Happy (Family) Campers

Rabbi Jason Miller

Special to the Jewish News

It has been said that it takes a village to raise a child. With all the studies pointing to

Jewish summer camps as the best way to build and maintain a young person’s Jewish identity, it

can likewise be said that it takes a Jewish camp to raise a Jewish child. However, we know that

it takes more than just a summer camp to raise Jewish children who are instilled with Jewish

values and proud of their Jewish heritage. Indeed, it takes dedicated parents and grandparents

playing valuable roles in the child’s life. All of this comes together at Family Camp.

When people hear “camp,” they usually think of children being away from home over the

summer, living with other kids and counselors in cabins. But family camping is different.

Imagine Jewish children spending the weekend with their parents, lodging overnight in

comfortable (but not luxurious) guesthouses, and spending the days playing games with the

family, other children, and counselors. There is set time for family programming, as well as

concurrent activities for children and adults. From Jewish programming, including age-

appropriate Shabbat services and Havdalah, to arts and crafts projects, nature hikes, and a talent

show, families are kept busy. But there’s also free time scheduled in for relaxing and family

bonding.

In today’s always-connected, overscheduled, hustle-and-bustle society, families need to

get away for a weekend retreat where their togetherness will not be interrupted by the demands

of work and school. For over thirty-five years, Tamarack Camps has offered family camping

programs as a way to infuse families with informal Jewish experiences.

In 1988, the late Jeanette Tilchin was serving as Tamarack Camps’ registrar and

wondered why Family Camp was only for parents and children. So, the Bubbie and Zadie Camp
program began as a way for grandparents to spend a weekend engaged in the camp programming

with their grandchildren. There is a special bond that is formed between grandparents and their

grandchildren during these weekend retreats that are run throughout the summer at the Butzel

Conference Center. Bubbie and Zadie Camp weekends prove to be a double blessing to parents

who get to enjoy a weekend alone without the demands of their children, and can take great

pleasure in knowing their children are building lasting relationships with their grandparents.

Tamarack Camps’ executive director Jonah Geller explained the importance of family

camping. “We’re committed to family camping because the experiences we provide create

meaningful memories for families to build upon and strengthen their connection to each other.

The Butzel Conference Center is conducive to achieving our goals because it provides our

families with a facility to enjoy time together in a peaceful setting. While there are plenty of

choices of activities for everyone, the fact that we all do it at the same location helps create a

strong feeling of cohesiveness.”

At a recent five-day Family Camp experience, many of the parents in attendance had

spent years at in Family Camp as children. Now, they returned with their own children to

continue the tradition. Lisa Zaks Klein was one veteran family camper who brought her own

family for the New Year’s retreat. “Family Camp offers a true Jewish communal experience like

no other. I was fortunate to grow up attending family camps, and now Tamarack Camps allows

my children the opportunity to be part of a larger Jewish community from sun up to sun down,”

she said. Another long time Family Camp participant, Rachel Grey Ellis, has also returned to

Family Camp several times as a parent with her own family. She explained, “Family Camp and

the values I learned there are the legacy that my parents have given to me and my siblings, and

the legacy I am now passing on to my children.”

 In December 1975, eight families gathered in Sheruth Village for a Hanukkah family

camp. The next year they moved to the Butzel Conference Center and made it a gala New

Year’s celebration. Rick Goren was a little boy when he attended that first New Year’s Family

Camp, but it must have made a lasting impression on him because he returned in December 2009

with his baby daughter to introduce her to the family tradition.

In this new decade, the successful Jewish educator realizes the need to educate the entire

family. The Jewish camp experience should not be reserved for young children for a few weeks

each summer. Since the camp philosophy works, we must extent it to the entire family and

encourage more families to participate. To make this a reality, donors and philanthropic

foundations must subsidize the family camping experience so every family that wants to

participate may do so.

Helayne Shaw, director of family programming said, “There is something magical about

the family camp experience. It’s informal Jewish education at its finest. Families at Family Camp

experience hands-on Judaism as they are having quality and quantity Jewish family time. The

outside pressures are not present. It’s Jewish family prime time.”

Jason Miller is the rabbi of Oakland County-based Tamarack Camps. He can be reached at
miller@tamarackcamps.com.