48 | DECEMBER 7 • 2023 

themselves, gather life skills and chant 
one-of-a-kind ditties that could only 
have been cooked up by clever camp 
staffers. 
And some 50-plus years after my last 
camp adventure, I can genuinely say 
that there is no Havdalah like camp 
Havdalah. 

CONNECTED
Our grandson, Ari, described camp as 
the place where he learned to play poker 
and helped bring a camp goat into one 
of the bunks. 
Our grandkids, even those who live 
outside of Michigan, connect by wearing 
Detroit-sports team clothing. Our New 
Jersey granddaughter Rachel’s first day 
at an Indiana camp this summer began 
with a round of the Jewish geography, 
camp subsection: “Where are you from 
and do you know anyone from my 
hometown?” She didn’t find anyone 
from her own city, but she discovered 
a new friend who lives in my mom’s 

Southfield neighborhood. 
Many campers choose to attend the 
same one-to-eight-week session each 
year to reunite with friends, and it is 
not uncommon to find cousins from 
different places who choose to attend 
the same Jewish camps so they can be 
together. Our Israeli family travels to the 
states each summer to attend camp with 
American cousins.
It used to be that mail was the only 
regular proof that your kid was actually 
still at camp. Then camp started posting 
daily photos. This summer alone, we 
scoured literally thousands of online 
photos in search of our Pennsylvania 
campers, some of whom seem to 
continually avoid the camera. There is a 
point each summer when my daughter 
says, “It’s time to text the friend of 
my friend who knows someone who 
works at camp to send proof that Jake is 
actually still there.”
The bond between campers often 
goes far beyond the edge of the tree- 

and lake-filled grounds. Our daughter 
Kim created ongoing relationships with 
Israeli and other international staff. Her 
Tamarack Camps British co-workers 
spent days off at our home and then 
reciprocated when she and her local 
friends visited them in London.
A couple of years ago, I met a young 
woman at Shabbat dinner at my 
kids’ home in Florida. When Jewish 
geography failed to bring us much 
common ground, she said, “I’ve heard 
if you’ve ever gone to Jewish overnight 
camp you can connect with anyone.” 
Then she asked where I’m from. I said, 
“Detroit.” And this person, 30 years my 
junior who lives in a state I’ve never 
been to (Connecticut), blurted out 
the name, “Ariella Goldfein!” When I 
yelled back, “That’s my cousin!” she 
responded simply with, “Camp Ramah 
… Connected.” 

* Foundation for Jewish Camp’s 2022 overnight 

camp census 

CAMP GUIDE

continued from page 46

Can’t wait to see 
you in 2024 --

ENROLLMENT SAVINGS through DECEMBER 31, 2023

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The BEST SUMMER EVER!!! • WILLOWAYDAYCAMP.COM • 248-932-2123

