Weinstein 2025 Program Booklet

2025 • ‫מכון ויינשטין | תשפ”ה‬ Bert B. Weinstein Leadership Institute program guide

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I am who I am the rest of the year, in the rest of my life, because I learned how to “be” here at Camp Ramah. Why I’m still here? Because I’m an incomplete project and always will be. And as long as I’m learning how to be me, I feel the pull back to camp to keep trying, keep making mistakes, keep growing.

Jon Adam Ross (JAR)

JAR is the founding artist and the managing director of The In[HEIR]itance Project and a lifelong camper at Camp Ramah in Wisconsin.

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day 1 ‫ברוכים הבאים‬

Thursday January 2 2025

‫ב טבת תשפ”ה‬

3:00

‫ | ומשביע לכל חי רצון‬Snack | Chadar Katan

3:30

‫ | שלום עליכם‬Greetings to You (Icebreakers) | Givah ‫ | ברוכים הבאים ומנחה | עיני כל אליך‬BKR

4:00

‫ | ללמוד וללמד‬Track Workshops: Introductions to Your Role at Camp Weinstein Chadar Gadol Returning Rashei Edot Building A

4:45

6:00

Vatikim, RCN & RSC BKR Vocational Training Ezra Moadon

‫ארוחת ערב‬

Tikvah Staff Chadar Katan

| Chadar Sheini

‫ | בתף ומחול‬with Drum and Dance (Peulat Erev) | Chadar Gadol

6:45 7:45

‫ | מעריב‬Chadar Gadol ‫ | בכל פינות ומחנות‬In Every Corner and Camp: Meetings by Camp

8:00

Berkshires | Chadar Katan California | Rabbi Joe’s House Canada | Staff Lounge Darom | Mercaz

Galim | BKR Bos./ D.C./ New Eng. | Chadar Gadol Nyack | Building A Poconos | Sifriya Chadasha

‫ | שומרי שבת וקוראי ענג‬Mishmar and Dessert | Chadar Katan

8:45

‫יום עיון‬

day 2 8:30

‫שחרית‬

9:15

‫ארוחת בוקר‬ ‫אשרי ישבי ביתך‬

10:00

Friday January 3 2025

‫ג טבת תשפ”ה‬

| Chadar Gadol | Chadar Sheini

| Track Workshops: Structuring Our Days With Joyous Tefillah

Weinstein Chadar Gadol Returning Rashei Edot Building A

Vatikim, RCN & RSC BKR Vocational Training Ezra Moadon

11:10

‫ | פתח לבי‬Camper and Staff Care

12:10

‫ | חטיף‬Chadar Katan

12:30

Rockies | Building B Wisconsin | Whizin

Tikvah Staff Chadar Katan 10:00am-1:30pm

‫ | ובהם נהגה יומם ולילה‬Jewish Education, Day and Night Amy Skopp Cooper, Dr. Daniel Olson, Dr. Adina Beiner | Chadar Gadol

1:30

‫ | ארוחת צהריים‬Givah

2:00

T-Shirts, Photos, and Rikkud | Givah

Vocational Training Track Time

‫ | שמע ישראל‬Track Workshops: Listening and Feedback Offerings 2:30

Weinstein Chadar Gadol Returning Rashei Edot Building A

Vatikim, RCN & RSC BKR Vocational Training Ezra Moadon

Tikvah Staff Chadar Katan

3:30

‫ הכנה לשבת‬/ ‫זמן חופשי‬

4:30

‫ | קבלת שבת ומעריב‬4:42pm Candle Lighting | Givah

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‫ | דתפתח לבאי באוריתא‬Shabbat Limmud

6:00 7:00

| Chadar Sheini and Chadar Gadol

‫סעודת שבת וזמירות‬

‫ | בכל פינות ומחנות‬In Every Corner and Camp: Meetings by Camp 8:30

Berkshires | Chadar Katan California | Rabbi Joe’s House Canada | Staff Lounge Darom | Mercaz

day 3 8:30

Galim | BKR Bos./ D.C./ New Eng. | Chadar Gadol Nyack | Building A Poconos | Sifriya Chadasha

‫שבת‬

Rockies | Building B Wisconsin | Whizin

Saturday January 4 2025

‫ד טבת תשפ”ה‬

‫ | ארוחת בוקר‬Chadar Sheini ‫שחרית‬

9:15

Traditional | Chadar Gadol Early Elementary Tefillot | Sifriya Chadasha Tikvah Tefillot | Mercaz Musical Theater “I Want” Songs as Prayer | BKR

