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Michael J. Edelstein From:
Nancy [no_reply@fwtf.ccsend.com] on behalf of Nancy [nascheff@jtsa.edu]
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Thursday, May 07, 2009 4:13 PM
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mjedel@optonline.net
Subject: FW: National Ramah Newsletter Spring 2008 Dear Mikey,
Subscribe me!
Nancy has forwarded this email to you with the following message: We have to figure out a way to convert this to a pdf. I tried to do it directly through outlook but I lost all the photos. Please Note: You have NOT been added to any email lists. If you no longer wish to receive these messages, please contact nascheff@jtsa.edu.
Kolot Ramah
April 2008 Adar II/Nissan 5768
Voices of the Ramah Camping Movement Message from the National Ramah Commission, Inc. Charles T. Mann, M.D., President Rabbi Mitchell Cohen, Director Amy Skopp Cooper, Assistant Director At Ramah, our mission is to inspire young people to live more committed Jewish lives and to help create leaders of Jewish communities throughout the world. Together with all our partners in Conservative/Masorti educational institutions, we are delighted to touch the lives of thousands of young people each year. This electronic edition of Kolot Ramah highlights some of the remarkable programming and events that have taken place throughout the Ramah movement during this past year. Throughout the year, the National Ramah Commission proudly hosts a wide variety of activities, all of which are geared toward bringing together staff members and other leaders from all the Ramah camps. Our goals include the sharing of best practices, establishing movement-wide policy, and creating inspiring experiences that will translate into new educational initiatives at camp next summer. One of the articles below describes the most recent National Ramah initiatives. We are proud that Ramah camps and Israel programs are thriving and growing. This coming summer, over 8,500 campers and staff members--the largest number ever in the history of the Ramah Camping Movement--will experience Ramah in one of our outstanding settings. As we approach the summer months, we want to wish the entire Ramah mishpacha a joyous and meaningful Pesach. We look forward to seeing you at Ramah this summer.
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In This Issue :: Ramah in the Rockies Launches Pilot Staff Training Program :: Celebrating 60 Years of Ramah and 60 Years of Israel :: Berkshires: Moreshet Program Brings Israeli Youth to Camp :: California: Special Needs Facilities and Program Expansion :: Canada: Tikvah Program Celebrates 15th Anniversary :: Darom: An Exciting Project in Creating Tefillin :: Israel Programs: Celebrating Purim Meshulash in Jerusalem :: New England: Kishroniyah Expands Specialty Options for Ramah Teens :: Poconos: A Slam Dunk for the Ramah Basketball Academy :: Wisconsin: Bridging Our American and Israeli Communities :: Nyack: A Yom Meyuchad to Celebrate Jewish Values :: Chicago Day Camp: A Summer of Creativity :: Philadelphia Day Camp: Traveling in Time to a Biblical Marketplace :: National Ramah Commission Staff Leadership Initiatives
Ramah in the Rockies Launches Pilot Staff Training Program in August 2008
Kishroniyah Expands Specialty Options for Ramah Teens Camp Ramah in New England In 2007, Camp Ramah in New England launched an innovative new programming experience, "Kishroniyah," which was offered to all Tzad Bet campers (entering 8th-11th grades). 'Kishroniyah" comes from the Hebrew word "kishron," or "expert."
Ramah in the Rockies will run a four-day leadership training program at our magnificent 360-acre Rocky Mountain campsite from August 11 to 14, 2008. This program, under the leadership of long-time Ramahnik Marshall Lesack (JTS Rabbinical School Class of 2008), is geared to high school juniors and seniors and university students interested in becoming pioneer staff members for this newest Ramah camp. The program will focus heavily on environmental ecology and outdoor adventure. For more information, please contact Marshall Lesack.
Celebrating 60 Years of Ramah and 60 Years of Israel National Ramah Commission February Trip to Israel This past February, National Ramah Commission members and directors gathered in Israel to celebrate 60 years of accomplishments of the Ramah Camping Movement and to renew our joint commitment to the Zionist mission of Ramah. We reunited with shlichim and North American Ramahniks in Israel, shared a joyful Shabbat,
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For Summer 2008, Ramah New England will once again be inviting specialists in a wide variety of fields to come to camp to run intensive multi-day programs for older campers. Read more
A Slam Dunk for the Ramah Basketball Academy (RBA) Camp Ramah in the Poconos In 2007, Camp Ramah in the Poconos premiered its high-level, intensive Ramah Basketball Academy (RBA). This innovative program was open to all chanichim (campers) going into 9th and 10th grades and was led by Head Coach Tamir Goodman.
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participated in many productive meetings, and hired mishlachat for the upcoming camp season. Read more about the Hagigat Ramah, a celebration of Ramah at 60 and Israel at 60; the annual Ramah movement-wide Shabbaton in Israel; the impact of shlichim on Ramah; and the impact of Ramah on our shlichim and Israeli society.
Dubbed the "Jewish Jordan" by Sports Illustrated, Tamir is an observant Jewish basketball player who has played professionally in Israel. According to Tamir, "Ramah Basketball Academy combines top-notch Judaism and first-class basketball, all within a nurturing, friendly and positive environment." Read more
Bridging Our American and Israeli Communities Moreshet Program Brings Israeli Youth to Camp
Camp Ramah in Wisconsin
Under the auspices of Friends of the Israel Defense Forces, the Moreshet ("legacy") program serves Israeli teenagers with a "new bereavement": those who have lost siblings or parents in the past three years.
