News Archive
The Ramah College Network Shabbaton brought 35 college Ramahniks to Congregation Agudas Achim in Columbus, Ohio for a weekend of celebration, study, and togetherness.
Maddy Katz, a 27-year-old Columbus, OH, resident, took part in a Birthright Israel Onward volunteer trip to Israel along with other participants in Ramah programs for young adults with disabilities this September.
12 adults with disabilities who are participants or alumni of our camps' programs in our National Ramah Tikvah Network recently returned from the first-of-its-kind Birthright Israel Onward volunteer group to visit Israel during the Israel-Hamas war.
Camp Ramah Sasson is the movement’s first experience offered specifically to families with children battling cancer and is free-of-charge, even to families who have never been involved with Ramah or the Conservative movement
Reflections from members of an intergenerational group of Ramahniks from North America who traveled to Israel on one of the “Ramah Mishpacha Service and Solidarity Trips.”
Seven Ukrainian teen athletes will be welcomed thius summer by Ramah Sports Academy, a program of Camp Ramah in Northern California, thanks to a collaboration with Maccabi USA and Maccabi Ukraine.
Because of Ramah’s investments and partnerships with the Shalom Hartman Institute and others (including The Jewish Agency and the World Zionist Organization, we anticipate that Ramah camps this summer will be communities where conversation, study and experiences of Israel will be passionate, thoughtful and engaging, with space for productive disagreement. In so doing, we will confidently assert and deepen our core commitment to Israel.
The Ramah Israel Bike Ride and Hiking Trip: Five days through the Golan Heights in support of the camp’s Tikvah disabilities inclusion programs.
National Ramah Director Amy Skopp Cooper spoke to eJewishPhilanthropy about Ramah’s planning for the upcoming summer.
“TikvahNet,” the movement-wide online programming run by the National Ramah Tikvah Network, has engaged over 80 current or former Tikvah-supported campers in addition to the programs offered by our camps.
Camp Ramah Darom offers socially distanced activities, meticulously sanitized, including archery, yoga, art and hiking.
When Raizel O’Brien graduated from Portland State University in 2019, she was contemplating making aliyah when she discovered the Masa Israel Teaching Fellows program with Ramah Israel.
The staff at Ramah in the Rockies got a rare bit of good news on Tuesday: Just days after applying for a grant designed to help small businesses weather the coronavirus-induced financial crisis, the Jewish summer camp had been approved.
Rabbi Jordan Bendat-Appell, director of Ramah Canada, said, “As a parent and camp director, I’m aware of how important it is to feed my kids well and how what they eat impacts their behavior, attitude and energy level. So, it’s important to apply that same sensibility to life at camp.”
Campers attending Ramah Canada’s second session (July 20-Aug. 13) will have the option of choosing Machane Techny, a STEAM program that will include robotics, environmental sciences and programming, while incorporating Judaic elements and focusing on Israel.
In the last decade, campers have also been coming away with a heightened awareness and deeper understanding about where their food comes from, and how their eating choices impact their bodies and the environment.
It was a reunion almost eight decades in the making, except for one thing – the two parties had never actually met each other before. When Sharon Zadik and Laurel Rebenstock came face-to-face with each other for the first time this past summer at Camp Ramah in Utterson, Ont., they were rekindling a bond between their two families that started during the Second World War.
In a small office of a Jewish day camp in Rockland County’s Nyack, two counselors, one from Israel and one from the United States, are comparing notes on a recent morning about the tone of political discussions in their respective countries. It’s getting worse in both places, they agree.
Working as a Field Guide at BaMidbar Wilderness Therapy is tough. Field Guides are in the wilderness for days or weeks on end, away from family and loved ones, technology and the creature comforts of modern life. They handle unpredictability, are exposed to a variety of weather and elemental forces and work with students experiencing deep internal struggle.
About three times a day, the campers at Camp Ramah in the Poconos walk past a mural…The mural is the perfect place for Rabbi Joel Seltzer to tell the story of Michael Levin, a lone soldier killed in the line of duty in 2006, whose memory survives at the camp he spent much of his childhood exploring.
Every Friday, the staff and campers at Camp Ramah Nyack gather for a ceremony called Shishi Al Hamigrash – Hebrew for “Friday on the field.”…In August, on the last Friday of camp, anyone spending the next year in Israel is called up, and the Israeli staffers dance around them, welcoming them into their circle. This year, Sammy Fishman will be among them.
“Jewish summer camp is a rite of passage for many American Jewish families for a multitude of reasons. In our family, Ramah has been a source of community, a center for education, a dating pool and profoundly impactful on the formulation of Jewish identity…. We wanted to pass that same gift along to our children…” -Dave Cutler, Ramah New England Alumnuis
Backcountry Bayit (BCB), where youthful Jews — virtually all of them drawn to the mountains by the lure of Colorado’s ski culture — come together to celebrate not only their love of the Rockies but simply being Jewish…The BCB originated organically some four years ago, the brainchild of a group of young Jews from Boulder, and last year came under the funding and management umbrella of the national Ramah organization, affiliated with the Conservative movement, specifically Reshet Ramah, the organization’s alumni network that supports youth engagement projects..
More than 120 participants from across all sectors and movements of the Jewish communal world gathered in New York last week for the second annual Summit of the SafetyRespectEquity Coalition. …Discussions focused on how critically important safety, respect, and equity are to ensuring a vibrant, inclusive future for the Jewish community and at the same time continuing to ground their work in the broader national context. …Additionally, the Coalition has announced a total of more than $1.2 million awarded to 15 grantees working to advance women’s leadership and address sexual harassment and gender inequity in Jewish organizations.
After struggling with depression and social isolation as a teen, Zack Slavkin went on a wilderness therapy program that changed his life, spurring his work to help heal others.
Like our forefathers, Abraham, Jacob, and Moses, who found God and spirituality in the wilderness, BaMidbar students spend time in nature rediscovering themselves and their spiritual core. They build skills to recover from adversity, are empowered to break free of the habits and patterns that limit their lives, and embark on a new journey of living well.
What if therapy and recovery also encompassed exploring the wilderness, plus a deep connection to Jewish spirituality? BaMidbar Wilderness Therapy is doing just that, cultivating a safe, inclusive, and diverse environment for young people within the wider Jewish community.
Camp Ramah in California, Camp Ramah Darom, Ramah Day Camp in Nyack, and Camp Ramah in the Poconos are among the first recipients of a new grant to increase accessibility for campers and staff with disabilities through Foundation for Jewish Camp’s Yashar Initiative.
Ramah Yachad in Ukraine opened its doors 26 years ago to foster positive Jewish identity and learning, complementing the work of the existing (few) Masorti congregations and Jewish schools in Ukraine. The camp welcomes students from large and small communities throughout Ukraine as well as some staff from Israel and creates a joyous, open-minded, accepting, authentic and rich 2-week Jewish experience that 150 campers and staff look forward to and return to year after year.
The National Ramah Commission (NRC) is proud to share our Strategic Plan for 2026–2030, a blueprint designed to ensure that the Ramah Movement meets the challenges of today and tomorrow.
We are very proud to announce that the 2024 Ramah camping season has officially opened for campers.The singing, dancing, playing, praying, and learning have all begun for more than 11,000 campers and staff who will participate in a Ramah program this summer.
The 2023 Ramah camping season officially opened for campers last week! The singing, dancing, playing, praying, and learning have all begun for more than 11,000 campers and staff who will participate in a Ramah program this summer.
We are thrilled to announce that the 2022 Ramah camping season officially opened for campers this week! The singing, dancing, playing, praying, and learning have all begun for more than 11,000 campers and staff who will participate in a Ramah program this summer.
I fell in love with Ramah when I was 16 years old, a rising senior at the Solomon Schechter High School of Essex and Union, NJ, and a USY international board member. That was 42 years ago.
