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Camp Transforms “Me” to “We”

Posted in Guest Bloggers, Holidays, Jewish Camp in the News on September 25th, 2012 by alicia - No Comments »

by Rabbi Avi Katz Orlow

During Yom Kippur we pray the “Al Chet” confession of sins ten times. We repeat again and again the phrase, “On the sin we have sinned…”.  While there is a lot to be said about the particular sins that we are trying to atone for with this prayer, it is notable that the prayer is not in the first person singular but in the voice of “we”.  While enforcing collective punishment can be unjust, taking collective responsibility is transformative. Before we can talk about repairing our own sins, we have to spend some time repairing our sense of being part of a collective. We might struggle to get into the rhythm and tunes of the High Holidays because we have spent the rest of the year listening to our own playlists. In many ways, we are all still bowling alone.  Judaism might have lost being sticky because society in general has lost its glue.

One of the amazing aspects of Jewish camp is that it is a special place where community really comes together. And this past summer, we saw examples of camps working together on new initiatives to further expand on that idea of community. First, URJ’s Henry S. Jacobs Camp (a Reform camp based in Mississippi) and Camp Darom (an Orthodox camp based in Memphis) came together to celebrate the 4th of July (see story). We also saw a joint Maccabiah games for teens from the leadership programs of the North American Federation of Temple Youth (NFTY) and teens from BBYO (see story). An amazing Matisyahu concert at NJY camps (Camp Cedar Lake) gathered campers from URJ Kutz Camp, Habonim Dror Camp Na’aleh, and Camp Tel Yehudah (see story).  Through these camps, an amazing “we” is developing.

When I think about the “Al Chet”, it is easy to get stuck thinking about all the bad things that I did last year. However, when I look back on this summer, I am inspired. It is at camp that the kind of community that teaches us to speak in the first person plural is created. Camp is a place where all of the “me’s” can be transformed into a “we”. Together we can accomplish anything.

May we all have a very meaningful New Year.

Night 7 of A Camp-y Hanukkah

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Posted in Holidays, Parenting, Parents on December 26th, 2011 by alicia - No Comments »

For the seventh night of Hanukkah, give your child a personalized jersey!  Get iron-on letters and designs online or from your local craft store.  They are available in a variety of colors, patterns, and textures.  Iron on letters spelling his/her name to the back of a camp shirt or jersey.  Or use blank clothing and write his/her camp or bunk name and year on the front.  Get creative and have fun!

Night 5 of A Camp-y Hanukkah

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Posted in Holidays, Parenting, Parents on December 24th, 2011 by alicia - No Comments »

Not sure what to do for the fifth night of Hanukkah?  Make a slide show!  Have your campers choose their favorite photos from the summer, the school year, your last vacation, even from when they were babies!  Plus, take some new pictures today – kids lighting the menorah, opening presents – and let your kids be creative by handing them the camera to take shots of whatever is going on in their lives.

 

You can use PowerPoint or any other slideshow software you may have.  When you’re done, have a viewing party complete with popcorn!

Night 4 of A Camp-y Hanukkah

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Posted in Holidays, Parenting, Parents on December 23rd, 2011 by alicia - No Comments »

It’s the fourth night of Hanukkah so why not celebrate with some fun, delicious treats!  Here directions for making candy dreidels, reminiscent of s’mores!  Enjoy!

What you’ll need:

- Chocolate kisses

- Chocolate for melting

- Marshmallows

- Pre-made icing and/or marshmallow fluff

- Food markers or cake decorating gel

- Pretzel sticks

 

Instructions:

- Use the icing or fluff to attach a marshmallow to the flat side of the chocolate kiss.

- Gently push the pretzel stick halfway through the other end of the marshmallow.

- Dip the marshmallow/kiss part into melted chocolate and let set.

- When the chocolate is hard, use a food marker, decorating gel, or extra icing to add the Hebrew letters to the dreidel – shin , hey, gimel, nun – and you’re done!

