Distinguishing Between the Kodesh and the Chol, The Sacred and the Regular

By Rabbi Joel Seltzer, Vice Chancellor for Institutional Advancement, JTS

Herman Wouk, in This is My God, wrote:

“For the ordinary worshipper, the rewards of a lifetime of faithful praying come at unpredictable times, scattered through the years, when all at once the liturgy glows as with fire.”

One such moment struck me a few weeks ago, late one Saturday night when I was visiting my forever home, Camp Ramah in the Poconos.  As JTS’s Vice Chancellor of Institutional Advancement, these visits “home” are especially meaningful. 

As the sun slowly sets behind the hills, sunlight shines through the camp, casting a glow on campers and counselors at Shiyur Bein HaArbayim, a reflective conversation about the past week and the week that lies ahead. When the conversation ends, counselors rise, leading the campers arm-in-arm, into the hadar ochel for seudah sh’lishit. After dinner the entire camp passionately sings songs such as “Yerushalayim Shel Zahav” in powerful unison, and the evening concludes with an energetic (if not raucous) birkat hamazon. 

As the campers ran off to havdalah, my wife and I stayed on the porch of the hadar ochel with other staff members for our “grown-up” service.

I glanced down at my watch. It was 8:45pm “camp time.” Shabbat had ended in the “real world” forty-five minutes ago, and nobody really noticed or cared. It was as if every day were Shabbat. 

It was at this moment when a blessing I’ve been saying my whole life suddenly held new meaning. 

“Praised are you Adonai our God, Ruler of the Universe, who distinguishes between the holy and the regular.”

Up until now, my intention for this blessing of havdalah was to thank God for the weekly gift of Shabbat, and to enter the new work week, the week of “regularity,” with gratitude and purpose. 

This night, however, I had a different spiritual intention. This time the b’rakhah “glowed as with fire.”

“Thank you God, for creating the holiness of camp; a sacred eiruv of both space and time, where Kodesh, holiness, is felt throughout the entirety of the summer; and for giving our children, my children, a summerlong separation from the regularity of the real world and all its complications—so that they can truly understand the power of sanctity.”

In just a week or so, the bubble of Camp Ramah in the Poconos, and its powerful eiruv of holiness will break, and thousands of campers, counselors, and Israeli and American staff will return once again to the “World of Regularity.” Cellphones will be recharged, new profile pics uploaded, and the anxieties and demands of school, work, and life, will once again become their primary focus. Such is how the rapid re-entry into the “World of Regularity” works. 

But all is not lost with the transition of seasons, or in the natural return to reality. In fact, so many of my conversations with campers and staff were about where they should go next, after camp, to explore their Jewish future. JTS teen programs such as our Emerging Leaders Fellowship or Ruchot, and other immersive educational experiences, offer participants the holiness of Ramah during the “regular” year. Furthermore, many rashei edah, division heads, met with me to discuss their professional future, and how their experiences at camp could become a launching pad for a career in Jewish leadership roles, as rabbis, as cantors, as educators.  

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. 

Since 1947, JTS and Ramah have been sacred partners in creating sanctuaries of holiness for generations of Jews. May this work continue, deepen, and expand over the coming decades—our communities depend upon it.