ReJewvination

I recently spent a week on the rabbinic faculty at URJ Camp Newman in Santa Rosa.  I had a great time and was, to quote a new friend I made at camp, Rabbi Darren Kleinberg, "reJewvinated."  (Maybe now I will blog more, but I also have the specter of the High Holy Days hanging over me.  I still have to finish my sermons.)  Spending the week at camp helped reiterate for me how important camp is in building Jewish identity in kids.  Camp is the holistic Jewish society that they don't get in their everyday lives in secular schools (and in some of their homes).  At camp, swimming, arts and crafts, and archery are Jewish.  Camp makes being Jewish natural.

I often think about sure-fire ways to ensure that our children will choose Judaism as adults.  Here's some:

1.  Move the family to Boro Park.  I don't really advocate this one, but living in an Ultra-Orthodox environment cut off from much of the rest of the world will ensure Jewish identity in your children.  Not the kind of Jewish identity I advocate, but Jewish nonetheless.  Then again, if you move when the kids are too old, they may totally rebel and forsake Jewish life.

2.  Make aliyah to Israel.  A different kind of all Jewish society than Boro Park.  I do advocate this one for anyone who chooses, but I think this option is off the table for most American Jews.  And, today I am worried about the feelings of "Jewishness" of many sectors of Israeli society.

3.  Send your kids to a Jewish day school.  This is an expensive option, and it might not work unless you add it to number #4.

4.  Be Jews at home.  Celebrate Shabbat and holidays with joy, not as chores.  Talk about the Torah, Israel, and Jewish issues.  Have Jewish books and art all around the house.  Have a community of other like minded Jews.

5.  Send your kids to Jewish camp.  It's probably good to get them out of the house for a while.  Good for you and good for them.