The summer of 1976 was hot. Well, it's always hot in summer in Texas--but in Bruceville, Texas, those months thirty years ago were especially sizzling -- not just in temperature, but with activity and excitement. For it was the first summer of Greene Family Camp. For the first time, youth from Texas and Oklahoma could go to Jewish camp, and live, for an entire summer, with kids just like them. From services to swimming, taking care of animals to Hebrew, Greene Family Camp was putting down its first roots.
From just a few handfuls of campers in the summer of 1976, to hundreds expected in the summer of 2005, Greene Family Camp has successfully created lasting memories and friendships that surpass distance and time.
I believe that Greene Family Camp, and by extension, all of Jewish campingis a key for Jewish continuity. I want to explain this to you by deconstructing the phrase: “Jewish camp” .
Let's start with the noun: camp. For our purposes this evening, we speak only about sleep away summertime experiences of at least a week. Camp has been proven to be much more than fun--many studies have been conducted regarding its' impact. The American Camping Association, in a study published by the Lilly Foundation, narrowed down to five areas the ways that camp benefits children:
Children become more confident and experience increased self-esteem.
Children develop more social skills that help them make new friends.
Children grow more independent and show more leadership qualities.
Children become more adventurous and willing to try new things.
Especially at camps that emphasize spirituality, children realize spiritual growth.
The American Camping Association regularly publishes articles about issues facing the camping world. In 2003, it published an article by Stefanie Klaus, about how important and transformative camp was for her: “And then, about a week and a half into the summer, something changed. It was not a marked event that brought on a sudden epiphany, nor was it a conscious process of small steps towards a desired goal. I just came alive. Perhaps it was the nightly Evening Programs, like All-Camp Gladiator Night, Disco Dance Party Night, and Country Club Night that released my inhibitions and allowed me to relish my silliness. . . .Whatever it was, something told me that it was okay to be myself, to take risks, and to meet challenges with temerity. As the remaining weeks at Kamaji progressed, I continued to develop. . . finding solace in what used to be sources of intimidation. . . .Whereas at first I was lacking in confidence, I finished camp with a euphoric sense of achievement that only subsequent camp experiences have rivaled. Not only did I conquer the feats of sweeping and bed making, but I also learned how to water ski, sail, windsurf, and myriad other skills that helped shape me into an adventurous and well-rounded individual.”
Camping is an important method to help a child become their best, and reaches into all areas of development, education and values, as Charles Elliot, President of Harvard University wrote in 1922: “I have a conviction that a few weeks spent in a well organized summer camp may be of more value educationally than a whole year of formal school work.”
In the list of five important ways that children are effected by camp provided by the American Camping Association, it is significant that the last one is: Especially at camps that emphasize spirituality, children realize spiritual growth. Camps that offer spiritual and religious training and experience are in a class by themselves, and Jewish camping is no exception.
Jewish camping can be defined quite simply: summer camp with a spiritual, educational, and communal emphasis on Judaism. Jerry Silverman wrote in an article in the Jerusalem Post: “By their very nature, Jewish camps integrate fun and challenges with serious Jewish learning.” As camping is the key for children to become the best people they can be, Jewish camping is the key for children to become the best Jewish people they can be.
In a world in which our children exist as the “only” or “one of a handful” of students in their schools that are Jewish, offering a child the opportunity to live Jewishly, in an all -Jewish environment, is truly a gift. I remember my first summer at camp in Pennsylvania, at a sister camp to Greene Family Camp. Shabbat was wondrous. The entire camp-approximately 400 campers and staff-dressed in white and walked to the chapel, set high upon a hill at the top of the camp. During sunset, we prayed and sang together. Then, as a camp, we moved to the dining hall for dinner and more singing.. I wrote home to my parents something like this: “Mommy and Daddy-did you know that everyone at my camp is Jewish? I didn't know that so many Jewish kids could be in the same place at the same time! Shabbat is so pretty-I love it! “
According to Jerry Silverman, only 8% of eligible campers attend Jewish camps. No time could be more important for Jewish camping, in my opinion. In April of 2001, a census of the Jewish community was published. For the first time, it appeared that our numbers may be in serious trouble, and a “continuity crisis” emerged. Fearful that the Jewish people may one day disappear, many began frantically preaching doom and gloom for the Jewish people. While I do not ascribe to the scenario-I believe Judaism is here to stay-the statistics leads me to be fearful of something else: that our children may become less and less connected, in a significant manner, to their Jewish communities, and to sustained Jewish identity. The number of 18-25 year olds that are involved in Jewish life is small, and the number of Jews who join congregations is only at about 35-50%, depending on the location.
I believe that camps, such as Greene Family Camp, are the key to making sure that we are raising Jewish children who are knowledgeable and enthusiastic Jews.
Did you know that more than 65% of Jewish leaders attended a not for profit Jewish sleep away camp? Did you know that Jewish camps provide leadership training and role modeling of Jewish values for more than 10,000 college-aged students each year?
Rabbi Ed Feinstein, in an article for the Foundation for Jewish Camping, wrote: “Try this experiment: Put your hands in your pockets and try to explain to someone verbally how to tie shoes. It's an exercise in frustration. Because there are certain things you can learn by description, and there are others that can only be learning by doing. There is much of Jewish tradition that can be conveyed through description. One can learn about history, about the philosophy, about the culture of Judaism. But the core of holiness, the experience of God's presence, cannot be learned about. It cannot be doen for us by others. . . It requires the intensity of full personal involvement and investment. . . . Each summer, thousands of youngsters depart the comfort of home and family to share the experience of Jewish summer camps. A month or two later, those same kids stumble off buses, sleepy and soiled and transformed. They carry home crafts and new friends, and a profound sense of having touched the core of Jewish life. They bear vivid memories of Friday night sunsets, havdallah beneath the starts, new Hebrew songs, and a sense of belonging. . they will have lived Judaism personally and intensely. “
So why do I offer this sermon to you-when most of you sitting in these seats do not have camp-aged children? Jerry Silverman writes, “We need to be more aware of the unique role Jewish camping can play, particularly in reconnecting parts of our community that may not be reachable by other sources of Jewish knowledge and identity.” Jewish camps touch approximately 50,000 children and 10,000 staff every summer. By investing in camps as a symbol of continuity, we can be sure that the next generation of Jewish kids will be given a strong foundation. Do this: Encourage your children, nieces, nephews, grandchildren, friends . . . to attend camp. Invest in Jewish summer camp. When you do so, you will help to create the blocks to build the next generation of Jews. With the gift of Jewish summer camp, imagine how strong the buildings will be!
E-mail Rabbi Bergman Vann
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