FEATURE: JEWISH CAMPS

JewishCamps Where Jewish Life & Learning Take Hold

If you’ve ever attended a Jewish camp, I’m sure you can recall many of the Jewish observances and rituals that took place while surrounded by new or lifelong friends. Many of us learned all the Hebrew words to the Birkat Hamazon at a Jewish camp. And, we can recall excitedly putting on our best camp whites for outdoor Shabbat evening services overlooking a pristine lake. Whether you attended a Jewish day camp or went to sleep away camp far away, there is no doubt that Jewish heritage, culture and values are easily learned while at camp. Best friends and potential spouses are met, and remarkable experiences are shared to create lifelong memories and bonds. Many have sent their children and grandchildren to the same camp! We asked several campers to share their experiences and camp highlights.

Sandy Zimmerman and Daughter Brooke

During his childhood, Sandy Zimmerman attended Camp Coleman in Cleveland, Georgia and loved it. Ramah Darom was not in existence yet, and his mom didn't want to send him all the way up to Ramah in the Northeast. Sandy says, “Just looking at that old picture of me at camp brought back so many great memories. Now as a parent, I have watched Ramah Darom play such a huge role in my daughter's Jewish identity.”

His daughter Brooke was a camper at Ramah Darom in Clayton,

Georgia. Brooke started at an even younger age than Sandy, and was a counselor until COVID shut down camp last summer. Even now,

Brooke's best friend at college is one of her bunkmates from her camp days at Ramah. And now Sandy serves on the board of directors of

Ramah Darom. According to Sandy, “I think Jewish summer camp might be the most influential component I have seen in our kids developing a love of Judaism.” Brooke added, “Deciding to go to Ramah Darom was one of the best decisions I have ever made. The time I spent there was amazing and really allowed me to explore my Jewish identity. I would look forward to the time I spent at camp all year and could never wait to reunite with my camp friends. One of my favorite memories was going on Ramah Israel Seminar where I spent the

summer traveling in Israel with all of my camp friends. The best part of going to camp was the friendships I made all across the country. My freshman college roommate was actually one of my camp friends and she is still my best friend at college!”

Sandy's Daughter Brooke

BFFs Sandy Shapiro & Brooke Solov Loebl

Sandy Shapiro and Brooke Solov Loebl call themselves the Frentas. They went to Camp Judaea in Hendersonville, North Carolina. On Camp Judaea's website they claim, "We're a little bit of Israel in the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains." Now, Sandy and Brooke's children, Andi Shapiro and Addison Loebl and Hank Shapiro and Stevie Loebl attend the same camp together!

Sandy (in glasses) is with her best friend Brooke (circa 1990). Brooke married someone who went to camp with them. The two photos below were taken in 2019 of Andi Shapiro and Addison Loebl, and Hank Shapiro and Stevie Loebl in their whites for Shabbat.

have fond memories of great time as campers and as being campers. In their counselors." teen years, they both Their daughter Dena has also had worked as counselors at the wonderful experience of day the camp located on San camp and also spent five summers Jose Blvd. The at Camp Blue Star now existing in Hendersonville, synagogue had North Carolina. not been built in Fond memories 1965. Ellen and are shared by all Barry met there three.

Ellen (bottom left) and Barry Setzer (top right) at Jacksonville Jewish Center Day Camp. during that summer. Sixteen years later, Ellen and Barry's four-year-old grandson will Ellen and Barry Setzer both grew they were fixed up begin his camping up in Jacksonville. As kids they by a fellow friend from experience this both went to the Jacksonville camp and the rest is summer. He's Jewish Center Day Camp. The history. They just cele- going to have a camp was run out of the synagogue which was located on Third and Silver Street in Springfield. They brated their 40th wedding anniversary! As Ellen would tell you, "We had a The Setzer's daughter Dena continued the family camping tradition. ball!

Janet Goldstein

Janet Goldstein attended Camp Judaea (CJ) in Hendersonville, North Carolina every year starting in 1966. She started as a young camper at age nine, and camp quickly became her second home and family. Her older sister,

Nancie was in the older age group, and then later, when sister Lynn joined, Janet was in the older age group. Over the years, she spent more than a dozen summers at CJ, as a camper and staff member, even coming back one summer while living in Israel to be head counselor. And in 2011, Janet served as an interim camp director while they were doing a national search for a new director. At the end of that summer, CJ held a 50th-year celebration/reunion, with members of the CJ family from across the decades gathering for a few days. The past few summers (pre-COVID), she’s visited CJ for smaller "vintage alumni" gatherings and enjoyed time with friends, some of whom she’s known for 40-50 years! It's very true that CJ friends are friends forever. Janet remembers, “One of the things I always loved about CJ was the small size so that the entire camp met together at the flagpole every morning and evening, ate all meals together, had daily and Shabbat services as a camp, and many programs together. That meant that siblings got to see each other frequently. Some of my favorite camp memories are Friday afternoons decorating our cabins for Shabbat, and everyone wearing white for Shabbat. On Saturday nights, the whole camp joined together for Havdalah, singing and dancing. I loved all the fun ways we learned about Israel, and CJ gave me my first exposure to Hebrew as a living language—not just something we read in prayer books. It was the beginning of my learning Hebrew, which I'm still fluent in today.” 32

