Here are some pictures of this week’s Amphitheater progress!
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Camp Judaea Staff Member Brings Win to Iron Chef Team
By Barbara Sofer
Monique Benzaquen of San Juan, Puerto Rico wants to be a pastry chef when she grows up. So she combined her love of Israel with her love of cooking and signed up for the Culinary Track of Hadassah’s Young Judaea Year Course. Benzaquen has just finished three months of the year course, and was part of the winning team in the Iron Chef competition in Jerusalem.
The hands-on program challenged each team to produce a gourmet three-course meal for a cook-off.
The cooking school with its teaching kitchen is located in the heart of the city’s famed outdoor market Machane Yehudah. Each team was dispatched to select ingredients. But not until they returned with their purchases and began cooking did they hear what the secret ingredient they needed was .
Benzaquen and two fellow-Judaeans minded their peas and cucumbers, selected fresh chicken to roast, and filled their baskets with luscious fruit. Then the secret ingredient was announced: chocolate chips.
“Chocolate is easy in desert, but we needed to use it in every course, “said Benzaquen “How do you combine chocolate and asparagus?”
Making use of her experience with South American food, she suggested that they sprinkle the asparagus with coarse salt and then dribble chocolate on it.
For a main course, they roasted chicken in lemon juice and fresh thyme.
The piece de resistance turned out to be the dessert, which won them enough points to clinch the championship. They filled crepes with mango, strawberries, bananas, and chocolate chips, and served a refreshing smoothie from the same ingredients.
“What a great way to get to learn to cook and get to know Jerusalem at the same time,” said Benzaquen.
She and her fellow chefs have spent three months in Israel’s capital, and will spend three months each now in the coastal city of Bat Yam, south of Tel Aviv, and last in the desert town of Arad.
The students recently had a tutorial in wine and the Torah, understanding the Biblical and Talmudic sources of making and drinking wine. The opening activity in Tel Aviv will be a scavenger hunt in the city’s many coffee shops, many of them key sites of historical events. Benzaquen is hoping to do an internship with a top pastry chef.
This summer, Monique will join the Camp Judaea staff in the kitchen!
Camp Judaea Breaks Ground On Amphitheater
Hendersonville, NC–Camp Judaea breaks ground on their new amphi
theater. Over 300 donors have contributed to this project and their support has been instrumental in achieving this dream. Major donors include the Florida Atlantic Chapter of Hadassah and the Harold Grinspoon Foundation.
The amphitheater will be an open-air venue for plays concerts and films. The amphitheater will include a performance-style stage with the audience in front of it surrounded by ascended seating overlooking the lake.
Construction of the amphitheater will be complete by the opening of the 2010 summer season. Ribbon cuttings, presentations, and musical performances will dedicate the new space on each session’s opening day.
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Camp Judaea’s Hadracha Program to Receive College Credit
ATLANTA, GA – February 24, 2010 – Camp Judaea, the premier Jewish and Zionist camp in the southeast is embarking on an exciting new venture. Beginning this summer, Camp Judaea (CJ) will offer college credit for its Hadracha Leadership program.
The Hadracha Program, offered to campers entering 11th grade, is a leadership training course that focuses on team work and Jewish leadership while working with CJ’s younger campers. Participants will receive hands-on training and experience in event planning, curriculum and activity building, public speaking, organization skills, child care and supervision.
In a first ever initiative, CJ will partner with the Laura and Alvin Siegal College of Judaic Studies based in Cleveland, Ohio to award college credit for the Hadracha Program. The credits earned could be eligible for transfer to the camper’s future university as an elective course. “We are building the leaders of tomorrow for Jewish communities all over the southeast”, said Sandra Bass, Director of Camp Judaea. “The Hadracha program is an incredible opportunity for these young adults to learn how to be real leaders and instill Jewish values and education within their peers and fellow campers.”
The curriculum of the Hadracha program will teach the participants how to be informal Jewish educators and leaders and will emphasize the importance and impact that Jewish camping has on the community. Siegal College is one of a handful of higher education institutions in the U.S. training Jewish educators and is recognized nationally for its expertise in the field of informal education. Provost Brian Amkraut comments, “Siegal College recognizes the powerful role that summer camps play in educating the next generation of Jewish leadership and we believe that Camp Judaea will serve as an effective living laboratory for these students to explore fundamental issues of Jewish education in the 21st Century.” For more information on Siegal College, visit www.siegalcollege.edu or contact Jennifer Mirmelstein at jmirmelstein@siegalcollege.edu.
Running the course will be Lori Goldstein, Assistant Director of Camp Judaea. Lori is currently a Masters Degree candidate in Jewish Studies and Jewish Education at Siegal College. Lori will work directly with Dr. Jeffrey Schein, chair of the Education Department at Siegal College to ensure that curriculum meet the participant’s needs. Dr. Schein served as senior consultant to a major national project of the JCCA, training camp directors, and crafted a curriculum for experiential learning in summer camps now being adapted to the unique culture of Camp Judaea.
