As things heat up here I will be returning to more regular blog posts so long as I am near an internet connection which is not something I take for granted out here:

Greetings from Denver:

I finally had a chance this week to get out into the Rocky Mountains! On Sunday I left the city to drive two hours to the Arkansas river near Buena Vista. Lindsay and I camped along the water and in the morning hopped on a rafting trip run by Noahs Ark . It was an amazing day! Read more

I returned yesterday from another Foundation for Jewish Camp conference in NJ. I have to say, that these conferences are actually pretty interesting. For the most part, the sessions are useful and informative. For example, this past week we spent a day learning about recruiting and marketing. We also spent a day learning about presentation skills and practicing delivering our camp “pitch.” We worked most of the day with a guy who coaches people in the business world on how to hone their speaking styles. We also had sessions on exciting topics like data bases, internet access, and setting up a phone network. These are issues, that I do not usually think about in Rabbinical School, but clearly are important for me to learn in my job at Ramah Outdoors.

Although I am sure that the reader would love to hear more about the databases and the pros and cons of each, I thought that I would instead blog about a movie we saw called Jesus Camp. Jesus Camp is a truly petrifying documentary about the use of Camp and experiential education in the Christian Evangelical movement. If you have not seen this movie, I would say that it is a MUST SEE. It is not exactly the curl up with the pop-corn type of movie, but the questions it raises are important for any American to ask, and especially those who believe strongly in the power of summer camp. Read more

People are often surprised when I tell them that I never went to Jewish camp as a child. As a student at an Orthodox Day School and growing up in an observant family, my parents wanted me to get other experiences during the summers, and so I spent four summers in Boy Scout camp. For me, Boy Scout camp was a chance to do what I loved doing most—being in the outdoors and exploring nature. We use to spend most of our day at camp working on different Merit badges. A required one for all scouts was the Environmental science badge. The only requirement I remember from this badge was that I was required to go into the woods and sit alone for few hours. The goal was to be at one with nature, observing the sounds, feels and smells of nature. I have a distinct memory of walking away from my camp site one day—only a few hundred meters- and sitting there for the afternoon, listening smelling and observing. Nature came alive in a way I had not fully appreciated. I came alive in a way I had never experienced. Read more

Today is my first day back in NYC after a few days down in Atlantic City at the ACA Tri State (American Camping Association) conference. Tri-State is the biggest camping conference in the world and happens annually in March. Technically Tri State is meant for camp professionals in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, in reality, the 3000 professionals come from all over the country (and even the world) to take part in this conference. Yesterday I met one person who flew in from Israel for Tri-state. Read more

It is erev Shababt here in NYC and I somehow the blog post I have been meaning to write all week has not written itself. So here I am preparing for another relaxing Shabbat, and wanted to share some thoughts about I read last Shabbat.

I recently bought a copy of the book titled A Wild Faith by Rabbi Mike Comins. It is a guide to spiritual and Jewish practice in the wilderness. I would encourage every member of the Ramah Outdoor Adventure community to read this book, as it is a fantastic guide to many of the issues we will be teaching at camp. It also has over 30 practical lessons/ suggestions for integrating the Jewish ideas/ values into actual programming in a camp. Read more