Shabbat-at-Camp at Three Jewish Camps: Jewish Learning Through Ritual Participation

ABSTRACT

Given the centrality of Shabbat celebration to the weekly cycle of Jewish residential camps, it is surprising how little Shabbat-at-camp has been studied. This participant observational study of three American Jewish residential camps has focused on how Shabbat-at-camp is created and how the ritual celebrations engage the older campers. This study found that when these camps encourage ritual innovation and invite their oldest campers to take leadership in ritual practice, the teens respond with great energy and dedication. Drawing a detailed portrait of these invented rituals, I argue that behind the carnival atmosphere lies a serious invitation to four distinct Jewish learning opportunities and a path to becoming leaders in their camp world.

KEYWORDS:

• Jewish camps
• Shabbat
• ritual participation
• experiential learning

Glossary of Camp Terms

Beit tefillah:	=	House of prayer. Where the camp holds its camp-wide prayer services.
Bimah: Pulpit.	=	Where the service leaders stand to lead the service.
Birkat Ha-mazon:	=	Grace after meals. A prayer sung communally after each meal.
Chadar Ochel:	=	Dinning hall where the camp meals are communally eaten.
Challah:	=	The sweet braided bread eaten at Shabbat meals.
Chevra Kadisha:	=	Holy society. A local Jewish organization responsible for caring for a recently deceased body and preparing it for burial.
Edah:	=	A division at camp.
Erev Shabbat:	=	Shabbat eve on Friday night.
Hachana:	=	Preparing for Shabbat.
Halakhic:	=	Pertaining to the corpus of Jewish law that governs the religious behavior of observant Jews.
Havdallah:	=	Separation. The ritual marking of the end of Shabbat on Saturday night.
Kabbalat Shabbat:	=	Greeting the Sabbath. The communal prayer service on Friday night.
Kaddish:	=	A prayer associated with mourning the dead.
Kiddush:	=	A prayer recited over the wine at the meal to sanctify the Sabbath.
Ma’ariv:	=	The evening prayer recited after Kabbalat Shabbat on Friday night.
Mechitza:	=	The partition that separates the men and women’s section in an Orthodox prayer space.
Mifkad:	=	The line-up at the flag pole before Shabbat begins.
Minyan:	=	The quorum of 10 needed to conduct a communal prayer service.
Mishmar:	=	A late-night singing and study session held on Thursday night.
Parsha:	=	The weekly Torah portion read on each Shabbat at synagogue.
Seder:	=	The family ritual held to celebrate Passover.
Se’udah Shlishit:	=	The third meal held on late Saturday toward the end of Shabbat.
Shabbat:	=	The Jewish Sabbath that begins Friday evening and ends Saturday night.
Shabbat shalom:	=	Sabbath peace. A common greeting between people on Shabbat.
Shiva:	=	Mourning practice at home during week after the funeral.
Siddur:	=	Jewish prayer book.
Tish:	=	Table in Yiddish. A singing session held late on Friday night.
Zemirot:	=	Traditional Hebrew songs sung at the end of Friday night meal.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

¹ These rituals have evolved over time, but I do not yet know the historical details. For the best historical accounts of how Shabbat rituals evolved at other camps, see Cohen (2006) and Krasner (2011).

² This service is called “Kabbalat Shabbat” at Ramah and Yavneh and includes Ma’ariv, the evening service. At Eisner this is called the “erev Shabbat service,” includes Ma’ariv, and follows Reform liturgy.

³ I am aware that the distinction between “traditional” and “invented” rituals needs to be used with care and we are describing camp settings in which even that which is labeled “traditional” has been invented (El-Or, 2011). Yet it is important to distinguish between those rituals invented primarily for camp usage and those that are staged to resemble what many camp people consider a “traditional service.”

⁴ And by extension, I am told, at some youth group events that function like camp reunions.