Camp Ramah in Canada

Camp Ramah in Canada
מחנה רמה בקנדה (Hebrew)
Address
Summer Address: 1104 Fish Hatchery Road, Utterson, Ontario
Year-Round Address: 3845 Bathurst Street Suite 310, Toronto, Ontario
Canada
Coordinates 45°13′26″N 79°29′59″W / 45.22389°N 79.49972°W / 45.22389; -79.49972Coordinates: 45°13′26″N 79°29′59″W / 45.22389°N 79.49972°W / 45.22389; -79.49972
Information
Motto Enduring Friendships, Values, and Community
Religious affiliation(s) National Ramah Commission, USCJ
Founded 1960
Director DITA/ not announced
Grades 2-10
Enrollment 450-500 Canada United States United Kingdom Israel
Language English, Hebrew

Camp Ramah in Canada, (Hebrew: מחנה רמה‎ Machaneh Ramah) is a Jewish summer camp located in the community of Utterson in Muskoka, Ontario, the world-famous cottage country area located approximately two hours north of Toronto.[1][2][3][4][5]

Camp Ramah's Max and Beatrice Wolfe Campus is located on Skeleton Lake. Part of the National Ramah Commission, Ramah camps in the United States, Canada, and Israel are all religious camps governed by the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism.[6][7][8] Each year, Camp Ramah in Canada attracts approximately 500 campers from Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Israel.[9]

Camp Ramah in Canada was founded in 1960. Murray Shiff was instrumental in founding the camp, and was its first administrator.[10] Michael Wolf was the active camp director between the summers of 2003 and 2011. Ron Polster is the current camp director as of the 2012 summer. He has retired though after the 2018 summer and the new director is yet to be announced.[11] Aviva Millstone is the current assistant director as of the 2013 summer.[11]

List of camper units

  • Garinim (entering grade 2; less than 1 week long and usually over a weekend)
  • Shorashim (entering grade 3; 1 or 2 weeks long)
  • Nitzanim (entering grades 4 and 5; 4 or 8 weeks long)
  • Arazim (entering grade 6; 4 or 8 weeks long)
  • K'firim (entering grade 7; 4 or 8 weeks long)
  • Tzirim (entering grade 8; 4 or 8 weeks long)
  • Nachshonim (entering grade 9; 4 or 8 weeks long)
  • Magshimim (entering grade 10; 8 weeks long)
  • Tikvah (Program for campers with learning and social disabilities; 6-week sessions)
  • Alonim (entering grade 11; 8 weeks long)

Daily Activities

Israel Programming

For younger campers, each day includes a "Chavaya" activity with staff members from Israel, called mishlachat, which translates to 'messengers'. Also important is yahadut, where campers explore Judaism from different angles in many courses offered by the camp. Israeli songs and dances are also taught several days a week.[12][13]

Agam

Waterfront activities take place on Skeleton Lake, on which Camp Ramah in Canada is situated.[14][15][16] Daily, campers take swimming lessons designed to meet the requirements for swimming and lifeguarding skills. Campers who take the Bronze Medallion or Bronze Cross courses take an exam at the end of their session in order to achieve certification, which can be used to apply for many lifeguarding positions. The other part of the agam perek is boating, where campers sail, canoe, kayak, use stand-up paddle boards and water-ski or wake-board on Skeleton Lake. There are levels to achieve in each area by completing skill and knowledge tasks. On Shabbat, campers can partake in the free swim. Other agam activities include point swims, water trampolining, a sailing trip, and excursions to a waterfall.

Chug

A perek of every day is devoted to chugim, which are 2-week electives in the arts and hobbies field. Choices have included woodworking, ceramics, arts and crafts, beading, photography, hip hop dance, rock climbing, zumba, cooking, newspaper, and radio, but the choices change every year, and even during camp, depending on what talents the staff bring to the table. More eccentric choices of the past have been cartooning, mad science, nature survival, rhythmic gymnastics, and Best of Chug.

