“Historic Summer”: A 2024 Journey Across Ramah

Dr. Daniel Olson, Director of Strategic Initiatives and Research, National Ramah Commission, Inc.

During a meeting of the senior staff at Camp Ramah in Wisconsin, where I served as rosh mercaz (head of the programming office/educational hub of camp) for the first session, Jacob Cytryn, executive director, asked us to share two words describing the summer thus far. He went first and said, “Historic Summer.” These words have stuck with me ever since. Though Jacob referred specifically to Ramah Wisconsin, this was a “Historic Summer” for the Ramah movement as a whole.

This summer saw camps reaffirm their commitment to Israel and Israelis, with some camps welcoming record numbers of shlichim and Israeli campers. We enhanced Israel education, commissioning new curricular material and bringing in some of the most talented Israel educators to plan engaging and age-appropriate programming for campers and staff. We commemorated October 7th and its aftermath, created new art calling to free the hostages, and bore witness as people shared raw and difficult stories. Ramah Seminar adjusted its time-tested itinerary to include visits related to the events of this past year, while still maintaining the program elements that make this Israel travel experience so fun, meaningful, and enriching.

At Ramah Nyack: Daniel (R) with director, Ami Hersh, in front of a new mural from artist Hannah Pearlman. The quote is taken from the song “Amen,” which the whole camp dances to at the end of every week.

The historic dimensions of this summer extended beyond Israel. Many directors reported a turning point since the COVID-19 pandemic upended our world in 2020. For the most part, camps saw higher rates of staff retention (this retention was aided by a grant incentivizing camps to recruit even more college-aged staff members to apply to work at camp after May 1), higher enrollment, and more preparation and resources to support the mental health of both campers and staff. New facilities and program areas were launched across Ramah. And a new camp opened! We are so proud that Ramah Day Camp LA completed a successful first summer.

In the following vignettes from each of the camps that I visited this summer, I try to capture the energy that characterized this historic summer for Ramah.

Ramah Darom

We could anticipate one of the historic moments of this summer as soon as Ramah Darom set its 2024 dates. This year, for only the second time in the history of the Ramah Camping Movement, Shavuot would be celebrated after campers had arrived for the summer. (The previous time was in 2005). I knew that I wanted to be a part of the celebration.

I had great fun singing a Shavuot parody song with directors Anna Serviansky and Ayala Wasser in the chadar ochel as the holiday began.

I found it inspiring to stay up late learning Torah with campers and staff members. It was a great stroke of creativity to have older campers walk up the mountainside for the reading of the 10 Commandments. What better way to experience standing at Sinai than to have our own ascent? And of course, the camp served plenty of cheesecake and ice cream throughout the holiday.

I have never seen as many young people celebrate Shavuot in one place as I did this summer at Darom.

Camp Ramah in Wisconsin

Every summer, the Zimriyah song festival marks the opening of camp-wide festivities at Ramah Wisconsin. Campers come dressed in their eidah colors and sing their songs with ruach and joy. A pair of 11th grade campers acted as emcees, and this year, they dedicated each song to a group affected by the war in Israel: children who had to grow up too fast; people forced to evacuate their homes; soldiers—those caring for their families and communities on the homefront; the hostages. The evening began and ended with Ofra Haza's "Chai," opening with a group of campers singing in beautiful harmony, and concluding powerfully with the whole camp singing together.

Later that night, the euphoria of the Zimriyah shifted to a moment of profound sorrow. A shaliach requested time to tell his October 7th story to fellow staff members. Although he spoke in Hebrew, I was touched to see a number of non-Hebrew speaking American staff members, including some who attended our May mission, join to show their support. He told his heroic and tragic story of freeing one of the kibbutzim in the Gaza Envelope in the days after October 7th. He was injured, and he lost a dear friend.

He closed by playing a memorial video dedicated to his friend. At the end of the video, the room was silent for almost 15 minutes. We heard only tears. But the Wisconsin staff community held one another with love. The next morning, a number of shlichim shared how important the whole night was for them. It was healing for them to experience that contrast of emotions in just a few hours. Camp, especially this summer, highlights its power by allowing room for all human feelings.

Ramah Galim (Camp Ramah in Northern California)

At Ramah, one of our north stars is excellent experiential Jewish education. We reach that north star during תפילה בציפה (“Tefillot Afloat”) at Ramah Galim in Northern California. I felt so fortunate to have spent a morning in July alongside more than thirty 8- to 11-year olds in the Beit Knesset of Monterey Bay, saying brachot ; chanting the Shema, listening closely to the sounds of the waves and the sounds of our beating hearts; taking three steps backwards, then three steps forwards, and then running into the ocean to boogie board.

I felt proud of how camp leaders gave so many children, both North Americans and Israelis— and at Ramah Galim, also Ukrainians, the opportunity to experience joyful, inspiring Judaism.

Camp Ramah in California

For the first time since starting my position at the National Ramah Commission, I visited Ramah California in Ojai during the summer season. But because of relationships and connections I’ve developed with California staff members at year-round Ramah programs in North America, South America, and Israel, I immediately felt warmly welcomed. I soon learned about Ramah Ojai’s many special Shabbat traditions. One of my favorites was the storytelling that happens for each eidah.

