Presenting Machon and Rosh Aidah, Dave Goldberg!

Dave Goldberg, this year's Rosh Aidah of Machon, is pleased with how the summer has progressed. Dave, a native of Hamilton, Ontario, attended Ramah Canada as a child of staff members and then as a camper, from 1988-1996. He was a counselor and assistant Rosh Aidah at Ramah Nyack, the Ramah day camp in New York, from 2003-2004; participated in the Kollel here in 2005; served as the rabbi for Ramah Seminar last summer; and is back here as a Rosh Aidah! Dave also went on Nativ 23 and graduated from York University in 2006; he will be starting his second year in the Rabbinical school at JTS [Jewish Theological Seminary].
Dave: Our theme this summer is community, embodied in the phrase, "Birov Am Hadrat Melech," which, loosely translated by Abraham Joshua Heschel, means, "When we come together as a community, we create an infinite memory." Much of our programming has been devoted to developing that idea.

Throughout the summer, the campers have met with different communities - their aidah community, the various Jewish communities on their Tiyul [trip] to Iowa, and the larger world community, also on their Tiyul. The kids met members of the Jewish community from Waterloo, Postville, and Des Moines, all which embody different structural and religious Jewish community archetypes. While on the trip, they also volunteered for the various American political campaigns, giving them a glimpse of the world of politics and the local community in Iowa.

Besides the Tiyul to Iowa, which was the first ever, we have implemented innovative programming, focusing specifically on Banim/Banot [Girl/Boy] activities. One Yom Meyuchad [Special Day], the girls went into Eagle River and played games in the park, then seeing the Harry Potter movie, while the boys participated in "American Gladiator Events." This past Thursday, the boys went on a Yetzia [outing] while the girls had programming here.

My favorite moment of the summer was the Tiyul to Iowa. It was a culmination of all that we had been trying to impart to the campers. Everyone had a great time in everything we did, in both educational and more socially-bent programming.

I hope that Machon will bring back home what we try to instill in camp - empowerment, serious Jewish learning, friendship, and living our everyday lives Jewishly.