Posts Tagged 'Jewish Camp'

Summer Harvest: On the Joy We Need

Published June 18, 2021 8.4.8 SUMMER Leave a Comment
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Many of us have been waiting for summer to start for a long time. But, when does summer start? Technically June 20th is the first day of summer in the Northern Hemisphere, but that does not seem to capture it. We look forward to the summer as time to congregate and mingle outdoors after being isolated all winter. However, we have been shut-in for a lot longer than one season, and thirst for a world of human connection post-pandemic. When will summer begin? 

For some it was finishing that last test or final in school. With this, we get to close the books on that wacky zoomed-out academic year of 2020-2021. For others it is packing for camp. Ah- the joy of putting nametags on clothing that might never return home. Personally, for many years of my life, summer began when I saw the little red schoolhouse on the way up to camp. For many campers and staff members, summer does not really start until they get off that bus or get out of their car and find themselves running across a field to embrace that friend they have not seen in 11 (or in this case 22 or 23) months. 

Still there is an argument that summer does not really start until that first Shabbat at camp. Everyone shows up as their best and cleanest self. We feel special and unique and lose ourselves in a sea of Shabbat whites. Amidst this calm, we take a moment to take a picture with people we love or pause to smell the fragrance of freshly cut grass. Or maybe it is Shabbat services by a lake or in the woods. And who can deny the inviting waft of chicken soup as we enter the dining hall. 

Each of these moments are surely special, worthy of note, and are reasonable markers for the start of summer. And still, not the experience I have been yearning for. For me, this summer will start when the camp comes together after the first Shabbat dinner to sing Shir HaMaalot (Psalm 126) before Birkat HaMazon, grace after the meal. Weaving their voices together in devotion as one sacred community, blurring of time and space. In this, the community will step beyond the two dimensional world of zoom and into a joyful, uplifting celebration of multidimensional connection to one another, to Jewish tradition, to holiness.

Pausing to reflect on the words, we hear a spectacular expression of gratitude in Shir HaMaalot:

Hazorim B’dima Yiktzoru B’rinah- They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. Though he goes along weeping, carrying the seed-bag, he shall come back with songs of joy, carrying his sheaves. (Psalm 126)

reap the wheat 2011 - YouTube

While our experiences of events have varied greatly, over the last 16 months we have all been dealing with a lot. We have had to contend with the health, safety, and social impact of this global pandemic. We have been confronted with the harsh realities of systemic racism and violence. We have been enmeshed in a painful domestic political process. Recently we had a war between Gaza and Israel. And we have endured a huge spike in antisemitism. What else did they pack with them in their bags?

Over the last 16 months, we have sowed many seeds in tears of sadness, disappointment, frustration, and anxiety. We have pushed off or canceled many social engagements. Can you imagine the joy of a group of young Jewish people safe, secure, and away from their parents’ homes singing together in community? 16 months of tears and 22 or 23 months of yearning transformed into unlimited joy. This moment will mark a transition from sorrow to joy, from scarcity to abundance, and from the long long winter of COVID to the summer of what will be next. We will reap joy from the fertile ground of our understanding of sadness. The things we took for granted now are a source of profound happiness. It will be a moment when we can bask in the simple pleasure of each other’s presence and the community can reflect on the power of being together IRL. It is not that after this moment we will no longer have any medical, natural, political, or social problems, but this will close one difficult season and open us to another. For me this experience of the communal singing of Shir HaMaalot will lift us up because it is that song of joy. This summer we will harvest the joy that we so desperately need. 

And just like that, summer will begin.

For a window into the joy that this summer brings, follow your local camps and Foundation for Jewish Camp (@JewishCamp) on social media.

