Reflections on the Summer Shlichim Seminar at Kibbutz Shefayim

I’ve led Kabbalat Shabbat many times before, but this time is profoundly different. As I sing out the opening words to Yedid Nefesh, I hear only the voices of a handful of Ramah directors amid a sea of 250 people. I look around and see newly-minted Ramah Israeli staff members opening a Masorti siddur, hearing Carlebach melodies, and sitting next to co-daveners of the opposite gender, some for the very first time in their lives. By the second psalm, even though the words are still new, more and more people start to join in, humming and singing along. At one point, moved by the power of the music, shlichim start to get up and dance, forming concentric circles in the middle of our makom teffilah. This is the training seminar for summer shlichim, Israeli emissaries who come to Ramah camps each summer through the Jewish Agency, and I hold the heavy responsibility of being the first person to introduce them to Conservative Judaism in a real, tangible way – the way they’ll come to know and love Judaism at camp in just a few months.

Blog/Reflections, Israel and HebrewNRC WebmasterApril 7, 2016New England, Mishlachat

Kid Tested, and Now Adult Tested: A Grown-Up Taste of Jewish Summer Camp

Scott Michaud is a hard-working lawyer 51 weeks out of the year. But for that final week, the 58-year-old is more at home on the trail than in a courtroom.

“It was my daughter’s idea,” says Michaud, who splits his time between homes in Colorado and Florida. “She told me, ‘Dad, you need to go to overnight camp.’” Since his children had been Ramah campers, the adult camp at Ramah of the Rockies outside Denver seemed like a good choice.

NRC WebmasterMarch 23, 2016Summer 2016, Rockies

Ramah Darom Welcomes Teens with Special Needs

A summer camp for children with neurodevelopmental disorders is gearing up for its second season in the North Georgia mountains. Camp Ramah Darom, located two hours north of Atlanta in Clayton, is holding its four-week Tikvah program for 12- to 17-year-olds who have autism spectrum disorder, Down syndrome, intellectual disability or communication disorder.

Tikvah/Special NeedsNRC WebmasterMarch 8, 2016Tikvah, Darom

Four Outstanding New Ramah Directors

We are very pleased to welcome four outstanding new Ramah directors to our leadership team:

Sarah Shulman, Director, Camp Ramah in Northern California
Rabbi Ethan Linden, Director, Camp Ramah in the Berkshires
Elana Rivel, Director, Ramah Day Camp in Philadelphia
Rami Schwartzer, Director, Ramah Day Camp of Greater Washington, DC

AnnouncementsNRC WebmasterMarch 2, 2016Galim, Berkshires, Philadelphia Day Camp, DC Day Camp

New and Improved Jewish Camps for our Guilded Age

At the oldest Jewish summer camp in New England, you can hike, swim, sail — and now fly through the air with the greatest of ease.

The Camp Modin “trapeze center” is the first of its kind in North America, a “revolutionary” design with a “state-of-the-art inflatable landing pad.”

Ramah in the NewsNRC WebmasterFebruary 29, 2016New England

Ramah Camps a Bright Spot for Conservative Movement

WINGDALE, N.Y. (JTA) – The sky is clearing after a damp morning at Camp Ramah in the Berkshires, and kids are emerging from their cluttered bunks.

An impromptu Frisbee game breaks out on the lawn, while down by the lake a counselor prepares the water trampoline and surf kayaks. On the other side of the 200-acre expanse, a staffer tests the high ropes obstacle course. Nearby, a group of teenagers is shooting hoops at the covered basketball courts, where industrial fans turn the sultry air.

Ramah in the NewsNRC WebmasterFebruary 28, 2016Berkshires

Camp friendships can last for decades

For many former campers, summer camp is not just a place to ride horses, race canoes and tie-dye T-shirts. It’s a place to meet people who become their family.

AlumniNRC WebmasterFebruary 27, 2016Reshet Ramah, Wisconsin

Songleader Boot Camp 2016: My Connection Through Music

When I received an email from Camp Ramah in California about attending the Songleader Boot Camp National Conference (SLBC) as a member of the 2016 Cohort, I answered back immediately with an ecstatic “YES!” I didn’t really know what to expect going into SLBC, only that I would get to sing and learn some pretty cool Jewish music. I had no idea that I would gain leadership skills, expand my musical repertoire, learn from incredible teachers, rabbis, and musicians, make new friends, and find a deep connection to music through Judaism and camp.

Staff Leadership TrainingNRC WebmasterFebruary 26, 2016California, Music

Inclusion in the Workplace Too

Dozens of articles online and in print publications proudly and enthusiastically note that February is Jewish Disability Awareness and Inclusion Month (JDAIM). JDAIM, marked by agencies and organizations throughout the Jewish world, is described as “a unified effort among Jewish organizations worldwide to raise awareness and foster inclusion of people with disabilities and their families in Jewish communities worldwide.”

Tikvah/Special NeedsNRC WebmasterFebruary 23, 2016Tikvah, California, JDAIM, Voc-Ed