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Fall 2016 z”ga, u,x
From Jacob Cytryn, Director Somewhat regularly, I get asked the classic Camp Director question: “Nu, so what do you do the rest of the year?” Our work, of course, never ends; evaluating and reflecting on the previous summer flows seamlessly into preparing for the next one. Our relationships with campers, parents and staff members bridge multiple years and we welcome new members of the Ramah family every summer. It is our year-round work and your partnership that make what we do at camp possible, and that allow us to deepen, expand, and hone our reach from year to year. Below, I share reflections from early in the 2016 season that demonstrate what our little slice of Conover is about today. My hope is that Ramahniks of all ages can see themselves in this mirror. Over the last few days I’ve had the pleasure of walking around camp as things are fully up and running. The campus is abuzz with excitement, enhanced by the gorgeous weather of the last few days. Walking around the outside path of camp I encounter moment after moment of kids having fun and playing. Young campers play stretching games on the lower Kikar (central field), counting in Hebrew, before they head into the water; older campers are practicing with water polo balls as part of a swimming elective. Kayaks, pedal-boats, and sailboats colorfully dot picturesque Lake Buckatabon.
Kayaks dot picturesque Lake Buckatabon
Hebrew and Jewish Studies classes in the Sifriyah (library) classrooms are underway. I see one group of campers watching a recent Israeli television series and discussing it with their teacher. Our Tikvah (special needs) campers file out of their cabin, ready to
embark on an overnight they will gleefully describe a day later as “awesome.” A boy and a girl vigorously volley back and forth over a tennis net as our Israeli tennis specialist, Noa, works on topspin forehands with a different group of campers on another court. Preparing for an upcoming game under the lights of our softball field on Saturday night, the Bogrim (9th grade) boys take fielding practice in the outfield, generally looking like they have been practicing together for a long time and eagerly cheering each other on after the rare mistake. A passionate group of Nivonim (11th grade) campers are developing their English play, an original piece of experimental theatre built around a chosen Jewish theme developed under the guidance of one of our senior drama staff members. Our Atzmayim (Tikvah Vocational Program) participants will soon return to camp from their job sites in Eagle River. Our Kochavim (4th grade) campers have been painting beautiful challah boards they’ll take home with them; Machon (10th grade) campers in both the Nagarut (woodworking) and Omanut (art) intensives are developing ambitious ideas for new additions to the public artwork at camp. I keep thinking about last week’s Torah reading, Parashat Naso, when we read the haiku-like priestly blessing. It is a blessing God instructs the priests to share with the Children of Israel and that is said by some families every Friday night before dinner, as well as regularly at lifecycle events. The blessing is for the recipient to encounter God in three ways: physical guarding, feeling God’s grace and love, and having peace. It is a blessing that implies an ideal state of feeling safe and comfortable enough to let go and be ourselves. It is a blessing parents intuitively understand for their children and it is a blessing many cabin counselors share with their campers every Friday night before services. The blessing also frames our mission and expresses our dream that our campers will A pre-Shabbat blessing experience a summer in which they grow as individuals and as Jews.
Stay in touch with Camp Ramah via our blog and youtube channel at www.ramahwisconsin.com. To receive our weekly e-newsletter, HaMirpeset Shelanu, send an email to arosen@ramahwisconsin.com.