Back at Camp! Summer 2008

Late in high school my career path changed significantly. My rabbi called me into his office and told me I ought to think about the rabbinate. It was a bit shocking, but he told me not to make a decision right away. He said, “You’ll go work at Camp Swig for the summer, living 24-hour Judaism, and then decide.” I never looked back.

I return to camp every summer because I love it. I return every summer because it’s my way of giving back. I return every summer to help inspire others in their search for living Judaism.

When I first began to serve on faculty, Beth Emek was lucky to have one camper each summer. Today, our camper numbers exceed congregations far larger than our own.

I know that it helps our young, first-time campers to know that they’ll see their rabbi up at camp. The twinges of homesickness are softened as familiarity reassures them.

But being at camp doesn’t just help the campers. It also helps me. Camp is a wonderful laboratory for engaging informal education, creative services and programs and new music. I bring home a volume of ideas every summer. In addition, the last several summers have seen a huge delegation of Israeli staff arrive at Camp Newman. We work side-by-side and dialogue extensively as we learn about Israeli experiences and the Israelis learn about liberal Judaism in America.

I often describe camp as magical. Magical moments are certainly not exclusive to camp, but we have more than the average up there. The feeling of being surrounded by people from all different places and, yet, you don’t have to explain to any of them this Jewish stuff… that’s a magical feeling. (It feels like that in Israel too.) Being surrounded by a friendly, supportive community twenty-four-hours-a-day is definitely magical. There are many more magical moments, but I would bet the most oft reported magical experience at camp is Shabbat as we gather together, dressed in white, sing, dance, and share a warmth that much stronger than what we can reach on the other days of the week. You probably have to experience it for yourself, and the good news is that you can.

You don’t have to spend a summer at camp to taste the magic. You don’t even have to be a kid. We’ll return in November for our Family Shabbaton Weekend at Camp Newman. This is how I was introduced to camp as a child on congregational weekends. I still have powerful memories from those weekends so long ago.

There is one significant change from my days as a camper and counselor. Today, camp is wired. So, I try to keep blogging in between camp activities. I’ll try to keep you updated on the latest excitement in the hills above Santa Rosa.

Comments

[Carrie Arndt]

I love camp being wired so we can feel the spirit "live"