Beit Midrash / Northwoods Kollel
Beit Midrash
The Beit Midrash Program, founded in the summer of 5760/2000 by Rabbi Josh Cahan and Aryeh Bernstein, gives campers the opportunity to study Mishna and Talmud for up to an hour and a half a day in an interactive and engaging environment in supervised hevrutot (study pairs) and shiurim (seminar-style classes). From an inaugural group of 28 campers that summer, the Beit Midrash has grown to a peak of 76 campers, ranging from Shoafim (8th grade) through Nivonim (11th grade), and spanning the camp community's full range of educational backgrounds including campers from both day schools and religious schools.
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The Northwoods Kollel of Camp Ramah in Wisconsin
Click here to download an application for the Northwoods Kollel for Summer 2010.
• Learn Torah intensively at an advanced level in a gorgeous pastoral setting
• Hone your teaching skills and serve as an informal Jewish educator alongside a diverse staff
• Experience religious and personal growth in an intimate, supportive, and fully egalitarian environment
This summer, take yourself to a new level at the Northwoods Kollel at Camp Ramah in Wisconsin! The Kollel is a 9-week full-time learning and teaching program for four to six college-age men and women with some prior experience studying Jewish texts in the original. Students attend shiurim in Talmud, Halakha, Jewish thought, and Bible and pursue independent learning projects. Participants receive room, board, transportation to camp, and a $500 stipend.
LEARNING
The heart of the Northwoods Kollel is the Beit Midrash. Mornings (3.5 hours) are devoted to Talmud; afternoons (2.5 hours) rotate between halakha, midrash, philosophy, and Tana"kh. Every session is divided into hevruta and class time. Evening sessions (seder `erev), scheduled 3 nights a week, are devoted to special shiurim, independent study projects, hevruta study with camp staff, and individual work with the Kollel faculty.
Each course uses traditional and academic methods to mine the texts for the full range of insights contained therein. "I learned in a completely different way than before . . . less dogmatic, more methodological . . . [and] with an incredible rigor." Students are exposed to the full range of the rabbinic corpus, including traditional and critical commentators, to grasp the development of the Talmudic text and the ideas contained within it.
Students in the Northwoods Kollel gain self-sufficiency in learning and develop sophisticated relationships with the texts of our tradition. "After my summer in the Kollel, I have gained a much greater fluency and comfort with our holy texts. Opening a sefer no longer induces anxiety, as I feel prepared and competent every time I do." "The Kollel . . . gave me an excellent model on how to approach texts with both an openness and a critical eye and to appreciate the nuances of a text." The small size of the program allows the teachers to provide large amounts of personal attention, helping each student maximize his or her potential.
TEACHING & MODELLING
Kollelniks are fully integrated into the education staff at Camp Ramah, and are directly responsible for teaching one class to campers. With access to experienced mentors and committed colleagues, many Kollelniks feel that teaching is one of the ways they experience the most profound growth over the summer: "I was . . . surprised by how much I got out of the teaching experience. . . I learned a lot from my students and about myself and had a lot of fun with it. This experience opened my eyes to the possibility of doing more teaching in the future."
In addition, Kollelniks take on an important role as personal exemplars (dugma'ot ishiyot) throughout the summer. Whether in the staff lounge, camper bunks, the dining hall, or relaxing on the grass, Kollelniks serve as models of Jews committed to Torah study and exploring Jewish life. "[T]hose who were serious about learning and spirituality could find their niche and . . . influence . . . the camp environment." Kollel members also collaborate with the talented and creative staff of Camp Ramah during camp-wide programming and evening programs, and have opportunities to develop innovative Jewish programming that takes your learning beyond the walls of the Beit Midrash.
LIVING & GROWING
The small, tight-knit group of students and teachers is committed to approaching the tradition thoughtfully and critically, seeing our voices and concerns reflected in the texts and enabling our tradition to respond to the challenges we face as individuals and communities. "I deeply appreciated . . . [the] commitment to critical study and ahavat Torah. In other environments I have been a part of, one or the other of those was at least partially compromised. Even when we were highly critical of an idea . . . there was a sense of ahavat Torah." "The Kollel experience was an intense one, where we developed close relationships with our fellow kollelniks and teachers. The teachers were always open for a discussion about halacha, spirituality, worldview... It was really a time when I felt that my soul was being nourished."
The intense but informal setting of camp creates an open atmosphere of dialogue and exploration. "The Kollel gave me the sense that there are people who relate to my questions about contemporary Jewish practice and who have a lot of insight into creative possibilities for growth and change." Divergent viewpoints are encouraged, and students constantly challenge each other to understand themselves more deeply. "Personally and spiritually, I was pushed to grow by teachers and peers alike. I am a stronger, more passionate, and more knowledgeable Jew because of it." For many, the Kollel is the opportunity to create a community unlike any they have experienced elsewhere: "The Kollel experience was crucial for me in that it introduced me into a context of like-minded peers and made me realize that the kind of Judaism I want to live needn't be lived alone. The egalitarianism of the environment . . . went a long way towards making me want to stay active within that framework."
Participants find both the learning and the camp community to be invaluable experiences: "The Kollel inspired me and opened me to a dynamic Judaism. I am lucky to have had such great teachers and havrutot and to have been exposed to such rich texts. My knowledge base was greatly expanded, and I became more confident in myself spiritually, academically, intellectually, and religiously." Half of Kollel alumni have returned in subsequent summers as teachers and counselors, several teaching in the Beit Midrash, camp's intensive Talmud program for campers. The Kollel also serves as springboard for future learning and Jewish involvement:
• "My desire to be halachic, to be part of a knowledgeable and inspired community has blossomed as a result of being in a community that shares my energy, positivity, and love for dynamic and classical Judaism."
• "I don't think I would be motivated to seek out intensive Jewish learning - as I am this summer - if it were not for my experience with the kollel and the model it provided."
• "[M]y experience in the kollel provided me with a language to . . . bring "something" to the table in any type of Jewish setting."
• "The Kollel has been my single positive and formative experience of Jewish learning and remains the standard-bearer for me."
FACULTY
William Friedman, Northwoods Kollel '02, received an SB in Computer Science from MIT and an MA in Talmud from the Jewish Theological Seminary. He has learned at The Conservative Yeshiva, Pardes Kollel, Yeshivat Chovevei Torah, and is currently studying for semikha (ordination) privately with a rabbi in Jerusalem. He has also participated in the JCUA social justice fellowship and JFSJ community organizing training.
Aviva Richman, Northwoods Kollel '02, received a BA in Jewish Studies and Chemistry at Oberlin College, after focusing on Talmud for a year at Midreshet Lindenbaum. She was part of the Pardes Kollel for 2 years, has learned at the Yeshivat Hadar Kollel and the Drisha Scholars' Circle and is currently completing private semikha with a rabbi in Jerusalem while living in Los Angeles. She has been an active attendee and teacher at the National Havurah Institute for many years.
For questions or an application contact: kollel@ramahwisconsin.com.