Every year, at Rosh Hashanah and Passover, I receive a hand written New Year’s card from Matthew, a camper from my Tikvah bunk in 1984 and 1985 at Camp Ramah in New England.  We still correspond on Facebook, and he remembers the names of everyone in our bunks those years.  Matthew is still in touch with some of his bunkmates and always fills me in on how each person is doing.  I know about many of them, of course, since I am also in touch with them. 

When I began posting about “Tikvah at 50” and some of the online events we are planning, Tikvah alum from years and decades ago began to post.   Eric, also in my bunk in the mid ‘80s, wrote, “Wow, 50 years! I'm proud to have been in that edah back in the 80's. Todah Rabah to Herb and Barbara Greenberg for creating such a legacy. Too bad that due to the virus, there will be no 50th anniversary celebration.”  Eric was paying tribute to Tikvah’s founders, who had the vision to create an environment with people with disabilities were included in a Jewish overnight summer camp—starting in 1970.  Eric was also feeling sad and disappointed that the big in person reunion scheduled for last Sunday—July 19, 2020—at Camp Ramah in New England—would be postponed.

Matthew read Eric’s comment and added, “I remember the Tikvah group very well and the Greenberg’s who ran the Tikvah Program.  It is very bad that we cannot get together for this wonderful event at the camp this summer to enjoy this event and to see everyone.  If I could get the schedule of the events, I would like to be part of the events on the computer or Zoom. Thank you.” 

I received so many similar text and Facebook messages—from alum of Tikvah from 5, 10, 20, 30, and 36 years ago. 

The message is clear.  Tikvah alum had the same positive, meaningful, impactful Jewish summer camp experience that their peers had—and they want to continue staying connected with this special community.  Our Virtual Voc Ed Training and Socializing Program is showing us the power of connecting online. Participants from Toronto, Sacramento, Chicago, DC, Florida and other places—across 4 time zones, have been meeting to learn and socialize—and they are really connecting. 

Reshet Ramah has succeeded in connecting alum from across camps, from across the generations.  We will continue to find ways to further develop and expand our National Ramah Tikvah Network to find new, innovative ways for members of the Tikvah Programs to stay connected—to each other, and to the larger camp communities!

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Earlier this week, the Jewish manager of the San Francisco Giants made news by becoming the first manager in Major League Baseball to join team members in “taking a knee.”  The story was widely reported in secular and Jewish media.

In a statement to ESPN, Kapler said, “I wanted [the team] to know that I wasn't pleased with the way our country has handled police brutality, and I told them I wanted to amplify their voices and I wanted to amplify the voice of the Black community and marginalized communities as well. So I told them that I wanted to use my platform to demonstrate my dissatisfaction with the way we've handled racism in our country. I wanted to demonstrate my dissatisfaction with our clear systemic racism in our country, and I wanted them to know that they got to make their own decisions, and we would respect and support those decisions. I wanted them to feel safe in speaking up.”

Major League players and coaches are taking stands for causes they care about in various ways.  A few weeks ago, MLB players joined athletes from 12 sports leagues in replacing their “famous names” with names of doctors, nurses, EMTs and other health professionals on the backs of their jerseys.  Two high profile players, Yankees' Aaron Judge and the Brewers' Christian Yelich, participated, with Judge's jersey featuring the name of RN Stephanie Pantelidis, who, according to the Yankees' Twitter, “is a dedicated first-year ER nurse in NYC. After six straight night shifts, she inquired about working at drive-thru testing sites on her day off.”

Yelich replaced his name on his jersey with Dr. Dave Margolis. “I know it's been a difficult few months for you guys, a lot of long hours away from your family, but you're making a difference — you're saving lives. You're the real hero for all you do for the kids and their families in this difficult time. Keep up the great work, you're doing an awesome job, and we're all behind you.”

Athletes are high profile people and important role models.  When they do the right thing, like standing up for causes they believe in, acknowledging the hard work of front line workers, wearing masks in public, and more, people take notice.

And baseball can use some good PR these days.  Just a few months ago, it was unclear if there would even be a baseball season this year.  Many thought players and owners were behaving selfishly, with players demanding millions to play this season, and owners looking to make as much money as possible.

