As 2021 comes to an end, we reflect on what has been one of the most difficult two-year periods in the 75-year history of Ramah and look ahead to a bright future for Ramah.
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Ramah does WHAT?? Rabbi Mitch Cohen, National Ramah director, says that he often hears, "Wow, I had no idea that Ramah was doing that!" Everyone knows that Ramah runs outstanding day and overnight camps, some of the best and most inspiring Jewish educational organizations in the world. But did you know...
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10 Reasons Why This Is a Historic Development for Ramah
The camp season has arrived, and Ramah camps are either underway or about to begin another incredible summer of growth and fun. Over 11,000 campers and staff members, the most in our 70-year history, will participate. This year is truly historic, with the opening of Camp Ramah in Northern California, “Ramah Galim” (“Ramah of the Waves”), in Monterey Bay, south of San Francisco.
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just arrived in Poland for the fourth time, and each trip fills me with a range of divergent emotions.
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The first time was in 1982, on a brief stopover from Moscow as I returned from a two-week visit with Soviet Jewish refuseniks. Martial law had just been declared, the Solidarity anti-Communist movement led by Lech Walesa was gaining strength, and no one could predict the fall of the Soviet Union in just seven years. My three subsequent trips have all been with Ramah — initially with our teens on Seminar and now twice with a Reshet Ramah adult trip.
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Mikayla, a rising 11th grader, wasn’t planning to return to Camp Ramah in the Poconos this summer. She was heading into the challenging junior year of high school and already had college on her mind. She thought it was time to start building her resume, to do the typical things that we think impress college admissions officers, like interning at a company or research lab, or volunteering in a faraway country. Then she thought again.
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“This summer my head is here at Camp Ramah, but my heart is at home in Israel.”
– Nava Isseroff, Ramah Poconos Shlicha and Rosh Mayim
Members of the Ramah community are deeply concerned about the current fighting in Israel, and are struggling to cope with the situation on many levels. Three groups immediately come to mind.
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I was privileged to travel with JTS Chancellor Arnold Eisen to Conover, Wisconsin, this past Shabbat, where he served as scholar in residence, speaking with many groups of staff as well as Nivonim, the oldest campers. In a packed staff lounge (“the Kopin”) Friday night, Chancellor Eisen made a powerful case for why he is a proud Conservative Jew, and why the teachings and theology of Conservative Judaism are authentic and dynamic for so many modern Jews (whether or not they actively affiliate). He gave some very specific advice regarding improving our communities in synagogues, on campus, and in our camps and schools. As he often states, “Ramah is perhaps the best incubator for passionate, modern traditional Judaism. We need more and more of our young people attending existing camps and we need to seek ways to build new ones.”
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What a privilege it is to visit our camps! My summer travel began this week with a visit to four camps in five days, all sources of great inspiration.
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Ramah is growing and thriving. We’ve doubled the number of campers attending our programs in 20 years. Over 10,000 campers and staff will attend a Ramah program this year, whether in our overnight camps, our day camps, our summer Seminar in Israel, or on our high school semester program in Jerusalem.
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