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Submissions We would like to thank the following people for the submissions this month: Karen Brand, Rabbi Cathy Felix, Harold Goldring, Roz Hollander, Robert Richman and Stephen Warburton-Pitt. We encourage our readers to submit content for the newsletter. Please provide any content before the 15th of the month to ensure consideration for the next month's issue. Submission can be:
mailed to 13 Washington Street, Newton, NJ 07860 From The Rabbi's Study Dear friends,
Though it is the middle of winter, it is already time to think about summer plans for our children. I want to encourage all our families to send their children to a Jewish summer camp this summer.
Especially in Sussex County, where our children are such a small minority, it is vital for them to have a safe place where they can be Jewish without feeling that they are weird, different, and out of step. We remember the eloquent words of Michele Buchbauer, who spoke on Yom Kippur of how her daughter did not feel comfortable being Jewish until she went to a Jewish summer camp. To help our children feel good about whom they are, we can give them the gift of a Jewish summer camp experience to bolster their self-esteem and self-confidence.
The advantages of sending our children to Jewish summer camps are well documented. Young people who go to Jewish camps feel more positively about their Judaism, about going to shul and about Israel. They are more likely to have Jewish friends and, ultimately, to choose a Jewish spouse and raise a Jewish family. Of course, all these benefits are in addition to the positive values of camp in general: playing in the outdoors, learning self-reliance, making a tight circle of friends.
We are so fortunate to have so many options for Jewish summer camp. For our children who are comfortable with our Hebrew program, I can highly recommend Camp Ramah in the Berkshires. After being a camper there for many summers, my son Gabe will be returning there as a counselor. For those who are nervous about the level of observance at Camp Ramah, the Reform Movement sponsors Camp Harlem for elementary schoolers and Camp Kutz for high schoolers. We have several families whose children have grown and blossomed at these wonderful camps. Still another option is our local New Jersey JCC camp NaJaWa. In addition, we have several Jewish Day Camps. We are blessed to have such amazing possibilities for our young people.
For children who would have their first over-night camp experience this summer, there are grants available at www.onehappycamper.org. Check it out!
Jewish summer camp: let your children make the scene this summer, for the time of their lives!
Rabbi Cathy L Felix
From The President's Desk Dear Friends
Recently, our oldest child Jordan, a Junior at Rutgers University, went to Israel on the Birthright program. He went with the Rutgers Hillel, and his group was comprised of about 40 individuals, most from Rutgers, and a few from George Mason University.
Amidst the violence in the Gaza Strip, many of our friends questioned us as to how we could possibly allow him to go. While Margery was confident that he would be fine, she was of course outwardly concerned. Naturally I too had an element of concern as well, but my response to our friends was that if was any other country he was traveling to, I would not have allowed him to travel. But Israel, both fortunately and unfortunately, is quite experienced with this type of violence, and while there is never a 100% guarantee, she knows very well how to protect her citizens and tourists.
For those of you who are not familiar with Birthright (I had only a very tangential knowledge of it before this), Taglit-Birthright Israel provides an all expense paid trip to Israel for 10 days for young Jewish adults aged 18 to 27, provided they have not previously traveled to Israel since age 12. It unites young Jewish adults from all over the world to experience the educational and spiritual trip of a lifetime.
The only expenses you need to provide are spending money and cell phone calls, the latter of which needs to be monitored by the more fiscally responsible parent.
This program has only been in place since 1999, but this winter’s trip saw the 200,000th participant.
The ability to provide this wonderful experience has been made available by donations from many philanthropists, the Israeli government, local Jewish Federations, and others.
Jordan had an amazing time. From praying at the Western Wall within hours of getting off the plane, to Jeep rides through the desert, climbing Masada at sunrise, rooming with an Israeli soldier, staying at a kibbutz and floating in the Dead Sea, it was an experience that he will cherish for his entire life.
Not only was it incredible to visit this beautiful country, but it provided him with a solid connection to other young Jewish people his age, and to Judaism in general.
For those of you who have children in the age range, I would encourage you to entertain the possibility of sending them on this once in a lifetime experience.
For more information, visit the website at www.birthrightisrael.com. In addition, Margery and I would be happy to share what we have learned should any of you have any questions.
Shabbat Shalom Rob Richman |