What if teams took a page form the Jewish play book?  At each weekday service, the gabbai or a young child walks the aisles of the shul with a tzedakah (charity) box, and people put in coins and dollar bills.  What if MLB followed this example?   Players would line up for the National Anthem and the manager would come out with a tzedakah box in his hand—and walk up to each player, subtlety encouraging each to put some coins, or bills in the pushke.  I know there are health and safety issues with handling money, and it is unlikely that, in the days of Venmo and Zelle, any player handles actual money. 

But, do the math:  there are 30 MLB teams, each with 26 men. And they will play 60 games.  If each player gave $1 per game, they could collect $46,800.  Ideally, they would collect more.  After all, we are dealing with some pretty wealthy players.  The minimum salary for 2019 was $555,000, and it was scheduled to be $563,500 for 2020.

Then, teams could play the famous “allocations game.”  They could decide as a team where the money should go.  Perhaps to support important causes in their local communities—for example, organizations addressing hunger, racism and anti-Semitism.  What a bonding experience this would be for the players.  And such good role modeling for their admiring fans!

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It is after 10 pm on the east coast and we just finished back to back Tikvah events—first, our twice a week Virtual Voc Ed Training and Socializing program for 45 participants from across our camps, followed by Shira and Rikud hosted by song and dance leaders from Ramah Ojai.  The late east coast start times allows Tikvah participants across the country to participate.   What a joy to see our Tikvah community having a great time, meeting new friends and celebrating Tikvah at 50.

Last week, my National Ramah and National Ramah Tikvah Network colleagues and I worked hard to put together a mailing announcing events to mark Tikvah at 50 and ADA at 30.  We had no idea how well received these events would be!

I have proudly been working with Tikvah, the disabilities inclusion program of Camp Ramah, almost continuously since 1984.   While there have been so many wonderful and proud moments over the years, I sometimes forget just how much Tikvah has benefited participants, alum, families, Tikvah staff members and the larger Ramah community.  This came through loud and clear last night in our panel discussion on “Jewish Journeys: Tikvah's Role in the Jewish Disability Narrative.”

I started the evening by speaking briefly about the history of Tikvah, and paid tribute to our visionary founders, Herb and Barbara Greenberg.  My colleague, Audra Kaplan, spoke about how camp is a place which helps people—with and without disabilities- develop their Jewish Identities.   She also reflected on what our camp community would look like if there were no staff or campers with disabilities. 

Then, panelists consisting of alum, parents, staff members from Tikvah and other divisions, a Tikvah director who has worked at 3 Ramah camps, spoke about Ramah’s impact on their children’s Jewish identity, what it means to be included in the Jewish community, and how the rest of the camp community benefits by having Tikvah in camp. 

As I listened to everyone speak, I was kvelling, like a proud parent.  I am proud that Tikvah was the pioneer in inclusive camping, and I am proud that we continue to evolve.  Our camps have robust camping programs, vocational training programs, Israel programs, Tikvah Family camps, and we hire graduates of our programs as salaried staff members.

During the coming week, I will try to highlight some exciting aspects of Tikvah.  For now, I’d like to share how proud I am that we are always growing and evolving and pushing ourselves to do even better.  Last evening was our first event where we had both an ASL interpreter and a person doing live captioning.  The ASL interpreter made it possible for a deaf parent of a Tikvah camper to participate.  More importantly, perhaps—it sends a message about how inclusive Ramah strives to me.  While this particular deaf parent would have been happy with only the ASL interpreter, we decided to also have it captioned.  This is a useful tool for people who are deaf, but also for people not only for some deaf people, but for people who prefer written text, as a learning tool.  

We are doing our best to push ourselves to be even more inclusive, and to employ best practices.  I am proud to be part of an organization which is 50 years old, and still strives to do even better!  Happy 50th Tikvah and let’s recognize the ADA at 30!

I wrote a piece for ejewishphilantropy on this topic today!  

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Original Article Published On The Jewish Philanthropy

The light bulb went off in the final minutes of the Zoom discussion of the movie “Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution” with disability rights pioneer and icon, Judith Heumann. In the Q&A for members of the Ramah camping community, one participant asked, “How do we give the typical campers a Tikvah experience if there is no camp this summer?” He was acknowledging the important reality that campers and staff would be denied the important opportunity to meaningfully interact in person with campers with disabilities from the Tikvah inclusion program.

Without missing a beat, Judy suggested that our synagogues and Jewish communal institutions mark the 30th anniversary of the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which coincides with the same year we are celebrating the 50th anniversary of Tikvah.

