URJ Camp Harlam Director Aaron Selkow “really likes Israel”, to be sure. But as he explained to a group of 20-something Israelis that were about to embark on a momentous journey to the United States to join the North American Jewish camp culture, it was for a very specific reason. It was because of them.
Tag Archives | featured
How’s Your Purple?
Before we had left, our colleagues tossed us bits and pieces of what to expect: “Just wait until you have to drag someone out of a ‘burning’ building!” and “Oooh, you’ll get to walk through fire!” As intriguing as those things sounded, no one really could have prepared me for what became an eye-opening, thought-provoking, and unforgettable journey.
Top 10 Things to Know About the Campaign for Youth Engagement
We’ve been talking about the Campaign for Youth Engagement since the URJ’s 71st Biennial Convention last December. In the four and a half months since, we’re been working on hammering out the details of this exciting and important campaign, and we want to be sure we’re communicating those details effectively along the way.
Musical Haggadah: Israeli Music Retells the Story of Our Exodus
My Haggadah is a musical one. The themes of Pesach inspire so many of my favorite Israeli musicians, and every year another musical Midrash is added to my Pesach collection. This music is one of the most precious gifts that Israeli life and culture contribute to the Jewish tradition. Our journey from Egypt to Israel is more than a moment in our history or our memory. It is an ever evolving journey—from slavery to sovereignty, from powerlessness to powerful. The Haggadah is an invitation to an open, cross generational conversation about Jewish values, faith, resilience and justice.
True Grit: Camp and Important Life Lessons
As a parent of a rising ninth grader and a graduating high school senior, dinner conversation is often peppered with talk of what needs to be done for exams, who got into which college and, of course, who needs to go where and when. Interestingly, we just as often talk about summer plans. OK, I admit my professional choices may have something to do with that, but I also think there are other motivations at play.
Wear Your Camp & Israel T-Shirt Day Contest Winners
On November 15th, hundreds of people across the world wore their camp or Israel t-shirt and submitted photos to the Wear Your Camp & Israel T-Shirt Day Facebook event. Fans of the URJ Camps page then voted on their favorites in each of the categories below by “liking” them. A big “mazel tov” to our winners!
Why I’m Thankful for Mitzvah Corps at Kutz
As Thanksgiving approaches, we prepare to spend time with our families and reflect on the things we appreciate in our lives. I personally am grateful for having had the opportunity for the past 5 summers to be a part of the Mitzvah Corps program at Kutz.
Camp Heroes Support Gift of Life
What does a hero look like today? What does it take to be a hero? This summer, five of the URJ Camps partnered with the Gift of Life Foundation to host Bone Marrow Registry Drives, in an effort to “find heroes” who match those in need of a bone marrow transplant.
Spotlight: Israel the URJ Way
As we all know, creating summers of fun are just a fraction of what we do. Read how we offer a variety of entry points for youth and young adults to begin their sacred journey of discovery and connection to Israel. We hope you enjoy their powerful stories, reflections and descriptions.
Earth Night
April 22nd is the official Earth Day, but here at GFC, Earth Night was last Saturday. After eating outside at our normal Saturday evening cookouts, all of our Niviim, Kohanim and Melachim campers spent their evening traveling through our Environmental Funhouse. At each stop along the way, the campers participated in activities that helped them explore environmental issues. Let’s take the tour!
-
Women of Reform Judaism: Shaping the Culture of Kutz and NFTY
- Torah From Around the World
-
Finding God Through Sports
- System Software: visit... [...]while the sites we link to below ar...
- “How’s your purple?” | URJ Camp Harlam | Summer Central: [...] By James Gelsey, Associate Director of URJ ...
- Shabbat Shalom! (In Your Camp T-Shirt) | URJ Camp Harlam | Summer Central: [...] on November 18, 2011 This past Tuesday, ma...
Follow us on Twitter
Try to spot summer staffers Michael Danziger & Lindsey Rothschild! MT @HUCJIR: Montage from Year-in-Israel program! http://t.co/njzHWWXX21 hours ago
Nice piece entitled "5 Things I Learned at Summer Camp" from the Huffington Post.
http://t.co/RkCXThSA21 hours ago
We love it! RT @BarbMitzvah: Carly Rae Jepsen! Why is your insipid song so darn catchy? #heresmynumber #callmemaybe #summersongs1 day ago
Only a few more weeks until camp starts! Shabbat Shalom from 30528. #jewishcamp #summerishere http://t.co/vJEZQ9Va1 day ago