As 2021 comes to an end, we reflect on what has been one of the most difficult two-year periods in the 75-year history of Ramah and look ahead to a bright future for Ramah.
Celebrate 75 years of Ramah camping and honor Rabbi Mitch Cohen for his two decades of leadership as he transitions out of his role as National Ramah Director.
A study published by the CDC described the successful outcome of the multiple COVID-19 prevention strategies implemented at Ramah camps this summer. Among over 7,000 campers and staff at our 9 U.S. overnight camps, there were only 9 positive cases of COVID-19, and no secondary infections identified during camp.
On January 1, 2022, the professional leadership of the National Ramah Commission (NRC) will transition from our current National Director Rabbi Mitchell Cohen to our own Associate National Director Amy Skopp Cooper.
Ramah is thrilled to announce that the cost of participation in Ramah Israel Seminar 2021 has been significantly reduced as part of RootOne, an exciting new initiative designed to bring many more teens to Israel!
The Ramah Camping Movement recognizes that we can do so much more within our programs to educate about racial injustice in our society. We must respond now to the clear call for action.
Ramah California, Ramah Canada, Ramah Nyack, and Ramah in the Rockies are among the 32 recipients of the Foundation for Jewish Camp's Yedid Nefesh Grant, designed to help camps address the mental, emotional, and social health (MESH) needs of both campers and staff.
We are delighted to announce that over the last several weeks, the National Ramah Commission (NRC) has received various new grants of $1.2 million in order to develop initiative for Tikvah vocational education expansion, professional internships for college students, development of supplemental staff training materials promoting child safety, and intensive leadership training for college sophomores.
Strong leadership is perhaps Ramah’s greatest asset. Ramah camps and Ramah Israel continue to attract outstanding professional leaders, and summer 2019 was no exception, as we welcomed five new senior year-round professionals into our camping movement.
At many of our overnight camps, campers in the oldest edah plan Yom Sport or Maccabiah. They use their creativity and organizational skills, work as a team, and serve as role models for younger campers. Running Maccabiah or Yom Sport--or being chosen as a team captain--is something that campers throughout the Ramah Camping Movement look forward to from the time that they are in the youngest edot.
This past April, the 112 riders, hikers, and volunteers on the Ramah Israel Bike Ride and Hiking Trip raised more than $540,000 to benefit Ramah Tikvah programs for children, teens, and young adults with disabilities. During summer 2019, a total of 423 individuals will participate in Tikvah-affiliated programs. It is a privilege to share with you this report on this summer's plans for how Ramah camps will be using the Tikvah funds raised on the ride/hike, both 1) programmatically and 2) for the financial support of families with children with disabilities who also have financial constraints.
In the coming weeks, all of our ten overnight camps, five day camps, and our Israel Seminar will begin. Overall, more than 11,700 campers and staff will participate this summer in a Ramah program.
As Jews throughout the world prepare to sit down at the Seder table to re-enact our historic journey from slavery to freedom, we take great pride in Ramah's commitment to helping secure a strong Jewish future in all of our communities, deeply connected to our homeland in the State of Israel.
We are excited to announce that this year, Ramah will begin its first-ever immersive Israel experience for college graduates! Ramah Israel has been selected to run the Masa Israel Teaching Fellows (MITF) program in Jerusalem, starting in August 2019.
We are thrilled to announce the opening of Ramah's 2018 summer season, the 72nd summer of Ramah camping! In the coming weeks, all of our ten overnight camps, five day camps, and our Israel Seminar will begin. Overall, more than 11,500 campers and staff will participate this summer in a Ramah program, the largest number in history!
We, the leadership of Ramah, are proud that Zionism is a central part of our core mission, as we nurture within our campers and staff members a deep and enduring love for Israel.
Unfortunately, some recent articles in the Jewish press have mischaracterized our educational mission, leading some to believe that our 70-year history of strong pro-Israel ideology has changed. It has not.
For more than 70 years, campers and staff members have had transformative Jewish experiences at Ramah camps and Israel programs. This new publication highlights our many programs.
The National Ramah Commission is pleased to announce that we have received substantial new funding in furtherance of our mission to advance staff training for our camps and young adult leadership development for our summer staff members and year-round professionals.
We are thrilled to announce that after many years of dreaming, hard work, and planning, the Ramah Sports Academy (RSA) will officially open in summer 2018 on the beautiful campus of Fairfield University in Fairfield, Connecticut.
We are thrilled to announce the opening of Ramah's 2017 summer season, the 71st summer of Ramah camping! Yesterday, the Chicago-area day camp opened. Today is opening day for campers at both Ramah Darom in Georgia and Camp Ramah inWisconsin. Over the next several weeks, all of our nine overnight camps, five day camps, and our Israel Seminar will begin. Overall, more than 11,000 campers and staff will participate this summer in a Ramah program, the largest number in history! And stay tuned for news about the opening of our tenth overnight camp, Ramah Sports Academy, scheduled to open in June 2018.
Study confirms that Ramah alumni are much more highly engaged in Jewish life than other Jews of similar backgrounds.
The Ramah Camping Movement announces the results of “The Alumni of Ramah Camps: A Portrait of Jewish Engagement.” This survey of more than 5,000 camper alumni was conducted by Professor Steven M. Cohen of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion and the Berman Jewish Policy Archive at Stanford University.
We are very pleased to announce that the National Ramah Commission has just received a $1.4 million grant to help us launch Ramah Sports Academy, our newest overnight camp, scheduled to open in summer 2018 in the Northeast.
More than 11,000 campers and staff will participate in Ramah's 70th summer season, which starts today with the opening of Camp Ramah Darom in Georgia and the Chicago-area Ramah Day Camp. Tomorrow is opening day for Camp Ramah in Wisconsin. Over the next several weeks, all of our nine overnight camps, five day camps, and our Israel Seminar will begin.
New Investment from Donors and Foundations in 2015-16 Supports Camps, Israel Programs, and Movement-Wide Initiatives
We are very pleased to welcome four outstanding new Ramah directors to our leadership team:
- Sarah Shulman, Director, Camp Ramah in Northern California
- Rabbi Ethan Linden, Director, Camp Ramah in the Berkshires
- Elana Rivel, Director, Ramah Day Camp in Philadelphia
- Rami Schwartzer, Director, Ramah Day Camp of Greater Washington, DC
A letter to Ramah Israel Seminar 2026 participants. You left home, and you are returning home. For the past six weeks, you have lived a life of verbs—fully immersed in building a Ramah community in Israel. You have experienced pure joy alongside deep complexity: hiking, volunteering, tilling, painting, davening, studying, and celebrating.
This summer, I spent time at two Ramah camps: Ramah Day Camp in Nyack, New York and Camp Ramah in the Poconos. A major highlight of these visits is catching up with our JTS cantorial and rabbinical students, and it was wonderful to see so many of them in action in a variety of roles at camp. Each of these future clergy brings their unique talents and energy to their jobs on tzevet/staff, and they serve as wonderful role models to fellow staff members and campers alike.
Despite the soaring temperatures—and certainly due to them—our camps marked the pre-July 4th Shabbat with plenty of water activities, extra swims, and ice cream. It is a delight to see directors, who carry so much on their shoulders, jumping into the agam (lake) and staffing ice cream trucks and water stations. Kol Ha’kavod to our remarkable tzevet (staff) members, who kept campers safe and happy while navigating this prolonged heatwave. My recent journeys have taken me to the DC and Philly day camps, Ramah Poconos, and Ramah in the Rockies.