10:15

‫ | קריאת התורה ומוסף‬Chadar Gadol

11:45

Kiddush | Mirpeset Katan

12:00

‫זמן חופשי‬

1:00

‫ | ארוחת צהריים‬Chadar Sheini

2:00

‫ | מארבע כנפות הארץ‬From all Four Corners: Multiple Entries to Shabbat Learning

‫ס‬

3:00

‫זמן חופשי‬

4:15

‫ | מנחה‬Chadar Gadol

5:00

‫ | סעודה שלישית וזמירות‬Chadar Gadol

5:45

‫ | מעריב | הבדלה | ריקוד‬Chadar Gadol

7:00

‫ | ארוחת ערב‬Chadar Sheini

7:45 8:45

day 4 8:30

‫ | מה טבו‬Highlights of the Ramah Camping Movement | Chadar Gadol ‫ | מדורה | צב להבות אש‬Ma’agal Ilan

‫קדימה‬

‫ה טבת תשפ”ה‬

‫ | שחרית‬Chadar Gadol

9:15 10:00

Sunday January 5 2025

‫ארוחת בוקר‬

| Chadar Sheini

‫ | מחדשת בכל־יום תמיד‬The Everyday Business of Running Camp ‫ | מודה אני‬Track Workshops: Gratitude to Others and to Ourselves

10:45

11:45

Weinstein Chadar Gadol Returning Rashei Edot Building A ‫ו‬

Vatikim, RCN & RSC BKR Vocational Training Ezra Moadon

Tikvah Staff Chadar Katan

‫ להתראות‬to Weinstein participants /

Lunch for those staying an extra day Bert B. Weinstein Leadership Institute | 5

‫יום עיון‬

day 2

Friday January 3 2025

‫ג טבת תשפ”ה‬

Camper and staff care 11:10AM - 12:10PM

Self-Advocacy at Camp

Building Inclusive Communities at Camp and Beyond

BKR

Chadar Gadol

Noah Averick Ramah Poconos

Maya Albin National Ramah

Making Your average Camper Feel10 Feet Tall Chadar Katan

self reflection: knowing yourself and your team Staff Lounge

Pamela Kekst Ramah New England

Michelle Sugarman Ramah New England

Shabbat limmud

6:00PM - 7:00PM

Of Politics & Torah: Community Organizing at Camp Sifriya Chadasha

Chadar Katan

Rabbi Joe Menashe Ramah California

Rabbi Ami Hersh Ramah Nyack

Getting Ready for Shabbat, Getting Ready for Moshiach Chadar Gadol

“If we change the way we think, we will change the way we feel...,” Reframing How to Take in the Realities of Today BKR

Rabbi Annie Lewis JTS

Ariella Moss Peterseil Ramah California

‫שבת‬

day 3

Title title

Saturday January 4 2025

‫ד טבת תשפ”ה‬

FRom all Four Corners: Multiple Entries to Shabbat Learning 2:00PM - 3:00PM

sports and physical activity

crafts and snacks

Ayala Wasser Ramah Darom

Michal Kogen Kress Ramah California

poetry, music, and chanting

sociology and psychology

Rabbi Annie Lewis JTS

Pamela Kekst Ramah New England

Sports Courts

BKR

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Gan

Chadar Katan

‫קדימה‬

day 4

Sunday January 5 2025

‫ה טבת תשפ”ה‬

The Everyday Business of Running Camp 11:15AM - 12:00PM

Rosh Edah Panel

The Business of Camp

Amy Skopp Cooper National Ramah

Rabbi Joe Menashe Ramah California Rabbi Ami Hersh Ramah Nyack

BKR

Chadar Gadol

The Bigger T’munah: Your Role in the Larger Camping Field

The Best Work Experience You’ll Ever Get: How Camp Will Prepare You for the “Real World”

Mercaz

Sifriya Chadasha

Adena Gross Ramah Day Camp LA

Adina Scheinberg National Ramah

program tracks Bert B. Weinstein Institute for Counselor Training

Vatikim Leadership Institute

The Bert B. Weinstein Institute is the National Ramah Commission’s signature counselor training and leadership program for incoming senior counselors. Participants work with Ramah directors and senior staff to hone critical skills, enhance programming, and share best practices from across the Ramah movement.

The Vatikim Leadership Institute is a program designed for experienced senior counselors. Geared toward upper-level students (returning for their third summer as a counselor), this track focuses on more advanced topics of culture-building, staff dynamics, mentorship, and other leadership development skills.

