A man lost his way in a great forest. After a while another lost his way and chanced on the first. Without knowing what had happened to him, he (the second) asked (the first) the way out of the woods. “I don’t know,” said the first. “But, I can point out the ways that lead further into the thicket, and after that let us try to find the way together.”

– Rabbi Hayyim of Zans, in Martin Buber, Tales of the Hasidim: Later Masters, p. 213.

In Limud this summer, our Bonim campers are venturing in these woods, sharing their ideas about God. We began our journey by sharing our different ideas with the understanding that each of us has a different perspective, and it is by sharing these perspectives that we can gain a greater understanding. We invite our campers to experiment with different ways of accessing the divine. In one experience, we talked about noticing and how paying close attention can shift our perspective on our experience. Our campers were able to carefully observe a few magic tricks performed by one of our Machon campers who is himself a professional magician! Then they played a few concentration games and looked for the daily miracles which may go unnoticed in the midst of our busy lives–clean water to drink, plants that come back to life each spring, access to ample healthy food, and the opportunity to be surrounded by loving friends at Eisner Camp. At the end of the session, they will “customize their home screen theologies” by choosing “apps” that represent the ideas of God that most resonate with them. So far they have taught each other a lot; be sure to ask them about it!