The blessings of white shirts not yet muddied, stained, or wrinkled; fresh haircuts; and lost-and-found bins that are not overflowing. Another summer begins. Many of our camps have welcomed their first campers, who are experiencing the joy of coming home. We feel profound gratitude as we watch our communities open their gates each summer. Our early stops have included Ramah Darom, Ramah Wisconsin, and the Chicagoland Day Camp, as well as staff week at Ramah Canada.
A letter from Amy Skopp Cooper, National Ramah Commission CEO, to the parents of the 33 teens who are participating in Tichon Ramah Yerushalayim (TRY), the Ramah high school spring semester program based in Jerusalem.
To mark the end of JDAIM 2026, we are pleased to share reflections from NRC’s 2025–2026 parent and Tikvah alumni initiatives.
At camp, core Jewish memories are imprinted so that Ramahniks may live with wonder and gratitude, courage and responsibility.
Walking through the familiar yet transformed grounds stirred a rush of memories from my formative years. What struck me most, however, wasn’t nostalgia, but the vibrant continuity of the Ramah ruach (spirit)—an evolving yet enduring expression of the values that have defined Ramah for generations.
As we drove up the mountainous road to Ramah in the Rockies, leaving urban civilization and cell phone service behind, I felt a sense of relief. While the air was getting thinner, the temptation (and ability) to constantly check the news slipped away.
Something is happening all around us. A reawakening to the power of adding the holiness of Judaism into our lives; not at the periphery, but at the center; and the young people I talked to are leading the way.
I traveled to Ramah in the Rockies and Ramah Day Camp in Nyack this past week, concluding a North American trek that has taken me to our 15 overnight and day camps. These are powerful visits and while I only have a glimpse of the magic unfolding, I am grateful for the opportunity I have at each site to form relationships, soak in joyful Judaism, and marvel at programmatic and educational innovation. There is so much to be proud of.
All of our camps have now reached the second half of their seasons—with it, the sweet satisfaction of all that has been accomplished and the fervent desire to take advantage of every minute of every day. I’ve visited 14 of our camps (so far) and this past week, I had the opportunity to spend time at our Philadelphia and Los Angeles day camps, Ramah Galim in Northern California and Ramah California in Ojai.
We are settling in: all of our North American camps are now open, 560 shlichim have arrived, and 92 teens have begun their journey on Ramah Israel Seminar. There is a sense of optimism: the joyful Jewish energy of children, teens, and young adults is palpable. This season, we will not take any of this for granted.
Kama tov she'batem ha’bayta: Welcome home, dear shlichim. You are our heroes. You bring us yontif!
Those who have spent any time at a Ramah camp know that Shabbat at Ramah electrifies the soul. Last weekend, Ramah Wisconsin's Shabbat delivered an especially potent spiritual charge. Early Friday night, the weather cooperated beautifully, with clear blue skies, and a calm breeze coming off the agam.
Over the course of our Shabbaton weekend, whose theme was spiritual resilience, each of the 20 participating college-aged students shared a personal reflection about times they drew on spirituality to get through a challenging moment in their lives. Many reflected on post-October 7th campus life and how they’ve relied on community, song, and teaching children as b’nai mitzvah tutors or religious school teachers to cope.
In January 2025, we welcomed a record number of participants on our vocational training track, with 10 participants from seven of our Ramah camps. This is our third year running this track, which focuses on developing leadership and vocational training skills for adults with disabilities who will return to work at camp in 2025 as part of vocational training programs or as staff members.
"My JTS colleagues and I were struck by one similarity of our Ramah visits this past summer—our teenage campers and our college-age staff are all yearning for pathways to deepen their knowledge base and their connection to Judaism." - Reflections from Rabbi Joel Seltzer, Vice Chancellor for Institutional Advancement, The Jewish Theological Seminary
"This may have been the most important year in Ramah's history. I am grateful to have spent the summer visiting 17 Ramah overnight and day camps and Ramah Israel Seminar. Each visit afforded me the opportunity to speak with our young adult staff members and listen as they shared reflections from the past year. …Their stories were filled with determination and hope and watching them experience joyful Judaism at Ramah camps has been proudly uplifting." - Reflections from Amy Skopp Cooper, CEO, National Ramah Commission
"We usually think of the incredible power of Ramah communities as being demonstrated through the joy of children’s summer camp experiences. At times we are reminded that the power of our Ramah kehillot is also demonstrated by the tremendous comfort and critical support provided to families who have suffered a loss". - Reflections from Rabbi Mitchell Cohen, Senior Advisor, National Ramah Commission
Reflections on a “historic summer” throughout the Ramah Camping Movement from Dr. Daniel Olson, Director of Strategic Initiatives and Research, National Ramah Commission.
"During the past six weeks, I have zigzagged across North America visiting the 15 Ramah overnight and day camps on this side of the Atlantic Ocean. It has been an extraordinary adventure and I am in awe of the work my colleagues and their staff are doing. " - Reflections from Amy Skopp Cooper, CEO, National Ramah Commission
"Given all the difficulties we Jews are facing, imagine the pure joy I felt participating in “the summer of joy” at Camp Ramah in the Berkshires. " - Reflections from Dr. Amy Kalmanofsky, Dean of List College and the Kekst Graduate School , The Jewish Theological Seminary
"Although I wish I could spend more time at each camp, I am grateful that each stop affords me the opportunity to talk with campers and staff, express gratitude to my colleagues, and get a glimpse of the Jewish joyfulness that makes Ramah….Ramah." - Reflections from Amy Skopp Cooper, CEO, National Ramah Commission
"Over the last week and a half, during exceptional visits to Camp Ramah in California (“Ojai”) and Camp Ramah in Wisconsin, I had the opportunity to meet with so many individuals and hear their renewed passion and appreciation for their Ramah communities." - Reflections from Amy Skopp Cooper, CEO, National Ramah Commission
"I've been able to celebrate our movement's growth this week while visiting the Ramah Day Camp Greater DC, Camp Ramah in Northern California (Ramah Galim), and Ramah Day Camp LA, our brand-new day camp (and our sixth day camp in North America). These three programs, in addition to our new overnight camp in Israel, now account for over 1,100 children entering the Ramah pipeline—and that is great news." - Reflections from Amy Skopp Cooper, CEO, National Ramah Commission
"It is at Ramah this summer where our young adult staff members will find Jewish community, form meaningful and authentic friendships, create safe space for dialogue and listening, and mark Jewish time together. I ask our tzevet (staff) to think about their summer aspirations, and encourage them to be exceptional staff, relationship builders, Jewish role models, learners, and teachers. I tell them, 'When you aspire, you inspire.'” - Reflections from Amy Skopp Cooper, CEO, National Ramah Commission
This spring, the National Ramah Commission hosted two groups of rashei edot (division heads) for our annual Louis & Shoshanah Winer Institute for Rosh Edah Training—one from May 21–22 in Jerusalem and another from June 3–5 at Camp Ramah New England in Palmer, MA.
A group of 14 young adults, 12 of whom were Ramah alumni, recently spent a week in Poland on Ha’dor Yizkor: A Reshet Ramah Poland Journey. During our week together, we honored the vibrancy of Jewish life that once existed in the country, bore witness to the unfathomable atrocities of the Shoah, grappled with complex questions about Poland’s modern Jewish community, and celebrated our Jewish identities proudly and joyfully through prayer, song, and dance.
We have just concluded two extraordinarily powerful back-to-back Israel missions for our North American staff and incoming shlichim. During the past two weeks in Israel, we brought together 300 members of the 2024 Ramah community, representing each of our North American camps.
It is poignant to end my summer journey in Israel. I am exceptionally proud that this summer, we said YES. As soon as Israel opened its gates, so did we. In doing so, we fulfilled our mission of creating enduring connections with the land and the people.. A collective kol ha’kavod to everyone who made that happen.
