Another Successful Tikvah Family Shabbaton at Camp Ramah in New England (May 2016)
The Tikvah Family Shabbaton this spring was a huge success! We had 17 families join us, many returning and some brand new to our Camp Ramah community. We were delighted to welcome Rabbi Dahlia Kronish, long-time staff member at Ramah New England, as our rabbi in residence for the weekend. She led two amazing learning sessions for the parents based on text study and disabilities in a Jewish lens. One of the highlights of the weekend for parents was a session on the topic of talking to their typical children about having a sibling with a disability. Our “sib shop” coordinator, Stephanie Rohr, was able to facilitate this very meaningful conversation. For the first time at a Tikvah Family Shabbaton, our agam (lake) was opened on Shabbat afternoon for all families to enjoy free swim, and on Sunday morning our kids enjoyed playing in a petting zoo! Everyone had a blast connecting with other like-minded families and continuing to strengthen this very special community.
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We just returned from another amazing Tikvah Family Shabbaton at Camp Ramah Palmer. I apologize in advance for a long post… but to simply say, “Thanks for a wonderful weekend” isn’t nearly enough. For me, participating in these weekends provides the fuel that I need to carry on through my day-to-day life as a mom of a child with special needs, and also as someone who works in the field of inclusive education. I walk around camp all weekend, and my senses are bombarded. I hear snippets of profound conversations and I glimpse beautiful moments of connection. These images stay with me, and shape my vision of what I want for my son, my family, and all of our families. And because I know what true inclusion looks like, sounds like, and feels like, I can now be an agent of change in my home and in my community. When we go to Camp Ramah for the Tikvah Shabbaton, it feels as if time slows down. Because these moments of connection can’t be rushed. It takes time to struggle through a complicated Jewish text and reach an understanding that feels satisfying and helps you broaden your own perspective. It takes time to settle an anxious child and help them to feel comfortable enough to participate in a new activity. It takes time to truly listen to another parent who is struggling with the weight of a new diagnosis, an unexpected test result, a frustrating moment of exclusion. And somehow, while we are at the Shabbaton, it feels like there is time for all of it. The weekend is over too soon, and we are back to real life.
Many, many thanks to Elisheva Layman for planning an amazing weekend for us. And a heartfelt thank you to the wonderful staff for everything you do for our families.
Hope to see you all again in November!