Campers wishing to participate in the Hadracha Program must attend first session at Camp Tel Yehudah, Young Judaea’s national senior camp in New York and then second session at Camp Judaea. For more information on Tel Yehudah, visit www.camptelyehudah.org.
Camp Judaea places special emphasis on Jewish heritage and a connection to Israel. Each summer over 500 campers from the South and Mid-Atlantic states participate in two, four, or eight week sessions. Located on 118 acres of lush, rolling terrain that offers clean air, blue skies, Camp Judaea is nestled in the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Each age group has a theme-oriented program consisting of informal educational activities programmed by the staff. Camp Judaea’s programs also include horseback riding, sports, challenge course, arts & crafts, environmental education, drama, swimming, canoeing, archery, and more. Camp Judaea is equipped with two kosher kitchens and provides an enriching Shabbat experience.
For more information on Camp Judaea and the Hadracha program please visit www.campjudaea.org or contact Lori Goldstein, Assistant Director at 404-634-7883 or lori@campjudaea.org.
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“A Ticket to Camp”
Dear Friends,
The Camp Judaea story is one of family, fun, culture, heritage, and Tzedakah. Camp Judaea is a very special place and hundreds of children dream of the opportunity of being a part of our family. As a Camp Judaea community, we have the task of raising scholarship monies that will help to make the dreams of our campers a reality; providing them with the financial resources they need which will enable them to obtain their “Ticket to Camp”.
Last summer Camp Judaea was able to raise $60,000 toward scholarship. In addition, our campers received funds totaling over $100,000 from Hadassah, Jewish federations, synagogues and family, enabling them to send their children to camp. Unfortunately, we were not able to help all of the campers in need. This summer, the task will be even greater due to the continued economic turmoil. We are in dire need of your financial support.
As we approach the end of the year, we encourage you to strongly consider your support for Camp Judaea and a gift to our scholarship project “A Ticket to Camp” which will directly enrich the lives of more and more children this summer and in the summers to come. Any gift, no matter how large or small will make an impact in the life of a Jewish child for whom a summer camping experience will otherwise be out of reach. All scholarship gifts will be matched 1:1 by the Marcus Foundation up to a maximum of $30,000, making our goal of $60,000 more attainable. We are very grateful for this opportunity and all of your support. Your contribution will indeed be “The Ticket” in accomplishing our mission of creating tomorrow’s Jewish leaders.
Change the life of a child today by supporting “A Ticket to Camp” with your tax deductible Hanukkah gift. To donate CLICK HERE or send a check to Camp Judaea, 2700 NE Expy, C500, Atlanta, GA 30345.
Happy Hanukkah and thank you in advance for your support!
Robin Mendelson Greg Schlam
Scholarship Campaign Chair Development Associate
How can you say no to that:
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Camp Judaea Alumni Spotlight – Ethan Berman
Ethan Berman now goes by Eitan after making Aliya right after working at Camp Judaea last summer. Eitan joined Garin Tzabar to help him with his move. Garin Tzabar, a program run by the Friends of the Israel Scouts, inc., was founded in 1991. Garin, a Hebrew word for “core” or “seed”, is a term used in Israel for a group of soldiers who choose to experience their army service together as a social unit of mutual support and camaraderie. The members of Garin Tzabar, a group formed for Diaspora Jews and sons od Israelis who choose to move to Israel and serve in the IDF, are adopted by the Israel Scouts and placed in a hosting kibbutz that quickly becomes their home away from home throughout the duration of their army service. 214 people made Aliya with Garin Tzabar in 2009. Upon arrival, Eitan was placed on Kibbutz Malkiya which is in the northeast Galil, on the Lebanese border. Kibbutz Malkiya will be his home base during his army service. Eitan began his army service this month and is with a Nahal unit near Arad.
Eitan would love letters or care packages! This is his information:
Eitan Berman
Garin Tzabar
Kibbutz Malkiya
D.N. HaMarom HaGalil 13845
Camp Judaea has participated in the Lone Soldier Program through Merkaz Hamagshimim in Israel to let our alumni that are alone in Israel and in the army know that we are thinking about them. Merkaz Hamagshimim Hadassah’s Lone Soldier Project (“Chayalim Bodedim”) stems from an understanding of the difficulties lone soldiers face and a desire to ease those difficulties by providing them with a home away from home. Between 2005-2007, the scope of the Lone Soldier Project has expanded. Initially, it provided basic services to 80 English-speaking lone soldiers serving in the IDF. Today, the project provides more extensive services to 300 lone soldiers. For the past 5 years, Camp Judaea has sent our CJ Alumni that are “Chayalim Bodedim” packages from our campers.
