NAME: CONG. TIFERET BET ISRAEL; WIDTH: 21P9; DEPTH: 28P6; COLOR: BLACK PLUS ONE;
AD NUMBER: 00081430
Kay Taub’s relatives
Kids make a family tree inside a bottle cap.

Many families turn to Jewish resorts for kosher catering and
prayer infrastructure. At the Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat
Center in Falls Village, Conn., “you could have an Orthodox rabbi
in your family and somebody who might not be Jewish, and they’d
all feel comfortable on our site,” said Simone Stallman, who coor-
dinates family reunions at the wooded campus an hour north of
New York City.

The Freedman Center is run by Hazon, a pluralistic organi-
zation that promotes sustainable Jewish communities; among its
draws are an organic farm, synagogue and central Berkshires loca-
tion. Stallman said the typical family reunion involves 30 to 65
relatives from around the Northeast who pay an affordable $155
per night, double occupancy, for lodging and three kosher meals
(the center provides ceremonial wine, but has no liquor license;
pool use requires a $25-per-hour lifeguard).

Family gatherings at the Bushkill Inn, a Poconos resort with a
kosher kitchen, “are usually around a holiday or milestone,” said
Ron Vogel, director of sales. “We’ll have 30 relatives reserve one
part of the sukkah for Sukkot.” Observant families appreciate that
the spa has separate facilities for male and female massage, as well
as activities everybody can enjoy — archery, lake fishing, paintball
— and glatt kosher food supervised by an on-site mashgiach.

When Kay Taub of Silver Spring, Md., began organizing a
reunion of her newly acquainted grandfather’s relatives, she knew
it would involve a concert.

“I’d reach out, and they’d all tell me about their musical kids,”
See Reunions, Page 16
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