The votes are in and the new edot (unit) עדות names have been chosen!
Over the past three months over 570 people cast their vote. They selected from numerous choices, including twenty-five new names that focused on our activities in the Rockies such as Sayarim (rangers) ×¡×™×™×¨×™× and Bokarim (cowboys) בוקרי×. We hoped that by expanding the selection of names beyond the traditional Ramah names, we would have new edot that reflected the culture we are creating at this outdoor adventure camp.
Despite our hopes that these edot would be known by new names, tradition has reigned supreme!
And the names are (drum roll please. . .):Â
- Entering 8th grade: Sollelim ×¡×•×œ×œ×™× (tzeirim lost by 2 votes!)
- Entering 9th grade: Bogrim בוגרי×
- Entering 10th grade: Magshimim מגשימי×
- Entering 11th grade: Tie between Gesher גשר and Nivonim × ×‘×•× ×™×. Because there is no entering 11th grade edah this year at camp, we will not be making a final decision on these names until a later point
Since starting this survey, we have added a joint 6th and 7th grade edah. Stay tuned for the naming opportunities for this new edah.
The voting experience has taught us an important lesson. While we are starting a brand new Ramah camp this summer and have a chance to create camp rituals anew, we also are creating a community that is rooted in over 60 years of Ramah camping. Although we want everyone who enters the camp in 2010 to feel that they are helping to create a brand new institution, it is also important for people to know that we are not creating this community in a vacuum. There are hundreds and probably thousands of members of the wider Ramah community who will be watching as we set out on this journey. We want all Ramah alumni to feel connected to this new camp, which is why we decided to allow all of them to vote for the new edot names. We know that most of these people may never come to our camp, but we want to ensure that our community contains the basic ingredients that have sustained Ramah camps through the decades.
And this is our challenge for the summer: creating a new type of Ramah camp, one that is focused on outdoor adventure, nature, and the environment; located on a rustic & remote ranch high in the Rocky Mountains, containing all of the elements that have allowed tens of thousands of people to go through a Ramah program and have their lives altered for the better by the magic they experienced at camp!
Thank you to everyone who voted. Please make sure to stay involved as we build Ramah’s first specialty camp. If you have other ideas about programs we should implement or campers who might be interested in attending the camp this summer, please be in touch with me directly at 303 261 8220 or eliavb@ramahoutdoors.org.