-reposted from eJewishphilanthropy

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Changing Lives, Saving Lives

Published August 8, 2018 Uncategorized Leave a Comment
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L’chaim! To life! In Jewish culture, we give small gifts in multiples of the number 18. This may seem arbitrary but in Gematria (an ancient and esoteric method of interpretation in which the numerical value of words can be found in their constituent letter values), “chai” – meaning “life” – is equal to the number 18. In an act that is part gratitude and part mindfulness, we give multiples of the Jewish ‘lucky number’ 18. We take a conscious moment to recognize how fortunate we are for this life we have been given and the blessings in it. While Gematria is a game of sorts, a type of Jewish numerical poetry that has become embedded in the culture, there is no doubt that we as Jews we take life very seriously. We believe that small, symbolic acts like this are habit-forming and ultimately create a life of great character. For Jews, the goal is to live as a Mensch.

Foundation for Jewish Camp (FJC) is celebrating a special chai benchmark – the 18th bone marrow transplant found and facilitated by the Gift of Life Marrow Registry from a member of the FJC Gift of Life donor circle. Through our partnership to grow the donor registry, one quick and painless act – swabbing your cheek to enter a public bone marrow and blood stem cell registry – can result in a match and a transplant for a child or adult suffering from a life-threatening illness, including leukemia, lymphoma, other cancers and genetic diseases. For Jewish camp counselors that sign up with Gift of Life, this is one small act of many, is part of a pattern of kindness and caring for others.

Throughout the summer at camp, the youngest campers are taught to share responsibility with and for their bunkmates by caring for one another and working to keep their communal space clean. They learn kindness and service are Jewish values. Approaching the age of 13 (bnei mitzvah and beyond), even more trust and training is instilled in the camper, who takes on responsibility for leading Jewish traditions at camp and helping younger campers. As counselors at the age of 18, they are trained to nurture the safety, well-being, happiness and Jewish identity of their campers. At this young age they are charged with caring for a bunk of campers, to teach and model these small acts that make Mensches. It is also at 18 that counselors becoming eligible to test – swab – to join the public bone marrow registry to save a life.

Since the founding of FJC’s partnership with Gift of Life in 2010, 4,298 people have swabbed at FJC network camps, providing 120 matches, and recently the 18th transplant. These are extremely high rates of matching and transplants, due in-part to the uniqueness of Jewish DNA, which – like all minorities – is currently underrepresented in the national bank. A non-Jewish Caucasian person has a 98% chance of finding a match in the national bone marrow registry. In 1991 when the Gift of Life was founded, there was only a 5% chance for an Ashkenazi Jew to find a match. With each drive for the registry at Jewish camp, we increase the likelihood that a Jew will find a life-saving match. Thanks to Gift of Life, Ashkenazi Jewish people now have a 85% chance of matching.

We still have much more work to do to ensure that everyone in our family – regardless of ethnic or biological origins – can find a DNA match if they need it. Jewish family extends far beyond the DNA of Ashkenazi Jews, to include Sephardic Jews, Jews of color, Jews by choice, Jews who join their families by adoption and others. Family is not simply an identity, or DNA – it is an act, a behavior, and practice in giving and gratitude. No matter what our genetic makeup, we care for each other and show up to help. Jewish camp is a family.

A DNA match is necessary – but not sufficient to facilitate a transplant. What must really be celebrated as the true success of this program, is the consistency with which former and current Jewish camp counselors answer the call to care for others, help someone in need, and donate. In order to match, facilitate a transplant and share that gift of life you need to first be willing to act. At Jewish camp, we are training one generation to look after the next.

We all know how much Jewish camp changes people’s lives; we do not always think about how it could actually save someone’s life. With this 18th transplant, we celebrate Jewish camp for all of the small, symbolic actions that make up this kind, giving, life-saving family.

Contact Lindsay Katz at lkatz@giftoflife.org to schedule a bone marrow registry drive for your staff.

