Camp Connections Across The South

Rabbi Matt Dreffin at Camp Coleman

Rabbi Matt Dreffin at Camp Coleman

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 counselorsand 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 Colemanand it’s also where he met his wife! We’ll soon be sharing some of our “how we spent our summer” reflectionsand 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?

Like this post? Join the conversation through MyJewishLearning’s weekly blogs newsletter.

Discover More

Camp All Day, Every Day

A cookie is just a cookie, but a Newton is fruit and cake.A camp is just a camp, but MY ...

My Grandpa’s 41-Year-Old T-Shirt

Why saying goodbye to summer camp is so personal.

Summer Camp Circle Game

“And go round and round and round in the circle game…”The words of Joni Mitchell’s classic folk song have been ...