Rashei Edot

Ramah College Network

Rashei Edot are division leaders who will be returning to camp as supervisors this coming summer. At the conference, they will be learning from Ramah senior staff, leading and facilitating sessions for other cohorts, and overseeing components of the Weinstein Institute, providing them with hands-on opportunities to practice organization and executive functioning in a camp environment.

Ramah College Network (RCN) Coordinators implement Ramah-style programs on their university campuses. Events range from Shabbat and holiday celebrations to social and learning opportunities.

At the conference, RCN Coodinators will develop leadership skills and applications for community engagement on campus.

Ramah Service Corps

Tikvah

Ramah Service Corps (RSC) Fellows work with their home camps to create experiential programs, as well as assist with local recruitment efforts. At the conference, the RSC cohort will reflect on their past semester of work, brainstorm effective programming, and develop new educational resources to bring back to their home communities.

Tikvah is Ramah’s movement-wide network of programs for children, teens, and young adults with disabilities. Our Tikvah staff participants at the conference will be focusing on strategies and educational methods relating to building daily routines, nurturing independent living skills, collaboration with families, and strengthening inclusion efforts.

vocational training The Vocational Training Track provides leadership training and skill development to Ramah staff and vocational training participants with disabilities.

Tikvah-supported staff members from various Ramah camps will come together to network and develop skills for Kayitz 2024 and beyond.

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Schedule for Bonus Day

day 4

‫קדימה‬

11:45

‫ו‬

Sunday January 5 2025

‫ה טבת תשפ”ה‬

‫ להתראות‬to Weinstein participants /

Lunch for those staying an extra day

1:00

Program with Ojai Fire Department and Rabbi Joe

3:00

Free time in Ojai and Sunset View

6:00

‫ארוחת ערב‬

8:00

Climate Sensitivity and Not Being Afraid of Courageous Conversations | Omanut Room

day 5

‫תוספת‬

Monday January 6 2025

‫ו טבת תשפ”ה‬

8:00

‫ארוחת בוקר‬

8:30

Leave camp for Santa Barbara

9:30

Tefillot Afloat

12:00

‫ארוחת צהריים‬

1:30

Hike

4:00

Depart for airport

The National Ramah Commission is grateful to The Immerman Foundation, a supporting foundation of the Jewish Federation of Cleveland; Nefesh B’Nefesh; Leo Oppenheimer & Flora Oppenheimer Haas Foundation; and KKL for their generous support.

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Reshet ramah Microgrants Do you want to run a Ramah-style program on your college campus? National Ramah is excited to announce the Ramah College Microgrant, launching January 2025!

This new initiative builds on the success of the Ramah College Network and is designed to empower students to create meaningful Jewish experiences for peers — especially on campuses without a Ramah College Network Coordinator.

To apply, submit your idea for a Ramah-style college program. Whether it is a Shabbat dinner, limmud session, or another creative Jewish event, proposals can receive funding to bring your vision to life.

Mercaz Elections You have the power to shape the future of the Jewish people and the values of the global Zionist movement! Voting for MERCAZ in the upcoming World Zionist Congress (WZC) elections is your chance to make a difference!

The WZC is like the “Jewish Parliament” for worldwide Zionism. It influences how funding is allocated to Jewish programs around the world, including Ramah camps, scholarships, leadership initiatives, and bringing Israeli shlichim to our camps.

MERCAZ, the Zionist arm of the Conservative/Masorti movement, champions religious pluralism, inclusivity, and Jewish education. By voting for MERCAZ, you’re directly supporting initiatives that strengthen Ramah, fund scholarships, and ensure the voices of diverse Jewish communities are heard.

Scan the QR to learn more and sign up for a reminder to vote: mercazusa.org/votemercaz2025

Scan the QR code to sign up for a reminder when it’s time to vote.

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Ramah California, 1950s 10 | Bert B. Weinste in Leadership Institute

‫האי גברא עלמא בחרובא אשכחתיה כי היכי דשתלי לי אבהתי שתלי נמי‬ ‫לבראי‬ When I was born, I inherited a world full of carob trees. Just as my ancestors planted for me, I too am planting for my children and grandchildren.

‫ תענית כ’’ג א‬,‫תלמוד בבלי‬

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Ramah senior staff and faculty

Tobi Afran

Maya Albin

rachel arditi

Tobi is the assistant director at Ramah Poconos. She was a longtime camper and tzevet member at Poconos before joining the year-round team.

Tobi is also currently a student at JTS’s Davidson School of Education, getting a master’s in Jewish educational leadership.

