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DAVETREK ADVENTURES |
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Sunset at Haleakala Crater—January 2005 © David Brotsky |
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Summer Getaway at Berkshire Hills in Copake NY!!! Thursday, June 18th to Sunday June 21, 2026 (Friday June 19 is the Juneeteenth Holiday) EARLY BIRD DEADLINE MIDNIGHT MONDAY, MAY 18, 2026 STANDARD EVENT RSVP MIDNIGHT MONDAY June 1, 2026 FINAL EVENT RSVP MIDNIGHT SUNDAY, JUNE 14. 2026 |
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FAQ What you should bring, and more information than you ever really wanted to know...Let us know if anything has been missed of substance…. Please bring your own chumash for the weekend. Also, we run these events at a lower cost by having everyone help out during the event. BASICS FOR THE WEEKEND WHATS THE ADDRESS AND PHONE NUMBER OF THIS PLACE? The address and phone of the Retreat Center are: Miller Pond @ Berkshire Hills Eisenberg Camp 159 Empire Road, Copake, NY 12516 Google Maps Link HOW FAR IS THE PLACE? WHEN SHOULD I LEAVE? The Retreat Center is about 110 miles from Manhattan and 20 miles from Great Barrington, MA the southern part of the Berkshires, in the upper Taconics/Lower Berkshires, but you are on smaller roads, so don’t think you can do get there in under 2 hrs from anywhere safely. Here is how long it takes from various locations, without traffic a) Midtown, Upper West Side, North Jersey, Riverdale, Monsey – 2 hrs to 2.5 hrs b) Brooklyn and Lower Manhattan, Queens, & Long Island - 2.5 hrs to 3.0 hours. Candle Lighting is 8:40 PM on Friday June 19th. Please plan on arriving no later than 7:30 PM. To make sure you get there at a sensible time, not rushing and coming in 5 minutes before Shabbat, I recommend you leave at 4:30 PM from Mid and Upper Manhattan, Queens and Northern NJ, and 3:00 from Brooklyn, Long Island & Central NJ. YOU SHOULD NOT LEAVE LATER THAN 5:00 PM FROM ANY LOCATION. Also, the closer to 1PM that you arrive, the more time you will have to use the wonderful facilities! The traffic will only be at the beginning from my experience, ie getting to the Taconic, which is about 30 miles north of NYC. Since this is a midweek departure, you should not have any traffic. Once on the Taconic, traffic usually moves well, just not at superhighway speeds. KASHRUT, FOOD, DAVENING, ERUV, ETC What kind of food to they serve? What type of kashrus does this place have? The food is prepared by the Berkshire Hills staff. They have kitchen on the retreat side, with two separate kitchen areas, one for meat and one for milk meals. In terms of kashrut, the facility hires a mashgiach who has experience in the kosher food industry but they are not under any external hashgacha. The mashgiach uses the following list for kashrut symbols, published by the Anshe Sholom shul in Chicago and consults with various Orthodox rabbis in Riverdale when questions arise. As part of this process, take a look and make sure you are comfortable with the list for kashrut symbols. I have been at various retreats at this facility and spent a good deal of time looking in the kashrut practices of this facility and I am comfortable with the kashrut. All meat is glatt and under the main recognized hechshers like OU, CRC, MK etc. For example, they often use meat and chicken from places like Empire, Mesorah Farms, tifereth , TJ poultry and Of Tov for their chicken, which is under the OU and CRC and meal mart, birdboro and elyon products for many of their other meat/turkey products that may be served during the weekend, also . However, if you have additional questions, I know that some will want more detail than I can put on my website, so please don’t hesitate to reach out to me directly with any questions you may have about the kashrut and the standards that they use at this facility. The food has been good to excellent, with great vegetarian options. Weather permitting, we intend to have a BBQ for lunch on Sunday and a bonfire on Thursday Night. They can also handle many special dietary requests. Please indicate all of this information on the RSVP Form, linked above. Do you cater to vegetarians? What kind of healthy food will you have? Yes. See the sample menu for details of the succulent food they serve. Also, we will have some nash out during the weekend, including a fruit throughout the weekend. We try and accommodate many palates, to the extent possible and to the extent that we are aware of your likes and preferences, on the RSVP Page. Is there an Eruv? What kind of davening will you have? Will there be laining? Yes, one that encompasses the main areas of the grounds where we are staying. We will detail the boundaries during the weekend. As for the shul, there is a glass walled shul that looks out onto the private lake. You can see pictures of some of the grounds, the shul and other pictures on the pictures page. We will have minyans throughout the weekend, starting as of Friday evening ( if we have enough people on Thursday night, we might have a Friday morning minyan also), and we will have laining as well on Shabbat. Let us know if you can daven or lain on the RSVP Form. HOW DO WE PAY FOR THE EVENT? You may pay by paypal or zelle—please see all the details on the Rates, Deposits and Payments Page. You must pay your deposit to complete your registration and your full payment must be sent before you come up to the weekend. WHATS THE WEATHER LIKE? HOW COLD IS IT AT NIGHT? Its too early to tell, though its usually about 5 - 10 degrees cooler at the retreat than in the NY area during the summer. This is why people like to come to the mountain areas like upper NY in the summer! It can get chilly at night, so bring a sweater or other warm gear just in case! It could be in the mid 40s at night at this time of the year. WHAT ARE THE ROOMS LIKE? DO I HAVE A KEY TO LOCK MY ROOM? SHOULD I BRING VALUABLES WITH ME? ARE THERE TV’S OR PHONES IN MY ROOM? The rooms are all in decent condition. Some have been recently renovated, and even the basic rooms are fine rooms. Also, we are fairly secluded and none of the rooms lock with a key. As a general matter, I would not bring anything very valuable with you, which is a good rule for traveling. There are no tv’s or phones in the rooms. DO CELL PHONES WORK THERE? DO THEY HAVE BROADBAND INTERNET/WIFI? CELL PHONES - none of them