These Jewish summer camps are proud to be basic

In the summer of 2010, with just hours to go before campers arrived for the first day of the first season of Eden Village Camp, director Yoni Stadlin got some bad news from the health department: A procedural issue had delayed the issuance of a permit and the camp could not open as scheduled.

Luckily, another camp near the Jewish environmental camp’s Putnam Valley, New York, home offered a temporary space, but staff members were still forced to scramble. One put on a Moses costume and declared that, just as Jews took a circuitous route on their journey to the Promised Land from Egypt, Eden Village campers would take the long road to their summertime home. Daily programming was improvised on the fly. Supplies were whatever could be rustled up. Programs were held in a field or the forest.

Ramah in the NewsNRC WebmasterFebruary 9, 2017Rockies

Ramah Announces Results of Alumni Survey

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.

Announcements, AlumniNRC WebmasterFebruary 9, 2017National Ramah

Ramah at 70

Little slices of magic are witnessed at Camp Ramah. "The most satisfying thing is to see kids smile and discover something new about themselves," said Rabbi David Soloff, director of Camp Ramah from 1975 to 2009, and now its CEO. "We had a softball league, and there was this kid that was not popular and kind of shy. In the last inning with a man on base, the kid is at bat. Remarkably he gets a hit, and he scores and he gets on his teammates' shoulders. He had broken through."

Ramah in the NewsNRC WebmasterJanuary 20, 2017National Ramah, Wisconsin

Camp Ramah scores with new Monterey location

Is summer really right around the corner?

Though it certainly doesn’t feel like it, kids planning to return for year two at Camp Ramah Northern California are already talking to their friends about attending, coordinating their schedules, and eagerly anticipating more adventures on the beach, in the nearby mountains and elsewhere.

Ramah in the NewsNRC WebmasterJanuary 17, 2017Galim

2017 National Ramah Winter Leadership Training Conference

Over 100 senior counselors, rashei edah, Tikvah staff and Service Corps Fellows gathered in Ojai, California to participate in the four-day Winter Training Leadership Training Conference, featuring several tracks for young Ramah leaders.

Camp Ramah in California adds 174 acres to Ojai Property

Camp Ramah in California has closed escrow on property adjacent to its Ojai, California, facility. The new land on the northern border will extend the camp to the north and west from its current location and bring the total camp acreage to 445 contiguous acres.

The purchase of the 174 acres of additional property will enable Camp Ramah to grow with the changing needs of current and future summer campers as well as service non-summer retreat needs. The new property will be preserved in its natural state and used to enhance nature experiences and camp programming.

Ramah in the NewsNRC WebmasterDecember 21, 2016California

Camp Ramah in Ojai expands with $1.8 million land purchase

Tucked into the Ojai Valley of Ventura County are some of the most pristine and beautiful locations in Southern California — an idyllic place to go to summer camp or unwind on a retreat.

Now, thanks to the purchase of 174 acres of additional land that will increase its size by 40 percent, Camp Ramah in California hopes to do an even better job of taking advantage of its setting near the hills of Ojai. The Jewish sleep-away camp, which is part of the Camp Ramah network of Jewish camps associated with the Conservative Movement, announced Dec. 15 that it
closed escrow on the property, which was acquired for just over $1.8 million, according to Rabbi Joe Menashe, the camp’s executive director.

Ramah in the NewsNRC WebmasterDecember 21, 2016California

Seasons in the sun

Rabbi Resnick has been at Camp Ramah in the Berkshires in Wingdale, N.Y., for 29 years; for most of that time he’s been the camp’s director. He has just stepped down from that exhilarating but exhausting post to become the camp’s first senior engagement and planning director.

He loves Camp Ramah.

The memory of those buses is sweet. “You have worked for 10 months for that hour, to get those kids to camp,” he said. “I was the first face they saw in camp.

Ramah in the NewsNRC WebmasterDecember 15, 2016Berkshires

How a Winter Fire Burned Down the Walls Between a Jewish Summer Camp and Its Neighbors

A recent huge outbreak of forest fires in these backwoods drew firefighters from all over the country to battle the huge blazes. And Camp Ramah Darom, near ground zero for this battle, played host to these contingents, who made the Jewish institution their temporary home. In doing so, the firefighters forfeited their morning bacon, among other things, to observe the laws of kashrut. Sleeping in bunks that were too small for them, they even haggled over who got top and who got bottom. And they befriended the camp’s staff; many have connected on Facebook and have hunting trips and reunions planned for the near future.

Ramah in the NewsNRC WebmasterDecember 14, 2016Darom