 

 

Night 3 of A Camp-y Hanukkah

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Posted in Holidays on December 22nd, 2011 by alicia - No Comments »

The third night of Hanukkah is here, and tonight’s project is burning a CD. Sure, we know that most music comes in digital form these days, but nothing says camp like a mixed CD. It’s a great gift for your friends to take to camp, and their bunkmates will be thanking you all summer long!

 

How do you select the music? Start by brainstorming songs that remind you of summer—fun, breezy, and uplifting tunes that would make a great soundtrack for in-bunk activities and cozy, campfire nights. Here are some ideas to get you started:

 

“Summer of ‘69” by Bryan Adams

“Brown-Eyed Girl” by Van Morrison

“Redemption Song” by Bob Marley

“Take Me Home, Country Roads” by John Denver

“You’ve Got a Friend” by James Taylor

“Daydream Believer” by the Monkees

“Closer to Fine” by the Indigo Girls

“Runaround” by Blues Traveler

 

Make sure to mix in songs from your favorite bands, and blend newer songs with older classics. When you’re done, you’ll have a great CD that your friends will love.

 

Happy mixing, and happy Hanukkah!

Night 2 of A Camp-y Hanukkah

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Posted in Holidays, Parenting, Parents on December 21st, 2011 by alicia - 1 Comment

For the second night of Hanukkah, friendship bracelets made of beads and leather make great, personalized (and camp-y) gifts!  Make a friendship bracelet with a special word or name—the name of your child’s camp or bunk, perhaps with her name and the name of her best friend, or just “I Love Camp.”

 

 

 

 

 

What you’ll need:

- Three pieces of flat suede cord, 2 feet long

- Two pieces of flat suede cord, each 6 inches long

- Alphabet beads with large holes.  You can also use beads with pictures or symbols on them.

- Scissors

 

Instructions:

- With one of the 6-inch pieces of cord, tie together the three 2-foot pieces leaving a four-inch tail.

- Secure the tail under a heavy book or use a clipboard.

- Braid the leather. After the first inch of braid, put on your first bead. Braid and slide on beads in regular intervals.

- After you put on the last bead, braid for another inch.

- Use the other 6-inch cord to tie off the bracelet.

- Trim the ends so they are even and you’re done!

A Camp-y Hanukkah

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Posted in Holidays, Parenting, Parents on December 20th, 2011 by alicia - No Comments »

Hanukkah is here!  Kids all over are excited for latkes, jelly donuts, games of dreidel, and of course, presents!  Bring camp to Hanukkah this year with eight homemade gifts sure to delight your happy camper.  They make perfect gifts for a bunkmate, favorite counselor, or friend going to camp for the first time too.  These are great projects to do for your camper or with him/her over school vacation.  This blog post will teach you step by step how to decoupage a clipboard but stay tuned for another idea over each of the next seven days…

 

Happy Hanukkah!

 

Decoupage clipboard 

What you’ll need:

- A clipboard

- Pictures – they can be cut out of magazines, catalogs, or books. If you have photos or other items that we want to use but are either not made of thin paper or you don’t want to lose, try photo copying or printing them from your computer.  Another cute way of personalizing is to print out your child’s name, “I Love Camp,” or his/her bunk name in a cute, fun font.

- Mod Podge or Collage Pauge for adhering the pictures to the clipboard – they are available in a variety of finishes.

- Popsicle Stick

- Foam Brush or paint brush

 

Instructions:

- Make sure the clipboard is clean and dry.

- Arrange the pictures onto the clipboard to create the design you want.

- Remove the pictures, one at a time or one section at a time, and apply the Mod Podge or Collage Pauge to the clipboard so that every place where a picture will be touching is covered.

- Stick the picture on to the adhesive and smooth it out with either your fingers or a popsicle stick making sure to get out any wrinkle, bubbles, and extra paste out.

- Once you have done this with all of the pictures, let the adhesive dry.

- When it is dry, coat the pictures/clipboard completely with the adhesive using the foam brush or paint brush and let it dry.  Repeat this step until the edges of all of the pictures are smooth.

