Camp Connections Across The South

Southern & Jewish

Southern & Jewish celebrates the stories, people, and experiences – past and present – of Jewish life in the American South. Hosted by the Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life, posts come from educators, students, rabbis, parents, artists, and many other “visitors-to and daily-livers-of” the Southern Jewish experience. From road trips to recipes to reflections, we’ll explore a little bit of everything – well, at least all things Southern and/or Jewish. Shalom, y’all!

This week, ISJL staff have been all over… and in addition to visiting Southern Jewish communities, we’ve been serving as faculty at several Southern Jewish camps.

From Henry S. Jacobs Camp down in Utica, Mississippi, on up to Camp Coleman in Cleveland, Georgia, and over to the west at Greene Family Camp in Bruceville, Texas, we love getting to spend time on staff at camp. Connecting with campers, faculty, our own former counselors—and sometimes even family members.

Our camp connections run deep. Ann Zivitz Kientz recently recalled her own “summer camp circle game.” For Rachel Stern, Greene Family Camp really is a family tradition. ISJL’s founder, Macy B. Hart, was director at Jacobs for 30 years. Rabbi Matt Dreffin’s family-tradition is ongoing, too: he spent (and still spends!) summers working with both of his parents at Camp Coleman—and it’s also where he met his wife! We’ll soon be sharing some of our “how we spent our summer” reflections—and in the meantime, check out this piece that Education Fellow Missy Goldstein co-authored with her mom about their new camp-colleague status.

Especially for those from small communities, coming together to share Jewish summer camp experiences is so beautiful, powerful, and life-changing. Where did you (or your kids!) spend your summers?

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