Camp Ramah in New England: Difference between revisions
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'''Camp Ramah in New England''' (CRNE), located in [[Palmer, Massachusetts]], is one of the oldest Ramah summer camps, organized by the Jewish Conservative Movement.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=news&cd=25&ved=0CDgQqQIwBDgU&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpqasb.pqarchiver.com%2Fcourant%2Faccess%2F931941512.html%3Fdids%3D931941512%3A931941512%26FMT%3DCITE%26FMTS%3DCITE%3AAI%26type%3Dhistoric%26date%3DJul%2B28%252C%2B1967%26author%3D%26pub%3DHartford%2BCourant%26desc%3DCamp%2BRamah%2BLibrary%2BNamed%2BFor%2BWest%2BHartford%2BWoman%26pqatl%3Dgoogle&ei=rmOQTL_iK4K8lQf714zoAQ&usg=AFQjCNE0wHZE7EKXPCYXtH0bS2mab8vc8A&sig2=DH3JFcbUiCUwNJrO5mcQhg |title=Camp Ramah Library Named For West Hartford Woman |publisher=The Hartford Courant |date=July 28, 1967 |accessdate=September 15, 2010}}</ref><ref name="jewishledger1">{{cite web|author=|url=http://www.jewishledger.com/articles/2009/02/27/news/on_the_cover/news03.txt |title=Jewish Ledger's Camp Guide 2009|publisher=The Jewish Ledger |date=February 27, 2009 |accessdate=September 15, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.forward.com/articles/10918/|archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20080516021736/http://www.forward.com/articles/10918/|archivedate=May 16, 2008 |title=Notes on Camp |publisher=The Forward|date=June 11, 2007 |accessdate=September 15, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=news&cd=53&ved=0CCwQqQIwAjgy&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdocs.newsbank.com%2Fg%2FGooglePM%2FVP%2Flib00095%2C1130E3F27B10F8C0.html&ei=tWSQTJKPCoTGlQfb3LnjAQ&usg=AFQjCNElrRjI4DSxZdSxSVc4BRBUe8H_7g&sig2=Xyo46-u2iLDXNIkAPQ6oww |title=Visit to Israel is magical despite the latest violence |publisher=The Virginian-Pilot|date=July 21, 2006 |accessdate=September 15, 2010}}</ref> The camp traces its roots to Ramah Connecticut in 1953,<ref>[http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=M14mAAAAIBAJ&sjid=WgAGAAAAIBAJ&pg=2226,3851287&dq=ramah-connecticut&hl=en "Mrs. Malensky Camp Ramah Board Choice"], ''Bridgeport Sunday Herald'', March 24, 1957</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.informaworld.com/index/926812853.pdf |title=Vision, Leadership, and Change: The Case of Ramah Summer Camps |publisher=Journal of Jewish Education |date=July 3, 2010 |accessdate=September 15, 2010}}</ref> followed by Ramah at Glen Spey,<ref>{{cite book|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=0LQRAQAAIAAJ&q=%22ramah+%22+%22glen+spey%22&dq=%22ramah+%22+%22glen+spey%22&hl=en&ei=IyaRTKbrGoO0lQf4_IzkAQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCgQ6AEwAA |title=The Ramah experience: community and commitment |author=Sylvia C. Ettenberg, Geraldine Rosenfield|publisher=Jewish Theological Seminary of America|ISBN=0873340515 |date=1989 |accessdate=September 15, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=-quPdKBqZPcC&pg=PA428&dq=%22ramah+%22+%22glen+spey%22&hl=en&ei=IyaRTKbrGoO0lQf4_IzkAQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CC0Q6AEwAQ |title=V'Khol Banayikh: Jewish Education for All |
'''Camp Ramah in New England''' (CRNE), located in [[Palmer, Massachusetts]], is one of the oldest Ramah summer camps, organized by the Jewish Conservative Movement.