Rabbi Jonathan Lubliner of the Jacksonville Jewish Center spent many summers as a camper, counselor and rabbi-in-residence at Jewish camps in New York and Georgia. Specifically, he spent two summers as a day camper at Ramah Day Camp in Nyack, New York, five summers as a sleep-away camper at Camp Ramah in the Berkshires in Wingdale, New York, four summers on staff as a counselor and rabbi-in-residence at Camp Ramah in the Berkshires, and 15 summers as a rabbi-in-residence at Ramah Darom in Clayton, Georgia. As you can imagine, the experiences of an adult and a child are very different. The common denominator over this 40-year period has been the celebration of Shabbat. At camp there is a sense of Shabbat commuRabbi Lubliner had just turned 12 for this bunk photo. nity in the most all-encompassing way. Everyone is observing Shabbat together. You palpably feel what it's like to live in a holistic Jewish community in the most amazing way. When asked what were his fondest memories of being at camp?, Rabbi Lubliner said, “Too many fond memories to designate just one. I loved being in camp plays (usually familiar Broadway musicals performed entirely in Hebrew). I never had a lead, but my Hebrew and voice were decent enough to always get me some named character role. I still remember lyrics to many of the songs! My proudest moment? The summer I was chosen the "Yom Sport" captain for my age group.” And did his Jewish camp experience influence his later decision to become a rabbi? “I can't say that camp directly influenced my decision to become a rabbi. BUT what it did do is provide me with a model of how to make Jewish life more meaningful. If we consciously modeled our synagogues, schools and other institutions after the best Jewish camping experiences, they could become unstoppable engines of Jewish growth. It isn't rocket science. Yes, we need to make the fun things Jewish and the Jewish things fun, but above all, our greatest challenge is not to compartmentalize community. When we think of Jewish living as time slots in our schedule or limit a sense of Jewish being to particular addresses, we start to lose a sense of cohesion.

At camp no one ever has to choose between soccer and Shabbat.

This is why I strongly encourage Jews to send their children to places like Ramah -- camps where the daily rhythms of Jewish life and learning are seamlessly integrated into the joys of swimming, sports, arts and crafts, and campouts. It's also why I go to camp each year -- to recharge my own vision of endless Jewish possibility.” Noah and Sara Wasserman

Noah (left): “Camp Ramah is the best because I can spend every day with my friends and do fun activities. My favorites are climbing the tower and the camping and field trips.”

Sara (above): “Camp Ramah is one of my favorite places to be. My favorite part of camp is Shabbat and Havdallah when everyone comes together to celebrate.”

Bring Your Kids Together Safely

JCA Summer Camp Returns in 2021 with Exciting New Programs

ByThe JCA,Jewish Community Alliance

The Jewish Community Alliance’s Summer Camp program returns in full swing starting June 7 and continuing through August 6. There’s something exciting for everyone from the youngest, age two, up to high schoolers, age sixteen. This year, the camp staff and leadership team developed even more activities than previous years. Camps were designed to keep children engaged in the arts, sports, nature activities, theatre, animals, culinary-focused classes, and this year, magic, robotics, coding, singing, dance, aquatics, fashion, lacrosse, archery and so much more. Every aspect of JCA summer camp activities were designed with your child in mind! The biggest challenge you and your family will face will be determining which camps to register them in!

Knowing what to expect for your children this summer as they embark on their camp adventure is important, so we wanted to highlight some of the key areas each camp will focus on, regardless of whether it’s riding horses or learning how to code. At the core of our programming, JCA Staff and counselors help build selfconfidence and camaraderie among campers, instilling trust in themselves and an eagerness to return each day. Camp staff provides endless activities focused on physical, social, and emotional engagement. In short, you can expect the same high standards that guide all the programs offered at the JCA. Our high standards of learning and engagement are rooted in our continuous focus on the safety and health of all campers and staff. At the heart of everything we do is our cleaning protocols, rigorous staff training, and our focus on safety standards. At JCA Summer Camp your children will besafely supervised in each program for which they enroll.

We’re excited to offer summer camp in a time that has been challenging for us all and doing it safely is our biggest priority. Your children will be happy and engaged while learning new skills and benefiting from the positivity of a rewarding camp environment that potentially impacts them forever.

