Every time I visit a Jewish summer camp which includes campers with disabilities (many do and they do it seamlessly!), I feel obligated to offer the staff a history lesson. Once upon a time, it wasnât a given that children with disabilities would be welcomed to participate in Jewish camping. In fact, inclusion of campers with disabilities happened because of the determination of two special education teachers from Long Island, New York in the late 1960s!
Herb and Barbara Greenberg, two special education teachers from Long Island, NY, wondered why children with disabilities were not able to participate in Jewish overnight camps. As the Greenbergs recount, people worried that ânormalâ campers would leave Ramah, the level of Hebrewâand the camps financesâwould decline, and the overall structure of camp would suffer. Luckily, one director, Danny Adelman zâl, realized that including people with disabilities was very much in line with Ramah and Judaismâs values. The Tikvah Program was born in 1970 at Camp Ramah in Glen Spey, NY and soon moved to Camp Ramah in New England in Palmer, MA.
At the Taste of Tikvah program at Ramah Canada
I was lucky enough to begin my tenure with Tikvah and the Greenbergs in 1984. I have essentially never left. After decades working as a counselor, Rosh Edah and Tikvah director at Ramah New England, I have been privileged to direct our National Ramah Tikvah Network. In that capacity, I convene our Tikvah directors to share best practices and support each other. I also visit many camps (Ramah and sometimes-non Ramah campers) each summer to see inclusion in action.
The Ramah camping movement and nearly every Jewish summer camp–including movement camps, JCC camps, day camps and overnight camps– have all seen the benefits to everyone of including people with disabilities. Of course there are also challenges including staffing, costs, staff training, challenging behaviors, physical accommodations and more.
âYedibeanâ coffee shop in action at Ramah Poconos
But inclusion of people with disabilities continues to grow and evolve. I am proud of our own Ramah movement where each of our 10 overnight camps and 5 day camps in the US and Canada support campers with a range of support needs. We provide a range of options from full in bunk inclusion to support in separate Tikvah bunks. Regardless of dorm options, campers in disabilities support programs spend significant parts of the day with peers in other divisions. Campers perform in plays together, visit such places as Six Flags amusement park together, pray together and interact in various activities, at meals, on ballfields and along the walkways of camp.
Graduates of camping programs often participate in vocational training programs where they work in camp and sometimes in the local community. They work in food services, mail and package sorting and delivery; they work in childcare, in the guesthouse, snack bar, at the coffee shop and in such local businesses as grocery stores, pharmacies and coffee shops. Some return as salaried staff members where they often remain part of the camp community for many years.
Participants in the âatzmayimâ program at work at Trigg’s grocery story in Eagle River, Wisconsin
We have learned the importance of recognizing that disabilities inclusion camping and vocational training is not âone size fits all.â They require honest conversations with participants and families, and a realistic assessment of what can be provided. They also require a âcan doâ attitude and flexibility.
We at Ramah are proud of how many people with and without disabilities over these 73 years have benefitted through the inclusion of people with disabilities!
National Ramah Tikvah network director Howard Blas, visits newest Tikvah program at Ramah Berkshires.
As the menâs and womenâs singles and doubles draws of the US Open proceed at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Queens, New York, a very different US Open is taking place at the Cary Leeds Tennis Center in Corona Park in the Bronx.
A determined group of teenagers is waiting for their matches to get under way in the US Open Juniors Championships Qualifying Competition.
Two Israel players â Mika Buchnik, 16, and Liam Oved, 18 â need to win two matches to advance to the juniors main draw, which will be played at the actual US Open.
The Israelis wait patiently indoors. Oved, icing an elevated leg, appears deep in thought, though she periodically looks up at her coach, Tom Baten, out to the courts and back to her phone to the US Open app so she will have an idea of when she will begin to play.
At a nearby table, Buchnik sits next to her coach, former Israeli tennis great Dudi Sela. She stares out the window watching a match in progress â until Sela gets her up to begin stretching and warming up for her match, the third on Court 8.
ISRAELI TEENS Mika Buchnik (left) and Liam Oved both won their first matches at US Open juniors qualifying before bowing out in second round (credit: HOWARD BLAS)
Except for Guy Sasson, scheduled to compete in the quads wheelchair tournament, Liam and Mika are Israelâs only hope for representation in this yearâs US Open. If the girls can win two matches in two days, they would enter the juniorsâ main draw.