work well in the area—you get services in some spots and there are many deadzoenes... The Retreat has wifi in the main building and in parts of the campus that work well though. WHAT DO I NEED TO BRING? HOW FORMAL DO I NEED TO DRESS? We are fairly informal – suits are certainly optional, based on what you feel is appropriate for a Shabbat. Please bring clothing for Shabbat, a SIDDUR, CHUMASH, toiletries, and clothing for the days you are there besides shabbat, reading materials, any games you want to play up there, something for rain since it might rain at some point, and warm clothing. Also, a gemarah if we end up offering a daf yomi shiur ( the Daf will be in Mesechect Avodah Zara during the time we will be up there) as well as any clothing for the events you go to on Friday, Sunday or Monday. DOES THE PLACE SUPPLY LINENS, TOWELS, ETC? Yes, they supply bed linens (sheets, blankets), towels and a small bar of soap. You will need to bring anything else you would want to have. Its not a hotel, so they do not clean rooms while we are there. Also, make sure to rip toilet paper in your bathroom, for Shabbat. There may also be a box of Kleenex in the room. DO YOU NEED HELP ON THE WEEKEND? Yes, we do these events only with your help. During the weekend we may ask people to help out at various times, like cleaning the tables after we eat, etc. There is also need for additional helpers who will get reduced fees. Please see the main page, linked above. Also, let me know your interest on the RSVP Form. A few people who qualify and can help in advance will be able to get a reduced rate, and some may be able to get up to 50% off. We also need people to teach classes, teach arts and crafts, and other tasks. See the relevant sections of this FAQ for more information. What specific helper roles for reduced rates do you have? How much can you get off as a helper? Below I have a list of some of the specific roles that I am seeking help for, with the range for each role. If you can lend this type of assistance, fill out the RSVP form, indicate your interest, and we will be in touch if this meets our needs. We also need people to teach some classes, who will then get a reduced rate. See the next question for details. Thanks in advance for your help! Helper Roles that could be as much as 50% off: A) I am very computer savvy and can help a lot with various organizing and computer tasks like website updates using word press, database management, google docs, lists/labels, etc in advance and a lot during the event B) I computer proficient but not an expert - I can help a lot with computer tasks, and also with marketing, transportation (rides, trains, buses, etc) onsite and off-site activities and other general organizing tasks in advance of the weekend, and I am able to help out a lot during the event C) I am computer savvy and I have substantial events planning and organizing experience and I can help arrange onsite and offsite activities, transportation, marketing and can be of significant help in advance and during the event. D) I am able to do all of the laining for the weekend Helper roles for $50 to $150 off A) $50 to $75 helper - I am able to help in general during the event with various tasks. B) $50- $75 helper - I am planning to take the bus (if offered) and can serve as a bus monitor and help out during the weekend with various tasks. C) $50 to $100 helper - I am very active and outdoorsy and able to lead or assist on hikes, bike rides, and sporting events at the event (volleyball, soccer,basketball, etc) D) $50 to $75—I am able to give classes or teach a craft during the weekend. Amount of discount based on experience and class(es) offered. D) $50 to $150 helper - I have child care experience and would be willing to run some child care events and perform baby and child sitting duties during the weekend. Amount of discount is based on how much we decide to use you for this help. E) $25—$50 help lead music and play an instrument at the Thursday night bonfire DO YOU NEED PEOPLE TO TEACH CLASSES OR LEAD JEWISH MUSIC SESSIONS? IF SO, DO I GET SOME MONEY OFF OF MY RATE? Yes we need people to lead various classes and other things as details below. If we take advantage of your skills for the weekend, the discounts will range from $25 to $100 off the rate for you. The amount will depend on how much interest there is in your skill, and how much we need this for the weekend. Let us know what you can do on the RSVP Form. Here are the potential list of things we need: Teach and lead yoga classes, Teach a craft, Lead a Kumzitz with Jewish music around a bandfire and play an instrument such as guitar, violin, etc, Lead a daily daf yomi shiur or give some Jewish or other scholarly lecture(s) to the group. Some of the crafts we are seeking are: Knitting, Chrochetting, Frame Decoration, Jewelry Making, Jewish Papercutting, Water Colors Drawing and use of Light, Photography. If you have another skill you think we can offer, or another craft, also let us know on the RSVP Form. We will be in touch with those people who have the relevant skills we seek for these positions. Thanks for your help! ARE THERE ANY CLASSES/DAF YOMI PERHAPS? CAN I GIVE A DVAR TORAH? Yes, we hope to have someone leading a Daf Yomi Shiur . Also, if you would like to lead a discussion group on a topic that you have been dying to discuss, let me know! We need folks to volunteer to give dvar torahs at each meal, so volunteer before I draft you! Also, anyone who can give serious, scholarly or popular Shiyurim could get a reduced rate as well. Let me know on the RSVP Form, linked above. RIDES PLEASE PAY YOUR DRIVER DIRECTLY for gas and tolls. I have come up with a standard rate for drivers of about $25 EACH DIRECTION that will cover those costs. Remember, the drivers are doing us a favor, so make sure to settle up with them directly. Please see the TRANSPORTATION - Rides, Buses and Directions page for all details. DO YOU HAVE HOT WATER FOR SHABBAT/COFFEE/TEA? We also have several large urns for shabbat, and at least a dozen types of teas, some hot chocolate, and several types of coffee, including decaf and regular coffees. Does the place have air conditioning? Do the rooms have a/c? Yes, all indoor spaces have air conditioning, including all rooms of any type. Does the place allow pets? Sadly, the retreat does not allow any pets, other than those which are service dogs. |