Celebrating a Judaism Worthy of Celebration

Bemoaning the future of the American Jewry has become a rite-of-passage. One cannot, it seems, be a serious Jewish thinker, without predicting the next would-be calamity that will undermine the Jewish people. Optimism is rogue, and pessimism is vogue. While I do not reject the gravity of particular trends, this paradigm simply does not work for me. The incessant lamenting of our volatility seem to ultimately promulgate apathy, and perpetuate the very instability it seeks to remedy. Imagine, for a moment, an optimistic Judaism; one that quietly deals with real threats, while loudly celebrating the beautiful fruits of our collective labor.

To Foster Inclusion, We Must Remember Exclusion

We have all felt exclusion at some points of our lives, but each of us likely forgot about it as quickly as it happened. Such is not the case for the numerous children and young adults with various different disabilities who attend Ramah camps across our network each summer. For them, isolation and exclusion may be the norm. Hopefully their summers at Ramah are different, and regardless of whether they are attending camp as part of a Ramah Tikvah program or an informal program set up to further our goal of inclusion, all staff members at every Ramah have an obligation to make it so.

Staff Leadership Training, Tikvah/Special Needs, Blog/ReflectionsNRC WebmasterJanuary 15, 2015Tikvah

Ramah Service Corps Fellows Training, January 2015

It was our absolute pleasure to gather Ramah Service Corps Fellows together last week at Ramah California. During our four days, we enjoyed getting to know one another, studying together, program
sharing, and reflecting on the past few months of work. Emphasis was placed on the most effective ways of encouraging more families to send their kids to Ramah. “I really appreciated the chance to sit down and just talk with some of the other Fellows,” said Hannah Glickman of Ramah New England. “I know that they are doing work similar to mine, but getting to actually spend time together and share what we’re doing brings the experience to a much more tangible level.

Blog/Reflections, Staff Leadership TrainingNRC WebmasterJanuary 12, 2015National Ramah

15 Teens Remind Me What Being Jewish Is All About

This past weekend, I was reminded about the true meaning of Judaism.

But not from reading the Torah or the Talmud or from talking to a rabbi.

Last weekend, 15 rowdy teenagers from across North America taught me everything I need to know about what it really means to be a Jew.

It’s not like this was my first opportunity to connect with my heritage. Growing up in Montreal, we were members of the still-in-its-infancy Reconstructionist synagogue. My parents chose to send their five kids to Jewish day school, and I even opted to continue on to a Jewish high school. I was active in BBYO, serving as chapter and regional president.

Ramah in the News, Alumni, Blog/ReflectionsNRC WebmasterJanuary 8, 2015Canada, Reshet Ramah

Growth Continues in the Jewish Disabilities World

Two years ago, a delegation of Foundation for Jewish Camp (FJC) and Jewish Funders Network (JFN) members visited eight Jewish summer camps in the Northeast in three days. Despite their different locations (from Pennsylvania to Massachusetts), sizes, and movement affiliations, the camps had one important thing in common: They were successfully including campers with disabilities in the camp community.

Tikvah/Special Needs, Blog/ReflectionsNRC WebmasterNovember 11, 2014Tikvah, Howard Blas

Summer Is For Work Too, Not Just Play

Camp is seen as an escape for many campers and a way to leave their busy lives behind, but for Asher Brown it is also an opportunity for him to improve his social skills as well as his work skills. Asher is a great example of how the Avodah Program at camp benefits all of the campers involved. Asher has been a camper at Camp Ramah in Canada for six years and has been active participant of the Tikvah Avodah Program for the past two summers.

Tikvah/Special Needs, Blog/ReflectionsNRC WebmasterAugust 18, 2014Tikvah, Canada, Voc-Ed

How Camp Experiences and Relationships Helped Me Transition to a Corporate Setting

After celebrating my Bar Mitzvah in June 1998, I joined the first ever session of “Taste of Tikvah” at Camp Ramah in Wisconsin, which laid the foundation for six wonderful summers in the Tikvah Program. During this time I made many lifelong friends from the fellow campers, counselors and Israeli Shlichim that I interacted with. In 2004, I was lucky enough to participate in the new Atzmayim Tikvah Vocational Program, which enables former campers to learn independent living skills and get vocational training. In my role, I worked in the camp’s kitchen, where I helped stock and organize the necessary items, clean appliances, serve food to the guest tables, and help the chefs with food preparation.

Tikvah/Special Needs, Blog/ReflectionsNRC WebmasterJuly 31, 2014Tikvah, Voc-Ed, Wisconsin

Ramah Stands with Israel

“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.

Blog/Reflections, Israel and HebrewNRC WebmasterJuly 23, 2014Israel, Mitch Cohen, Summer 2014

JTS Leaders Reflect on Visits to Ramah

"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."- JTS Chancellor Arnold Eisen

Blog/ReflectionsNRC WebmasterJuly 18, 2014JTS, Summer 2014