For the second year in a row, the National Ramah Commission invited North American staff members to join us for a week in Israel of volunteering, learning with the Shalom Hartman Institute, bearing witness in the Gaza Envelope, and meeting shlichim (Israeli staff members) before the summer season.
Last week's NRC Leaders Solidarity Trip to Israel, led by Ramah Israel Institute, was a powerful experience for the National Ramah officers, camp board members, and supporters of Ramah who participated.
We have just concluded two extraordinarily powerful back-to-back Israel missions for our North American staff and incoming shlichim. During the past two weeks in Israel, we brought together 300 members of the 2024 Ramah community, representing each of our North American camps.
Over the weekend of February 9–11, we convened 19 Ramah campus leaders for a Shabbaton about responding to antisemitism.
“I live in a country that is struggling to balance the emotion of intense relief and joy with fear and distress for those still held captive…I live in a country whose borders are so condensed, our land is so small, that each loss is existential and the tears of each mother are my tears as well.”
Reflections from Aliza Zeff, director of Tichon Ramah Yerushalayim (TRY)
“Hundreds of times, I've relayed the notorious stories of reservists being pulled from their homes, leaving their families behind to serve their country. Never did I think that I would experience the same feeling.”
Betsalel Steinhart, director of Ramah Israel Institute, reflects on the morning of October 7.
"I have no idea what the next hour, the next day, or the next month will bring. This I know: we must be strong, hopeful and proud."
As we commemorate Kristallnacht today, Amy Skopp Cooper, National Ramah Director, offers her reflections on her time in Israel over the past month, including the Masorti Solidarity Mission.
Because of Ramah’s investments and partnerships with the Shalom Hartman Institute and others (including The Jewish Agency and the World Zionist Organization, we anticipate that Ramah camps this summer will be communities where conversation, study and experiences of Israel will be passionate, thoughtful and engaging, with space for productive disagreement. In so doing, we will confidently assert and deepen our core commitment to Israel.
Our Maslul Yisrael 2023 cohort of 18 senior counselors, who will be working at nine different Ramah camps this summer, spent May 15-21 engaged in deep learning with the Shalom Hartman Institute.
One of the highlights of the busy pre-summer preparation season is the training of mishlachat members at Kibbutz Shefayim. This year’s Shefayim, with its focus on sacrifice, celebration, and sharing personal narratives, lays the foundation for a summer of dialogue and connection that we hope will strengthen bonds among the Jewish people.
I had the privilege of spending the past week with our Tichon Ramah Yerushalayim high school students during their journey to Poland. I don't use the word privilege lightly—joining this group of 38 passionate, thoughtful, and articulate teens, along with our gifted educators, was an extraordinary experience.
Six participants in the Kerem cohort—young professionals working full-time for Ramah camps—traveled to Israel with the National Ramah Commission for a week of learning, touring, and welcoming nearly 350 shlichim and shlichot and 70 NOAM campers at Kibbutz Shefayim. The trip emphasized Jewish peoplehood at all levels.
We are excited to announce that this year, Ramah will begin its first-ever immersive Israel experience for college graduates! Ramah Israel has been selected to run the Masa Israel Teaching Fellows (MITF) program in Jerusalem, starting in August 2019.
In the inaugural year of the Ramah Asiyah program, Magen David Adom and Ramah Israel Seminar have partnered to offer teens an immersive internship program working as emergency responders.
We, the leadership of Ramah, are proud that Zionism is a central part of our core mission, as we nurture within our campers and staff members a deep and enduring love for Israel.
Unfortunately, some recent articles in the Jewish press have mischaracterized our educational mission, leading some to believe that our 70-year history of strong pro-Israel ideology has changed. It has not.
Dalya Kahn, an alum of Ramah California, won first prize for “Unity,” her entry to the 2018 Mercaz/WLCJ Essay Contest on “Rethinking Zionism ~ What Does Zionism Mean to Me?”
...people with disabilities are very capable of connecting in a meaningful way with Jewish ritual, practice, and knowledge, and with Israel. When our summer camps, synagogues, youth groups, schools, communities and Israel trips open their doors to include everyone, the payoff is as clear as the beautiful sky we saw from Jaffa on the last night of our trip of a lifetime.
To be a member of the Ramah kehilla (community in Hebrew) is a beautiful gift. We learn how to accept and love others for their weaknesses and not just their strengths....We learn how to ask for forgiveness and to forgive, to embrace our differences, to celebrate with immeasurable joy during the good times, and to comfort each other with endless sympathy during the hard times.
A partnership between Ramah Tikvah, Amazing Israel and Birthright Israel brings young adults with disabilities to Israel
Sha’ar program at Camp Ramah in Nyack teaches campers Hebrew while Israeli counselors learn about Jewish identity.
Ramah Day Camp makes language an integral part of camp life
One of the more remarkable things we do as a Ramah movement is bring nearly 300 young Israelis to our camps each summer. I always knew that shlichim were a great part of camp, but until I first attended the Summer Shlichim Training Seminar in Israel, sponsored by the Jewish Agency, I didn’t realize just how impactful the mishlachat program is.
“Young American Jews and young Israelis form long and enduring relationships that extend well beyond the eight- to nine-week summer experience they share together,” Amy Skopp Cooper, director of Camp Ramah Nyack, north of New York City, and national associate director of Ramah, says.
I’ve led Kabbalat Shabbat many times before, but this time is profoundly different. As I sing out the opening words to Yedid Nefesh, I hear only the voices of a handful of Ramah directors amid a sea of 250 people. I look around and see newly-minted Ramah Israeli staff members opening a Masorti siddur, hearing Carlebach melodies, and sitting next to co-daveners of the opposite gender, some for the very first time in their lives. By the second psalm, even though the words are still new, more and more people start to join in, humming and singing along. At one point, moved by the power of the music, shlichim start to get up and dance, forming concentric circles in the middle of our makom teffilah. This is the training seminar for summer shlichim, Israeli emissaries who come to Ramah camps each summer through the Jewish Agency, and I hold the heavy responsibility of being the first person to introduce them to Conservative Judaism in a real, tangible way – the way they’ll come to know and love Judaism at camp in just a few months.
There’s a small buzzing slice of Israeli culture right in the heart of Rockland County. Up the winding country roads of Nyack, on a sprawling green estate, it’s 8:30 AM, and Israeli music is blasting. Hundreds of children in colorful T-shirts, shorts and sandals are running towards the central field to dance to Tel Aviv’s latest hits. Welcome to Sha’ar, Camp Ramah’s Areivim Hebrew at Camp program: seven weeks designed to instill Hebrew language fluency in young children through full language immersion. Here, roughly half of the campers are from day school, half are from public school, and some are from charter schools. Their knowledge of Hebrew is varied: some come from Israeli homes, while others don’t know a word of Hebrew when they first enter camp.
Amidst cheers, dancing, and singing, we just concluded the 2015 Mishlachat Training Seminar,which for the first time was held at the Givat Haviva Educational Institute, about halfway between Tel Aviv and Haifa. We are very grateful to our partners at The Jewish Agency who organize this four-day program and provide Ramah leadership with the unique opportunity to work with the 188 new Ramah shlichim joining us this summer. And unique it was: this was the first year that the training seminar began on Yom Ha’Shoah. Just minutes before the shlichim arrived, Ramah directors stood together and listened to the two-minute siren heard throughout Israel. As we marked Jewish time, it was not lost on us how interconnected memory and destiny are to one another. Minutes after the siren, the most idealistic young ambassadors of Israel joined us.
Shira spent her first summer as a member of our Israel delegation in 2006. Tall, energetic, and charismatic, Shira was the type of young woman who seemed to run instead of walk, always with a bounce in her step. She was and remains a passionate young educator, drama teacher, and baseball player.
The ongoing war, misery, and anxiety in Israel and Gaza stand in sharp contrast to the incredible joy appropriately taking place at all of our camps.
