Camp Ramah Blog
Video: JTS Chancellor Arnold Eisen joins Solelim for Tefilah Aerobics
Posted August 28, 2012 by Josh
At camp we aim to introduce campers to many forms of tefilah (prayer) education and experience. This summer one of our Visiting Educators, Rabbi Jeremy Ruberg (Niv ’98), led tefilah aerobics for a number of our edot. While on a visit to camp, Arnold Eisen, Chancellor of the Jewish Theological Seminary and Rabbi Mitch Cohen, Director of the National Ramah Commission were fortunate to be present during one of Jeremy’s sessions with Solelim. Watch the video below to see Chancellor Eisen join Solelim in an engaging session of Tefilah aerobics.
Register for the Tzad Bet Reunion: October 19-21
Posted August 28, 2012 by Ben
Why wait 10 months to see your friends again?
Comeback together for a weekend experience back at Camp Ramah in New England
The 2012 Tzad Bet Reunion will take place from October 19-21.
Tzad Bet Reunion Information:
The Tzad Bet Reunion is open to all Ramah New England campers who this past summer were in: Magshimim, Bogrim, Machon or Nivonim.
The reunion features a Ramah Shabbat experience, a variety of camp activities, lots of time to catch up with your camp friends and a series of special programs.
Cost:
The Tzad Bet Reunion cost $150 for campers in diving distance, and $100 for those that need to fly. This includes meals and snacks and all activities from Friday dinner through Sunday lunch.
Registration:
Parents can register their child for the Tzad Bet Reunion through their Camp Minder account. Parents can log in to their account by clicking: https://ramahne.campintouch.com/v2/login/login.aspx.
Once logged in, navigate to the green “Camper Application” Button. When presented with a drop down menu select the 2012 season. Then proceed to the application for the Tzad Bet reunion.
The registration deadline is October 5th. After October 5th all registration payments are non-refundable.
Transportation:
Campers coming to the Tzad Bet Reunion should plan to arrive between 2:30-3:30pm on Friday and to leave around 1pm on Sunday
Those flying should take one of these two options:
Coming to Camp on Friday:
- Southwest Flight 3231 from BWI to Hartford departing at 12:40pm
- US Airways Flight 3260 from DCA to Hartford departing at 11:45am
Returning from Camp on Sunday:
- Southwest flight 2102, which returns to BWI at 3:55pm
- US Airways flight 3223, which returns to DCA at 6:00p
Those taking the train from the NYC area should take the following trains to Springfield, MA:
Coming to Camp on Friday:
- Train 56, which departs Penn Station at 11:33am and arrives in Springfield at 3:oopm
Returning from Camp on Sunday:
- Train 57, which departs Springfield at 2:50pm and arrives in Penn Station at 6:25pm
We will provide FREE round trip transportation (only for campers taking these specific flights or trains) from the airport/train station. Campers taking different flights or driving will be responsible for their own transportation to and from camp.
If you have any questions about the Tzad Bet reunion please be in touch with Ben Greene, Director of Education and Year Round Initiatives at beng@campramahne.org.
Our Final Video Update of 2012 — Last Week of Camp!
Posted August 26, 2012 by Josh
It’s hard to believe that kayitz 2012 is already a week in our past! Please enjoy our final Video Update of 2012 with this look back at the last week of our amazing summer together:
Kayitz 2012 Draws to a Close…
Posted August 19, 2012 by Josh
This morning, a beautiful day in Palmer Massachusetts, we bade a fond farewell to all of our campers and staff from kayitz (summer) 2012. It was an amazing summer, filled with incredible friendships and memories. As is always the case on the last day of camp, our campers were sad to be saying goodbye (at least for now) to their friends and to this place that they love so dearly, this makom kadosh. But I was delighted to see how fabulously happy our campers were at the same time, delighting in the fun they’d had all summer long, and enjoying one final morning of kayitz 2012. It’s heartwarming watching old friends and new embrace and laugh and cry (often all at the same time!) as they prepare to go their separate ways.