Maya is the program coordinator of the National Ramah Tikvah Network. Maya spent many summers at Ramah Canada as a camper and tzevet member. She also worked at Ramah Darom to help establish their vocational training program. Maya completed her BAH in psychology at Queen’s University, and her MSc in speechlanguage pathology at McMaster University. Maya lives in Toronto, Ontario, and works as a speechlanguage pathologist (SLP).

Rachel has been a TikvahNet staff member since the program was originally launched in 2020

Noah Averick

Jess baden

Dr. Adina Beiner

Noah is the staff recruitment & experience coordinator at Ramah Poconos. He started as a camper in 2007 and has worked at the overnight camp for several summers. He graduated from the University of Pittsburgh in 2020, where he majored in nonprofit management and philosophy.

After college he worked in development for a Philadelphia nonprofit. Noah focuses on improving staff recruitment, as well as expanding our staff programming and appreciation strategies.

Jess is the administrative and marketing coordinator at National Ramah. Jess Baden has spent her summers at Ramah Nyack since 2019. She graduated from The University of Connecticut in December 2023, with a BA in human development and family sciences.

Adina grew up in the mountains of Ramah Darom and she now summers in the Northwoods as the assistant director of Ramah Wisconsin, where she learned how to wear a coat in the summer. Adina’s favorite parts about camp include Rosh Chodesh, Silly Sock Sunday, and of course, helping create magical and meaningful experiences for both campers and staff.

She recently completed her dissertation in education from Northeastern University with a focus on counselor retention at Jewish summer camps.

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Nitzan Bochner loewenberg

adena goss

dina greenberg

Nitzan is the program associate at Ramah Galim. He joined the Ramah Galim community in 2016, enjoying three years as a chanich, and then returning on tzevet, where he worked as both a madrich and a rosh edah, before joining the year-round team in 2024.

Adena Goss, a Los Angeles native, spent summers at Camp Ramah in California in various leadership roles. She earned a BA in History, Art History, and Psychology from the University of Kansas, studying abroad in Rome in 2019. Adena has worked in education and Jewish camp leadership across St. Louis, New York, and Los Angeles, where she now lives with her husband Sam and their dog, Copper, as the founding Program Director at Ramah Day Camp LA.

Dina is the Assistant Director of Ramah Day Camp in Chicagoland and a former camper and Tikvah staff member at Camp Ramah in Wisconsin.

She holds a BA in Special and Elementary Education from Indiana University and an MA in Special Education Leadership from Concordia University.

Dina previously taught special education in Chicago and held leadership roles at various day camps.

marci greenberg

MICHAEL HARLOW

Rabbi Ami Hersh

Marci is a veteran staff member of Ramah Galim, where she most recently served as rosh chinuch.

Marine biologist and Jewish environmental educator, Marci finds joy in nature, spotting birds, and outdoor adventures. Her guiding principle is that everyone deserves the Torah of wilderness and the chance to contribute to Tikkun Olam. Passionate about birds, bugs, botany, metalsmithing, baking challah, and her daughter’s playlists, she loves the green flash at sunset.

Michael is a veteran staff member of Ramah in the Rockies, where he has served as rosh shira.

Ami is the director of Ramah Nyack and has worked at Nyack since 2000. Ami, an alum of the Wexner Graduate Fellowship, was ordained at JTS in May 2012 and also received an MA in Jewish education from the Davidson School of Jewish Education in 2013. A graduate of the University of Hartford, he holds degrees in elementary education and Judaic studies.

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Ramah senior staff and faculty

Shaya Kalmanofsky

pamela kekst

Maya Klareich

Shaya is the programming and engagement coordinator at Ramah Berkshires (CRB).

Originally from NYC, Shaya started attending CRB as a Cochavim camper in 2008.

He began as a tzevet member at Ramah Nyack then was a madrich and rosh edah at CRB. Before joining the year-round team at CRB, Shaya spent two years living in New Orleans and working at Tulane Hillel. He is so excited to be back at CRB and can’t wait for Kayitz 2024.

Pamela Kekst (she/her) is the assistant director of Camp Ramah in New England. She has spent many summers at many Ramah camps, deepening her love of community and joyful Judaism. After studying abroad at Hebrew University with the Nachshon Project while a junior at the University of Maryland, she earned her BA in Psychology in 2018. She holds as MA in Jewish Professional from the Jewish Theological Seminary and an MSW from Columbia School of Social Work.

Maya (she/her) is a program director at the National Ramah Commission and has spent her summers at Ramah California since 2008. She graduated from Brandeis University in May 2022, with a BA in Near Eastern and Judaic Studies, and minors in anthropology and Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies. Maya’s silliest camp story involves a fake wedding, One Direction, a Bruno Mars music video, and a yellow paper bracelet. (Find her and ask to hear more.)

