Rabbi Gordon Tucker’s Visit

Second Session delighted in welcoming Rabbi Gordon Tucker and his wife Amy to camp as a Shabbat guest.  Formerly a Scholar in Residence for first session but on hiatus for the most recent years, Rabbi Tucker shared shacharit tefilot Sunday morning with Edat Ha’Shoafim before his departure.  In his dvar torah, he focused on the word “beytecha”, most often translated as God’s house or Temple, which is part of the liturgy in the morning prayer of Ma Tovu, and included in the first line of the Ashrei.  Rabbi Tucker asked the edah to imagine that instead of the word describing a physical place or dwelling, the campers should carry God’s place with them where ever they are, delight in the world and be grateful each day.  This message to the campers aligns with his personal philosophy that camp is a microcosm of the real world, not the popular opinion that it is insulated from outside realities.  “It is up to us to bring more of Ramah life to the outside world.”  Camp Ramah in New England is special to Rabbi Tucker. The feelings are mutual!


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