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Pinat Yeledim (Kids Korner)
HAPPY HANUKKAH!!!!!
Pinat Yeledim
Dear Campers,
See what Young Judaea youth programs are doing on-line by checking out Pinat Yeledim – Kids Korner!
Click here to read the Hanukkah edition!
About Young Judaea
Identity…Continuity…Pride…Judaism…Leadership…Zionism…Israel
Young Judaea is the oldest Zionist youth movement in the United States.
For nearly 100 years, Young Judaea has brought together thousands of Jewish youth from across the country and around the world, of every religious, cultural, and political persuasion, through a shared commitment to Jewish values, Jewish pride, and love of Israel.
With summer and year-round programs in both the US and Israel, from 3rd grade to college and beyond, Young Judaea is truly unique in its ability to offer a fun, safe, social environment that also includes a distinct focus on education, leadership, and social action.
The result: generation after generation of strong Jewish leaders who are empowered to truly make a difference in their communities, and in the world – while meeting other Jewish youth to build friendships that last a lifetime.
Want to learn more? Go to www.youngjudaea.org and navigate through the website! You can also email your questions to info@youngjudaea.org.
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Camp Judaea Receives a $10,000 Gift
(© EllenShub 2009)
In November, Camp Judaea received a $10,000 gift from the Harold Grinspoon Foundation at the Grinspoon Institute Conference in Massachusetts. Camp Judaea was invited to participate in the Grinspoon Institute’s “Create a Jewish Legacy” Program in February. As a part of this program, the Institute challenged our legacy team to secure 25 legacy society members by November 2009 for a gift of $10,000. Not only was Camp Judaea able to achieve its goal of 25 members, we now have 50 members in our “Legacy for the Generations Society.”
We will be utilizing the gift to plant trees at camp in honor of our legacy members and to beautify the entrance of the camp property. Legacy giving opportunities gives you the ability to make plans today to make a gift to Camp Judaea now or in the future. Typically legacy gifts are wills, endowments, gifts of property, insurance policies or investments you own. Thank you to all of our legacy members that have chosen to be our partners for a lifetime.
To join our Legacy for the Generations Society, please contact Greg Schlam at 404-634-7883 or gregschlam@campjudaea.org.
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Cheer Contest!!
“Hey Sayarim…I heard your name up on the street and they said you aint got no beat…”
How it works:
You can submit a cheer by yourself, with your family or with some friends! Create a video with a cheer that we have never used at CJ before. Nitzanim, Offarim, Sayarim, Tsofim, Kesher, Bogrim, and Chalutzim have atleast three cheers for their Eda (age group); now Oranim needs a few!
The possibilities are endless; do a cheer that requires a “call back” or do a dance with your cheer.
Once you have created a clip of your video send an email with it to the Camp office. All of the cheer clips will be reviewed and we will pick a few for Oranim!
Don’t be embarrassed, no one will see the video except for the Assistant Director and Director of CJ! Besides, I know you are all American Idols!!
What you’ll win:
*Fame!*
Your cheer will be everlasting in the Chadar Ochel of Camp Judaea
If that doesn’t motivate you, then you will be happy to hear all the winners will be announced and receive a prize at CJ summer 2010!
Helpful Tips
- It is spelled with 6 letters: O-R-A-N-I-M
- Oranim means Pine Tree in Hebrew
- Think of other cheers from clubs, school, youth groups, and holidays!
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CAMP JUDAEA PARTICIPATES IN NATIONAL FELLOWSHIP
Creating Strong Role Models and Future Leaders
Atlanta, GA – Camp Judaea in Hendersonville, NC is one of 41 nonprofit Jewish camps across North America chosen to participate in the Foundation for Jewish Camp Cornerstone Fellowship! From May 24-27, 2010, approximately 250 third year returning bunk counselors from the selected camps will attend this intensive leadership training aimed at enhancing the Judaic strength of their programs, creating good role models for campers, and building leadership in emerging professionals.
Sponsored through a generous grant from the AVI CHAI Foundation, Cornerstone consists of seminars, discussions, and workshops which take place over the four days, culminating in meetings in which camps work intensively to create an action plan to bring back their new knowledge to camp. Each participating camp selects a minimum of five Fellows from among their third year bunk counselors to attend the retreat. Camp Judaea is sending 4 of enthusiastic counselors this Spring – it is their first year taking part in the program.
“Jewish camp counselors wear many hats: they are role models, caretakers, peacekeepers, students, and much more!” Jeremy J. Fingerman, CEO, Foundation for Jewish Camp, says. “The Cornerstone Fellowship develops and hones their skills in all of these areas showing them their potential and amplifying their passion for their camp and religion. In turn they become contributing members to their Jewish communities.”
For further information, please contact Lori Goldstein at lori@campjudaea.org or 404-634-7883. Visit us at www.CampJudaea.org.