Blog

Camps are notoriously loud and raucous… Jewish camps especially. From the moment your child steps out of your car at drop-off to the moment they step back in they are Israeli dancing and Shabbos shaking to the beats of Jewish camps’ drums. Our day camp is exploding with Jewish values and Israeli culture everywhere you turn. With directional, program and even the ubiquitous bathroom signs in both English and Hebrew, campers incorporate Hebrew into their everyday activities. ...

Camp is raucous fun – days filled with friends, activities, and constant motion. The stereotype is that camp counselors are shirking “real” jobs and internships to enjoy final summers as kids themselves. Conventional wisdom tells us jobs at offices, behind desks, chasing coffee, offer better preparation for the brutal economy than a summer camp. That is not our experience. Yes, our counselors spend their summers wearing pajamas and superhero costumes, playing ga-ga and ...

Mah Nishtanah: How is Jewish Camp Different From All Others? It is true, every single year for over 20 years, I have run a Jewish summer camp. And, yes, when I write about sending your kids to Jewish camps, yes, it will sound like I am advertising the JCC’s camps. Let’s face it, I am. A bit. But I spend every single summer at Jewish camp, because I believe in them. The JCC believes in them. We believe they are great experiences for your kids and we believe Jewish camp is an ...

Everything seems like it is changing. In this era of the great quarantine, we shop, work, exercise, and eat (hello carbs!) differently. It won’t be a surprise to you, that Camp has changed as well with rules and regulations governing every aspect of fun and care. In addition to taking temperatures and conducting health questionnaires each morning, we are making huge efforts to reduce the number of people campers cross paths with. Cohort sizes are smaller and large group fun is a lot ...

When Matzah is Good According to Max, 6 years old, matzah tastes like a cracker. Sydney, 10 years old, is a bit more dramatic – and perhaps correct – that matzah tastes like “wet paper put out to dry.” It’s true, most commercial matzah is about as tasty as the cardboard box it comes in. Making matzah with our kids has to improve the “bread that tastes like the baker failed” (Ada, 10 years old), in at least it is a fun activity and we get to talk about ...

“Our goal should be to live life in radical amazement… look at the world in a way that takes nothing for granted. Everything is phenomenal; everything is incredible” – Abraham Joshua Heschel When Jewish camp matters Our contemporary lives are busy. Our kids are surrounded by American culture. A Jewish camp experience immerses our kids in Jewish experiences and friends. While our kids are running, playing, swimming, traveling, busy with arts and science and all the ...

The other day my boss asked me if I had recently spoken to one of our members. I confidently replied “Yes, I just texted her.” When did we accept that texting and high-tech gadgets replace actual conversations, and frankly, that it is o.k.? We see it everyday, kids juggling IPads, I-phones, DSL, and computers. While parents moan about this obsession with electronics, do we actually recognize what is happening with our younger generations? The number of hours kids are ...

As I am writing this article, it’s cold and blustery outside. It seems odd to be thinking about camp. Nonetheless, it’s time to plan for your kids’ summer. Here at the Merage JCC we’ve been coordinating summer camp since last year’s camp ended. Sure, this article is going to sell our camps. We believe in camp – we believe it is an important component of Jewish life. Statistics show that camp experiences are one of the top three indicators that our kids will ...