Buchnik, the tournamentâs second seed, is currently No. 44 in the world. She grew up playing atIsrael Tennis and Education Centers (ITEC) in Israel and has been working with Sela and Yoav Ben Tzvi at the Dudi Sela Tennis Academy for a year. It has been a busy, successful year of playing tournaments around the world.
In January, Buchnik reached the finals at a juniorâs tournament in San Jose, Costa Rica and reached the quarterfinals at a tournament in Ecuador one week later. She has also played in tournaments in Thailand, Great Britain and Germany including the Wimbledon qualifying draw.
In July, Buchnik lost in the finals at a tournament in Durban, South Africa, and made the quarterfinals at another Durban tournament one week later. She made it to the third round of a tournament in College Park, Maryland before arriving in New York.
Buchnik describes her own playing style as âmostly aggressive and staying back (at the baseline.â
She attends the Lady Davis School in Tel Aviv which she notes can be difficult given her tennis schedule.
âIt is hard but my teachers help me.â
Oved, the No. 9 seed, has followed a very different tennis route from Buchnik. Oved is currently ranked 75th in the world, though she has reached as high as 61.
In many ways, Oved is fairly unknown, even among Israeli tennis fans. This may be attributed to her modest nature, to the fact that she left Israel several years ago to train in Belgium, to the fact that she has never been part of Israelâs formal tennis player development system.
Her Belgian coach Baten, refers to her as a âlate bloomer,â noting that she continues to grow and develop mentally and physically and that her game continues to improve.
Baten, who has coached such players as Belgian Greet Minnen (who defeated Venus Williams in Round 1 of this yearâs US Open), enjoys working with Oved.
âShe is passionate, she has fire, she is a warrior and a competitor on the court. She is also respectful, knows her values and is very open. I want her to be a complete player.â
While Baten has never been to Israel, he is looking forward to working with her in Israel for two weeks this fall.
The good natured, well-spoken Oved is in many ways an âaccidental tennis player.â She grew up in Kfar Shmaryahu near Herzliya with her sights on gymnastics and dance.
âWhen I was eight years old, a friendâs mother was starting a tennis program near our house and didnât have enough players. She asked the whole class if we want to play and told us we could play for free,â recounts Oved.
Oved began playing tennis and enjoying it, though she adds laughing â âI didnât know who Shahar Peer or Serena Williams were, and I didnât even know how to count score.â
As she began to show promise, her parents asked her if she wished to devote more time to tennis â even if it meant cutting back or even giving up dancing and gymnastics. She worked with a series of coaches and the rest is history.
Ovedâs tennis journey includes working with coach Oded Yatzkan.
âIt was me and seven boys at Kfar Saba Yeruka. I had the best time.The level was so high. I was like a princess!â
She began playing tournaments in Israel and in Europe.
âIt was not enough. I needed more. We realized I was 14 and needed more than Israel could offer. I felt limited in Israel. I love Israel. It is my country and my people. I thought about going to an academy alone in Canada, but it was unrealistic. I was 14 and it was the other side of the world.â
As the family considered options, they thought of Belgium.
Liam and her sisters moved to Belgium and her father remained in Israel.
At one point, her family returned to Israel for a month and she was forced to take her bike 40 minutes each way â twice a day â for tennis practice.
âMy legs got so big, I couldnât move on the court!â
When her mother returned to Belgium, Oved got more settled. She began playing at the Justine Henin Tennis Academy.
âFrom the first practice, I knew this was my place!â
After training at Henin for a year and a half, she moved on.
âI was 18 and started traveling on my own. It was the best decision I ever made.â
Oved, like Buchnik, has had a busy and successful year competing in tournaments around the world. She reached the second round in tournaments in San Jose and Ecuador and reached the quarterfinals at a tournament in Baranquilla, Colombia, in February.
Oved played additional tournaments in Egypt, Italy, Bulgaria, German, Belgium and England and Switzerland. Oved lost in the second round of the Wimbledon qualifying tournament.
Oved and Buchnikâs parents did not come to New York for the US Open qualifying tournament. They were able to follow each point live on the US Open app.