Kayitz 2012 has ended… start counting down until kayitz 2013! Over three hundred campers have already registered for 2013 (a record-shattering number for us). You too can register simply by clicking here. The Ramah adventure continues…!
Nivonim End of Summer Speech
Posted August 19, 2012 by Ezrabalser
Claire delivered a beautiful speech to all of Camp on the last Shabbat. She challenged us all to bring the makom kadosh/holy place of Camp home with us when we leave. Here is a video of her speech (sorry it is sideways):
Nivonim Sings Uf Gozal
Posted August 19, 2012 by Ezrabalser
It is also a tradition for all of Nivonim to sing Uf Gozal on the last Shabbat of Camp. I am sad to see our young birds get ready to fly away from home. But I am glad know that they can spread their wings and soar to amazing heights.
Here is the video from their performance:
Nivonim Girls Dance to Erev She’ll Shoshanim
Posted August 19, 2012 by Ezrabalser
It is a tradition for the Nivonot to dance to Erev Shel Shoshanim on the last Shabbat of Camp. Here is a video of their performance:
Nivonim 2012 Opens Their Ilanot and Shoafim Time-Capsules!
Posted August 17, 2012 by Josh
This morning, after breakfast, we had an incredible moment with edat ha-Nivonim. All of the Nivonimers gathered in their moadon, and together we opened two time-capsules that their edah had created. First we opened the time-capsule that the kids in the “It’s a Good Life Chug” had created when they were in Shoafim, back in 2008:
Each camper had put one object of significance into the time capsule. Luckily, we also included a list that identified which camper every object in the time capsule belonged to, and why they put that item in.
Then we dug back even further in time, and opened a time capsule that they had created way back when they were in Ilanot, back in 2006. (Take a close look and see that we followed the instructions on the box EXACTLY, waiting until August 17th, 2012, to open the time capsule!)
It was incredible. In the time-capsule were letters that each Ilanot camper had written to their future Nivonim self. As we passed around the letters to the kids, volunteers from the edah read aloud various notes and superlatives that the kids had written back in 2006. There also was an amazing envelope of photos from the kids when they were in Ilanot. Everyone had a good laugh as we passed those around!! Shira Rosenbaum, who was a counselor for these kids when they were in Ilanot (and is at camp this week, working in our marpeyah), joined us to open the time capsules. We also read a letter that their Rosh Ilanot, Rachel Silverman, wrote to the Nivonimers and sent to me yesterday, for the occasion of the opening of their time capsule. (In my own personal little celebration, note that the black t-shirt I’m wearing is actually the Ilanot 2006 edah t-shirt!)
The Nivonimers and their tzevet (staff) and I had a fantastic time taking a trip down memory lane together. It was a special moment. As the Nivonimers prepare to enter their final Shabbat as chanichim (campers) at Ramah, it was an amazing opportunity for them to look back at their journey through the edot and see where they had begun. I think we all enjoyed taking a moment, not just to laugh at what they wrote or how they looked when they were little kids, but also to be thankful for the extraordinary experience they have had at Camp Ramah in New England, their home.
A Rikud to Remember!
Posted August 17, 2012 by Josh
Last night after our end-of-summer banquet, all of the chanichim (campers) from all of our edot (divisions) gathered in our new Bet Am Gadol for an incredible shira (song) and rikud (dance) session. It was an extraordinary sight to see how, when the popular Hebrew songs from the summer played, every single camper and staff-member in camp got to their feet to dance together. It was truly a moment that showed the magic of the Ramah experience.
Ilanot Show Edah Pride
Posted August 16, 2012 by Liav Shapiro - Rosh Ilanot
Tonight, inside the new bet am gadol, the entire camp gathered to share in ruach to celebrate kayitz 2012! Ilanot campers were elated as they sang their edah song! Ila-Ilanot, Ila-Ilanot!