The ADA, a civil rights law prohibiting discrimination based on disability, was signed in 1990 by President Bush. The law requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations to employees with disabilities and imposes accessibility requirements on public transportation. Ironically, religious entities like synagogues are completely exempt from portions of the ADA. All of their facilities, programs, and activities, whether they are religious or secular in nature, are exempt.

The ADA became a law twenty years after the Ramah camping movement started including campers with disabilities. In the early years, inclusion in Jewish summer camps was not a “given”. It required the persistence of passionate visionaries.

In the late 1960s, two special education teachers, Herb and Barbara Greenberg, proposed that Jewish children and young adults with disabilities be included in Jewish summer camps. Despite opposition by people claiming it would bankrupt the camps, disrupt the structure of the camps, lower the level of Hebrew and cause the “normal” campers to leave, the Greenbergs persisted. One Ramah director, Donny Adelman, said, “Why should Ramah exist if not for this reason?” He agreed to have Tikvah at his camp in Glen Spey, New York. In 1970, the camp welcomed eight young adults with disabilities. The camp soon moved to Camp Ramah in New England in Palmer, MA.

At around the time of Tikvah’s founding, Judy Heumann, a young camper with polio, was attending Camp Jened in upstate New York. “Crip Camp” profiles a group of teens with disabilities, including Judy, who attended Camp Jened during the late 1960s and early 1970s. Judy went on to become one of the most important and influential voices in the disability rights movement. Crip Camp won the Sundance Audience Award for US Documentary earlier this year.

Heumann personifies the history of disability rights in American. She fought to be included in the NYC public school system, took on the Board of Education in New York for the right to obtain a teaching license, founded Disabled in Action, and organized over 100 activists with disabilities to stage sit-ins in San Francisco and Washington, D.C. The sit-ins laid the groundwork for the ADA.

Heumann’s years of activism include serving in the Clinton and Obama Administrations. Judy has a new memoir, Being Heumann: An Unrepentant Memoir of a Disability Rights Activist, and she is a proud and involved Jew and member of Adas Israel in Washington, DC.

Camp Ramah and the National Ramah Tikvah Network’s growth and development parallel Heumann’s lifetime of activism. We have continued to expand the inclusion of campers with disabilities in our camps in North America, and in our Israel programs.

I worked as a Tikvah counselor in 1984 at Camp Ramah in New England, served for many years as a division head and Tikvah director, and currently serve as the director of our National Ramah Tikvah Network and of the Tikvah Program at Ramah Galim in Northern California. In 2015, when Ramah Galim was about to open its doors, director Rabbi Sarah Shulman and her board of directors insisted they open for all campers only once a Tikvah program was in place.

Tikvah programs have served several thousand campers with disabilities, and dozens of our staff members have gone on to work in fields related to disabilities inclusion. Most importantly, perhaps, is the shaping of attitudes for thousands of campers, staff members, families, and Israeli staff members.

The Ramah Camping Movement is not offering in-person camp programs this summer, and we will reschedule some of our “Tikvah at 50” festivities. However, we continue to offer robust programming to all of our Ramah campers online. Each day, our campers, with and without disabilities, participate in various Ramah-style programs virtually. Tikvah vocational program participants are engaged in a 12-session virtual vocational training program.

Thanks to Judy’s suggestion, Ramah will jointly celebrate “Tikvah at 50” and “ADA at 30.” Activities will include a panel discussion entitled “Jewish Journeys: Tikvah’s Role in the Jewish Disability Narrative” and staff/parent movie nights featuring clips on the theme of disabilities inclusion, singing and dancing, prayer services and more.

We greatly appreciate Judy continuing to encourage us at Ramah to do more to be inclusive and aware of the needs of people with disabilities. Here are other ways Judy suggests the Jewish community mark ADA at 30:

  • Share sermons or divrei torah (from the bima or in writing) about ADA
  • Screen and discuss “Crip Camp” and other ReelAbilities movies which show the many abilities of people with disabilities
  • Make concrete strides to go beyond ADA to be more inclusive in our shuls
  • Review what has been done thus far for disabilities inclusion and establish objectives for between now and February (Jewish Disabilities Awareness, Acceptance, and Inclusion Month).
  • Engage disabled and non-disabled people from your community – if not already doing so. (Many have already established task forces and working groups.)

Thousands of Jews have grown up at Jewish camps that include people with disabilities. They have seen first-hand how important it is for everyone to feel included. Let’s celebrate ADA at 30 with a renewed commitment to including everyone!

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