Return To Eden

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Posted in Education and Educators, Guest Bloggers, Holidays on October 19th, 2011 by alicia - No Comments »

Just when you thought that we were finished with the holiday season, there is more. Tonight we celebrate Shmini Atzeret and then on Thursday night we start Simchat Torah. In Israel these two holidays are celebrated on the same day. In many ways Shmini Atzeret is a completion of the Sukkot holiday. But what is Simchat Torah? When I was young I understood it simply to be the day that we celebrate the completion of the liturgical reading of the Torah. Would it not make more sense to celebrate the reading about the creation of the world on Rosh HaShanah? Of even on Shavuot the time we received the Torah? Why do we start reading the Torah on Simchat Torah?

Sukkot is a time in which we surround ourselves with nature and bask in our dependence on God. Even before we get to all of the rich symbols of Sukkot we see that the experience is challenging us to live in an Eden-like environment. I think that Simchat Torah is less about finishing reading the Torah then a perfectly timed re-reading of the Torah. Coming on the heels of Sukkot, a holiday full of rituals in which we can easily comply, we read the story of Adam and Eve again. This time, maybe we will have learned the lesson.  Instead of starting off the year with the negative reinforcement of getting kicked out of Eden, we start the year off right dwelling in the Sukkah.  In this light we see that Shmini Atzeret is a very holy time in which we leave Eden on our own terms. We are not kicked out, instead we leave the Sukkah determined to make the world a better place.

For many of us the camp we grew up in is as close to the Garden of Eden as we can imagine. While we might not be able to go back camp, we can surely imagine a return on our own terms during Simchat Torah in the story of creation. We should all be blessed with a year of learning lessons the first or second time around, giving people we love positive encouragement to succeed, and finding our own ways to make the world a better place.

It seems fitting on Simchat Torah, in which we recall the Garden of Eden, we think about the Global Day of Jewish Learning. Last year the Global Day of Jewish Learning was conceived to mark the completion of Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz’s monumental translation on the Talmud. The inaugural event was a huge success reaching every corner of the Jewish world with 600 events in 400 communities in 48 countries. If you are interested in reconnecting to this moment when we were all together in the camp version of Eden think about getting your camp community together during the off season to hold or join a Global Day of Jewish Learning event on November 13th. Check out their website and be in touch with us if we can help.

-Rabbi Avi Katz Orlow, Jewish Education Specialist at the Foundation for Jewish Camp

The Sound of Purpose

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Posted in Guest Bloggers, Holidays, Parenting on October 6th, 2011 by alicia - No Comments »

With Rosh Hashanah behind us and Yom Kippur right around the corner I am sure that I am not alone in trying to start this year in a meaningful way. It is hard to escape the haunting language of the un’taneh tokef. There is one line from that prayer that I just could not get out of my head. We read time and again, “uvashofar gadol yitaka, v’kol d’mama daka yishama – The great shofar will be sounded, and the still small voice will be heard.” To quote P.D. Eastman “Big dogs need big beds and little dogs need little beds.”  I would have assumed that a big shofar would be used to make a big noise. What are we to make of this little sound that is coming out of this big shofar?

 

According to Jewish Law, every fifty years we celebrate the Jubilee in which we release all slaves, land, and debts. The sound of the shofar on Rosh Hashanah last week announced the jubilee year, and the sound of the shofar on Yom Kippur will proclaim the actual release of financial encumbrances. It would not be so bold to claim that this great Shofar sound itself was the freedom we experience on this Jubilee year spiritually and physically.