Sandwiched between both these worlds are our 250 shlichim and our 250 participants on Ramah Seminar in Israel. Our shlichim are doing an incredible job continuing to plan programs, teach, and share their love for Israel with our campers, even as they closely monitor their families' safety under missile fire and the lists of the dead and wounded IDF soldiers who may be their friends, comrades, or relatives.
Noah Silver, 16, had looked forward to Camp Ramah’s summer trip to Israel for several years; his sister, who went two years ago, raved about it, as did other past participants. But his trip turned out to be very different.
To mark the end of JDAIM 2026, we are pleased to share reflections from NRC’s 2025–2026 parent and Tikvah alumni initiatives.
In January 2025, we welcomed a record number of participants on our vocational training track, with 10 participants from seven of our Ramah camps. This is our third year running this track, which focuses on developing leadership and vocational training skills for adults with disabilities who will return to work at camp in 2025 as part of vocational training programs or as staff members.
Our magical Tikvah Ramah Birthright Trip concluded yesterday with visits to the Old City and Machaneh Yehudah yesterday, and we are now back in North America.. We experienced so many of the wonderful things that Israel has to offer, and we have made friends from other Ramah camps.
It has been almost three years since we launched TikvahNet, Ramah’s virtual vocational training and socialization program for current Tikvah participants (aged 18+) and Ramah alumni with disabilities. Our in-person and virtual programs have engaged over 100 Ramah alumni with disabilities from across North America, and we have many exciting initiatives on the horizon.
Attendees at the National Ramah Winter Leadership Training Conference immersed themselves in a Ramah environment for four days, reconnecting with friends from their own camps, and sharing in traditions from the 12 Ramah summer camps and Israel programs represented
Over the past year, Ramah has continued to expand programming and leadership opportunities for Ramah alumni with disabilities. During Jewish Disability Awareness, Acceptance and Inclusion Month (JDAIM), we reflect on how far we have come over the past year, and are looking ahead to ways that we can continue to expand.
Five Ramah New England alumni surprised their bunkmate, who was speaking at a panel discussion in recognition of Jewish Disability Awareness, Acceptance and Inclusion Month (JDAIM) 2022.
“TikvahNet,” the movement-wide online programming run by the National Ramah Tikvah Network, has engaged over 80 current or former Tikvah-supported campers in addition to the programs offered by our camps.
Quinn Lohmann’’s mother Kathy Finn credits his five summers at Ramah California’s Ezra voc ed program with preparing him for attending the Pathway program at UCLA, a two-year certificate program for students with intellectual and other developmental disabilities, offering a blend of educational, social, and vocational experiences.
Sarah’s mother Sheri said there is no doubt that Sarah’s ability to successfully move to Ohio to live with her sister Allison and work at the preschool are due in large part to the independent living skills and sense of purpose she gained from her years with the Tikvah Support Program at Ramah Darom. Sarah, 23, still returns to Darom every summer to work with the children in the camp’s gan.
Asking for clarification or repetition of instructions is a skill Jacob learned in Atzmayim, the Tikvah vocational program at Ramah Wisconsin. He participated in the program in summer 2011, and during the subsequent three summers he was part of the camp’s staff, working in the camp office. “I learned a lot at Ramah — things like working in a team environment, having one another’s back, and stepping up to help when things get hectic and work overtime,” Jacob said.
Alison Rudolph credits Ramah New England’s vocational educational program with helping to prepare her son, Aaron, to succeed at his job with Walgreens. “He learned to have a work ethic, be disciplined, how to interact with people, and to help people — basically to understand the concept of customer satisfaction,” she said.
“The Tikvah virtual vocational training and socializing series offered reliability and predictability during uncertain times; it offered friendship and conversation during a summer when in-person socializing wasn’t possible. The program expanded the world of our participants.”
For the past 50 years and still today, Tikvah inspires us at Ramah camps and across the international Jewish community to question – are we approaching our relationships and our communities through Jewish eyes?
Summer 2020 marks the 30th anniversary of the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) into law which coincides with the 50th anniversary of the start of the National Ramah Tikvah inclusion program.
Each February, we recognize Jewish Disability Awareness and Inclusion Month (JDAIM) by sharing highlights from this past summer's Tikvah programs and year-round Tikvah-related activities.
We are delighted to announce that over the last several weeks, the National Ramah Commission (NRC) has received various new grants of $1.2 million in order to develop initiative for Tikvah vocational education expansion, professional internships for college students, development of supplemental staff training materials promoting child safety, and intensive leadership training for college sophomores.
This past April, the 112 riders, hikers, and volunteers on the Ramah Israel Bike Ride and Hiking Trip raised more than $540,000 to benefit Ramah Tikvah programs for children, teens, and young adults with disabilities. During summer 2019, a total of 423 individuals will participate in Tikvah-affiliated programs. It is a privilege to share with you this report on this summer's plans for how Ramah camps will be using the Tikvah funds raised on the ride/hike, both 1) programmatically and 2) for the financial support of families with children with disabilities who also have financial constraints.
Camp Ramah in California, Camp Ramah Darom, Ramah Day Camp in Nyack, and Camp Ramah in the Poconos are among the first recipients of a new grant to increase accessibility for campers and staff with disabilities through Foundation for Jewish Camp’s Yashar Initiative.
The Ramah Camping Movement’s network of Tikvah (“Hope”) programs, which currently serves nearly 400 participants each summer in ten overnight camps, five day camps and Israel programs, is currently celebrating 50 years from its first memorable summer in 1970.
In February, after a mean case of the flu, I ended up in the hospital for meningitis. A couple of days into my treatment, I developed a brain bleed (a rare side effect of meningitis) that led me to lose mobility on my left side. This was the first time I had personally experienced physical disability. Until now, my experience was limited to working with students or campers with physical disabilities. I could try to imagine what it was like, but I was not in their shoes. Now it was happening to me.
In the late 1960’s, Herb and Barbara Greenberg, two teachers working in the field of special education, approached several Jewish summer camps with a novel idea: why not include children with disabilities at camp?
At the time, this was an unheard-of idea, and the Greenbergs encountered a lot of pushback and opposition.
"Tikvah at Ramah is as natural and integral to Jewish summer camping as Shabbat, campfires and color war. For that reason, after nearly 25 years of working with Tikvah at Ramah, I sometimes forget how extraordinary it is that campers with disabilities are seamlessly included in Jewish camping." - Howard Blas, National Ramah Tikvah Director
"At Camp Ramah, we try to individualize programs that benefit each type of camper who comes through our door. I meet individually with families. I talk to parents. I meet with teachers and educators to figure how we could we make camp successful for all different types of kids. I work with typical campers, too, to see how we can make camp successful for them." - Elana Naftalin-Kelman, Tikvah Director
...people with disabilities are very capable of connecting in a meaningful way with Jewish ritual, practice, and knowledge, and with Israel. When our summer camps, synagogues, youth groups, schools, communities and Israel trips open their doors to include everyone, the payoff is as clear as the beautiful sky we saw from Jaffa on the last night of our trip of a lifetime.
“Israel is just as important to the Tikvah participants and their families on this Birthright trip as it is to all those Jews who view the Land of Israel and the State of Israel as their Jewish homeland,” said Herb Greenberg, who founded the Tikvah program with his wife, Barbara, in 1970.
A partnership between Ramah Tikvah, Amazing Israel and Birthright Israel brings young adults with disabilities to Israel
In partnership with Keshet, a Chicago-area program for Jewish children with special needs, Ramah Day Camp hosts an experience for children ages 5-11 with a wide range of disabilities. Campers enroll through Keshet and are fully integrated with Ramah campers with the help of a one-to-one counselor.