I felt honored that a number of staff members asked me to be their eidah’s storyteller. I told stories about volunteering to pick loquat and apricot in Israel with Ramah staff members in May. I shared the ten “Chukei HaOsher” (Laws of Happiness—see photo, right) of Guy Azar, z”l, whose story we heard during our visit to the Nova Festival site, and whose sister Rotem I got to know earlier in the summer at Ramah Wisconsin. For Gesher (rising 4th/5th graders) and Amitzim (campers with disabilities) I read classic and silly stories of Chelm. As most of my year-round job involves interacting with staff members, I was thrilled to have this opportunity to connect with campers at Ramah California.

Day Camps

I spent a day each at four of our six North American day camps: Greater DC, Boston, Chicagoland, and Nyack. The unencumbered joy of our youngest campers was just what I needed to experience after the tough year we’ve had. I joined rising 1st graders as they chose their own instruments to play in music chug at Ramah DC. I saw campers learning how to swim for the first time in Boston. I marveled at three year olds reenacting stories of the Israelites with master-educator Jonathan Schmidt-Chapman in Chicago. I relished seeing my own niece and nephew enthusiastically participating in their daily activities at Nyack.

We are proud that these four camps, along with Ramah Day Camp in Philadelphia and the newest Ramah Day Camp in Los Angeles, are a first point of connection for so many families. Watching and supporting our day camps thoughtfully grow to expand their impact has been a highlight of my work with Ramah thus far.

Camp Ramah New England

During each of my camp visits, I had the opportunity to meet with staff members who had previously participated in National Ramah leadership development programs, most recently our volunteer trips to Israel in May. The delegation from Ramah New England had picked fruit with exceptional enthusiasm, doing their part to fill the shelves of Israel’s markets. I enjoyed reminiscing and reconnecting with this group when I visited camp in late July. We gathered for an Oneg Shabbat on Saturday afternoon to hear about how the trip had influenced their summers and to brainstorm ideas for staying connected with Ramah during the off-season.

On Yom Palmer/Yom Roo (a day of friendly sports competition between Ramah Berkshires and Ramah New England) a couple weeks later at Ramah Berkshires, it thrilled me to see counselors from each camp who had worked in Israel together greeting each other warmly, modeling for the campers the power of our shared Ramah values even across a storied rivalry.

Camp Ramah in the Poconos

The major theme of my visit to Ramah Poconos this summer was chadash—yashan, new—old. Starting with the new: The state-of-the-art Mercaz opened this summer, and it dramatically enhances the staff and camper experience. With a pristine gym, cold-brew coffee on tap, a fresh-squeezed orange juice machine, and comfortable spaces for relaxing and programming, the Mercaz exemplifies the major investment Poconos has made in both its physical plant and in its people. Also new was a seating area outside the chadar ochel dedicated to Barry Magen, z”l, which was inaugurated in a moving ceremony during my visit.

A tzevet member enjoying the new staff lounge in the Mercaz

But some things have not changed. I know this because my husband Rabbi Ben Goldberg, a proud Poconos alum, accompanied me on this visit. It gave me great joy to watch him re-experience so many of the things that made camp such a formative place on his journey. Most notable were all the people from his time as a camper and staff member who were still working in camp, all these years later.

Ramah Israel Seminar

I had an unplanned encounter with Seminar participants and parents—and luggage. Thanks to the heroic work of the Ramah Israel team, Seminar participants arrived at Newark Airport on a chartered flight that departed Athens, with an intermediate stop in Toronto. I spent a morning greeting and thanking parents and welcoming home Seminar participants and their exhausted staff members. Once the teens reunited with their families, I stayed back at the airport to safeguard dozens of pieces of luggage belonging to participants who deplaned in Canada without their bags. The team at Ramah Nyack stepped up by organizing a U-Haul rental, storing the bags at camp, and shipping them out to families.

The strong participation in Ramah Seminar, even in the midst of a war, speaks to the deep commitment of Ramah families to their teens experiencing Israel firsthand.

Camp Ramah in the Berkshires

It was the final Shabbat of the Ramah Berkshires season. Morning tefillot had just finished for the rising 7th graders. I saw their dedicated and creative staff members lead an engaging Torah service, full of open-ended questions about Parashat Devarim. As Moshe recalls how he told the Israelite judges to be impartial, campers enthusiastically shared moments in their lives when they felt they were judged fairly or unfairly. Every camper who answered received a sweet Dum-Dum treat.

I had a big smile on my face as I left those tefillot to put away my tallit. But my smile would only grow bigger in the next moment, when I encountered even more Jewish joy and inspiration. You see, my room was right next to the Ramah Berkshires animal farm, where campers can play with the goats and chickens.

As one of the campers watched the chickens eat their feed, she gleefully proclaimed the HaMotzi blessing. After all, if campers begin and end their meals with brachot to express gratitude for abundant and delicious food, why shouldn't the camp chickens as well? It truly was an "only at Ramah" moment.

May we use the momentum from this historic summer to strengthen the Ramah Camping Movement even further.

Blog/ReflectionsNRC WebmasterAugust 20, 2024Wisconsin, New England, Darom, Poconos, Chicago Day Camp, seminar, Galim, California, Berkshires