What’s new and exciting in 2021? Not only will camp again take place on JCA’s 100,000 square foot campus with pools, tennis courts, art studios, auditorium, and gym, but a second location in partnership with the Jacksonville Jewish Center has been added giving camp an additional 35 acres of outdoor and indoor space with modern classrooms, a second gym and swimming pool, fields, nature and much more!

Parents have come to know and love the JCA’s traditional summer camps. New for this year, are more programs, designed with a core activity focus.

Stagedoor Theatre Camp will offer three camps within a camp appropriate to various age groups with unique performances: “Life is a Circus” and “Rock the House with Mickey Mouse” (grades 1-3), “Tony Award

Winners” and “Another Opening, Another Show” (grades 4-6), with grades 7-9 creating their own musical while honing their auditioning and acting skills.

Camp Sabra (grades 1-3) will now include third grade with weekly off-site field trips, and Camp

Habonim (grades 4-6) continues to allow children their choice of specialty areas such as horseback riding, golf, baking and more. Be sure to sign up early as first

this Summer! when it comes to enrolling choices always go quickly! Our Camp Yalla returns for a second year (grades 7-9) and will offer adventures and opportunities to learn new skills such as surfing, culinary arts, Guitar Hero Rock Camp, a brand new offering this year (stay tuned for more information about those)! Brand new for summer 2021 is our one-week Camp Kaytana, which has been specifically developed to meet the ever-changing needs of families and their hectic and changing schedules. Programs are now offered as five-day options for as few as 3 hours per day with one area of focus. Choose from sports options (basketball, tennis, fencing); cultural arts options (painting, drawing, sculpture, pottery, singing, magic); and STEM options (coding, video game design, robots). We know you have a lot of choices your child in a summer camp in Jacksonville, that’s why we’re excited to showcase what sets us apart and makes us a preferred choice each year. While we always enjoy highlighting our many camp offerings and what will give your children the best summer ever, it’s important to note that we are accredited by the American Camping Association (ACA), a leading authority in youth development. The ACA credits us with meeting the highest safety, staff training and curriculum standards. Our staff are some of the best in the industry and all of them are well-trained, CPR certified, and background screened. Most importantly, their passion is to work with children and help them build memories to last a lifetime. Checkout our website at jcajax.org/camp for the latest, greatest camp information. Register now while space is still available. We look forward to seeing you and making new memories again this summer! JCA’s traditional camps you have come to love will each be offering new and engaging programs for your children.

Give a Jewish camper an experience they’ll never forget

ByKellie Smith,Jewish Federation & Foundation of Northeast Florida

Summer brings back many memories and summer camp is a favorite of many. Today there are so many camps to choose from. The camping experience brings out the very best in kids as they explore new sights and sounds of the outdoors. What a great way to spend the summer! Jewish summer camps fuse the activities, friendships, and communal life of traditional camps with the Jewish values, role models and culture of our shared heritage. This uniquely immersive experience provides a confidence-building opportunity in which campers experience joy and discovery in a communal Jewish setting. Children learn confidence, skill-building and socialization by living in a community. They learn how to manage in a diverse group of peers, and they face new situations and overcome challenges on a daily basis. At Jewish camp, adult role models create safe spaces for campers to grapple with complex ideas based in Jewish values, texts, and traditions - topics that secular schools and camps might not be able to address. Jewish camp is thus able to provide balance by creating space for spiritual, emotional and physical growth for campers. Camps today are multi-million dollar enterprises because they are very expensive to maintain. Consequently, sending a kid to camp—be it a day camp or overnight camp—can be financially overwhelming. Often, families with financial needs have to seek out scholarship assistance. We look forward to the day when the Jewish Federation & Foundation has many camp endowment funds that provide scholarship assistance for Jewish camping experiences. These funds will come from donors and individuals in the community that have included the Jewish Federation & Foundation in their will or who have made an outright gift in life to support summer camp scholarships. Perhaps you attended a camp as a child or your family received some type of assistance to offset the cost of camp. Now you can help a child attend summer camp and have a rewarding summer experience that they will always remember. The camp fund you establish can be in your name or in the name of a loved one you want to honor or memorialize. Camp scholarship funds can be for a specific gender, religious affiliation or even a sport. You can even set one up that provides assistance for travel to Israel! Summer camps have been around for a long, long time. Kids of all socio-economic backgrounds come together to enjoy their summer camp experience. While your summer camp experiences are now just fond memories, you have the opportunity to help children build their own camp memories. Before summer 2021 is just a memory, start the conversation about starting a scholarship fund or contribute to one of these existing scholarship funds:

The Sol & Hilda Goldman Early Childhood Education and Summer Camp Scholarship Fund The Len & Judy Elikan Young Leader Summer Camp Scholarship Award

Please stop by our office today so you can give a Jewish camper an experience they’ll never forget. You’ll be so glad you did!

