S’mores, Songs, and Sun: Camp Season is Coming

By Rabbi Crimmings

Every summer, Rabbi Locketz, Rabbi Cohen, and I each spend two weeks serving on faculty at our Reform movement’s regional Jewish overnight camp, OSRUI, in Oconomowoc, Wisc. During our two weeks, we work with counselors to prepare for services and integrate Hebrew- and Judaic-themed programming into camp culture… but that is not all we do. We also spend time informally with our Bet Shalom campers and dive into camp life, whether that means eating s’mores around the campfire, or painting toe-nails before Shabbat! Every moment is a sacred opportunity to connect, teach, engage, and inspire.

This summer, close to 100 Bet Shalom young people will be heading off to Jewish summer camps, including OSRUI, Herzl, TEKO, Olami, Butwin, and Interlaken. The experiences our children will have at all these amazing camps have the potential to transform the way they understand, live, and express their Jewish identity. If your family is not yet participating at OSRUI, but is considering it in future summers, OSRUI is opening its doors almost every day this summer for interested families to come see the magic at camp. Please contact Rabbi Locketz or me to discuss if you would like to set up a visit.  

As they are packing their bags and preparing for a summer of fun, we are also preparing to send them off with blessings for a summer of inspiration, meaning, joy, and growth. Please join us on Friday, June 14, for a special camp treat during the kabbalat panim at 5:30 PM followed by services at 6:00 PM, where we will invite all our campers to come up for a blessing.