thriving on this content. For you, it means hit, hit, hit, hit. You should be disabling all comments–instead you just perpetuate the online lashon hara. You don’t represent any yeshiva world I know.
This, from the letter, is the bottom line: “If people really were so upset, a better way to use their energy would have been to try to help. This koach hatzibbur could have been utilized to try to correct the problem in a quicker and more thorough way, rather than using online forums simply to gossip and bash people.”
The letter writer, Rabbi Perlstein, is not connected to this camp. He is what would be considered in any other situation as competition, but he is the paradigm of a good Jew who practices what he preaches. He reached out to help a competitor. Like others could have done…
Get rid of WhattsAPP and get rid of summer camps….
AL PI HASHEM YACHANU V’AL PI HASHEM YISAU
Hi, I’m a girl.
A girl who was supposed to be a camper in Camp Malka this summer.
A girl who currently has no summer plans.
But also,
A girl who believes in Hashem.
A girl who believes that He runs the velt.
Not R’ Hiller or R’ Perlstein. And I don’t know why the world seems to have forgotten that.
What happened frustrating and sad. But we as a nation need to realize that the world is run by Hashem and that everything that happens is from Him and is good.
I’ve been to 3 other camps besides Malka. Every camp has its Maalos and Chisronos. Camp Malka’s biggest Maalah, according to my comparisons, is its Head staff. The head staff have been putting their all into Camp Malka since the day that they went home last August to make this summer the best it can be.
But Hashem had other plans.
And we need to just accept them.