I have six kids, ages 20 through 9, and because of that, there are certain things I’ve earned. I’ve earned the extra weight that sits contentedly around my waist just like my elastic-band pants. I’ve earned the wrinkles on my face, each one of whom I have named after the particular child who caused it. And I’ve earned a little bit of the ability to sit back in the few non-chaotic moments of the day to evaluate what I’ve done right as a parent and what I’ve done wrong.
We can talk about alllll the things I screwed up in another post, or perhaps a mom-oir, but I’m here at this particular moment of Hot As Hell Summer to say that Jewish summer camp is in the top five of Things I Did Right As A Parent.
Let’s talk tachlis: Compared to the photos I see of other kids’ visiting days, the facilities of the camp that I’m sending my kids to are… not great. And listen, I’m a Jewish parent: You think I don’t have complaints? I have complaints.
But the fact of the matter is that at the end of the day, I am a believer in the power of Jewish camp – and if you care about the survival of the Jewish people, you should be, too.
I wish I could convince deep-pocket philanthropists – feel free to forward this piece! – and will happily shout this until my face is as blue as my kid’s in that one camp photo that had me calling the camp (he was in the shadows, it’s fine, I have Jewish mother epigenetic anxiety, let’s move on): JEWISH CAMP IS WHERE YOU SHOULD PUT YOUR MONEY AND TIME. I cannot get over that there are families who want their kids to have this experience, but are precluded from having it by financial barriers. There should not be any financial barriers to making this happen, for the sake of Jewish continuity.
Particularly if you don’t send your kid to a Jewish day school – or really, even if you do – finding the right Jewish camp for your kid is the one way to guarantee that your kid will be a knowledgeable, involved, caring Jew, long after you have departed this earth (may it be a long time from now, pu pu pu).
It’s not something they put in the (not always great, to put it diplomatically) food, or bug juice. Rather, it’s the fact that Hebrew school twice a week isn’t going to make your kid truly knowledgeable about, care about and feel being Jewish in their kishkas any more than piano lessons once a week without practicing will send them to Carnegie Hall. Showing up in nice clothes to synagogue on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur alone doesn’t do it, either.
What does “do it” is going to a place where being Jewish is immersive, implicit and explicit, and – most importantly – fun.
In the post-October 7 era, maybe you’re concerned about the safety of Jewish camp. I will be honest: I am not. I believe in my heart of hearts that not only are these kids as physically safe as they can be in the United States, but also that every day at camp nurtures the spark of treasure of Jewish continuity, keeping that flame alive. Post October 7, I feel very deeply that we should be looking to our present and future as Jews. I believe very deeply in embracing our Jewish identity and Jewish joy. And as much as I try to do that within the context of my own home, there is nothing better for hammering those messages home than Jewish camp. Why? Because it’s not home.
Hear me out: Jewish camp implicitly teaches the lesson that being Jewish is something fun that can take place with a group of friends with whom you grow, change and maybe fall in love. Jewish camp shows kids how to make being Jewish their own thing, and a wonderful thing. I’ve traveled around the world, but there are few sights that are more awe-inspiring than seeing hundreds of Jewish kids welcoming in Shabbat on Friday night with true joy and love.
Yes, I know that most kids who love camp make friends who last a lifetime. But I would argue that the friends you can make at Jewish camp aren’t just friends – they’re family. They have the closeness from camp, combined with the deep ties of sharing a common destiny as members of the Jewish people. They are emergency contact-worthy, ride-or-die, forever people who will always have your back. They will be the peer group who understand what it is like to go through this insane 2024 world as a Jewish person. They will be your child’s supports in every dimension of who they are, as people and as Jews. I know this because I’ve seen it: My son’s friends from camp are His People. They are people who would open their homes to him in a second. They are the people with whom, at college, he spends holidays. I think of them as another level of family.
All of this far outweighs my comparatively insignificant physical complaints. Yes, if I were willing to pay more, maybe I would get a “better” camp with all the bells and whistles of waterskiing, state-of-the-art bunks, air conditioned yoga studios, etc.
Instead, my kids are getting something truly priceless, with a value beyond rubies, that every Jewish kid should be able to have.