This summer I spent time with several of our program partners and friends – Camp Ramah, Adaptive Sports of New England, the Boys and Girls Club of Dorchester and Boston, the Jewish Community Center of the North Shore, and Camp Yavneh, to name a few.
Atzmayim, the Hebrew word for “independent,” is an extension of Tikvah, Ramah’s program for campers on the autism spectrum or who have other social or learning challenges. All Atzmayim participants are high school graduates between ages 18 and 23, and they all work three hours a day, five days a week, in the town of Eagle River, about 15 minutes from Camp Ramah in Wisconsin.
This week, 31 Rashei Edah and 10 year-round professionals gathered at Ramah Darom for Winer, our annual Rosh Edah training conference. The days were filled with learning, leadership growth, and preparation for Kayitz 2026.
Weinstein 2026 reminded us that the Ramah spirit shines brightly even when the path gets muddy. We are heading home with a clearer vision and a deeper commitment to our chanichim (campers). We’re ready to lead, rain or shine, for Kayitz 2026.
From May 27-29, 19 rashei edot (division heads) from nine Ramah camps gathered at Ramah Nyack for the National Ramah Commission’s annual Louis & Shoshanah Winer Institute for Rosh Edah Training. Participants spent two and a half days learning from one another, sharing their camp’s best practices, and collaborating on ideas in preparation for their roles during kayitz 2025.
Over the course of our Shabbaton weekend, whose theme was spiritual resilience, each of the 20 participating college-aged students shared a personal reflection about times they drew on spirituality to get through a challenging moment in their lives. Many reflected on post-October 7th campus life and how they’ve relied on community, song, and teaching children as b’nai mitzvah tutors or religious school teachers to cope.
"It is at Ramah this summer where our young adult staff members will find Jewish community, form meaningful and authentic friendships, create safe space for dialogue and listening, and mark Jewish time together. I ask our tzevet (staff) to think about their summer aspirations, and encourage them to be exceptional staff, relationship builders, Jewish role models, learners, and teachers. I tell them, 'When you aspire, you inspire.'” - Reflections from Amy Skopp Cooper, CEO, National Ramah Commission
This spring, the National Ramah Commission hosted two groups of rashei edot (division heads) for our annual Louis & Shoshanah Winer Institute for Rosh Edah Training—one from May 21–22 in Jerusalem and another from June 3–5 at Camp Ramah New England in Palmer, MA.
A group of 14 young adults, 12 of whom were Ramah alumni, recently spent a week in Poland on Ha’dor Yizkor: A Reshet Ramah Poland Journey. During our week together, we honored the vibrancy of Jewish life that once existed in the country, bore witness to the unfathomable atrocities of the Shoah, grappled with complex questions about Poland’s modern Jewish community, and celebrated our Jewish identities proudly and joyfully through prayer, song, and dance.
We have just concluded two extraordinarily powerful back-to-back Israel missions for our North American staff and incoming shlichim. During the past two weeks in Israel, we brought together 300 members of the 2024 Ramah community, representing each of our North American camps.
Over the weekend of February 9–11, we convened 19 Ramah campus leaders for a Shabbaton about responding to antisemitism.
The Bert B. Weinstein Leadership Institute always comes at a time when our college-aged staff members yearn for their Ramah community. But this year, that yearning was even deeper than usual, after the events of October 7th and their impact on college campuses. Weinstein became more than just a mid-year opportunity to be in Ramah community and to learn new skills as madrichim, vocational participants, and rashei edot. It was a weekend filled with Jewish joy, pride, and community.
Because of Ramah’s investments and partnerships with the Shalom Hartman Institute and others (including The Jewish Agency and the World Zionist Organization, we anticipate that Ramah camps this summer will be communities where conversation, study and experiences of Israel will be passionate, thoughtful and engaging, with space for productive disagreement. In so doing, we will confidently assert and deepen our core commitment to Israel.
This year’s Louis and Shoshana Winer Leadership Institute for Rashei Edot brought together 31 participants from 10 different Ramah camps from May 22-24 at Ramah Day Camp in Nyack.
Our Maslul Yisrael 2023 cohort of 18 senior counselors, who will be working at nine different Ramah camps this summer, spent May 15-21 engaged in deep learning with the Shalom Hartman Institute.
One of the highlights of the busy pre-summer preparation season is the training of mishlachat members at Kibbutz Shefayim. This year’s Shefayim, with its focus on sacrifice, celebration, and sharing personal narratives, lays the foundation for a summer of dialogue and connection that we hope will strengthen bonds among the Jewish people.
The Kerem cohort of young professionals working year-round for Ramah camps visited Berlin over Yom HaShoah. It was an incredibly moving experience. We saw firsthand how a Jewish community rebuilds itself after tragedy.
It has been almost three years since we launched TikvahNet, Ramah’s virtual vocational training and socialization program for current Tikvah participants (aged 18+) and Ramah alumni with disabilities. Our in-person and virtual programs have engaged over 100 Ramah alumni with disabilities from across North America, and we have many exciting initiatives on the horizon.
Attendees at the National Ramah Winter Leadership Training Conference immersed themselves in a Ramah environment for four days, reconnecting with friends from their own camps, and sharing in traditions from the 12 Ramah summer camps and Israel programs represented
From December 19-28, 2022, our group of 11 Maslul Argentina participants and two National Ramah staff members had an extraordinary experience that combined work at a Jewish summer camp outside of Buenos Aires, meaningful service in the historic Jewish community of Basavilbaso, and time in the vibrant city of Buenos Aires, home to the largest Jewish community in Latin America.
The 2022 National Ramah Spring Leadership Training Conference --also known as Winer--was held from May 31-June 3 at Camp Ramah Darom in Clayton, GA. Winer 2022 was particularly meaningful as it was our first in-person staff training hosted at a Ramah camp in two and a half years.
We are thrilled to welcome to Jerusalem 18 Maslul Yisrael fellows, who will be working at 9 different Ramah camps this summer. Our week of learning at the Shalom Hartman Institute מכון שלום הרטמן is off to a great start, getting us thinking about the Israel we imagine and the Israel education we imagine bringing with us to camp.
Six participants in the Kerem cohort—young professionals working full-time for Ramah camps—traveled to Israel with the National Ramah Commission for a week of learning, touring, and welcoming nearly 350 shlichim and shlichot and 70 NOAM campers at Kibbutz Shefayim. The trip emphasized Jewish peoplehood at all levels.
Last week, over 100 madrichim and madrichot (counselors), rashei edah (division heads), vocational participants, Maslul Yisrael Fellows, and Amitei Ramah (year-round Ramah Fellows) from across the Ramah Camping Movement joined together to participate in the Weinstein Winter Leadership Institute, an inspiring two-day virtual staff training conference.
This week, 122 madrichim and madrichot (counselors), rashei edah (division heads), and Amitei Ramah (year-round Ramah Fellows) from across the Ramah Camping Movement joined together to participate in the Weinstein Winter Leadership Institute, an inspiring 3-day virtual staff training conference.
Through this program at Camp Ramah in Northern California, we noticed the barriers between teens and mentors, whether rabbi, cantor, rosh edah, or others, were lessened. Teens realized their mentors cared about them, made themselves available to them, and that they treasured having one-on-one conversations with them – our teens mattered.
At the conclusion of this year’s National Ramah Winter Leadership Training Conference at Camp Ramah in Ojai, California, over 40 participants joined an extended Ramah leadership institute.
For the 130 attendees of this year’s National Ramah Winter Leadership Training Conference, last weekend was a chance to be in an immersive Ramah environment for 4 days, and remind themselves why they are so strongly committed to their role as madrichim (counselors).
We are delighted to announce that over the last several weeks, the National Ramah Commission (NRC) has received various new grants of $1.2 million in order to develop initiative for Tikvah vocational education expansion, professional internships for college students, development of supplemental staff training materials promoting child safety, and intensive leadership training for college sophomores.
