Ethan Schwartz Blog - What is Camp Ramah?: Part 6

Judaism at Ramah is not limited to ritual, which structures the camp's Jewish character but does not define it. What makes Camp Ramah Jewish? Prayer is just a small part of the answer, for even when religious practice concludes, campers' experience continues to be defined by "Jewishness"-a Jewish identity that encompasses but transcends the Jewish religion. Everyday aspects of camp-the dining hall, the auditorium, evening activities, cabin porches, cleaning the cabin, snacks between meals, and countless other locations and events-are known in the camp vernacular only by their Hebrew words. Murals adorning the camp's facilities offer artistic interpretations of famous Jewish adages. Announcements are given in Hebrew as well as English. Israeli line dancing is held weekly on the Kikar. Everywhere Ramah campers turn, they are reminded of being Jewish in a way that isn't smothering but liberating-in a way that makes being Jewish just that: a simple fact of being.

Ramah's connection with the state of Israel is one of the most important ways in which Jewishness is an integral part of everyday, nonreligious camp life. The culture of the Jewish state seamlessly finds its way into the ordinary day, whether as campers competing as Israeli sports franchises in Ramah's annual version of color wars, or counselors playing Israeli music at wake-up time. Most importantly, Israeli counselors join with their American counterparts in the arts, sports, and even in the cabin. Ramah encourages open-mindedness by diffusing its young, passionate Israeli staff members into its various departments with a mind to who they are, not where they come from. This simple reality has an exponential effect on education: when working with Israeli staff, campers are not only engaging in the self-exploration that characterizes all of camp, but also learning the character of a different culture in the truest way one can: through the humanity of its people. These personal connections across two of the world's largest but most different Jewries make Jewish life a suddenly dynamic notion for campers, who come to feel the meaning and significance of their own Jewish identities by seeing them as part of a rich plurality. The Ramah community celebrates Jewishness as a source of both individuality and unity-as an identity whose meaning is different for each of us but valued by all of us.

Jewishness finally explains the nature of Ramah friendships. Each camper at Ramah has an immediate and deep connection with every other: being Jewish is important to all of them. Campers come to Ramah from incredibly diverse backgrounds of Jewish practice and Jewish life, but their coming at all is a testament to the fact that, in some way, they value being Jews. From this core value emerge other values that they hold in common; regardless of upbringing, personality, interests, and talents, Ramahniks share a sense of importance in many of the same things. People who would have to spend a lifetime searching for one other-if they were ever even spurred to look-gather together in one place; campers leave each summer with a group of friends the likes of which they would be blessed to have in a single person from home. Ramah is an arena of shared understanding in those things around which people everywhere make their most meaningful relationships. Grounded in values, Ramah friends are friends for life.