Dear Mr. and Mrs. Elikan,

Thank you so much for enabling me to go to camp this summer. I really enjoyed my experience at a Jewish sleepaway summer camp. This was only made possible due to the Len and Judy Elikan Young Leader Summer Camp Scholarship Fund. I truly appreciate your generosity. I gained so much from my unique camp experiences at Camp Romimu this past summer. As a second time recipient of the scholarship, I had the opportunity to participate in the leadership experiences again. Additionally, I took part in new experiences, partially due to an altered schedule because of COVID precautions. For example, this summer there were no trips outside of camp, and other activities were scheduled in place of the trips. This taught me a great character building lesson that one can always make the most of his time even when the schedule isn't in his favor. In fact, I almost didn’t attend camp this summer due to the threat of the coronavirus. However, once I was informed that camp was going to be in session this summer and that precautions were being taken to avoid the spread of the disease, I fortunately participated in the camp program and its many leadership opportunities.

My stay in camp benefited me greatly this summer. I learned so much from the Talmud learning sessions. These helped to sharpen my intellect and to think in a logical manner. These sessions additionally played a significant role in helping me finish a tractate of Talmud, Tractate Gittin. I especially loved playing leagues. The combination of physical activity and friendly competition was amazing. My team made it all the way to the championships! My attendance of a Jewish summer camp twice in a row really helped to deepen my understanding of one's role within his Jewish community. With the participation in a Jewish camp program for a second year I had more opportunities and more leadership roles available to me. I hope to use my newly acquired skills and leadership experiences to benefit my Jacksonville Jewish community. I look forward to next summer with a fervent hope and prayer that I will again be given the opportunity to attend a Jewish summer camp!

Sincerely, Yitzy Rabinowitz

Stav Brener,Israeli Community Shaliach

Camp Szarvas—A summer camp created by the Jewish Federation & Foundation’s overseas partner, theAmerican Jewish Joint Distribution Committee(JDC) and the Ronald S. Lauder Foundation— gives campers the unique opportunity to meet, celebrate, explore and share experiences with their Jewish student peers from around the world as well as change and enrich their lives.

The camp is nestled on the banks of the beautiful Körös river in the peaceful resort town of Szarvas, Hungary. Modern recreational, housing and strictly kosher dining facilities are set amidst expansive landscaped grounds lined with ripe, fragrant fruit trees. The name Szarvas, pronounced “Sar Vash,” is Hungarian for “Deer”.

Camp Szarvas was founded in 1990 to address the needs of a growing population of Jews seeking a return to their roots after the fall of Communism. Today, each summer, Camp Szarvas attracts 1600 campers from more than 25 countries from all around the world – from the US, Hungary, Turkey, Russia, India, Israel, and more. For many participants, this is where they come into contact with Judaism for the first time in their lives – as well as with Jewish youngsters from Western Europe and the United States.

I went to Camp Szarvas when I was 17 as a member of the Israeli high schoolers group. Learning about Jewish life in Europe, connecting with Jewish teens from around the world and having a lot of fun activities for two weeks wasn't enough for me, so much so that I came back when I was 21 as a counselor!

There were many different topics and activities -Exodus at night led by Moses, the Wandering Jew, Café Dilemma, a turn-of-the-century Summer Camp Virtual Information Sessions Dilemma Ball, and of course, the always popular evening unit programs, bonfires, ByRabbi Rosenblum,Jacksonville Jewish Center In preparation for summer 2021, the Jacksonville Jewish Center organized a virtual info night for current and prospective campers. This special event showcased several Jewish summer camps and travel talent shows, and programs from the Conservative movement including Camp Ramah much more. Darom, Ramah Sports Academy, Ramah in the Rockies, Ramah Galim,

Camp showed me so Ramah Israel many beautiful parts of Jewish life, and really changed my view of the world. Going to camp was an amazing experience, I Seminar and USY Israel Pilgrimage. We even had several guests join us live to represent their programs! would never take back. Summer is on I have fond memories the horizon and of the camp and the it’s not too late many friends I made from all around the world. Camp Szarvas and many other programs of the JDC in Eastern to find the right program for you. Upcoming virtual information sessions and general contact Europe and in the information: former Soviet Union Camp Ramah Darom - receive funding Tuesday, March 23rd @ 7:30, camp@ramahdarom.org from theJewish Ramah Sports Academy - Federation & Sunday, March 14th @ 7pm, info@ramahsport.org Foundation of Ramah in the Rockies - Northeast Every Tuesday @ 8pm, info@ramahoutdoors.org Florida. To Ramah Galim - info@ramahnorcal.org learn more Ramah Israel Seminar* - info@ramah.co.il about the camp, USY Israel Pilgrimage* - summer@usy.org go to www.jdc. *A limited number of $3,000 scholarships for Israel travel org/camp- are still available. Visit www.RootOne.org for more szarvas. information. Contact setzeryouthed@jaxjewishcenter.org for additional information or to request access to the recording.