Floating in an Ocean of Gratitude at Ramah Galim
Rabbi Annie Lewis, Director of Recruitment and Admissions for Religious and Educational Leadership, JTS
“If our mouths were as full of song as the sea and if our tongues could sing your praises like endless waves, still we could not sufficiently thank You...”
“I love your earrings!” I say to Marci, admiring the gummy neon squids dancing as she walks. She explains how she makes them with the staff who commit to telling admirers of their unique jewelry about the essential role squid play in the local ocean eco-system and how vital it is for us to protect them.
The last morning of my visit to Ramah Galim, I wake up early and join the ocean leadership team, Marci and Shirley, and a group of campers for “Tefillot Afloat” in the Pacific Ocean.
We prepare our prayer garments, squeeze into wetsuits and secure ourselves with life jackets and helmets.
Marci tells us how there are thousands upon thousands of species under the sea that have fluid genders and gives us permission to pray in the gender that works for us on this day. We can choose to say “Modah Ani” or “Modeh Ani,” or even switch off as we chant this song of gratitude for waking up in the morning, even though it is earlier than this group of rising seventh graders and I would like to be awake.
We walk down to the sanctuary of the beach and recite more prayers of gratitude inscribed on our boogie boards in Sharpie and original blessings that well up in our hearts on this misty Pacific morning.
When it is time for the Amidah, we take three steps back, in awe of the majestic ocean and its Creator before us. Then, we run into the ocean with our boogie boards. Each time we catch a wave, the community with us is instructed to call out, “Amen!” One of the campers kindly helps me choose which waves to pursue.
At Ramah Galim, the gift of the ocean is offered as a portal into prayer. Each week, at the end of Shabbat, the entire camp community descends to the sanctuary of the beach for a havdalah ceremony, zipped into onesies to stay warm, chanting, “Ozi v’Zimrat Yah vay’hi li Lishua,” words our ancestors sang when they came across the sea. In the transition into the new week, campers hold onto the sensory joys of Shabbat, dancing and playing in the sand. Staff members stand guard to make sure no one comes too close to the waves as the stars blink on above.
At camp, core Jewish memories are imprinted so that Ramahniks may live with wonder and gratitude, courage and responsibility. In Midrash Kohelet Rabbah (7:13), God gives the first humans a tour of the garden, instructing them, “See My creations, how beautiful they are. Everything I created, I created for you.” God warns humans not to destroy the world as there will be no one to come after us to mend it.
At Ramah Galim, day in and day out, the community bears witness to the majesty and miracles of creation, walking among artichoke and strawberry fields, cleaning up local waterways, and learning how to move among the waves. What a gift to spend a few magical days at the beach among caretakers of the ocean and its inhabitants, our life-giving traditions, and one another!