Jon Woocher

Jewish educators argue about many things; check out this past CASJE blogcast if you don’t believe me. There's one thing, though, about which they seem to agree: Jewish camp is peculiarly effective as a vehicle for Jewish education and engagement. It seems that there’s a kind of magic at camp that leaves a lasting influence on the Jewish lives of most former campers. There are few forms of educational experience that are so impactful and that are remembered so warmly.

This week I’m joined by a crackerjack “cast” to help make sense of that magic. Ultimately, I’m hoping that this group will think about how we transform Jewish camps into laboratories of practice from/in which all Jewish educators can learn to perform their magic, whatever institutions they lead.

To get the ball rolling, I want to ask the cast what the magic of camp looks like. How do you know it when you see it? What would you point to as evidence of the magic?