Michal Kogen Kress

rabbi annie lewis

Rabbi Joe Menashe

Michal is the assistant director of Ramah California. She began her Ramah journey at a young age in the gan. She spent her summers in Ojai as a chanicha, madricha, and member of the special programming team. Michal came back to her second home in 2016 working for the development team at Ramah California, and most recently worked at BJE running the Los Angeles teen delegation of March of the Living.

She is very excited to be back on the year-round team with her two kids growing up in the gan just like her.

Rabbi Annie Lewis (she/her) is a poet, singer, and teacher of heart-centered Torah, creating original Jewish music and rituals.

She has led congregations across the U.S., marched for justice, and trained rabbinical students. Now serving as Director of Recruitment and Admissions and Assistant Dean at JTS, she also leads musical services with Romemu Brooklyn.

A Camp Ramah Poconos alum, she lives in Crown Heights with her partner, Rabbi Yosef Goldman, and their children.

Joe is the executive director of Ramah California. He hails from Portland, Oregon, and has been a part of the Ramah family since 1995. Rabbi Joe received a BA from the University of Pennsylvania in 1993. He obtained a master of Hebrew letters from the University of Judaism in Los Angeles in 1996 and received his rabbinic ordination and an MA from JTS in 2000.

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Alli Moses

Ariella Moss Peterseil

Dr. Daniel Olson

Alli is the assistant director at Ramah Galim. She received a BA in psychology and Jewish studies from Muhlenberg College and an MA in Jewish Educational Leadership from the Davidson School at JTS in New York, where she currently lives. During her study abroad experience in Israel, Alli heard about Ramah Galim and has been spending her summers immersed in this incredible community ever since, first as a madricha and then as a rosh edah.

Ariella is the camp director of Ramah California. Ariella came to Camp Ramah as a shlicha and served on staff at Ramah Canada for over a decade. Before she joined the Ojai community, Ariella was the assistant director at Ramah Canada. She studied Jewish philosophy at Hebrew University and theatre production at the School of Visual Theatre in Jerusalem.

Daniel is assistant national director at National Ramah. His work at NRC encompasses staff development, day camps, mental health, and inclusion. In 2023, he served as the summer assistant director at Camp Ramah in the Berkshires. He completed his PhD in Education and Jewish Studies at NYU in 2020. He attended Ramah Wisconsin as a camper and worked for many summers in Tikvah.

Adina Scheinberg

Amy Skopp Cooper

Michelle Sugarman

Adina is the senior program director at the National Ramah Commission, where she runs leadership training programs and alumni events for Ramahniks.

Recently a rosh edah at Ramah Galim, she has spent time as a chanicha, madricha, and rosh edah at Ramah Berkshires and also had a brief stint at Ramah Nyack in 2008. Adina loves theme-based hadracha, and she once ran an egg-themed shavuah hachanah! She can’t wait for a spirited Weinstein to get tzevet members hyped for Kayitz 2024.

Amy is the CEO of the National Ramah Commission. Previously, Amy served as associate director from 2004-2021 and as director of the Ramah Nyack from 19972017. A graduate of Hebrew University, Amy holds degrees in Jewish history and Jewish education. She received her MA from Brandeis University in Jewish education and communal service and is a recipient of the 2011 Covenant Award for outstanding Jewish educators.

Michelle is the co-director of Ramah New England. Originally from Scranton, PA, she was a longtime camper and staff member at Ramah Poconos, spending 26 summers there, including 12 as the assistant and then associate director. She earned her BA in Jewish studies and MSW from Temple University, and has also worked as director of the N.A. Office of Academic Affairs of Hebrew University.

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Ramah senior staff and faculty

ayala wasser

sam weiner

Ayala is the assistant director at Ramah Darom, where she started as a camper in the gan. She is a graduate of JTS’s List College and William Davidson School of Jewish Education. She previously served as assistant director at Ramah Sports Academy.

Sam Weiner is excited to return to Weinstein for a second year.

A lifelong Ramahnik, he spent many years at Ramah Wisconsin, including as Codirector of the Atzmayim Vocational Program. Sam earned his B.S. in Communication Sciences and Disorders from the University of Wisconsin Madison and now lives in Chicago, working at Wolcott College Prep. In his free time, he enjoys running and is a fan of SpongeBob SquarePants.

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Ramah Wisconsin, 1950s Bert B. Weinstein Leadership Institute | 17

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Bert B. Weinstein Leadership Institute | 19

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