The best laid plans...

My every intention heading into the summer at 6 Points was to do a write-up every day.  It is now mid-August and I can only say that my experience as Camp faculty this year was equally as special as it was last year.  The days were filled with amazing activities and I returned each night to my room with so many ideas to write about - but little energy to do so.  I will say this, I was taken by the way that Camp wove key Jewish values into the daily schedule.  A big thumbs-up goes out to Alyson Bazely, 6 Points' "Coach" of Jewish Education, for her work in making this happen.

Here is a photo of me with 6 Points' 2nd Session Greensboro campers:

I also visited our youth who spent the summer at Camp Judaea in Hendersonville, NC.  Here are a few shots from that visit:

My time at Camp Coleman this summer was, with sincere regrets, quite short.  2011 was my daughter's eighth summer there (a few were as a faculty Kids' Camp camper).  While our numbers at Coleman were a bit lower this year, I am not bummed.  The campers who go love it.  AND, this summer we had two representatives from Temple on staff.  Joshua Podolle (Machon) and Jenna Schleien (2nd year Counselor) attended Coleman for many years and did us proud by taking the next step as Camp leaders!

Last Friday night (August 12, 2011) was Welcome Back From Camp Shabbat at Temple Emanuel.  I heard of this idea at the NewCAJE which was held in Greensboro this year.  We had a great showing of alumni from many camps, including some parents of young kids who attended Coleman years ago.  What appear below are my remarks from that service:

Welcome Back From Camp Shabbat

Just by show of hands… how many of us here tonight have ever been to an outdoor Shabbat service?  How many of you have ever been in a summer play?  How many of you have ever screamed at the top of your lungs during a Maccabiah?  How many have ever banged on the table during Birkat HaMazon, the after meal blessing?  How many of you have ever played sports with, been in activities with, or even lived with Israelis?

This is just a short list of questions that kids who attend Jewish camps have no trouble answering.  Jewish camps provide these experiences and so much more.

Tonight, as I mentioned earlier, we are trying something new.  It is early August, usually a quiet time for Greensboro.  Yet, it is also around now that all of our youth are back from their sleep away camp experiences.  Why not have a Shabbat where we welcome back our friends who have been away and celebrate what is so special about Jewish overnight summer camps?

When I first came to Temple back in 2003, Rabbi Guttman and I talked about the importance of Jewish summer camps.  That next summer, I was one of the faculty Rabbis at Camp Coleman, the Reform movement’s summer camp in northern Georgia.  Since then, I have spent anywhere from a week to two weeks each summer as a camp Rabbi.  Two years ago, I began working with the 6 Points Sports Academy, the Reform movement’s newest camp which operates on the campus of the American Hebrew Academy.

I love Jewish overnight camps.  I love them because they are filled with amazing activities.  Each camp boasts similar offerings; each camp also has something that separates it from the others.  Want to go to a place with a world-class art program or drool over Apple Brown Betty every Friday night?  Then Camp Coleman is for you.  Want to experience top-notch Israel programs, an amazing climbing tower and zip-line, and ride horses here in North Carolina?  Then Camp Judaea (or CJ) is for you.  Want to play sports like baseball, lacrosse, tennis, or never leave the swimming pool, all the while being guided by some of the best coaches around?  Then you’ll want to go to the 6 Points Sports Academy.

These are just a few of the camps that our kids attend each summer.  Studies have shown time and again that attended a Jewish camp is one of the most effective ways to build lifelong Jewish involvement.  Having seen this for so many years first-hand, it is not hard to understand why.  Judaism is part of everything at camp, often without being so obvious.  You make friends, you have fun, you call things by their Hebrew names, you sing, you dance, you never want to leave.  And when you do, you can’t wait to get back.

Camps supplement and complement what we do at Temple.

We go to Israel with our friends from Camp.  During our high school years, we take the next step in Jewish leadership working at a camp or even going to leadership camps such as those offered by BBYO.

I once heard a corporate recruiter remark that he looked for resumes showing a job candidate had spent the summer as a camp counselor.  He preferred these to candidates who had worked as summer interns.  I was a bit confused by this.  I always thought that summer internships were more prestigious whereas camp was too much fun, too light to be taken seriously.  His response: when you work in an office, it’s a 9-5 job.  As an intern, you may do some serious things, but it’s just a likely that you’ll spent hours as a gopher.  At summer camps, the job is 24/7.  And you are responsible for the well-being of anywhere from 8-12 kids.  Give me a camp counselor any day.

Camps have always trained the future leaders of the Jewish community; our Rabbis, Cantors, and educators.  What is also true is that most of the people who go to Jewish summer camps do not go on to work for the Jewish community.  But they do go on to make Jewish life central to who they are.  They do go on to make Judaism, Israel, and their Temple central to their families.  Shabbat is important for them.  And often-times, the friends that they make during the summer months become friends for life.

For those of us who are beyond the camp years, I encourage you to check out the websites of the camps our kids attend.  A few of them are listed in tonight’s worship handout.  To everyone here tonight who was at camp we say “welcome home.”  My hope and prayer is that you will share your stories with everyone at Temple and that you will encourage at least one friend to follow you to camp next summer.

May every summer be filled with the goodness that you experienced this summer.  May your Jewish experiences be an inspiration to all.  AMEN