–Reposted from ejewishphilanthropy.com

Camp on the Hill

Published December 29, 2017 Uncategorized Leave a Comment
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Our family has been doing a lot of driving over the last few days as we we went to visit my parents in Philadelphia. A number of times during our travels we heard the song Castle on the Hill by Ed Sheeran. The theme of the single surrounds Sheeran’s home town of Framlingham, and he reminisces his life as a teenager. He recounts the place that he grew up in, the cast of characters in this life, and where they are now. The line that stuck with me is “these people raised me and I can’t wait to go home”

As great at it was reminiscing about a home, I realize that this mythic home for me is actually camp. Camp is really my Castle on a Hill. I was recently interviewed for Michelle W. Malkin‘s podcast It’s Who You Know.  In this podcast I shared some of my thoughts on the power of Jewish Camping. I encourage you to listen to it, I did not sound that stupid. And to all of these people who raised me, thank you.

-The podcast- https://itswhoyouknowthepodcast.com/2017/12/10/rabbiaviorlow/ 

 

In Our Own Sight : A New Vision of Jewish Camp

Published June 28, 2016 Uncategorized 1 Comment
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As parents, we want to see our kids succeed in all facets of life – whether that is getting into a certain college, establishing themselves in a career of their choice, or empowering them to compete in the global marketplace. In many ways, our children’s success is the “promised land.”

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In Shelach, this week’s Torah portion, the Israelites are waiting to enter the actual Promised Land. Before entering, God instructs them to send a representative from each of the twelve tribes to check it out. Two spies came back with glowing reports, but the other ten spies told stories of gloom and doom. What would cause the spies to experience the Promised Land so differently? They were given the same information before leaving, and they reported on the same land and people. We read:

‘The land, through which we have passed to spy it out, is a land that eats up its inhabitants; and all the people that we saw in it are men of great stature. There we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, descended from the giants. In our eyes, we seemed like grasshoppers, and so we were in their eyes.’ (Numbers 13:31-33)

How we experience life is so often a result of how we see ourselves. It seems that the only difference between our spies was their self-image.

How do we help our children get to the “promised land” of success? We have to stop preparing the way for the child and do the hard work of preparing the child for the way. Instead of just helping the child build up a robust resume, we need to offer them the chance to develop and foster leadership, grit, collaboration, creativity, tenacity, resilience, and a strong self-image.

And, you know what? Summers at Jewish camp encourage the growth of all of these things. Away from our watchful eyes, our campers and staff increase their independence, friendship, confidence, responsibility, and teamwork, along with a sense of peoplehood, community, and heritage. At Jewish camp, they learn 21st century skills and become mensches with strong character.

Here the “promised land” is more than just academic and career-oriented success. It means nurturing social and emotional intelligences, critical-thinking, and problem-solving abilities. It means a new generation that not only “does well” but “does good.” The “promised land” of today is a generation that values self-awareness, self-actualization, and a strong self-image.

Inspired by the life skills that camp has nurtured in generations of campers, we’re highlighting 21st Century Skills for a summer blog series. We’ll be featuring personal stories from camp alumni and professionals across the field exemplifying how Jewish camp provided the ideal environment to become the best version of themselves.

– This is the first in a new blog series developed by Foundation for Jewish Camp reposted from eJP 

Back to Bamidbar – Cornerstone 2015 Shavuot and Going Back to Camp

Published May 22, 2015 4.01 BaMidbar Leave a Comment
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I just got back from an exhilarating week at the 2015 Cornerstone Fellowship Seminar. There we trained over 330 counselors and supervisors who will be enriching the Jewish lives of thousands of campers and staff members this summer. I was thinking about this as we are in the final countdown to Shavuot and as we start the reading the Book of Numbers this Shabbat. In Hebrew, the book is called Bamidbar, the wilderness. With Shavuot we celebrate the giving of the Torah, what is the significance of our “entering the wilderness?”

In the Midrash we learn, “There are three ways to acquire Torah, with fire, with water, and with wilderness” (Midrash Numbers Rabbah 1:1). This Midrash could be understood to mean that we acquire Torah through passion (fire), immersion (water), and through a long trek in unknown land (the wilderness). Shavuot coming means that the end of school is close at hand. And with the end of school, the camp season is around the corner. This Midrash seems to be lived out at Jewish camp.

