Hello ima, Hello Abba

Tamarack's stepped-up Judaic and Israel programming blends learning with fun.

SHELLI LIEBMAN DORFMAN

Staff Writer

Ortonville

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ne of the best things Eve Posen
heard all summer was from a
pre-teenager who said her two
favorite things at Tamarack Camps'
Camp Maas were water-skiing — and
Jewish activities.
"We work very hard to slip a Jewish
education into our curriculum without
the kids even knowing it," said Posen,
director of the camp's Jewish program-
ming along with Eli Rockowitz. "But to
hear that it's working is amazing."
Rockowitz agreed. "Tamarack has
always been a camp that's had its good
name on water sports, horseback riding,
nature and tripping," he said. "And
we've always had a Jewish angle. But
now we're trying to build it up to be one
of the stronger elements that we offer
kids, but in a fun way."
With brand-new initiatives, such as
Israeli-style tree planting and a replica of
the Kotel (Western Wall) ready to receive
camper notes, Tamarack has enhanced
its Judaic and Israel programming to
highlight a subtle, fun Jewish experience.
"We do a lot of things a lot of camps
do, but we are further defined in that we
are a Jewish camp that combines the
other activities with Jewish values,
Jewish learning and Jewish ethics," said
Jonah Geller, executive director of the
Fresh Air Society and Tamarack Camps.
He has overseen some significant
changes during his first year in the lead-
ership role.
Noting that campers come from dif-
ferent religious backgrounds and that
Tamarack is not affiliated with any
Jewish movement, Geller said, "We
don't force anyone to do anything. The
essence of informal education is to show
how Judaism can be cool and exciting.
What they want to embrace — and
what they want to take with them — is
up to them."
Rockowitz explains that the
programming balance must
satisfy those who come from
day school or religious school
backgrounds as well as those for whom
camp is their only Jewish experience.
"This is a huge mission for us and we
feel the weight of this responsibility —
and it's a labor of love," he said.

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Michael Higer of Farmington Hills and Daniel Firsht ofWest Bloomfield, both 11, hold onto an Israeli flag.

Jarrett Gorman, 10, of Lake Orion
was a first-time Tamarack camper this
summer.
"We live in a community where there
are not very many, if any, Jewish kids,"
said Jarrett's mother, Marci, "so we were
looking for opportunities to expose our
kids to Jewish history and tradition.
"To do that, we joined
Temple Beth El — and we
sent Jarrett to Tamarack. We
chose it partly so he could gain
some independence and have
fun and partly for its Jewish program-
ming and for him to be around other
Jewish kids."
Geller is aware that kids come to
camp for many reasons. "We know they

Co Via
ST ORIT

are here to learn about themselves, to be
a part of a community, for personal
growth — and to have fun. But we
allow them to do these things in a camp
that is really a living laboratory of Jewish
education."
According to Ron Sollish, president of
the Fresh Air Society, Tamarack's
umbrella agency, "Residential camping
has been found to be one of the most
important places, outside the home, for
a Jewish educational experience."
Declaring his oft-repeated adage
learned at a camping conference years
ago, Geller maintains, "If you want to
give children a Jewish background,
you've got to give them a Jewish play-
groUnd."

What's Cookin?

Camp staff learned long ago the key to
sneaking in some subconscious learning
can be though a kid's stomach.
Sometimes it's as simple as using the
camp's Hebrew-letter cookie cutters to
bake chocolate chip treats for a lesson in
spelling out Hebrew words.
But both Posen and Rockowitz's per-
sonal favorite — the Israel cake program
— is a little more involved.
"We cut Israeli maps into puzzle
pieces and the kids go through missions
that acquaint them with the geography
of Israel," Rockowitz said.
For each activity they complete, they
receive a piece of the puzzle.

HELLO

on page 12

8/13

2004

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