Issuu

A fun way for kids to learn Jewish values and create Jewish memories

Cantor Ellen Sussman Temple Shirat Shalom I have a lot of experience with the JCC camp. Both my children became counselors in training and then counselors. I remember putting my smiling kids on the bus with their friends. All I wanted was for them to come home safely after a day of running around in the sunshine and cooling off in the pool. I actually did, however, have another agenda: there is nothing like camp to build

friendships. Many of my children’s best friends came from the JCC camp, and it helped them develop a connection to our community, the Jewish community of the Lehigh Valley. Summers at the JCC camp foster a love of Judaism in a very subtle way: sharing Shabbat with your camp friends, singing Jewish and Israeli songs together, and Israeli dancing. What we want to do is create Jewish memories in a fun way, with dear friends. It is also important to teach our children Jewish values embodied in kindness, honesty and respect. It is easy to model derech eretz (an ethical and responsible way to live) at camp. Children must be taught to include everyone, give someone else a turn, speak kindly and listen to directions. This is what we

learn in an informal setting, not encumbered by the rules of school. I take the morning exercise classes at the JCC, and this summer I had the joy of watching the little campers with their huge backpacks scurry happily behind their counselors for a fun day at camp. They were all smiles, hugging their friends and hanging onto the counselors. It certainly made my day a little sunnier just watching them at play. The need for community extends to joining our religious institutions in the valley. The rabbis describe Judaism as comprising God, Torah and the Jewish people. The sense of peoplehood is central to what it means to be a Jew. I had an interesting meeting with the parents of a perspective bar mitzvah boy.

They met with me to discuss how to proceed in training their son for bar mitzvah in two years. They wanted me to teach him and lead a service for him. Having prepared hundreds of children, studied all aspects of bar mitzvah training in cantorial school and led countless bar mitzvah services, I certainly could ensure their son excellent training. But that is not what bar mitzvah is about. I was concerned that the young man would not have the full experience because he was not enrolled in religious school where he could share his experience with other students and publicly acknowledge that he was accepting the responsibilities of an adult in the Jewish community in front of that community. I told the parents to join a

synagogue and enroll him in religious school as my shul, Temple Shirat Shalom, does not have one. I think they understood what I was saying and will follow my advice. In this crazy world we live in, many of us feel alienated, and our children feel that as well. Of course, the pandemic only added to the feelings of loneliness. Now more than ever our children need to belong and be connected to something larger than themselves. JCC camp and our synagogues can be an antidote to loneliness and depression. I would add joining our Federation and volunteering for Jewish Family Service. Getting out to meet people, as well as helping others, will make our reentrance into the world after the isolation of the pandemic a joyful positive thing.

S H L I C H A ’ S V I E W W I T H E Y N AV D A H A N

Israeli summer camp 101

I don’t really know much about American summer camps, as I’ve never been to one. I do remember as a kid watching movies and TV shows set in American camps and always wanting to take part in one. Each one had a theme (like Disney’s “Camp Rock”!), and I thought it would be so fun to be in a camp like that. So I am very excited to take part in the JCC day camp this summer, even if it’s not as one of the kids. Israeli summer camps are very different from the camps here. They are day camps that take place in matnasim (community centers) with groups for grades 1 to 6.

In order to tell you about our camps, I need to give you a little vocabulary first: Keytana: Day camp. Madatz: A young counselor who spends one day a week learning how to be a counselor. They are ages 14 to 18 and pretty much run the keytana. Each madatz is assigned to an age group in the keytana, two madatzim for each group. Kvutza: Age group in the keytana. The sentence you hear most in the keytana is, “Eyfo ha kvutza shelcha?” (Where is your group?) Because the kids love to be all over the place. Himnon: Anthem. OK. Now that you’re all caught up, I can start telling you more. The first day of keytana is always like this: The kids in each kvutza

meets their madatz and start thinking of a name for the kvutza. It’s usually something like Hasholtim (the Controllers) or Hashvim (the Best). And then the kids start working on the group’s himnon, an anthem for the group that follows a familiar melody but with lyrics such as, “We are the best. / All the other groups are gross….” You know, normal. Then the kids create a big poster with the name of the kvutza. At the end of the day, there’s an assembly where all the groups sing their hearts out trying to show the other groups they are the best. During the summer the keytana will have fun days indoors, go to the pool and go to every fun place Israel has to offer: Luna Park, Luna Gal, Gai Beach and more. By the end of the summer, the kids feel like the madatzim are their big siblings. And how could I forget the best part? Shoko be’lachmania! Cold chocolate milk and a bun in a bag. You take one bite of the bun and pour the chocolate milk inside and eat it. It sounds weird, but even as an adult, I highly recommend this as a treat!