LETTERS

Letter to the Detroit Jewish News

August 22, 2005

To the Editor:

Kol hakavod (kudos) on your recent column praising Jewish summer camping (Editor’s Notebook 8/18/05 : “The Gifts of Jewish Camp”). I could not agree more with your assessment that the Jewish summer camp experience is “a building block of Jewish identity.”

Having spent three weeks at Camp Ramah in Canada this summer, I witnessed firsthand the impact that the Jewish summer camp experience has not only on children, but on the young adults who serve as staff members as well. Camp director Michael Wolf, of West Bloomfield , places much emphasis on hadracha (counselor training) so that each staff member becomes deeply invested in the educational, social and religious mission of camp.

Like several other Jewish camps, Camp Ramah helps Jewish young people immerse in Jewish traditions and patterns of observance they might not practice outside of the camp community. They have the opportunity to live a total Jewish life “24-7” in the beautiful camp setting surrounded by rabbis and Jewish educators who are serious about their Judaism. For many college students serving as counselors, this is just the motivation they need to begin their path toward a meaningful and vibrant Jewish life.

Unfortunately, there are many summer jobs that offer college students better financial reward than a position at a Jewish summer camp. All Jewish summer camps are forced to allocate much of their donated funds toward camper scholarships and capital costs leaving little money available for staff recruitment, professional development and incentive programs for staff retention.

My friends, Elisa and Rob Bildner of New Jersey , founded The Foundation for Jewish Camping (www.jewishcamping.org) which encourages growth of the camp system, helps camps recruit staff, makes grants to promote programmatic excellence, and champions the growth of camp scholarships. We need more dedicated Jewish summer camping advocates like the Bildners who realize the deep impact camp has on the Jewish future.

A Jewish summer camp is only as good as its staff members. I sincerely hope our Jewish community will realize this and work to encourage more young people to spend their summers in a job that is guaranteed to be a sound investment. I know I will.

Rabbi Jason Miller
Ann Arbor