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=news&cd=25&ved=0CDgQqQIwBDgU&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpqasb.pqarchiver.com%2Fcourant%2Faccess%2F931941512.html%3Fdids%3D931941512%3A931941512%26FMT%3DCITE%26FMTS%3DCITE%3AAI%26type%3Dhistoric%26date%3DJul%2B28%252C%2B1967%26author%3D%26pub%3DHartford%2BCourant%26desc%3DCamp%2BRamah%2BLibrary%2BNamed%2BFor%2BWest%2BHartford%2BWoman%26pqatl%3Dgoogle&ei=rmOQTL_iK4K8lQf714zoAQ&usg=AFQjCNE0wHZE7EKXPCYXtH0bS2mab8vc8A&sig2=DH3JFcbUiCUwNJrO5mcQhg |title=Camp Ramah Library Named For West Hartford Woman |publisher=The Hartford Courant |date=July 28, 1967 |accessdate=September 15, 2010}}</ref><ref name="jewishledger1">{{cite web|author=|url=http://www.jewishledger.com/articles/2009/02/27/news/on_the_cover/news03.txt |title=Jewish Ledger's Camp Guide 2009|publisher=The Jewish Ledger |date=February 27, 2009 |accessdate=September 15, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.forward.com/articles/10918/|archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20080516021736/http://www.forward.com/articles/10918/|archivedate=May 16, 2008 |title=Notes on Camp |publisher=The Forward|date=June 11, 2007 |accessdate=September 15, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=news&cd=53&ved=0CCwQqQIwAjgy&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdocs.newsbank.com%2Fg%2FGooglePM%2FVP%2Flib00095%2C1130E3F27B10F8C0.html&ei=tWSQTJKPCoTGlQfb3LnjAQ&usg=AFQjCNElrRjI4DSxZdSxSVc4BRBUe8H_7g&sig2=Xyo46-u2iLDXNIkAPQ6oww |title=Visit to Israel is magical despite the latest violence |publisher=The Virginian-Pilot|date=July 21, 2006 |accessdate=September 15, 2010}}</ref> The camp traces its roots to Ramah Connecticut in 1953,<ref>[http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=M14mAAAAIBAJ&sjid=WgAGAAAAIBAJ&pg=2226,3851287&dq=ramah-connecticut&hl=en "Mrs. Malensky Camp Ramah Board Choice"], ''Bridgeport Sunday Herald'', March 24, 1957</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.informaworld.com/index/926812853.pdf |title=Vision, Leadership, and Change: The Case of Ramah Summer Camps |publisher=Journal of Jewish Education |date=July 3, 2010 |accessdate=September 15, 2010}}</ref> followed by Ramah at Glen Spey,<ref>{{cite book|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=0LQRAQAAIAAJ&q=%22ramah+%22+%22glen+spey%22&dq=%22ramah+%22+%22glen+spey%22&hl=en&ei=IyaRTKbrGoO0lQf4_IzkAQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCgQ6AEwAA |title=The Ramah experience: community and commitment |author=Sylvia C. Ettenberg, Geraldine Rosenfield|publisher=Jewish Theological Seminary of America|ISBN=0873340515 |date=1989 |accessdate=September 15, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=-quPdKBqZPcC&pg=PA428&dq=%22ramah+%22+%22glen+spey%22&hl=en&ei=IyaRTKbrGoO0lQf4_IzkAQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CC0Q6AEwAQ |title=V'Khol Banayikh: Jewish Education for All – A Jewish Special Needs Resource Guide |author= Sara Rubinow Simon, Linda Forrest and Ellen Fishman|publisher=Torah Aura Productions|ISBN=1934527203 |date= 2008|accessdate=September 15, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=QY3jAAAAMAAJ&q=%22ramah+%22+%22glen+spey%22&dq=%22ramah+%22+%22glen+spey%22&hl=en&ei=IyaRTKbrGoO0lQf4_IzkAQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CDIQ6AEwAg |title=Response: a contemporary Jewish review |publisher=Books.google.com |date=1972 |accessdate=September 15, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=ic0XAAAAIAAJ&q=%22ramah+%22+%22glen+spey%22&dq=%22ramah+%22+%22glen+spey%22&hl=en&ei=IyaRTKbrGoO0lQf4_IzkAQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CDUQ6AEwAw |title=Conservative Judaism |publisher=Volume 28|date=1974|publisher=Rabbinical Assembly|accessdate=September 15, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=sq8RAQAAIAAJ&q=%22ramah+%22+%22glen+spey%22&dq=%22ramah+%22+%22glen+spey%22&hl=en&ei=IyaRTKbrGoO0lQf4_IzkAQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=6&ved=0CEEQ6AEwBQ |title=Tradition renewed: a history of the Jewish Theological Seminary, Volume 1|publisher=Jewish Theological Seminary of America|date=1997 |accessdate=September 15, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=cffYUkXFVvAC&pg=PA347&dq=%22ramah+%22+%22glen+spey%22&hl=en&ei=IyaRTKbrGoO0lQf4_IzkAQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=7&ved=0CEUQ6AEwBg |title=Conservative Judaism in America: a biographical dictionary and sourcebook |author=Pamela Susan Nadell|publisher=ABC-CLIO|ISBN=0313242054|date=1988 |accessdate=September 15, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=908aAQAAIAAJ&q=%22ramah+%22+%22glen+spey%22&dq=%22ramah+%22+%22glen+spey%22&hl=en&ei=mCaRTPvCLsLflgf_2ajjAQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=5&ved=0CDgQ6AEwBDgK |title=The Jewish 1960s: an American sourcebook |author=Michael E. Staub|publisher=Brandeis University Press|ISBN=1584654171|date= 2004|accessdate=September 16, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Schumach |first=Murray |url=http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=news&cd=11&ved=0CCIQqQIwADgK&url=http%3A%2F%2Fselect.nytimes.com%2Fgst%2Fabstract.html%3Fres%3DFA0614F93C5D1A7B93C0A81783D85F4D8685F9&ei=wyaRTJPGIMSblgf7z9njAQ&usg=AFQjCNEjbYFsTCB10CeqWeBYyz93q02XlQ&sig2=11Cx2b3Zz0cLE3NX6LJOiw |title=Specialties Are Major Items in Summer-Camp Activities |publisher=The New York Times |date=August 12, 1969 |accessdate=September 16, 2010}}</ref> and has evolved into Camp Ramah in New England. |
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The camp provides campers with a Jewish educational experience. Campers are known as "Ramahniks." Ramah New England is known for its programs in sports, arts, [[Judaica]], and [[Hebrew]]. Billy Mencow was director of the camp from |
The camp provides campers with a Jewish educational experience. Campers are known as "Ramahniks." Ramah New England is known for its programs in sports, arts, [[Judaica]], and [[Hebrew]]. Billy Mencow was director of the camp from 2000–05.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=NzAroWWxYEEC&oi=fnd&pg=PR7&dq=%22camp+ramah%22+-ojai+potok&ots=n-dh6AtLK7&sig=XEj2e4wXYq2yrAi0C5k0swP13v4#v=onepage&q=camp%20ramah&f=false |title=Learning and community: Jewish ... – Google Books |publisher=Books.google.com |date= |accessdate=September 19, 2010}}</ref> |
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==Divisions (''edot'')== |
==Divisions (''edot'')== |
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The camp is broken into different age groups, or ''edot'' (עדות) (s. ''edah''): |
The camp is broken into different age groups, or ''edot'' (עדות) (s. ''edah''): |
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'''Kochavim''' (stars) : |
'''Kochavim''' (stars) : 3–4th graders (2 weeks)<br> |
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'''Ilanot''' (young trees): |
'''Ilanot''' (young trees): 4–5th graders (4/8 weeks)<br> |
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'''Solelim''' (roadpavers): 6th graders (4/8 weeks)<br> |
'''Solelim''' (roadpavers): 6th graders (4/8 weeks)<br> |
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'''Shoafim''' (here means strivers, but depending on Hebrew spelling, can also mean inhalants): 7th graders (4/8 weeks)<br> |
'''Shoafim''' (here means strivers, but depending on Hebrew spelling, can also mean inhalants): 7th graders (4/8 weeks)<br> |
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Revision as of 18:28, 19 September 2010
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Camp Ramah in New England (CRNE), located in Palmer, Massachusetts, is one of the oldest Ramah summer camps, organized by the Jewish Conservative Movement.[1][2][3][4] The camp traces its roots to Ramah Connecticut in 1953,[5][6] followed by Ramah at Glen Spey,[7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14] and has evolved into Camp Ramah in New England.