Hebrew language, Israel programming, and incorporating Israeli staff have been essential parts of the Camp Ramah in Wisconsin experience for most of the camp's history. In the 1970s, the Ramah Wisconsin community had expectations that most campers would experience a trip to Israel at least once in their lives. Prior to their senior year, many would participate in the Ramah Israel Seminar or USY Israel Pilgrimage and possibly a select few would study there during their junior year of college. The Summer Shlichim Program of the Jewish Agency, which began nationally in the 1960's, brought a small group of Israeli staff to camp each season.
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Special Needs Facilities and Program Expansion
A Yom Meyuchad to Celebrate Jewish Values
Camp Ramah in the Berkshires With posters, leis, song, dance, and spirit, Adat HaBogrim welcomed 43 Israeli teenagers to nine unforgettable days at Camp Ramah in the Berkshires. "B'ruchim ha-ba'im l'Ramah," read a sign made by Bunk B-6, "Ha-khi karov l'Yisrael b'America": "Welcome to Ramah, the closest thing to Israel in America."
Camp Ramah in California
Ramah Day Camp in Nyack
On a hot August 2007 evening, Camp Ramah in California held its first-ever Ezra graduation for young adults with special needs. Past and current participants, family members, and friends rejoiced in the achievements of five amazing young adults and the time they have spent at camp.
Held the last week of camp, Yom Nishaneh et HaOlam was a yom meyuchad ("special day") for the entire Ramah Day Camp in Nyack community. It was a day of Torah, learning, and fun, during which chanichim rotated through a line-up of activities that focused on historical figures who have inspired positive change for the Jewish people.
The event was bittersweet, filled with joyful remembrances of all that these young people have contributed to Ramah California, and sad anticipation of next summer without them. It was a celebration of their time at Ramah and a look ahead to what awaits them in
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To simulate the physical challenges of B'nai Yisrael's journey through the desert, campers raced through an inflatable obstacle course and took turns transporting "cargo" in a giant beach-ball relay race.
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the future.
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A Summer of Creativity Tikvah Program Celebrates 15th Anniversary Camp Ramah in Canada Camp Ramah in Canada has been called home by thousands of campers in its 47-year history; however, only in the past 15 years has Ramah Canada extended its arms to those campers with special needs through its Tikvah program. This past Visitors Day, individuals who have been connected with the Canada Tikvah program over the years gathered for a ceremony. In this special celebration, sentiments were shared among campers and past and present staff members who have felt some of their strongest connections to Ramah through their relationships with the campers of Tikvah. Read more
An Exciting Project in Creating Tefillin Camp Ramah Darom "You shall wear it as a sign upon your arm and as frontlets between your eyes" Seated around the table, twelve campers were eager to get to work. Before each of them was a bit of sandpaper and an off-white piece of something that resembled paper, cut into a very odd shape. After a very short study session, the teacher proclaimed, "Everything we are doing now is l'shem kedushat tefillin-in the name of the sanctity of tefillin." And with that, the firstever tefillin project at Ramah Darom was launched. Read more
Celebrating Purim Meshulash in Jerusalem
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Ramah Day Camp in Chicago Each summer develops a personality of its own. Here at Ramah Day Camp in Wheeling, Illinois, a combination of beautiful weather, terrific campers, a truly unique group of counselors, and an outstanding, dedicated senior staff made this past season a most memorable one. Everything fell into place very naturally and almost effortlessly. Read more
Traveling in Time to a Biblical Marketplace Ramah Day Camp in Philadelphia Campers at Machaneh Ramah Yomi (Ramah Day Camp in Philadelphia) traveled in time and space to a market in Israel during the period of the Second Temple. For two days, campers and staff dressed up in clothing authentic to the time and visited different stalls in the marketplace. In addition to participating in various activities at the stations, campers were given ancient money to purchase food items of their choice. Read more
NRC Staff Leadership Initiatives Young Leaders Travel to Argentina, Ukraine, and Ojai The Ramah Camping Movement works year-round to educate, nurture and cultivate young Ramah
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Ramah Programs in Israel Participants in Tichon Ramah Yerushalayim (TRY) and USY High spend the spring semester at the Ramah Jerusalem High School, studying Zionism and contemporary Israel, taking tiyulim (field trips) throughout Israel, interacting with Israeli teens and families, and learning Hebrew. This year, because Shushan Purim occurred on Shabbat, our TRY and USY students experienced a special Purim Meshulash ("Triple Purim"), where the mitzvot were divided up over three days in Jerusalem. Specifically, this meant that Megillat Esther was read Thursday night and Friday morning, Al Hanisim was recited on Shabbat, and mishloach manot (sending gifts of food) and the Seudat Purim took place on Sunday.
leaders. This past winter, the National Ramah Commission sponsored three unique opportunities for North American staff members who have already demonstrated tremendous leadership and have committed to returning to Ramah this summer. These leadership initiatives included two delegations of NRC Steinberg Fellows, senior members of our Ramah educational staffs, who traveled to Argentina and Ukraine; and The Bert B. Weinstein Institute for Counselor Training, held in Ojai, CA (photo above). Read more about each of these inspirational projects, along with quotes from participants.
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Visit www.campramah.org to learn more about the Ramah Camping Movement!
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5/10/2009