At many of our overnight camps, campers in the oldest edah plan Yom Sport or Maccabiah. They use their creativity and organizational skills, work as a team, and serve as role models for younger campers. Running Maccabiah or Yom Sport--or being chosen as a team captain--is something that campers throughout the Ramah Camping Movement look forward to from the time that they are in the youngest edot.
In a small office of a Jewish day camp in Rockland County’s Nyack, two counselors, one from Israel and one from the United States, are comparing notes on a recent morning about the tone of political discussions in their respective countries. It’s getting worse in both places, they agree.
This year, for the second year, a group of participants at the Bert B. Weinstein Institute, Ramah’s winter leadership conference, wrapped up their time in California with a unique Ramah experience - at Disneyland! Our program included nearly 50 participants, with representatives from almost all of our camps, including “vatikim” (college sophomores), Ramah College Network Fellows, Ramah Service Corps Fellows, and rashei edah (division heads).
Ramah alumni and friends gathered last week in Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City, and Philadelphia to celebrate Purim with Reshet Ramah Ba’Ir: our program for 20s and 30s engagement.
In September 2023, National Ramah launched Reshet Ramah Ba’Ir, a new name for programming for 20s and 30s alumni and friends. Since then, we have hosted 26 events in 7 cities, which have brought together 1,200 collective attendees.
The Ramah College Network (RCN) has achieved continued success in its mission to harness the leadership, creativity, and passion of young adults, empowering them to strengthen both the Ramah alumni and the wider Jewish communities on their respective campuses.
Over the weekend of February 9–11, we convened 19 Ramah campus leaders for a Shabbaton about responding to antisemitism.
“[Ramah New England] did everything in their capacity to make it possible for him to have this precious time with his friends and to recapture some semblance of adolescence that he’s missed over the last year.”
Landing one of the lead roles in the Netflix mini-series “Unorthodox” was life-changing for Israeli actor Amit Rahav. “But so was being a shaliach to Camp Ramah Darom,” Amit said.
It was a reunion almost eight decades in the making, except for one thing – the two parties had never actually met each other before. When Sharon Zadik and Laurel Rebenstock came face-to-face with each other for the first time this past summer at Camp Ramah in Utterson, Ont., they were rekindling a bond between their two families that started during the Second World War.
“Jewish summer camp is a rite of passage for many American Jewish families for a multitude of reasons. In our family, Ramah has been a source of community, a center for education, a dating pool and profoundly impactful on the formulation of Jewish identity…. We wanted to pass that same gift along to our children…” -Dave Cutler, Ramah New England Alumnuis
The Ramah Camping Movement, with generous foundation support, has launched numerous new programs that engage hundreds of college students on campus, in their local Jewish communities, and in new Ramah training programs. This investment is helping to create a strong Jewish leadership pipeline as we give young adults numerous opportunities to envision and plan events and participate in meaningful Jewish programs. In any given week, young adults--our "Amitei Ramah"--organize over 20 Ramah events across North America.
After our piece last week about Camp Ramah alumni starring (or about to star) on Broadway, we have a few updates.
Turns out that singing in Hebrew in front of your peers may be the ticket to superstardom
Dear Evan Hansen’ star credits Conservative Judaism’s camping movement with helping him ‘decide for myself what kind of Jew I would be’.
Based on research conducted for the National Ramah Commission by Professor Steven M. Cohen of Hebrew Union CollegeJewish Institute of Religion and the Berman Jewish Policy Archive at Stanford University. This study was supported by generous funding from Eileen and Jerry Lieberman.
Study confirms that Ramah alumni are much more highly engaged in Jewish life than other Jews of similar backgrounds.
The Ramah Camping Movement announces the results of “The Alumni of Ramah Camps: A Portrait of Jewish Engagement.” This survey of more than 5,000 camper alumni was conducted by Professor Steven M. Cohen of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion and the Berman Jewish Policy Archive at Stanford University.
For as long as I can remember, Camp Ramah has been a central part of my life. In fact, I vividly remember standing in the kitchen with my mom when I was eight years old trying to figure out my plans for the upcoming summer. My mom told me it would be wonderful if I chose a Jewish camp. With friends at Tamarack and my older siblings at Ramah, the decision seemed almost impossible to make. But I did ultimately decide to go to Camp Ramah in Canada.
In 1996, before alumni engagement was a buzz phrase in the philanthropy industry, a group of Camp Ramah in the Berkshires young alumni (recent college graduates) sought a place to play basketball with their camp friends. For many of them, playing on the courts in camp was one of their favorite memories as a camper and as a staff member. Without realizing it, this group of four teams of ten established the Ramah Berkshires Alumni Association’s basketball league – known as the RBA.
For many former campers, summer camp is not just a place to ride horses, race canoes and tie-dye T-shirts. It’s a place to meet people who become their family.
The level of Jewish engagement and support for Israel on college campuses can be significantly strengthened by leveraging the incredibly positive Jewish experiences of the thousands of undergrads who spend their summers at Jewish camps. It is absolutely time for camp and campus leaders to work more closely together to harness this leadership potential to increase Jewish engagement and positive identification with Israel.
When Gabe Scott-Dicker, 30, lost his mother last year, he found him-self wondering where he was going to say Kaddish.Like most in his generation, he does not belong to a synagogue. Raised in West Caldwell, New Jersey, and now living in Manhattan, he visited many and felt welcomed by all. But none of them felt quite right. “What I really wanted was that feeling you get at camp,” he realized. “I wanted that Friday night Camp Ramah experience again.”
Jewish outreach on college campuses and through synagogues has, over the past two decades, become the norm. We are no longer surprised to hear that freshmen who never self-identified as Jews were invited to a Shabbat dinner on campus, or that synagogues are revamping their schools to accommodate competition from soccer practice and the plethora of activities many families choose over their children’s Jewish education.
The first-ever partnership between JDate and a Jewish camping movement has launched. A project of the Reshet Ramah alumni and community engagement initiative, RamahDate will offer former Ramah campers and staff members the opportunity to connect online with other Ramah alumni 18 years of age and older who share the passion for vibrant Jewish life that characterizes the Camp Ramah experience.
For as long as I can remember, Camp Ramah has been a central part of my life. In fact, I vividly remember standing in the kitchen with my mom when I was eight years old trying to figure out my plans for the upcoming summer. My mom told me it would be wonderful if I chose a Jewish camp. With friends at Tamarack and my older siblings at Ramah, the decision seemed almost impossible to make. But I did ultimately decide to go to Camp Ramah in Canada.
For those who went to sleepaway camp, there is a special nostalgia for that summer experience. Even romance. The company JDate will soon tap into that feeling in what will be the first Jewish camp-specific dating service. It’s called Ramah Date and will cater to alumni of Camp Ramah.
Beth and Jeff Kopin are one of an estimated 700 married couples to have met at one of the Conservative movement’s Ramah camps. The Kopins, who fell in love at Ramah Wisconsin in the 1970s, went on to raise a flock of “Ramahniks.”
“There’s this family feeling if you meet another Ramahnik,” says Beth Kopin, who calls herself a “Ramah lifer” and splits her time between Chicago and Jerusalem. “There’s the communal experience of Shabbat singing, of keeping kosher, of being in a Hebrew musical, of exploring Israel together. It’s being part of a smaller tribe within a larger tribe.”
This past weekend, I was reminded about the true meaning of Judaism.
But not from reading the Torah or the Talmud or from talking to a rabbi.
Last weekend, 15 rowdy teenagers from across North America taught me everything I need to know about what it really means to be a Jew.