The camp provides campers with a Jewish educational experience. Campers are known as "Ramahniks." Ramah New England is known for its programs in sports, arts, Judaica, and Hebrew. Billy Mencow was director of the camp from 2000–05.[15]
Divisions (edot)
The camp is broken into different age groups, or edot (עדות) (s. edah):
Kochavim (stars) : 3–4th graders (2 weeks)
Ilanot (young trees): 4–5th graders (4/8 weeks)
Solelim (roadpavers): 6th graders (4/8 weeks)
Shoafim (here means strivers, but depending on Hebrew spelling, can also mean inhalants): 7th graders (4/8 weeks)
Magshimim (achievers): 8th graders (4/8 weeks)
Bogrim (veterans): 9th graders (4/8 weeks)
Machon (foundation): 10th graders (4/8 weeks) as of Fall 2006 newsletter
Nivonim (wise ones): 11th graders (8 weeks)
Amitzim: (brave ones) campers with special needs, as old as 21 (4/8 weeks)
Tochnit Ha'avodah (vocational education or "voc-ed"): former Amitzim'ers who work at the camp
After Nivonim year, 12th graders attend the Ramah Seminar, a trip to Israel, and spend six weeks traveling around the country with other Ramahniks of the same age. The camp has a program for developmentally disabled youth, entitled the Tikvah Vocational program.[16][2][17]
Camp life
The camp is divided into two sides: A-Side and B-Side. A-side hosts Kochavim through Shoafim and B-Side hosts the rest of the eidot along with the dining hall, infirmary, ropes course, tree house, and Beit Midrash complex. The oldest edah, Nivonim, is hosted in a tent village on B-side known as the k'far ("village"), which is secluded from other campers.
"Palmer," as the camp is also nicknamed, has a number of traditions, including Color War, an annual sports competition within the camp, yamim meyuchadim, "special days", an ongoing sports rivalry with Camp Ramah in the Berkshires, Zimkudiyah, a song and dance festival, trips to Rondeau's, a local ice cream store, plays performed by the four older edot entirely in Hebrew (in 2007 Toy Story, Grease, High School Musical, and The Prince of Egypt were all performed), and singing the Camp Ramah song, Shir Ramah. Each edah participates in a camping trip known as "etgar" challenge; younger children camp out within the grounds of the camp while older edot are given the opportunity to travel off the grounds and choose from a number of hiking, canoeing, biking, and spelunking trips. A delegation is sent each year to ArtsFest, an annual gathering of regional Jewish camps featuring a variety of songs and dances.[18]
Shabbat is given a great deal of attention, with all of the camp gathering together for Friday night services and dinner. Saturday morning services are held within each edah, with senior staff members often giving Divrei Torah to the campers. Many of the sports teams from Yom Berkshires will practice with Saturday afternoon games, and Mincha is held for Machon and Nivonim each week. Friday and Saturday night singing sessions are led by Nivonim each week, and after dinner on Saturday each bunk participates in a separate Kavanah session, during which campers participate in discussion groups with a staff member. Havdalah is held by edah, and B-side has Israeli dancing sessions immediately following this each Saturday night.
Yamim regilim ("regular days") are broken into time periods called perakim (s. perek) and each is identified with a Hebrew letter (א, ב, ג, ד, ה, ו, ז). A regular day includes a sport, swimming, a chug (a special interest), Hebrew classes, Yahadut (Jewish history and culture) classes, free time, a period of rest, and shira or rikud ("song" or "dance"). Examples of chugim include omanut (art), nagarut (woodworking), dance, swimming, boating, and video . In 2007, a number of new adjustments were made to the schedule, including an extra period known as bechirot (free choices), during which campers may choose from a number of activities in which to participate; shortened perakim for Hebrew and Yahadut, and a rotating two-meal schedule. Camp Ramah Yahadut is renowned for its ability to integrate formal learning with experiential education. The staff, headed by Heather Fiedler, includes leading educational professionals from local synagogues and prep-school institutions such as Gann Academy in Waltham, Massachusetts. Campers describe their educational experiences at Ramah as "meaningful" and "not like Hebrew school under the trees at all."
