Unit Updates, Week 6
It has been such a phenomenal week with K’tanim and it definitely flew by faster than any other week. Together we learned what it means to be a soldier in the Israeli Defense Force and even learned some commands!
Pupdate Week 6: Bring Us Home!
This week has been a blast! Despite some rainy weather, we’ve been having fun rolling on the hill, walking around camp, and playing with our friends.
People and Places of Refuge, Inspired By Camp
For Rabbi Rena Rifkin, director of the Stephen Wise Free Synagogue Religious School , spending time at a URJ camp each summer is one of the most important weeks of the year. This sermon was presented at SWFS in New York City following Rabbi Rifkin's week on faculty at...
Jewish Life Update, Week 6: Organizing for Social Justice
Why teach seventh graders about community organizing? As our Ofarim campers have learned about and participated in the steps of the community organizing process, they have also learned strategies for tackling big problems in their own lives. As a group we identified...
Unit Updates, Week 5
We're one week in to second session... what have our units been up to? K'tanim It was such an incredible first week for K'tanim to kick off second session. From getting to know each other at our "Day Camp" mixer to splashing around at our awesome pool party, we've had...
Pupdate Week 5: Ruffing It at Teva!
Dear Eisner Family, This first week of second session has been a blast!We have had so much fun meeting all our new friends up at the farm. Campers have been helping to feed us, clean us, walk us, and give us plenty of pets and belly rubs! This week we tried ruff-ing...
Hineini: the Continuing Power of Eisner Camp
By Julia Tecotsky, second-year staff member at Eisner Camp. “How was Eisner?” Despite this question’s well-intentioned and seemingly straightforward nature, it has been one of the most frustrating and challenging for me to answer. Ever since the beginning of my Eisner...
Jewish Life Update, Week 5: Featuring Our Kitchen Staff!
Using a paper cut out of a phone (that was nearly as exciting as having a real phone), campers placed “calls” to people and expressed gratitude out loud to people including their parents and grandparents, various presidents, and other important figures in their lives.
A City on Fire Still Radiates Hope
Two weeks ago, I witnessed something powerful: scores of young teens (male and female) leading us through Shabbat morning prayers. A young woman, all of 14-years-old, readies herself in the chanting of the week’s Torah portion, surrounded by nearly 900 campers and staff at URJ Eisner Camp in Great Barrington, MA.
Unit Updates, Week 4
It’s been a fun, full week for K’tanim to finish up the session! We got to watch our friends perform “Alice in Wonderland” during the K’tanim/Bonim show and got to see our art on display during Chagigah, the camp arts festival. On Friday night, we led the Shabbat service for the entire camp!