RJ Blog

by Rabbi Benjamin David Once upon a time, you either went to camp or you didn’t. Such days are behind us. Growing up outside of Philadelphia, there were essentially two groups amongst my close-knit group of friends, a group populated by various cultural backgrounds, ethnicities, and religious affiliations. There were those who stayed at home, working, volunteering, or competing as part of our local swim team or basketball club. Then there were those of us who left for four weeks, maybe eight weeks, to experience the rhythm of summer in different terms. I was, am, and always will be a [...]

by Cantor Rosalie Boxt Four hundred people are joined together, eyes shining, faces bright, voices raised in a glorious chorus. I am sitting in a small concert hall, eyes darting between the sheet music in my open binder and the brilliant conductor on stage. It is my first time attending the North American Jewish Choral Festival, where I am a workshop presenter and participant. The music is choral music, challenging, moving, energizing, rhythmic, and lyrical. Sitting to my left is Rabbi Dan Freelander, who is a chairperson of the festival every year, and to my right is Cantor Benjie Ellen [...]

In the Torah portion of the week we were in Birmingham, we read about Balak and how when an obstacle is in your way, it might be there for a reason. Prejudice in the South has, in my opinion, made that community stronger. The people there have had to deal with hate and hardship, and have continued to survive. Birmingham has changed since the time of Martin Luther King Jr., and while prejudice may still exist, we have the strength to overcome it.

The biggest impact it had was this new attitude I have, which is that I pretty much agree to try anything. If someone asks me to help with something, or to try something new, even if I don’t necessarily feel 100% excited about it, I like to take part. It’s surprising how much you can enjoy something just by doing what you might not think you want to do. I learned to put myself into new situations that seem weird or scary, and just go with it…because, seriously, why not?

After visiting Urban Adamah, I am inspired to change the way I live my life back home.

In the days and weeks ahead, thousands of children, teens and adults will be touched by the power of our camps and Israel programs. We know that there is no place like camp and Israel for inspiring a love of Judaism and strengthening our Jewish future. Let us welcome our summer communities with our Jewish ritual for blessing.

by Ruby Macsai-Goren As a typical teenager, I do a lot of extra-curricular and academic activities, attend high school, and spend lots of time with my family and friends. However, I spend minimal to no time learning about Israel. I know very little about Israel; my knowledge is extended to what I have learned from my years in Hebrew school and what I know from my Middle Eastern History class. While I have had the limited opportunity to learn about Israeli politics, I have no idea what the culture and land itself is like. I am incredibly excited to travel [...]

Song sessions, Maccabiah, Israel staff, discussions about G-d. I would have laughed if you had told me some of this magic I thought was “just camp,” was intentional, that I was there to actually learn something. All I thought I was learning was how to shave my legs or plan a raid on boys camp (and yes, I would have to say this was one of my first lessons in getting a disparate group to agree to a plan and it has served me well in my career!).

by Elliot Kort My liberal Jewish guilt was really starting to bug me. In the wake of the 2008 presidential election, I reflected on how I perceived the nation was changing. In doing so, I faced a cold, hard truth; I hadn’t done anything but vote. I hadn’t pledged my time, volunteered to go door-to-door, lobbied friends and neighbors on a certain issue, or helped to register other voters. In essence, I hadn’t done a single thing beyond showing up and casting my ballot. By saying that, I can already sense people recoiling. I can hear them saying, “But voting [...]

By dcc Join with me now: (To the tune of “We’re Off to See the Wizard”) Today is Yom Shishi, Yom Shishi is day six, Yom Shishi is day six and that’s the day we get our kicks, because tomorrow is Shabbat the day we like a lot a lot, a lot a lot a lot a lot a looooot, Because tomorrow is Shabbat (do dot do do do do dot), Today is Yom Shishi, Yom Shishi is day six!!!!!!!   As a child I went to a summer camp in Southern California that was crazy about Israeli Dance, Song Session [...]

By Marge EisemanJewish life is going on summer vacation. The last few bar and bat mitzvah celebrations will happen this week, and then the synagogue calendars (and buildings) will be empty except for regular Shabbat worship. And even then, with our service held outdoors on Friday night, we just walk through the building to get to the back lawn! Is this a leftover from an agricultural society? How many of our regular congregants really take off for the summer? I understand that many of the children might go to summer camp, but I firmly believe there is still a vibrant [...]