March 2005

The Importance of Jewish Summer Camp

People often ask me what led me to become a rabbi. When I take the story back to the beginning, I have to credit my experiences at a Jewish summer camp in Pennsylvania, my Jewish youth group in Texas, and another summer camp in New York. I am not alone in citing informal educational experiences like camps and youth groups as essential to the formation of my Jewish identity. That's one of the reasons that I continually promote our youth group, BBYO, as well as attendance at Jewish summer camp.

I guess that you can call us a camping family. My parents met while working at a Jewish summer camp, I went to camp, and our children have all grown up with a "second home" at Camp Young Judaea in the Texas hill-country, which our younger children continue to attend each summer. The older ones followed that with Young Judaea programs in New York state and then in Israel. Even now, I head almost every year for some kind of wonderful summer retreat or convention which is really just another way to say, "summer camp for grownups."

Here in Northern California we have a couple of great summer camp options. We have sent home brochures from Religious School about Camp Tawonga, near Yosemite (where a number of CBI kids have attended and will attend this summer), and Camp Young Judaea in Oregon. Additional brochures are in the CBI lobby. The teens who are paid members of BBYO will be eligible for a variety of summer programs through that youth group, and a myriad of other summer programs for teens have been listed in Moment magazines, found in the CBI lobby.

Research and lots of anecdotal evidence all bolster the obvious conclusion that a Jewish summer camp experience can be invaluable in forging our children's Jewish identities. Youngsters who participate in informal Jewish education such as camps and youth groups tend to have stronger Jewish identification and involvement when they grow up.

During the school year, our kids are in a very small religious minority in our community. We don't have a Jewish day school in Chico (yet). We have a great Religious School, but it's only one afternoon a week for most classes. When they go to a Jewish summer camp, our children are immersed in a Jewish environment 24 hours a day. They sing Hebrew songs, dress in white for a lively Shabbat, and learn about their Jewish culture and heritage in a fun way. At the same time they are forging life-long friendships while having a great time and developing important skills in sports, hobbies, and outdoor living.

I know that Jewish summer camp can be expensive, but the results are priceless. The good news is that there are scholarships available. Parents can apply for financial aid through each camp. And this year we are blessed to have the new Gertrude Lenner Scholarship Fund, established by the Fine family. Students who would like to apply for small scholarships to help pay for summer camp and other educational programs should contact Mark Levine, CBI president.


Happy camping!

Rabbi Julie Hilton Danan