For most parents, the decision to send their children to sleepaway camp is made with little hesitation. But whenever my husband and I considered sending our youngest child, we balked.
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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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As a young student at a Jewish Day School, I would come home almost every day feeling like I had grown Jewishly. I would learn a new prayer, a new tradition or a new explanation. For many students, June is where the learning stopped. It took a hiatus until late August when school started up again. But for me, June is where the learning really started.
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Today, I am a licensed acupuncturist practicing in Northbrook. Being an acupuncturist is about helping people to be at their healthiest, and there was never a time when I felt healthier and more spiritual than when I was at Camp Ramah, and to me, being healthy and spiritual are synonymous.
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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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When you’re a counselor working with campers who have disabilities, you’re always on the lookout for new ways and activities to help engage the campers under your charge. There is no better way to pick up these new tips and tricks than to spend time exchanging information and experiences with other counselors who work with the same population. This is precisely what I did during the last week of May at the National Ramah Spring Leadership Training Conference at Ramah Darom in Clayton, Georgia. I spent the week collaborating with and learning from counselors from other camps all over the country who also work with campers with disabilities.
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For the past five summers, I have had the honor of working for the Mitzvah Corps program at URJ Kutz Camp. Mitzvah Corps is a special needs camping program for teens with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The program’s mission is to honor the unique characteristics of every camper and provide access to Jewish camping by creating individualized accommodations and modifications that allow every camper to succeed. So when my camp and I heard that National Ramah invited the URJ Camps to their Spring Leadership Training Conference training at Ramah Darom, we saw it as a great opportunity to collaborate with a different camp movement whose mission closely aligned with our own.
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A very wise (and very fictional) old wizard named Dumbledore once said that music is “a magic beyond” anything he could ever hope to accomplish with a wand and an incantation. This magic will exist everyday this summer at Jewish camps across North America and it will be facilitated by staff members armed with guitars and a passion for music.
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