Sports

Campers play sports during this perek, but any time can participate with one's cabin, the edah, or the more intense staff leagues. During the perek often the sports staff are to lazy to plan anything. Some of the main sports played are basketball, volleyball, tennis, soccer, ultimate frisbee, floor hockey, baseball, and rock climbing. Some other games that have popped up over the years include dodgeball, ga-ga, cricket, croquet, golf, handball, and aerobics. It has also became famous due to former rosh edah "Tank commander".

Special Programming

Yom Sport

Yom Sport is the annual Camp Ramah colour war. Campers are divided into four teams, each led by two Alonim (oldest age group) "captains". Captains for each team are one boy and one girl who must put their names forward for the role, and are voted on by their edah. The campers in Alonim must perform a speech, usually one that involves cheering, in front of their edah for them to choose who should be captain. There is one male rosh and one female rosh, who serve as "heads" of the colour war, and who also are voted on by their edah. There are two male judges and two female judges who must write an essay or make a video to be chosen by the edah staff.

The judges are the only ones who know how Yom Sport is judged, and they are sworn to secrecy. Yom Sport opens with an Alonim-led break out in the chadar ochel (dining hall) typically at lunch, designed to get the entire camp's attention. Later in the day, the campers, aside from Alonim, are given the two colours of their team, which is the only information they will receive until opening ceremonies. While red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, grey, and white are the traditional colours used for teams, the combinations of the colours change every year. When everyone is dressed in layers of their respective two colours, everyone gathers in front of the Beit Am Gadol (gymnasium) for a first show of ruach, or spirit.

Soon, everyone enters the lavishly decorated Beit Am Gadol and witnesses opening ceremonies, created by the Alonimers. This introduces the storyline, the villains, the roshes, the judges, and the captains. After this, everyone separates into team meetings led by the captains, and the judges and roshes wander from meeting to meeting to explain the rules of Yom Sport.

Team cheers play an important role on Yom Sport. The main team cheers are passed down year to year and are chosen for each team by their captains. In the introductory team meeting, all team members are given their cheer sheets, which include the main team cheer along with secondary cheers to be performed on Yom Sport. Each team also performs a silent cheer, which is encouraged to be used when teams are told to be quiet. It is reminded that campers aren't allowed to steal cheer sheets from other teams and that Yom Sport "does not enter the cabin".

On the actual day of Yom Sport, edot cycle around to each of the stations where they compete to score points for their team. The stations are sport, track and field, crazy games, agam, and special project (or Peulat-X), with one free perek during the day, during which campers are encouraged to run around camp cheering for their team. The competition part of the day concludes with marathon, a grueling race which includes almost the entire team performing tasks such as canoe portaging, eating, hair-braiding, human-pyramid-building and running. Each team has several cheers, and throughout all of Yom Sport, everyone cheers as loudly as they can. Alonim celebrates their success of the day by showing off their ruach while the rest of the camp must endure silent dinner, where losing points is a penalty for talking. Finally, at closing ceremonies, a dramatic battle between the captains and the villains ends in the implication (but never an explicit announcement) of the winner.

Magshimim, the second oldest edah, has a special role on Yom Sport. As it is their last Yom Sport as campers, many dress up with more elaborate costumes to show their ruach. They also receive braided bracelets with their team colours. The Alonim captains tie these bracelets on to the Magshimimers, and kiss the knot. If a Magshimimer's bracelet falls off, it must be retied and kissed again by one of the Magshimimer's Yom Sport captains.

Oneg

Oneg is a shabbat sing along/ rave that occurs each friday night following dinner.

Traditions

the only tradition is DITA.

Other

Along with these official activities, there are other "peulot" created by the staff. Whether these peulot are done by cabin, by edah, or even with the whole camp, they vary from the highly educational to the very silly. On Yom Meyuchad, or "special day," each edah experiences a different-themed day, planned out by their staff. Some of these include Yom High School for Nachshonim, or Yom Israel for the whole camp, which is run by mishlachat (staff members from Israel). Other unofficial camp activities include laying on the migrash, chilling in a hammock, playing various card games, or playing freeze with one's cabin at mealtimes. Another important activity includes breaking into the boom room as well as fixing the main water valve.

