June 26, 2026
Over the last several weeks, I have spent time writing about the various Reform Movement platforms. You can read my reflections on the 1885 Pittsburgh Platform, the 1937 Columbus Platform, and the 1976 Centenary Platform on my blog. I want to pause briefly this week and next from that series to focus on two different, unrelated aspects of American Jewish history.
For the past two weeks, I have had the honor of serving on faculty at the URJ 6 Points Sports Academy in Asheville, NC. Three of our Beth Tikvah kids are campers there this session, and others will attend later in the summer. The URJ camping movement has played a significant role in the development of Jewish identity since the 1950s. Michael Meyer writes in his book Response to Modernity that following World War II, religious schools wanted to create a more immersive Jewish experience for their students. They rented camp facilities for a weekend and created Shabbat and educational programming. This immersive time-built community through an experience that could not be accomplished during a few hours a week. The Union of American Hebrew Congregations purchased land in Oconomowoc, WI, and then Saratoga, CA, to create Jewish summer camps that would come to be known as OSRUI and Swig, respectively. Land purchases followed in every region of the country, and the URJ camp movement began.
Tens of thousands of young people attend Jewish summer camp every year. This summer is my 23rd summer at a Union for Reform Judaism camp. At 6 Points Sports, campers play sports, but they do so while learning different values every day, including sportsmanship, teamwork, pride, intention, leadership, and growth. Each of these values is taught and reinforced through Jewish wisdom and tradition. Perhaps the greatest part of the camp experience is the community being built through mishpachot (what we call cabins, because 6 Points is located at a boarding school and the kids stay in dorms). Even though the camp is centered on playing sports and improving, what the kids truly love is the Shabbat experience.
Tonight, they will enter the Holy Stadium. Last week, I shared these words with the 6 Points Sports community:
When Shabbat arrives this evening and the sports and competition settle, we enter our Holy Stadium, where we pray and enjoy the blessing of the sacred community we are building. A stadium is a place for competition, the thrill of victory, and the agony of defeat. A Holy Stadium is a place of prayer, connection, song, and celebration. It is a space where hopes ascend and where we are sheltered with a blanket of peace. When we enter the Holy Stadium, we bring the values that guide us. This week focused on hesed, kindness. It is our foundation. We tell our friends “good try” or “great play,” or we express our concern if they fall or are struggling. We learned about sportivut, sportsmanship, as we focused on less “me” and more “us,” emphasizing the importance of working for the collective. This morning, we learned about kavanah, intention, as we reflected on how we prepare to play on the field and live our lives each day. While the Holy Stadium is a sacred place, it also brings us into one of the most sacred times at camp—a time when we build the most wonderful memories with our friends: making s’mores, singing at song session, and Israeli dancing together.
Whether our kids are at:
- GUCI (our URJ regional camp in Zionsville, IN)
- 6 Points Sports
- 6 Points Creative Arts
- 6 Points Sci-Tech
- Camp Wise
- Camp Livingston
- Emma Kaufmann Camp
- JCC Day Camp
Or any other Jewish summer camp experience this summer, we know that Jewish summer camp is one of the leading experiences that helps build Jewish identity and Jewish community. Studies have shown that time at Jewish summer camp creates connections for Jewish youth that lead to lifelong, enduring commitment to Jewish life.
At Beth Tikvah, our Brotherhood has helped support Jewish youth attending Jewish summer camp each summer through the annual Chicken Souper Bowl. Jeff Wasserstrom has led this effort year after year. He has helped raise hundreds of thousands of dollars, and our Beth Tikvah campers have benefited from his efforts for many years. Thank you to Jeff and the Beth Tikvah Brotherhood for making camp possible for so many of our youth.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Rick Kellner