An Inspiring Visit to Ramah in the Rockies with Chancellor Arnold Eisen

Whenever I visit Ramah I am reminded of why our camps are essential for the transmission of Jewish tradition. Ramah gives young Jews an incomparable experience of community – an opportunity to experience the joy and meaning of Judaism 24/7, in beautiful settings, surrounded by other Jews their age and counselors (“cool” role models) not too much older than themselves. Imagine: Judaism and fun!

Ramah has been performing this magic for over 60 years and does so anew each summer for thousands of our future Jewish leaders. I have seen it for myself these past two summers, and I am proud that JTS founded Ramah and remains so closely associated with it. There is simply no better way to educate, inspire and train the next generation of Jewish leaders.

- JTS Chancellor Arnold Eisen

In August, the Chancellor of The Jewish Theological Seminary, Dr. Arnold Eisen, joined me for an inspirational visit tothe newsite of Ramah in the Rockies in Colorado.

In recent years, plans have begun to take shape for the creation of the newest Ramah overnight camp, Ramah in the Rockies. Under the lay leadership of David Engleberg, Don Skupsky and others of Denver, and with the support and encouragement of the Allied Jewish Federation of Colorado, Jewish leaders from throughout Texas, Colorado and other parts of the southwest region of the U.S. have been organizing to build this new Ramah camp, which will specialize in outdoor adventure and environmental education.

For four days in August 2008, Rabbi Marshall Lesack, Assistant Director of Ramah Darom and Program Director for Ramah in the Rockies, brought 50 young adults to thebreathtaking site of Ramah in the Rockies near Deckers, Colorado, for hiking, camping, environmental education, Jewish community building, and strategic planning for future summers. Twenty-four of these participants came from communities within the region: Denver, Colorado; Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, Austin and El Paso, Texas; and Laramie, Wyoming. Another 12 participants representing other Ramah camps returned from their summer on Ramah Seminar in Israel and joined to add Ramah ruach to this pilot week of programming. Together with 12 staff members handpicked by Rabbi Lesack for their skills in outdoor education, leadership development or Jewish spirituality, these 50 participants spent an extraordinary week together and returned to their communities inspired by the vision of Ramah.

Chancellor Eisen joined various lay leaders, funders and rabbis for a visit to this program on August 13. Mort Steinberg, former President of Camp Ramah in Wisconsin,represented the National Ramah Commission. According to Ron and Shira Moses, new lay leaders of Ramah in the Rockies from Houston, "This is one of the most exciting new ventures for our Jewish community we have ever supported. We are delighted to see this program begin and eventually lead to thefull developmentof a newRamah camp." Similar sentiments were expressed by other visitors, including Rabbis Adam Raskin of Dallas, Ranon Teller of Houston, Adam Naftalin-Kelman of Boulder, and Bernie Gerson, Salomon Gruenwald and Bruce Dollin of Denver.

We began our day on August 13 with a festive brunch at the home of David and Charlene Engleberg. David is the Chairman of Ramah in the Rockies. Leaders from Denver and Boulder joined with out-of-town Ramah supporters to celebrate this pilot staff training program, and to hear from Chancellor Eisen about the meaning of Ramah and its importance for Conservative Judaism and the North American Jewish community. Dr. Eisen, citing Parashat Va’etchanan, compared the vision of Moses and Bnei Yisrael at Sinai, gazing into the land of Israel and dreaming about what could be, with the concept of developing a new Ramah camp in the Rockies. The Chancellor’s inspirational words set a wonderful tone for the group traveling the two hours to visit the 50 young people to hear about their week and their adventures.

Once on site, we toured the property, discussed ideas for the future and then spent an amazing two hours with the program participants singing, hearing about the impact of the week at camp and having dinner before our return to Denver. According to one young woman from Texas, “This was my first Ramah experience and in three days I have gained more inspiration as a Jew than I have received in my entire life!”

According to Rabbi Lesack, the week was an absolute success. “During our time together, we engaged all the participants in an exciting program that focused on outdoor adventure, environmental awareness and leadership/staff development—all of which were woven together through the lens of informal Jewish education. We provided a taste of what Ramah camping is all about, and dreamt about what Ramah in the Rockies will be.”

If you want to get involved or want more information on the fundraising campaign for Ramah in the Rockies, including naming opportunities, please contact Tammy Dollin at 303-246-1943 or by email at tdollin@comcast.net.