Walkbacks

A walkback is essentially Camp Ramah's version of a date. After Havdallah - the service separating Shabbat from the rest of the week - a male camper will walk a female camper back to her cabin. This usually takes the couple around the migrash at Camp Ramah, providing a "romantic" situation for both campers. Walkbacks are more common in older edot, usually beginning in K'firim. A male camper usually approaches the female camper to ask her on a "walkback." there are many destinations that walkbacks can lead to such as the spinning room, tennis courts, bamah, new gazebo and the abandoned cabin 36

Last Night

The last night of camp starts with a banquet, which is a special dinner put together by Alonim with a theme, sets, and higher quality food than usual. Then there is slide show, chronicling the summer in photos, and then the last peulat erev (last wills). There are countless camper traditions on the last night of camp at Camp Ramah, some docile, some frowned upon, but they continue because of the campers' undeniable love and loyalty to the camp. One of the most notable traditions is "Last Wills" on the last night of camp, where the counselors take turns comically roasting their campers. For younger edot, it is rather tame, but for the older kids it can be quite brutal. Another camp tradition along the same lines is Alonim Confessions, which also takes place on the last night of camp. During confessions, Alonimers share their deepest (often humorous) secrets among each other (i.e. Upper-deckering the girls' handicapped washroom in the Beit Am Gadol during Magshimim summer). After these ceremonies, the campers disperse and entertain themselves. Some of the most popular activities are pranks, playing with fire, cooking with hotpots, stealing 200 ice cream sandwiches from the chadar, watching the sunrise, and heart-to-hearts.

Free Time

Often used to relax and unwind from a busy day. However this activity can also be used to do other actions around camp. Examples of stuff people might due during this may include raiding the tuck shop to taking off shower doors. When a camper is given too much free time it could lead to a dangerous scene at camp. This can lead to pranks and other illegal actions around camp.

References

  1. ↑ Michigan Jewish History. Jewish Historical Society of Michigan. 2007. Retrieved September 15, 2010.
  2. ↑ Folklore Canadien. Folklore Studies Association of Canada. 1981. Retrieved September 15, 2010.
  3. ↑ "Women's Days Scheduled at Camp Ramah". The Hartford Courant. July 5, 1962. Retrieved September 15, 2010.
  4. ↑ The Gate of Heaven: the story of Congregation Shaar Hashomayim of Montreal, 1846-1996. McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP. 2000. Retrieved September 15, 2010.
  5. ↑ The Seminary at 100: reflections on the Jewish Theological Seminary and the conservative movement. Rabbinical Assembly and the Jewish Theological Seminary of America. 1987. Retrieved September 15, 2010.
  6. ↑ "Jewish Summer Camp: s'more fun for generations". Cleveland Jewish News. February 23, 2006. Retrieved September 15, 2010.
  7. ↑ "Camp Ramah Leaders To Meet Wednesday". The Hartford Courant. February 10, 1962. Retrieved September 15, 2010.
  8. ↑ Conservative Judaism: the new century. Behrman House, Inc. 1993. Retrieved September 15, 2010.
  9. ↑ "Camps struggle to contain swine flu", The Toronto Star, July 15, 2009
  10. ↑ "Deaths". Jweekly. December 1, 2006. Retrieved September 15, 2010.
  11. 1 2 "Professional Staff". Retrieved 24 May 2013.
  12. ↑ "Month a Go Go", The Canadian Jewish Chronicle, November 19, 1965
  13. ↑ Who owns Judaism?: public religion and private faith in America and Israel. Oxford University Press. 2001. Retrieved September 15, 2010.
  14. ↑ Parchment: Canadian Jewish Writing. Parchment Center for Jewish Studies. 1999. Retrieved September 15, 2010.
  15. ↑ "Up Front Grandma the counsellor still loves her camp life". The Toronto Star. August 17, 1995. Retrieved September 15, 2010.
  16. ↑ "Township of Muskoka Lakes; Official Plan". Docs.google.com. Retrieved September 15, 2010.
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