Camp is an amazing place where our children will make s’mores and memories by a camp fire (the fire), take the deep water test (the water), and go on a physically challenging hike (in the wilderness). Jewish camp is amazing on another level though. There, our children will be led by extraordinary role models who will ignite our children’s passion (the fire). There they will be part of building their own immersive purpose-driven Jewish community (the water). And there, we hope their experience will set them on their life journey to have a community of people to travel with along life’s path (the wilderness). As we are getting ready for Bamidbar and Shavuot I hope we are all also getting ready for camp, they are all profoundly revealing and edifying.

Chag Shavuot Sameakh – have a great holiday and enjoy packing for camp!

Room For Improvement

Published September 4, 2013 8.1.1 Rosh HaShanah 1 Comment
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A couple of years ago I was walking to synagogue with my two boys on the morning of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year and I wanted to engage them in a discussion about the holiday. At the time Yadid was seven and Yishama was five. To get the ball rolling I simply said, “Another name for Rosh Hashanah is Yom HaDin. So besides celebrating a new year, it is also the time when we reflect on how we might want to improve ourselves in the coming year.” At this point I felt a huge urge to just tell the boys how I wanted them to improve. I know that I am not alone. I want my children to be the best they can be so if I love my children so much, how could I stay silent and not tell them how to improve? It seems so clear to me what they need to change to be the mensches I so desperately what them to become, so of course I should just give them a list, right? I decided that instead of going in that direction, I would shift the conversation and said, “So since today is the day we work on our improving ourselves, let’s start. Tell me what you think I need to be working on to be a better abba (father).”

Wow, what a difference! Not only did they give me amazing feedback that I use until this day, but without any additional prompting they started giving each other feedback. What a blessing to be part of this conversation. Holding back my own voice at this moment created room for us all to grow and improve. I know that this internal voice of the overbearing parent is coming from a good place, but I also know that it does not always get the desired results. So, where did I learn this?

Upon reflection, I realized that I learned this technique as a junior counselor at Jewish overnight camp. It was there in the context of managing a bunk of children that I learned how to create an ideal learning environment. It was there that I learned how I might get more bees with honey then vinegar (another important message for Rosh Hashanah). I also learned the important difference between being authoritarian and authoritative. Seeding power actually creates space for other voices. So years later as a father I knew that suspending my own need to share my love created space for us all to share our love with each other. I cannot say I got it right that year as a JC, but I deeply appreciate the space of camp and what it taught me. Someone else who was more experienced could have done it better, but in the spirit of Jewish camp, they got out of the way to make room for an 18-year-old to find his voice. I in turn learned how to make room for my campers and eventually my own children. Jewish camp is magical. Yesterday’s campers are today’s counselors and tomorrow’s parents. If it was not for camp I am not sure I would have been blessed with the loving, powerful, and thoughtful critique from a five-year old. Jewish camp has cultivated in me the desire, skills, and confidence to be a more accessible and loving parent.

Shanah Tova -May we all be blessed to make more space for more loving voices this year.

– Reposted from the Canteen

Visit Early

Published August 6, 2013 Uncategorized 1 Comment
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I have been hearing from a lot of people that they are surprised that the High Holidays are so early this year. While this is the earliest that the Jewish calendar comes in the Gregorian calendar year, Rosh HaShanah is always the first of Tishrei, the first month of the Hebrew calendar. While this creates a staffing issue for some camps, New Year “starting so early” has created a wonderful educational opportunity.  It is not every summer that we are able to herald the coming of Elul, the 12th month of the Hebrew calendar, while we are still up at camp. With the advent of Elul we start the daily blowing the shofar and reading of L’David Ori (Psalm 27).

According to Hasidic thinking the days of Elul are the time when “the King is in the field.”  The metaphor follows that gaining an audience with the King during Tishrei is a whole to-do. We must travel to the capital city, arrange an appointment, and then get permission to enter the palace. And even then it may be days or weeks before we are finally allowed to enter. When we do finally get to see the King, the audience is likely to be short and very formal. There seems to be a lot of pressure with of the people in line behind you. Since very few of us actually live in the capital city, these royal surroundings we experience during the High Holidays makes us feel out-of-place. By the time we get there we might have even forgotten why we came to seek the audience of the King in the first place.

