10 | AUGUST 10 • 2023 

guest column

Composing my Jewish 
Soundtrack of Summer
A

t its finest, music 
makes connections 
between people.
But as a music specialist 
and song leader at Camp 
Tamarack in Ortonville, I 
get to use the 
vehicle of music 
to accomplish 
even more than 
that. I provide 
campers with, 
quite literally, 
the soundtrack 
of their 
summer.
That soundtrack is “Mi 
Kamocha?” (Who is Like 
You?) during Shabbat 
morning prayers. Campers 
will remember this song and 
associate it with my voice for 
the rest of their lives. 
The song is the basis for 
what we call a “Mi Kamocha 
moment” at Tamarack. We 
ask the campers to share 
about a moment when they 
were afraid or experienced 
difficulty — and more 
specifically, a moment that 
motivated them to change 
their behavior and overcome 
their fear. Everyone at camp 
knows the song, and when 
they hear it, they instantly 
know to start reflecting on 
moments that encourage 
self-growth.
These “Mi Kamocha 
moments” have been 
part of the wider array of 
memorable experiences that 
have defined my summer 
at Tamarack as one of the 
Jewish Agency for Israel’s 
1,500 Summer Camp Shlichim 
(Israeli emissaries), who 
are working at 158 camps 

across North America this 
season. They participate fully 
in camp life, share Jewish 
traditions, teach Israeli and 
Jewish culture, and serve as 
role models for campers and 
staff.
Each week at Tamarack, I 
lead music classes, perform 
in talent shows, and provide 
guitar, piano and ukulele 
lessons to campers. Yet the 
essence of shlichut (serving 
as an emissary) is about 
building relationships and 
fostering connections to 
Israel.
When campers from my 
cabin left at the end of the 
summer’s first session, I gave 
them different mementos to 
ensure that their connection 
with me — and, more 
broadly, with Israel — would 
endure. For one camper 
who’d been homesick and 
had a difficult time sleeping, 
I gave him my Israeli army 
unit necklace, which I felt 
had kept me safe during the 
most challenging nights of 
my IDF service. Another 
camper, who loved nature, 

received a stone from the 
Jordan River.
Havdalah has also been an 
unforgettable experience; it’s 
arguably the most inspiring 
part of the week. To hear 
500 people who aren’t from 
Israel — including campers 
and staff from Jewish 
communities not only in 
the U.S. but around the 
world — all sing together in 
Hebrew and, in particular, to 
sing about peace and love, is 
unbelievable. 
In fact, I’ve gone from one 
formative life experience to 
another. I finished my IDF 
service as a paratrooper just 
a few months ago. While 
exploring my post-army 
plans, I was looking for an 
opportunity that combined 
travel, meeting new people 
and doing meaningful 
work. I also sought to 
reincorporate music into 
my life, as it was a missing 
element during my military 
service. I’d immersed myself 
in music since I was 8 years 
old, with the guitar as my 
biggest passion. 

After one of my friends 
recommended shlichut, 
the first moment that I 
learned about the Jewish 
Agency, I knew that it was 
the right place for me. The 
organization trained me 
very well for shlichut. I felt 
prepared for everything, 
including the key role that 
music plays in the camp 
setting. This helped me 
feel more at home from the 
beginning. 
At Tamarack, with its 
campers and staff from 
various cultures and 
backgrounds, I entered the 
summer more than ready 
to provide a unique point 
of view and important 
knowledge about Israel and 
Judaism. 
Tamarack’s diversity makes 
it a place of deep acceptance 
and a place that brings 
Jews from across the globe 
together on the basis of 
their shared Jewish values. I 
had the unique opportunity 
to make new friends from 
around the world — my 
fellow camp staff members 
from the U.K. Bulgaria, 
Colombia, Australia, Spain 
and elsewhere.
After the camp season 
is complete, I’ll carry this 
powerful sense of Jewish 
peoplehood back with me to 
Israeli society. And much like 
my campers, I’ll surely never 
forget the soundtrack of this 
summer. 

Shachaf Nave, 21, from Kadima-

Zoran in the Central District of Israel, 

is a Jewish Agency for Israel Summer 

Camp Shaliach at Camp Tamarack.

Shachaf 
Nave

Israeli emissary Shachaf Nave at Camp Tamarack

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