Camp Kadimah News

CAMP KADIMAH 2022

CHECK OUT CAMP KADIMAH ON FACEBOOK AND INSTAGRAM FOR GAMES AND MORE!

CampKadimah campkadimah

A SHEHECHEYANU SUMMER

BY SARAH ATKINS, DIRECTOR

RENEWAL

It is customary in Judaism to recite the Shehecheyanu when you are marking an important moment or doing something for the first time. After being unable to open for the past two summers, the start of CK 2022 was most definitely a Shehecheyanu moment. It was a truly magical moment, one that marked a new beginning to an old tradition. וּנָמְּיִקְו וּנָיֱחֶהֶׁש ,םָלוֹעָה ךְֶלֶמ ,וּניֵהלֱֹא ָיְי ,הָּתאַ ךְוּרָּב הֶּזַה ןַמְּזַל וּנָעיִּגִהְו

Baruch atah, Adonai Eloheinu, Melech haolam, shehecheyanu, v’kiy’manu, v’higiyanu laz’man hazeh. Blessed are You, Adonai our God, Sovereign of all, who has kept us alive, sustained us, and brought us to this season.

It was the senior staff who arrived first, followed shortly by the rest of the staff team. On July 2nd our Israeli campers joined us and on July 3rd we were whole again as bus after bus drove through the gates. The long absence was erased in a matter of minutes and the longing to return finally became a reality. CK 2022 was destined to be one of the sweetest summers in our almost 80-year history.

THE TIMELESSNESS OF CK

Everything that was old was new and everything that was new came from before. None of our Macharniks had spent a summer in Machar and so the ritual of Rad Ha’Yom was new, but at the same time rooted in timeless tradition. Campers arrived to explore our new Giborim playground which now provides a new face to the center of camp.

We had so many new campers attend this summer, new campers who instantly became part of an almost 80-year-old community. To a casual observer, one would not be able to tell who were new campers and who were returning campers.

COMMUNITY

It is clear that the strength of our community not only survived the past two summers of closures, but it returned as strong and connected as when we last departed. We learned that the strength of our community is based on our relationships and that special Kadimah essence that is so hard to describe. While our relationships are nurtured when we are together on Lake William, they can endure months and years of being apart and remain completely intact.

Community serves as the foundation upon which Camp Kadimah is based and like so many times in Jewish history, we long to be reunited in a place that we call home. “Next summer at Camp Kadimah!” became a refrain of our communal desires and has kept out community largely intact over the past 34 months.

GRATITUDE

Above and beyond anything else, this summer can be characterized by gratitude to our campers, staff, families, and community. While we always appreciated the role that CK plays in our lives, our return this summer was filled with so many emotions of appreciation and thanks.

It has been the small but special moments that make all the magic of this place. The creativity of the program team, making sure all of the fine details make the difference in programs, seeing the staff dress up and get into character with so much enthusiasm and excitement, really brings the ruach we are all used to. We were all so delighted to be

>> page 17

FOUR GENERATIONS AT CAMP KADIMAH

Karen (Abramsky) Conter 1977/78 Shirley (Borden) Abramsky 1945/46 Adam Conter 1991–2002 Reuben Conter 2022