We have so much to be grateful for!
Sunday November 28, 2021/24 Kislev 5782 With Thanksgiving behind us and Hanukkah starting tonight, I’ve been reflecting on all the things we have to be grateful for! 1) The new chadar ochel with a permanent roof. We can gather our whole camp under one roof, and do not have to worry about floods each time […]
We asked, You shared, We listened
Since returning to the office after Rosh Hashanah, our year-round team has heard from hundreds of parents, chalutzim (campers), and tzevet (staff) about their experiences at Ramah in the Rockies. We appreciate the honest feedback offered by all. Below are a few highlights of lessons learned from Kayitz 2021, along with some areas for growth […]
Rabbi Eliav’s End of Summer Reflections
August 17, 2021 Another summer at Ramah in the Rockies has come to an end. Kayitz 2021 will go into the history books as the first ever held on this ranch amidst a global pandemic. Everyone who came made sacrifices to be here; families self-isolated and campers took PCR tests in the weeks before camp. […]
Rabbi Eliav’s Shabbat Update – Session II Week 2
Friday July 30th, 2021 Dear 2021 Families and Staff,What an incredible way to wrap up the month of July! Today all our campers are returning from Masa. Some ventured hours away, while others slept on the outskirts of our ranch, hiking in the hills surrounding camp. All had chances to bond with their ohel (tent) […]
2021 Session I Wrap Up
Thursday July 15, 2021 6 Av 5781 The sun is shining and the air is cool. The ranch is silent, except for the sound of our backup generators at the sewage treatment plant and the kitchen which are humming amidst an area-wide power outage(!!). Staff are returning from their days off, during which they chose […]
Shabbat Shalom – Rabbi Eliav’s Week 3 Shabbat Update
We just concluded our Friday lunch of tofu stir fry. It was the third meal this summer that we all ate together in one chadar ochel (dining hall) as we said goodbye to our IA campers on Thursday. The sun is shining after a very wet and cold week, and we are all looking forward […]
2021 Shabbat Update #1
June 18, 2021 It happened! Yesterday morning, under a blazing hot sun, we swung open our gates to welcome the first of 425+ chalutzim who will be coming through our camp this summer. Tzevet (staff) lined up on the migrash (field), some in costume, to unload bags and welcome chalutzim back to our transformed ranch. […]
A Time to Return
By Rabbi Eliav Late last month I returned to the Ramah in the Rockies Ranch for the first time since February 24, 2020. Driving through the gates, I was overcome with a sense of relief and excitement thinking about the reopening of our camp community in only six more weeks. This time last year, as we […]
Ramah by the Numbers 2021
This year, as we prepare for our seders, we are thinking about numbers: eight days of Passover, four cups of wine, three matzot, and one Elijah’s cup. We think about the year that has passed since we last gathered around the seder table. We remember the hundreds of thousands who have died, the millions of […]
Connecting with the Divine in the Outdoors
By Rabbi Eliav Bock This blog post was originally featured as part of the Rabbinical Assembly’s #HeshbonHodesh: Nisan monthly newsletter. This past Shabbat morning, I suited up my baby daughter in her winter gear, put on my own jacket and gloves, put her in the hiking backpack and headed out the door for my Shabbat teffilot. It is a […]