On Wednesdays, non-counselor staff members take their day off, so the counselors in each edah plan a special day free of regular programming called yamim meyuchadim (special days) to make up for the lack of staffing. In addition, once a session each edah takes a trip outside of the camp. Each special day is called "Yom (Name)". Yamim meyuchadim can be anything from Yom Pirate to Yom Willy Wonka, Yom Random, Yom MTV, etc, all with special programs and activities planned by the staff members. Special trips have taken campers to Red Sox games, art museums, the zoo, ice skating rinks, the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts, and other locations around New England.
General
CRNE hosts children from Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine, New England, eastern New York (most notably Albany), and the Hudson Valley) and the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area (predominantly Maryland and Northern Virginia). The staff are usually former campers and hail from the same territory, but there are many Israelis, collectively called mishlachat.[19][20] The mishlachat are counselors, live-ins, Hebrew teachers, and Yahadut teachers. They also organize programs to educate campers about Israel. CRNE has the largest Israeli delegation of all the Ramah camps, and also hosts a number of Israeli campers.
There are approximately 700 campers and 250 staff at the camp over the course of eight weeks.
Notable alumni
Bruce Vilanch
Wolf Blitzer
B.J. Novak
See also
References
- ^ "Camp Ramah Library Named For West Hartford Woman". The Hartford Courant. July 28, 1967. Retrieved September 15, 2010.
- ^ a b "Jewish Ledger's Camp Guide 2009". The Jewish Ledger. February 27, 2009. Retrieved September 15, 2010.
- ^ "Notes on Camp". The Forward. June 11, 2007. Archived from the original on May 16, 2008. Retrieved September 15, 2010.
- ^ "Visit to Israel is magical despite the latest violence". The Virginian-Pilot. July 21, 2006. Retrieved September 15, 2010.
- ^ "Mrs. Malensky Camp Ramah Board Choice", Bridgeport Sunday Herald, March 24, 1957
- ^ "Vision, Leadership, and Change: The Case of Ramah Summer Camps" (PDF). Journal of Jewish Education. July 3, 2010. Retrieved September 15, 2010.
- ^ Sylvia C. Ettenberg, Geraldine Rosenfield (1989). The Ramah experience: community and commitment. Jewish Theological Seminary of America. ISBN 0873340515. Retrieved September 15, 2010.
- ^ Sara Rubinow Simon, Linda Forrest and Ellen Fishman (2008). V'Khol Banayikh: Jewish Education for All – A Jewish Special Needs Resource Guide. Torah Aura Productions. ISBN 1934527203. Retrieved September 15, 2010.
- ^ Response: a contemporary Jewish review. Books.google.com. 1972. Retrieved September 15, 2010.
- ^ Conservative Judaism. Rabbinical Assembly. 1974. Retrieved September 15, 2010.
- ^ Tradition renewed: a history of the Jewish Theological Seminary, Volume 1. Jewish Theological Seminary of America. 1997. Retrieved September 15, 2010.
- ^ Pamela Susan Nadell (1988). Conservative Judaism in America: a biographical dictionary and sourcebook. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 0313242054. Retrieved September 15, 2010.
- ^ Michael E. Staub (2004). The Jewish 1960s: an American sourcebook. Brandeis University Press. ISBN 1584654171. Retrieved September 16, 2010.
- ^ Schumach, Murray (August 12, 1969). "Specialties Are Major Items in Summer-Camp Activities". The New York Times. Retrieved September 16, 2010.
- ^ "Learning and community: Jewish ... – Google Books". Books.google.com. Retrieved September 19, 2010.
- ^ "Ambassadors of Hope". Jerusalem Post. February 28, 2003. Retrieved September 14, 2010.
- ^ "Ambassadors of Hope". Google. Retrieved September 15, 2010.
- ^ "Summer camps now specialize", The Republican, March 27, 2008
- ^ Blas, Howard (July 20, 2006). "Israelis at camp struggle with torn obligations". The Jewish Ledger. Retrieved September 15, 2010.
- ^ "Focus On Issues: Israelis spend their summer vacation by working at Jewish camps in U.S." Jewish Telegraphic Agency. July 26, 2001. Retrieved September 15, 2010.