A Place of Our Own: The Rise of Reform Jewish CampingMichael M. Lorge, Gary Phillip Zola The history of educational summer camps in American Reform Judaism The history of educational summer camps in American Reform Judaism. Reform Judaism is not the only religious community in America to make the summer camp experience a vital part of a faith community's effort to impart its values and beliefs to its adolescents, but perhaps no group relied more on summer camp as an adjunct to home and community for this purpose. Summer camp became an important part of Reform group identity, a bulwark against the attraction of assimilation into the greater society and mere nominal Judaism. These essays, which commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the founding of the first Reform Jewish educational camp in the United States (Olin-Sang-Ruby Union Institute [OSRUI], in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin) cover a wide range of topics related to both the Reform Judaism movement and the development of the Reform Jewish camping system in the United States. Donald M. Splansky’s chapter on “Prayer at Reform Jewish Camps” documents changes in prayer services that took place both at OSRUI and in the Reform movement in general; Michael Zeldin’s “Making the Magic in Reform Jewish Summer Camps” describes the educational philosophies employed at many camps and analyzes their effectiveness; and Jonathan D. Sarna’s “The Crucial Decade in Jewish |
Contents
1 Jewish Camping and Its Relationship to the Organized Camping Movement in America by Gary P Zola | 1 |
2 The Crucial Decade in Jewish Camping by Jonathan D Sarna | 27 |
Creation and Coalescence of the First UAHC Camp by Michael M Lorge and Gary P Zola | 52 |
4 Making the Magic in Reform Jewish Summer Camps by Michael Zeldin | 85 |
Photographs follow page 116 | 117 |
Reform Judaisms HebrewSpeaking Program by Hillel Gamoran | 124 |
6 Creating a Prayer Experience in Reform Movement Camps and Beyond by Donald M Splansky | 151 |
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Common terms and phrases
Ackerman activities American camping American Jewish Archives Benderly birkat hamazon camp experience Camp Institute Camp Massad Camp Modin Camp Ramah Camp Yavneh camp’s campers camping in America camping movement camping programs Chalutzim Committee conclaves congregations counselors creative culture curriculum day schools Debbie Friedman director Dushkin early established faculty group singing guitar Havdalah Hebrew Camping Hebrew language Hebrew-speaking Hershman Ibid in®uence Institute’s Israel Israeli Jewish community Jewish educational camps Jewish learning Jewish Summer Camps Jews Kaplan lay leaders living Lorge Papers Michael NFTY Oconomowoc Olin-Sang-Ruby Union Institute organized camping OSRUI Pioneer prayer Rabbi re®ect Reform Jewish camping Reform Jewish youth Reform Judaism Reform movement role Schaalman Schwartz Shabbat Sharlin Shulsinger signi¤cant social Solel song leader song leading song sessions speci¤c Splansky staff summer camp synagogue teaching Temple Tisha B’Av Torah Torah Corps UAHC camp UAHC’s Union Institute United Walter Ackerman worship Yavneh York young