Once a year, the King leaves the capital to visit the various constituents of the Kingdom. According to the Rabbi Schneur Zalman (the first Lubavicher Rebbe) during Elul “anyone who desires is granted permission and can approach the King and greet the King. The King received them all pleasantly, and shows a smiling countenance to all” (Likkutei Torah, Re’eh 32b) Now a King can’t just enter a city unannounced. This explains the Shofar. Here in the field the formality is transformed into familiarity. The common folk are allowed to come out to greet the King and receive blessings. During Elul, with limited effort the King is accessible. We just need to go out and greet the King.

Camp is an amazing place where many of us had our first experience of spirituality in nature. If there was only a way we could bring those experiences home with us. This resonates with a message from L’David Ori. There we read:

One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the graciousness of the Lord, and to visit early in God’s temple.  (Psalms 27:4)

But how might we “dwell in the house of the Lord” all year long? How can we bring camp home with us?

In my five years working at the Foundation for Jewish Camp I have noticed a growing sense of camps working together. There is a reality that camp is camp. And Jewish camp is all about Joyous Judaism. They are not in competition, in reality as they continue to differentiate themselves we as a field are able to reach the broad and diverse needs of our community. Like every other summer, we at the FJC hit the road to see the camps that we work with year round. I have had the joy of experiencing the growth of this field. There is a sense of the significance and sense of common purpose which lends a certain valiance of spirituality to our work. Going from camp to camp we can share with the directors a grand vision of the varieties of expressions of robust Jewish life and how it animates the cultures created in each camp’s community. Each camp is creating an environment in which their campers and staff feel that they belong, make a difference, and are part of something bigger then themselves. In these moments we can experience the mystery, magic, and majesty of Jewish peoplehood.

With the advent of Elul we all have a chance to think about this upcoming year. If you love Jewish camp, want to learn from it, contribute to it, or find a way to connect to that sense of belonging like we did in that field at camp join us this March 23-25, 2014 Leaders Assembly 2014: One Field Moving Forward. Have a wonderful New Year.

– As seen on FJC Blog

Tu B’Av Shop

Published July 22, 2013 Uncategorized Leave a Comment
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Today we celebrate Tu B’Av. About which we read:

Tu B’Av, the 15th of Av, was a joyous holiday in the days of the Temple in Jerusalem. Unmarried girls would dress in simple white clothing (so that rich could not be distinguished from poor) and go out to sing and dance in the vineyards surrounding Jerusalem to find their matches. (Ta’anit 30b-31a)

There are many ways that we distinguish ourselves from each other by our clothing. In these choices we see taste and style, but we can also see how we spend money and communicate our class. In the words of Macklemore in his hit song Thrift Shop:

They be like, ‘Oh, that Gucci- that’s hella tight.’ I’m like, “Yo- that’s fifty dollars for a T-shirt’. Limited edition, let’s do some addition. Fifty dollars for a T-shirt – that’s just some ignorant”

It is entertaining, feel free to watch the video:

It is absurd how much attention we give to our clothing. But not giving any thought into what we wear is also not a good thing.

This morning we sent our eldest child to overnight camp for the first time. It is interesting to reflect on the role of clothing at camp. Camp is a place where we do not all need to be the same to be equal. In camp we are all part of a big family and many of us share our clothing. And despite the fact that I spend a long time yesterday putting labels on all of his clothes, I am pretty certain that the clothing we sent with him to camp is not what will come back.

Our son does not own expensive clothing, but it was still nice to see him want to change his shirt this morning. He changed from a t-shirt to a collared shirt. He wanted to look nice for this day of meeting new people. I know that he just left, but I am already looking forward to his return. I know that he will find joy from the camp t-shirt that he will bring him back. For years to come this humble t-shirt will remind him of a place in which we was an equal as a member of a vibrant community. And he might even meet his match?

