If I had to summarize my Ramah experience this summer, the first word that comes to mind is “amazing.”
During my visit to Ramah New England, which came during my second week as Chancellor, I had the privilege of meeting campers ranging from Ta’am, getting their first “taste” of Ramah, to intellectually curious rising 11th graders wrestling with deep fears about their own futures, as well as the future of humanity.
Read MoreThis summer, I had the profound privilege of visiting all nine of our overnight Ramah camps, and Ramah Day Camp in Nyack—an experience that carried me from the lakes of Canada, Wisconsin, Poconos, Berkshires, and Palmer to the peaks of the Rockies, from the heart of the South to the shores of California, and back home again to the Ojai Valley, where I worked for eighteen years. It was a summer of movement, but also, in a deeper sense, a summer of stillness: the chance to slow down and simply witness the Ramah ruach (spirit) as it lives and breathes in each of its distinct communities.
Read MoreReflections on a “historic summer” throughout the Ramah Camping Movement from Dr. Daniel Olson, Director of Strategic Initiatives and Research, National Ramah Commission.
Read MoreQuinn 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.
Read MoreTrust is the foundational currency of summer camp. Campers wholly trust their counselors. Counselors and staff trust their administration, and the administration, in turn, trusts their counselors and staff. Trust, of course, is also vital between administration and parents, as parents relinquish some of their responsibilities to administration and administration agrees to take on these responsibilities while maintaining the safety of all of its constituents.
Read MoreRamah 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.
Read MoreCamp 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.
Read More“One of the highlights of my summers is the chance to visit several Ramah camps and to see, up close, what happens when young people experience Jewish living that is joyful, meaningful, and entwined in all they do. I am proud that JTS not only founded the Ramah Camping Movement, but continues to play an integral role in leading and developing this inspiring program.” - JTS Chancellor Arnold Eisen
Read MoreDalya 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?”
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