Shabbat at Camp Ramah in Wisconsin
by Yedida Soloff, Ramah alum

Everybody knows about Shabbat at Camp Ramah.

New campers know that Shabbat is part of Jewish life at camp. But they don’t yet know when Shabbat begins.   Perhaps it begins Friday afternoon in the kikar, camp’s “town square,” when speakers start blasting music and campers and staff of all ages converge to dance to Israeli pop.  It probably doesn’t begin after lunch in the controlled chaos of last-minute preparations, as everybody rushes to clean the cabins, shower, and change into their nicest clothes.  It is closer to beginning as quiet replaces chaos, when the eidot, or camper divisions, gather for a few moments of reflection.  Or maybe Shabbat really begins during services, when a camper lights candles and the entire camp responds, “Amen.” 

Parents know about Friday night services at camp, because on Visitor’s Day Weekend they are invited to attend.   They learn that there is no feeling like the feeling of Friday evening, when 650 people gather by the lakefront to pray together, sitting not by cabin or eidah, but with their friends and family.  They might enjoy a short musical performance before candle-lighting, and are proud of the campers who have lead the services. They know, even as they leave camp until Sunday, that those who stay will share a special Shabbat dinner.  But they don’t know that after dinner those same 650 people will raise their voices in song, clapping and banging on tables in time to the melody.  They haven’t heard the speakers of the Shabbat after-dinner programs, who raise provocative questions to be discussed the next day, or teach a new song to sing at the following week’s dinner.   They don’t know the special quiet of Friday night in the cabins, with most of the lights out and the radios off in honor of Shabbat, or that this is the time when some of camp’s best storytellers describe their experiences in Israel.

Visiting rabbis know that Shabbat day in camp is different from weekdays. They know that many older campers sleep later and then eat a simple breakfast in the dining halls before Shabbat morning services, and younger campers breakfast as usual, but then return to their mekomot t’phila, their prayer spaces, for their service and a kiddush of grape juice, cookies, and fruit.  They know that the time between kiddush and lunch is free, for hanging out with friends or heading to the tennis courts.  They look forward to the oneg, or informal party, they will host, when campers and staff from their communities will swap summer stories for goodies and news from home.  They know that Shabbat afternoon follows its own pattern as well.  Perhaps they have helped prepare a game used to trigger small-group discussions about the theme of that week’s Shabbat among the younger campers.  They know that older campers do their own planning, often using drama to set up conversations about contemporary issues and concerns.

Alumni remember all about Shabbat afternoon at camp, but they might not be familiar with newer Shabbat traditions.  They know about swimming and pick-up basketball games, but not the way music wafts across the kikar, drawing people as surely as the dance music of the day before.  This time, however, it is a cappella, provided by a volunteer chorus of campers and staff who rehearse vocal arrangements of Jewish music during the week.  The “dancing” is informal grooving to the beat, and cheers for popular melodies.   Alumni know that seudah sh’lishit—dinner, the “third meal” of Shabbat—ends with ice cream.  They don’t know that in the free time after dinner, over one hundred older campers and staff choose to spend another hour or two singing, before joining their eidot for the evening service that will end Shabbat and usher in the coming week.

Our thanks to Yedida Soloff of Camp Ramah in Wisconsin for sharing her thoughts on her Ramah experiences. If you would like to share your experiences, e-mail us at ramah@jtsa.edu.