The 2023 Bert B. Weinstein Leadership Institute
Two vignettes from last week’s Bert B. Weinstein Leadership Institute (January 5-8, 2023) capture different aspects of the joy that coursed through our time together.
First: It is the moment before dawn on Ramah California’s Givah. We’re standing on the grass, wet from rain, watching the surrounding mountains transform from dark purple, to vibrant pink, to verdant green, as the sun slowly rises. On Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel’s (z”l) yahrzeit, we feel radical amazement for the beauty of our environment and tremendous gratitude for being back together in person at our gorgeous winter conference home.
Second: We’re in a big circle, having just finished singing the havdalah blessings together after an inspiring and song-filled Shabbat. Rabbi Joel Seltzer, our songleader for the weekend, describes a Ramah Poconos tradition: the longer it takes for the flame to flicker, the sweeter the coming week will be. We listen quietly as the candle goes out with a slow, satisfying sizzle. The near silence is soon disrupted by blasts of music from the speakers. Our madrichim (counselors), vocational participants, and year-round Ramah professionals instinctively know what to do: RIKUD! We dance for the next 45 minutes, each camp’s participants showing off some of their best moves. How good it feels to sing and dance together again.
These joyful moments were all the more precious because they came after three long years of waiting to gather for this conference in person again. We feel so fortunate to have convened dozens of young adult leaders to learn, play, celebrate, and dream together in California. They did so with their peers and with over 30 professional leaders from across our movement, including camp directors, assistant directors, program directors, and other members of the Ramah year-round team.
Click here to view the program for the conference.
Attendees immersed themselves in a Ramah environment for four days, reconnecting with friends from their own camps, and sharing in traditions from the 12 Ramah summer camps and Israel programs represented. In addition to reaffirming why participants are so strongly committed to their role as tzevet (staff members), the conference also provided a powerful opportunity for them to see themselves as part of the larger Ramah movement, to strengthen their connections to the worldwide Jewish community, and to appreciate Ramah’s partnership with The Jewish Theological Seminary.
Dr. Jeff Kress, provost of The Jewish Theological Seminary and a very proud Ramah alumnus, delivered a keynote session challenging our tzevet to take on the role this summer as Jewish values coaches.
Rabbi Leandro Galanternik, of the Pincus Center of the Seminario Rabínico Latinoamericano, traveled all the way from Brazil to teach Torah and to offer a global perspective on the power of Jewish camp. Rabbi Le’s visit to Weinstein came on the heels of Maslul Argentina, reflecting the ever growing two-way partnership between Ramah and Jewish communities in Latin America. Rabbi Le shared at the end of his visit that he had “a transformative experience in a beautiful place that is full of meaning and magic.”
This feeling of being part of a movement was captured by Jake Bengelsdorf, a returning senior tzevet member at Ramah Darom: “To see the full force of the Ramah movement, represented all the way from Canada to Brazil at Weinstein was inspiring and empowering. Weinstein was a veritable melting pot of programming ideas, culture, and spirit that allowed me to grow in every aspect, personally and professionally.”
All of our participants experienced this wonderful melting pot through the following program tracks:
The Bert B. Weinstein Institute is the National Ramah Commission’s signature training and leadership program for incoming senior counselors. Participants worked with Ramah directors and senior staff to hone critical skills, enhance programming, and share best practices from across the Ramah movement.
The Vatikim Leadership Institute, designed for experienced senior counselors, focused on more advanced topics of culture-building, staff dynamics, and mentorship.
Rashei edot learned from Ramah senior staff, organized tefillot, and spoke about their experiences to those considering becoming rashei edot in the future. These opportunities gave them practice in leadership, organization, and executive skills in a camp environment.
Ramah College Network (RCN) Coordinators, who implement Ramah-style programs on their university campuses, participated in programming designed to help develop their skills for community engagement on campus.
Ramah Service Corps (RSC) Fellows, who work with their home camps to create experiential programs and to assist with local recruitment efforts, reflected on their past semester of work, brainstormed about effective programming, and developed new educational resources to bring back to their home communities.
The Tikvah (disabilities and inclusion) track provided tzevet members who support campers with disabilities the opportunity to meet Tikvah and inclusion directors from across Ramah and to share best practices. We were thrilled to welcome a madricha (counselor) from two Brazilian Jewish youth movements to participate in this track.
The Vocational Training track provided leadership training and skill development to Ramah staff and vocational training participants with disabilities from various Ramah camps. This was the first time that these Tikvah-supported staff members came together in person at a Winter Leadership Training Conference.
Maslul Fellows from our recent Israel and Argentina trips reunited at Weinstein to reminisce about their travel, service, and learning experiences, and to promote future participation in international trips with Ramah.
Our Kerem cohort of young professionals working year-round for Ramah worked alongside directors to lead the conference. This year, Kerem members taught sessions, developed core components of the conference, and mentored younger Weinstein participants. Many of these Kerem professionals first gained an appreciation for the wider impact of the Ramah Camping Movement as Weinstein participants, which later led them to pursue full time work with Ramah.
The impact on participants of our Winter Leadership Training Conference ripples forward to the upcoming summer and beyond. Nora Feinberg, a senior madricha from Ramah California, explained: “Ramah’s Winter Leadership Training Conference taught me about the behind-the-scenes of the camping world, gave me new friends, and provided me tools to bring back to my own Ramah this kayitz. I already had the passion, and now I also have the knowledge and connections needed to pursue a career in Jewish summer camps!”
After our time ended in Ramah California, our vatikim, rashei edot, Ramah College Network Fellows, and Ramah Service Corps Fellows explored two innovative Jewish communities in Los Angeles: Beit T’shuvah, an addiction recovery center and congregation; and IKAR, a modern vision of an inclusive and justice-focused synagogue.
The next day, this same group participated in a Disney Imagination Campus program at the Disney California Adventure Park. This seminar, designed in collaboration with Ramah, explored how Disney Imagineers engage all five senses to create immersive environments that support the living stories of their theme parks
We are thrilled with the joy we experienced at the 2023 National Ramah Winter Leadership Training Conference, and are eager to continue learning and growing together this summer!