It’s not like this was my first opportunity to connect with my heritage. Growing up in Montreal, we were members of the still-in-its-infancy Reconstructionist synagogue. My parents chose to send their five kids to Jewish day school, and I even opted to continue on to a Jewish high school. I was active in BBYO, serving as chapter and regional president.
The top ten Ramah colleges for this year are (in descending order): Michigan, Binghamton, Brandeis, Indiana, Maryland, Washington University in St. Louis, Western University, Queen's University, JTS: List College, and University of Florida.
In a first-ever program partnership, the Ramah Camping Movement and Young Judaea have announced the Learning Hub project. This new initiative will actively engage young professionals in ongoing Jewish learning organized by camp alumni peers in four cities - Chicago, Miami, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C. The initiative, which will be funded largely by the Jim Joseph Foundation with an investment of $250,000 over two years, will aim to connect camp alumni to serious Jewish learning and to greater engagement within their Jewish communities.
Adina Allen is a Camp Ramah poster child. She spent six summers at Camp Ramah in Wisconsin as a camper and as many summers since on staff.
This was her second summer as a rosh edah (division head). In her “off season,” Allen tries to connect with those counselors who, like she, attend Washington University in St. Louis.
he campers and staff of Camp Ramah in Nyack danced with the crazed enthusiasm of people who had just won a $100 million jackpot. It was just past 9 a.m., the last Friday of camp in Rockland County, New York, and the Hebrew song playing was fittingly called "Lo Normali." I could not help but think that this amount of energy was freakish.
In a first season episode of the HBO series “Girls,” Shoshanna Shapiro (Zosia Mamet), a student in her early 20s, is strolling down the streets of Manhattan when she hears: “Shoshanna! Hey, remember me? It’s Matt. Matt Kornstein? Camp Ramah? You led the most intense kitchen raid I ever saw in my time as a junior counselor.”
On the final day of the 2019 Ramah Israel Bike Ride and Hiking Trip, hikers explored the beautiful colored sands of Timna, and riders took a variety of routes, all ending in a magnificent descent into Eilat with a view of the Red Sea. We gathered at Coral Beach with a sense of awe and gratitude-- for new friends, for safety, and for the successful completion of what for so many of us was a new challenge.
Former Tikvah participant joins Israel hike to benefit the program that supported him in younger years
The power of sharing stories while biking and hiking through Israel to benefit National Ramah Tikvah Network
For Bay Area native Deborah Hoffman Gonzalez, it was a succinct checklist that inspired her to bike through Israel last month: the country itself, a love of cycling and helping kids with special needs.
For Ben Yellin and Jeff Brand, of Swampscott and Marblehead respectively, participating in the Ramah Israel Bike Ride fundraiser to support special needs camp programs was a no-brainer. Both are avid riders, both love Israel, and both have sons who attended the Tikvah program at Camp Ramah in Palmer as youngsters and, last summer, as adults. Yellin, 59, who rode 257 miles, said the May 12-19 trip was an opportunity to reconnect with some of the people he had met when he did the ride in 2013. “The ride was like a reunion for me. The bond was amazing,” he said.
The summer camping season at Ramah has not even begun, and yet I have already been privileged to participate in a series of Ramah programs over the last few weeks that have left me truly inspired.
Seven Ukrainian teen athletes will be welcomed thius summer by Ramah Sports Academy, a program of Camp Ramah in Northern California, thanks to a collaboration with Maccabi USA and Maccabi Ukraine.
Ramah Yachad in Ukraine opened its doors 26 years ago to foster positive Jewish identity and learning, complementing the work of the existing (few) Masorti congregations and Jewish schools in Ukraine. The camp welcomes students from large and small communities throughout Ukraine as well as some staff from Israel and creates a joyous, open-minded, accepting, authentic and rich 2-week Jewish experience that 150 campers and staff look forward to and return to year after year.
It’s always exciting for the staff and campers at Camp Ramah Yachad Ukraine to come together every summer for 10 days of Jewish living and learning. This summer’s camp from July 27 to August 6 was extra special, as Yachad celebrated its 25th anniversary and The Schechter Institutes honored Yachad director Gila Katz, who has led the camp since its inception.
This year, Camp “Ramah Yachad” Ukraine is celebrating the 25th anniversary of its establishment. The camp, founded and funded by Midreshet Yerushalayim and The Schechter Institutes Inc., has played a vital role in the revival of Jewish life among thousands of Jews in the FSU and has helped rebuild Jewish communities in Ukraine.
Native Detroiter Darrien Sherman has worked in the Ramah Detroit Davidson Fellowship program for three years. She spent many summers at Camp Ramah in Canada as a camper and staff member. From July 28-Aug. 10, she co-led a group of 11 Ramah camper graduates to work at Camp Ramah Yachad, a Jewish summer camp in the Ukraine as part of the Ramah Ukraine Teen Leadership Experience.
A fantastic group of high school students from Ramah camps across North America are exploring Hungary and Ukraine through the Ramah Ukraine Leadership Experience. They will be serving as counselors at Camp Ramah Yachad, run by The Schechter Institute.
A fantastic group of high school students from Ramah camps across North America are exploring Hungary and Ukraine through the Ramah Ukraine Leadership Experience. They will be serving as counselors at Camp Ramah Yachad, run by The Schechter Institute.
What do 135 Jewish children from all over Ukraine, 25 counselors and staff from Ukraine and Israel, 13 junior counselors from seven North American Ramah summer camps, a Ramah mission led by Rabbi Mitch Cohen, National Director of Ramah, and the heads of the Schechter Institutes in Jerusalem have in common? We all gathered together at Camp Ramah Yachad Ukraine last week to celebrate the wedding of Lev and Yulia Kleiman.
A fantastic group of high school students from Ramah camps across North America are exploring Hungary and Ukraine through the Ramah Ukraine Leadership Experience. They will be serving as counselors at Camp Ramah Yachad, run by The Schechter Institute.
A fantastic group of high school students from Ramah camps across North America are exploring Hungary and Ukraine through the Ramah Ukraine Leadership Experience. They will be serving as counselors at Camp Ramah Yachad, run by The Schechter Institute.
A fantastic group of high school students from Ramah camps across North America are exploring Hungary and Ukraine through the Ramah Ukraine Leadership Experience. They will be serving as counselors at Camp Ramah Yachad, run by The Schechter Institute.
A fantastic group of high school students from Ramah camps across North America are exploring Hungary and Ukraine through the Ramah Ukraine Leadership Experience. They will be serving as counselors at Camp Ramah Yachad, run by The Schechter Institute.
A fantastic group of high school students from Ramah camps across North America are exploring Hungary and Ukraine through the Ramah Ukraine Leadership Experience. They will be serving as counselors at Camp Ramah Yachad, run by The Schechter Institute.
A fantastic group of high school students from Ramah camps across North America are exploring Hungary and Ukraine through the Ramah Ukraine Leadership Experience. They will be serving as counselors at Camp Ramah Yachad, run by The Schechter Institute.
Guest blogger: Emma Siegel, Camp Ramah in Wisconsin
A fantastic group of high school students from Ramah camps across North America are exploring Hungary and Ukraine through theRamah Ukraine Leadership Experience. They will be serving as counselors at Camp Ramah Yachad, run by The Schechter Institute.
Guest blogger: Jonah Eisen, Camp Ramah in Canada
A fantastic group of high school students from Ramah camps across North America are exploring Hungary and Ukraine through the Ramah Ukraine Leadership Experience. They will be serving as counselors at Camp Ramah Yachad, run by The Schechter Institute.
“There are a lot of things going on in the world now,” Rabbi Ami Hersh, director of Ramah Day Camp in Nyack, said. “A lot of tough things. I felt like we needed to find a way at camp, in the Jewish context, to explain to our staff and campers that they really can make a difference in the world, and that their voices could be heard within the context of American politics.”