FOLLOWING IN THEIR FOOTSTEPS:
RACHEL KURLAND | JE STAFF
Continuing the Camp Tradition
What makes summer camp so special? Is it the camaraderie? The feeling of an elongated slumber party?
The bug juice? (Probably not that one.)
It’s not just the s’mores and color wars that make people nostalgic.

There’s something about Jewish summer camps that just keep bring-
ing campers — and parents — back.

Even in movies like Wet Hot American Summer or Indian
Summer, Jewish summer camps are perceived as a more significant
coming-of-age experience than their own B’nai Mitzvah.

So why do Jews — especially in the Philadelphia area where sur-
rounding summer camps nest on serene lakes with the backdrop of
the Pocono Mountains — love sending their kids to camp so much?
How has the tradition of Jewish summer become more common
than attending Sunday school or lighting candles on Shabbat?
I talked to some Jewish mothers — because, ya know, mothers
know best — about what they hope their children learn from those
lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer.

When campers write home for the first time — (Do kids write
letters anymore? That’s a story for another time) — begging to be
picked up and taken home, parents know that if they just stick it
out, it’ll be worthwhile.

6 JUNE 2, 2016
And let’s be real — mothers really do know best.

Take Ivy Frajerman, who has three children involved with Camp
Ramah — Noah, 14, Brett, 11, and Alana, 9.

Noah and Alana spend their summers at Ramah at the Poconos
in Lakewood, while Brett prefers day camp in Philadelphia.

But whichever type of camp involvement they prefer, Frajerman
is just glad they’re getting a Jewish background.

“They do all the typical camp experiences — swimming, arts,
sports — and yet are totally immersed in Judaism throughout their
day. Without them even thinking about it, they are,” she said.

Although she misses the kids when they’re gone, “I know that
the friendships they’ve developed and the wonderful time that they’re
having is what’s important,” she added. “They still really make a
point of seeing their friends throughout the year, and they’ve really
made some wonderful friends through Ramah.”
The Frajermans, who belong to Ohev Shalom of Bucks County,
don’t send their kids to a Jewish day school during the rest of the
year. THIS SUMMER
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