Divrei Derech

Another wonderful summer at camp...

We’re back for another summer at URJ Camp Newman and there are plenty of Temple Beth Israel faces here once again. I’ll try to get pictures of everyone up as soon as I can but, in the meantime, I was contemplating another summer at camp...

One of my favorite moments at camp takes place during the all camp welcome when we begin by acknowledging first time campers, then ask who has been to camp for increasing lengths of time, until we get to the most veteran camp attendees.

When I first worked on staff in the ’80’s, one of our staff members, Jack Glaser, was always the last one standing. He had been at camp for 25 summers and I think he was 25 at the time. (He is a rabbi’s kid and he grew up at camp.)

Well, it’s twenty some years since I began coming up to camp and when we do those introductions, I find my son to be one of the last ones standing. He’s fourteen years old and we give him credit for this being his fifteenth summer at camp. He spent his first summer at camp in utero but if you ask, Rabbi Laura, I’m sure she gives him credit for being here as it was her responsibility to carry him all over this hilly terrain.

I’m proud of Max’s legacy but I’m all the more proud of our temple’s efforts to send our kids up here for the powerful experiences they receive as campers. This year we have a couple CIT’s and members of Avodah, the pre-CIT group that pitches in around camp as well as two members of the medical staff and, of course, Rabbi Laura and I are here on faculty.

Life is wonderfully busy up here in the trees above Santa Rosa, so I’m not sure how often I’ll get to write updates and post pictures, but I’ll do what I can.

Here are some views of the first day of camp session…

First Roberta checks to makes sure the campers didn't bring any uninvited guests in their hair...

Bonnie helps check hair and temperatures...

Then Rabbi Laura gives them a stamp and sends them off with a smile... and their counselors...

Confimation 5772... Judaism is alive and well!

At the beginning of this year’s Hebrew High School in Fresno, I sat down with nineteen energetic and enthusiastic teens.

For a relatively small congregation in a community without an especially large religious school, this is an immense class, but even the size of the group doesn’t compare to the infectious energy the teens exude.

We recently culminated the year with our Confirmation service and the group exhibited uncontainable enthusiasm with talent, creativity and spirit.

As I continue to explore factors for maintaining Jewish engagement, I observe the spark in this group and realize the best thing I can do is assure their spirit remains unfettered.

Even before I grew to teen years, I’ve been observing this uneasy balance between the traditional establishment and youthful iconoclasm and, ultimately, I don’t think there’s a choice to be made.  Each generation, each year… every day, we should keep addressing the question.  The continual wrestling assures that we preserve our tradition while, at the same time, keeping it fresh.

This year’s amazing crop of teens care a great deal about the Tradition.  The students, themselves, grappled over the question of just how much of our observance should remain the same and what aspects we could breathe new life into and, to my surprise, many of their choices fell more traditionally than I expected.

Ultimately, though, their youthful energy burst forth and the service celebrating this year’s Confirmation reflected the infectious personality of a group of young adults that assure me that our long history is alive and well.