“Camp Newman helps us feel closer to God”. This is how I opened my dialogue with our 2013 leadership staff at our annual Spring retreat. You could have imagined the response. Even some of our Rabbinic students felt uneasy about this language and its timing (opening conversation). “God” talk is scary for many of us.
Counting Down The Days To Summer 2013
During this time of year, we “Count the Omer”, the act of counting down the days between Passover (freedom/growth) and Shavuot (receiving the Torah/Redemption). This tradition is likened to final preparations for receiving the Torah. We too are in our final preparations, getting ready to usher in our 66th year…
How Are Camp Newman Days Different From All Other Days?
On all other days, campers search for play dates with friends;
On Camp Newman days, campers awake to a cabin filled with lifelong friends who they will journey
with through life’s celebrations.
The Accidental Writer: Camp Newman
The summer after I finished 4th grade and my mother finished law school, my sister and I were shipped off to sleepaway camp in the mountains of West Virginia for four weeks. My mother was studying for the bar exam, and she decided that this would go a lot better if we weren’t around. In my memory, it went something like the scene from Poltergeist (“Get Out”), but in reality, I’m sure it was a much gentler experience, where our parents deposited us at camp with loving hugs and promises to send care packages.
Only At Camp Newman
In just a few months, our gates will open to over 1500 children, young & older adult as we prepare to create another remarkable summer of living Judaism, celebrating the joys of Jewish life. The camp directors will commence the summer by blessing the mezuzah at camp’s entrance, singing arm n arm and celebrating the beginning of another magical journey.
The Magic of Jewish Summer Camp
Professor Arnold Eisen, a scholar of American Judaism and the chancellor of the Jewish Theological Seminary, proclaimed, “Nothing I do to build Jewish life, Jewish education, or the Jewish community is more important than getting more kids to Jewish camps.”
Camp Newman Receives $1 Million Grant from S.F.-Based Jewish Community Federation
Grant Will Help Fund Major Renovation and Retreat Center for Northern California Jewish Community. SAN FRANCISCO, CA – URJ Camp Newman is pleased to announce that it has been awarded a $1 million grant from the Jewish Community Federation and Endowment Fund of San Francisco, the Peninsula, Marin and Sonoma Counties.
“Camp is Life” – Call Me A Tree Hugger!!
Call me a “Tree Hugger”, but I really believe in this stuff!! Try it: go hug a tree, especially one with some fragrance and loose bark, like a redwood tree. If you are embarrassed, do it alone, where nobody can see you. Close your eyes and sense the wonders of nature and creation through your other senses. Look up.