 

And this “still small voice: is an allusion to the revelation Elijah experienced at Sinai. After traveling for forty days and forty nights, Elijah is the first person after Moses to return to Sinai. When he got there he took shelter in a cave and God asked him what he is doing there. Elijah evaded the question. God asked Elijah to go outside the cave and “stand before the Lord.” A terrible wind passed, but God was not in the wind. A great earthquake shook the mountain, but God was not in the earthquake. Then a fire passed the mountain, but God was not in the fire. Then a “still small voice” comes to Elijah and asks again, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” (I Kings 19:13)

 

In many ways the essence of these High Holy Days is our being able to answer Elijah’s question. Why are we here? Whether that is in synagogue, at a family gathering, or on this planet, all of us need to think about why we are here. Even if you do not have an answer to this question, can we imagine what it might feel like to have one? How liberating would that be? Living a life with purpose might not be flashy or make a huge noise, but it will surely free us from a meaningless existence.

 

Seeing that this is the time of year that we are all doing our personal accounting, I have to ask myself why I work for the Foundation for Jewish Camp. This past summer I asked a camp director how we might measure success for his campers after spending the summer at his camp. He responded, “Well I am not sure this is what you are looking for, but many parents have reported that they are getting more hugs from their children.” As we get ready for Yom Kipper we are all thinking about being accountable. I think we should hear the sound of the great Shofar and listen up for the small stuff. For many campers, camp is the first time in their lives that they have the feeling of belonging. Camp is where they will discover their purpose. As a parent I can tell you that my children knowing why they are here is profound and resonating sound of freedom.

 

Gmar Chatima Tova – Have a good and significant ending.

-Rabbi Avi Katz Orlow, Jewish Education Specialist at the Foundation for Jewish Camp

 

 

Paying Tribute to Camp Massad

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Posted in FJC Programs, Guest Bloggers, Holidays, Israel on May 27th, 2011 by alicia - 3 Comments

My camp journey began at Camp Massad in Dingman’s Ferry, Pennsylvania.  My father was a proud alum and he was overjoyed that I was attending the camp that meant so much to him and provided him with lifelong friendships.

 

It turns out that my experience at camp was much the same as my father’s—I found close friends and have memories of those summers that still have me smiling today; the all-Hebrew plays, meaningful Tisha B’av ceremonies, ruach (spirit)-sessions in the chadar ochel (dining hall), and many others.  At Camp Massad, Hebrew was the primary language and a love for Israel was paramount.  Massad-niks today hold prominent positions in Jewish organizations and communities, ardently supporting Jewish life, culture, and values.

 

Sadly, Camp Massad no longer exists—it closed in the early 80’s.

 

Flash forward to 2011: A few weeks ago, I learned of a Camp Massad reunion in New York City, scheduled to coincide with the summer opening of the Center for Jewish History’s Camp Massad archive.  Response to the reunion has been overwhelming and people of all ages are coming from near and far to attend.  The ongoing connection to Camp Massad—now through social media and long preserved friendships—does not surprise. It was a very special place to all of its alumni.

 

My work at FJC is especially meaningful because of the experience I had with Camp Massad.  Although I eventually found another camp to call my summer home, it was Massad that instilled in me a love for the Hebrew language and Israel, and a commitment to Jewish causes.  At FJC, we know that we must preserve our camp treasures and make sure that Jewish camp gates stay open. We provide training and consultation to camps to help them survive turbulent times and become stronger in areas where they are struggling.  We have a track record of success in helping camps “turn around”–camps that were once floundering now have waiting lists.

 

I strongly believe that all Jewish children should have a Jewish overnight camp experience, but for that to happen, we need to make sure that there are enough beds for every camper. When a camp closes, hundreds of children lose their summer home and future campers miss out on the opportunity to have a transformative summer that will shape their their lives and their Jewish identity. Camp alumni should never have to mourn the loss of their summer home. Instead, they should have the opportunity to share their camp experience with their children and grandchildren, creating generations of memories.

 

I believe that if FJC had existed in the early 80′s my camp and summer home, Camp Massad, would still be in existence today. Luckily, we are here today to prevent this from happening in the future—and to ensure that the entire field of Jewish camp thrives for generations to come.

 

-Amy Kruglak, Director of Institutional Advancement, Foundation for Jewish Camp

Amy's dad at Camp Massad

Amy and her age group at Camp Massad

 

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