The Magic of Camp Stories

By Rabbi Dan Utley, Director

“In the glimmering sparks of the campfire lie a thousand stories.”

As a child, I recall my camp director starting each Saturday night campfire story with this line. Today, I’d amend that quote to say, “around the picnic tables, gaga pits and hammock swings of Camp Wise begin a thousand stories. ” Walking through our camp’s villages in the summer we witness countless memories and friendships forming and stories taking place.

In the Camp Wise community, stories are often filled with energy, fun and life lessons: a trip to Israel; the first summer in Chalutzim; an unforgettable cabin reunion; being “COs” for a crazy cabin; the time Red team won Maccabia; or a friend who stepped up to help in a crisis. This February, almost 60 Israel Leadership Summer (ILS) 11th and 12th grade participants gathered for a whole weekend at Camp Wise to share old stories and begin new ones. Our weekend retreat was profound; as one camper shared, “I never knew I’d care so much about a Jewish experience in my life.”

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Camp Wise Hires New Assistant Director

We are pleased to announce that Ezra Suldan is the new assistant director of Camp Wise. He will begin his role in May, upon graduation from Yale University in religious studies, and will be responsible for program design, camper recruitment and social media communications. In addition to excellent programmatic creativity, he has a keen awareness of youth development and inclusion.

Ezra grew up in Baltimore, MD, where he gained his first appreciation for Jewish overnight camp as a camper, counselor and village leader of Capital Camps (a partnership with Greater Washington, Richmond and Virginia Beach JCCs). In his free time, Ezra loves to cook, go on road trips and browse the cereal aisles at grocery stores to keep up with new products. Breakfast is his favorite meal at camp!

He joins the year-round team that includes Assistant Director Rebecca Copeland, Community Care Manager Amy Kalk and Office Manager/Registrar Hannah Mendelsohn.

Please join us in welcoming Ezra with a Camp Wise cheer “we welcome you to Wise in Chardon!”