Creating Lifelong Jewish Memories at Summer Camp

Creating Lifelong Jewish Memories at Summer Camp

Kevin Giser | Chief Operating and Development Officer

Jewish sleepaway camps have been around for generations, and often play a critical role in one’s self-discovery of their Yiddishkeit, their sense of Jewish being in our connected world. This is especially true for our community’s very own Rabbi Howard Laibson, who once viewed camp as getting in the way of baseball. His older brother Michael attended Camp Saratoga (now URJ Camp Newman) and taught Rabbi Laibson that at summer camp, one could play baseball every day while meeting other Jewish kids, especially Jewish girls.

The summer of 1963 opened up a new world of opportunities, where informal Jewish education fueled by rabbinical students on staff and living a Jewish camp life would lead to an interest in becoming a rabbi. Creating genuine opportunities for spiritual connections would last well beyond that summer. These memories turned into lifelong friendships, and to this day they hold monthly reunions on Zoom, continuing the laughter from summers of the past. When he retired, Congregation Shir Chadash honored Rabbi Laibson with the funds to begin a named scholarship fund through Jewish Long Beach, whose interest is used to support local Jewish youth who desire the camp experience.

To learn more about supporting the Rabbi Howard Laibson Campership Fund and about creating your own legacy, please contact Kevin Giser, Chief Operating & Development Officer, kgiser@jewishlongbeach.org.