JDate partnership to help Ramah alumni kindle campfires of romance

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.”

Alumni, Ramah in the NewsNRC WebmasterJanuary 16, 2015RamahDate

15 Teens Remind Me What Being Jewish Is All About

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.

Ramah in the News, Alumni, Blog/ReflectionsNRC WebmasterJanuary 8, 2015Canada, Reshet Ramah

Top Ramah Colleges 2014

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.

AlumniNRC WebmasterOctober 30, 2014Reshet Ramah, Summer 2014

Jim Joseph Foundation Awards Grant to Ramah and Young Judaea to Create Partnership for Young Alumni Learning

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.

Alumni, AnnouncementsNRC WebmasterOctober 14, 2014Reshet Ramah

Building Campus Community: The Ramah College Network

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.

Alumni, Ramah in the NewsNRC WebmasterSeptember 30, 2014Reshet Ramah

A Return to Camp Ramah

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.

Ramah in the News, AlumniNRC WebmasterAugust 18, 2014Summer 2014, Nyack

JDate, Camp Ramah have a shidduch for you

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.”

Alumni, Ramah in the NewsNRC WebmasterAugust 11, 2014Reshet Ramah, RamahDate

How Jewish Summer Camp Sparked My Love of Science

Today, I am a licensed acupuncturist practicing in Northbrook. Being an acupuncturist is about helping people to be at their healthiest, and there was never a time when I felt healthier and more spiritual than when I was at Camp Ramah, and to me, being healthy and spiritual are synonymous.

Blog/Reflections, Ramah in the News, AlumniNRC WebmasterJuly 7, 2014Wisconsin

Ramah Makes History in Washington, D.C.

What happens when a group of Ramah alumni gather at the end of the day on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives? Why, they sing “Rad Hayom,” of course! (“Rad Hayom” is the Hebrew version of “Day Is Done,” also known as “Taps.”)

AlumniNRC WebmasterMarch 6, 2014Reshet Ramah