The Breaking Voice

Published July 5, 2013 Uncategorized Leave a Comment
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It has been a really horrible week in Jewish camping. Early in the week three campers were struck by lightning at GUCI. Two of the three campers were released from the hospital and the third has been transferred to a hospital in his home town. And if that was not bad enough, a tree fell at Camp Towanga striking five counselors. Annais Rittenberg z”l was killed. This is so horrible, I have had trouble sleeping at night.

As I prepare for Shabbat I pause to think about this weekly commemoration of the genesis of the world. It is hard to praise the Creator of a world that can cause such pain, damage, and chaos. While usually it is easy to relate to the wonder of creation, it is hard to deal with the destructive forces of lighting and falling trees.

Later today we will say Kabalat Shabbat and in it we will read:

Ascribe to the Lord the glory due to God’s name; worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness. The voice of the Lord is upon the waters; the God of glory thunders, even the Lord upon many waters.  The voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is full of majesty. The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars; yea, the Lord breaks in pieces the cedars of Lebanon. (Psalms 29 : 2-5)

Why would this destructive God be deserving of our praise? What glory is due? Is there beauty in this destructive force? If God’s voice is so loud, what is the place of my voice?

Later in Kabalat Shabat we read:

The righteous shall flourish like the palm-tree; he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Planted in the house of the Lord, they shall flourish in the courts of our God.”( Psalms 92: 13-14)

How do we reconcile a God that destroys the very trees that are our righteous?

Earlier in the same Psalm we read:

A Psalm, a Song. For the Shabbat day. It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord, and to sing praises to Your name, O Most High. To declare Your loving kindness in the morning, and Your faithfulness in the night seasons” (Psalm 92:1-3)

How can I bring myself this Shabbat to praise God? I find myself struggling. But I can take a moment to bring praise for the wonderful counselors who are truly the righteous. They are the ones taking care of our children. They are our first respondents. They are the ones giving their gentle voices to comfort those that are frightened. In helping to create the utopia of camp, our counselors emulate the best of the Divine. This deserves our praise. May the memory of Annais Rittenberg z”l be for a blessing. Shabbat Shalom- may it bring us all peace and comfort.

Out of This World Experience

Published July 1, 2013 Uncategorized Leave a Comment
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At this point in the season most camps have started and are underway. Many of us are just about to send our children off or have packing fresh on our minds. My wife and I are excited to be sending our eldest child off to sleep away camp for the first time later this summer for his first taste of camp. So, beyond the packing list with its requisite underpants, soap, towels, and bathing suits, what else is on the packing list? What do we need to send our children to camp to ensure that they have a meaningful summer?

Beyond the personal reasons, the question of the packing list is on my mind recently in that July 1st marks ten and half years since the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth’s atmosphere. All seven-members of the crew died. One of the crew members was Ilan Ramon, Israel’s first Astronaut. Obviously I hope that all of our children return safely, but it is interesting to reflect on what Ramon brought with him beyond the requisite packing list.

Ilan Ramon the child of a survivor of Auschwitz carried a pencil sketch, “Moon Landscape”, drawn by 16-year-old Petr Ginz, who died in Auschwitz. He also took a miniature Torah scroll that was given him by Prof. Yehoyachin Yosef, both survived Bergen Belsen. Ramon brought a barbed wire mezuzah by the San Francisco artist Aimee Golant into space. Ramon also took with him a dollar of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson. In his own words, Ramon said, “I feel I am representing all Jews and all Israelis.”

There is no doubt that we have a lot invested in our children having amazing experiences. As we are packing up our children for a spectacular experience at camp it is interesting for us to recognize the history that brought each child to this moment. While we hope to pack our child with a lot of history, we know that the most important thing each child will find at camp is a space of his/her own. Yadid has not even left yet and I am looking forward to his safe return. I look forward to unpacking his bags on his return to I can learn about his out of this world experience.

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