Both young women took to the courts for their first-round matches late afternoon last Thursday.
Few parents were in attendance. Coaches were permitted on court, and more than 50 college tennis coaches wandered the grounds watching prospective recruits in action.
Buchnik defeated Japanâs Nao Nishino 7-6, 4-6 and 10-6 in a super tiebreaker in her first-round match. A top college tennis coach, speaking on condition of anonymity, watched the whole match and noted: âMika has a beautiful game. Her topspin groundstrokes are efficient with long hitting zones. Itâs nice to see a young player with good fundamentals.â
Coach Dudi Sela was pleased.
âShe is a very hard worker and very disciplined. Now, we will work on being more aggressive and on return of serve.â
Sela noted that players currently play fewer tournaments per year than he and his peers did when they were Mikaâs age.
âWe will put in effort in improving â I see her doing what I tell her to do and she is improving all the time!â
Oved defeated Anastasiia Firman of the Ukraine 7-6, 6-0 in the first round of the US Open qualifying tournament.
âI hope to keep going! I need to be aggressive, have a good first serve and most of all, have the right mindset!â Oved reported on court after her first match.
Sadly, Buchnik and Oved lost in their second-round matches â Jessica Bernales of the USA defeated Buchnik 7-6, 6-4, while Olivia Center of the USA defeated Oved 7-6, 6-2.
What do you do post retirement when your job WAS playing in the US Open?
When tennis lovers retire from their jobs, they often choose to play more tennis to help overcome the inevitable boredom and isolation which often comes from no longer being surrounded by fellow workers.
They may even travel to some bucket-list tournaments such as the Australian Open, Wimbledon, the French Open or the US Open. But what do you do post retirement when your job WAS playing in the US Open?
For Israeli professional tennis players who spent many hot August days and late nights playing under the lights in Queens in front of large, raucous, Israeli flag waving crowds, the famed tournament still holds an important place – and they think about the tournament each August.
Shlomo Glickstein, now 65, was Israelâs most accomplished tennis player in the 1980s. He reached a career high ranking of 22 in singles (1982) and was No. 28 in doubles (1986). While he beat some of the worldâs greats, including No. 1 Ivan Lendl and such top 10 players as Harold Solomon and Eliot Teltscher, he will never forget a US Open match in 1985 that he considers to be one of the most important matches of his life.
âOne match could have changed my whole career,â Glickstein reported. âI played McEnroe in the first round in 1985. I wasnât meant to come. My wife was due with our first baby. I was at a German league match and found out I was playing in the US Open!â He noted that he came to the US on a Saturday, and that it rained Sunday and Monday. âI played Tuesday with no practice. It was an unbelievable match. I lost in five to McEnroe â I was up 2 sets to 1. It was my most exciting and most important match ever. It could have gotten me back in the top 100.â Glickstein still recalls the match vividly 38 years later.
Andy Ram at US Open practice 2009 (credit: Wikimedia Commons)
In an August 28, 1985 New York Times article entitled, âMcEnroe Barely Survives First-Round Match,â writer Peter Alfano writes of the four-hour match between the defending US Open champion and No. 175 ranked Glickstein: âWith crowd behind him chanting âShlomo, Shlomo, Shlomo,â Glickstein nearly pulled off what would have been one of the most spectacular upsets in Open history. McEnroe would go on to lose in the finals to Ivan Lendl.â
Glickstein retired from tennis in 1988 and served as CEO of the Israel Tennis Association.
âFor the first few years after retiring 35 years ago, I used to be into the US Open. It is still in my blood and nice to remember playing on the biggest stage. I went a few times and met a few friends.â
Glickstein reports that he worked at a New Jersey Y camp in the US for several years and he worked for the ITA (Israel Tennis Association) for 12 years. He served as CEO from 2007-2012 and was professional director during his last year there. He is now working privately in the tennis world and is coaching a few players.
Shahar Peer, 36, who played in the US Open for over a decade as both a junior and a professional, actually went to the US Open last year as a spectator, with her husband.
âI am pretty casual about it when the US Open comes,â said Peer, who currently lives with her husband, who is completing a medical fellowship, and two young children. âI donât miss it. I had enough of tennis, I guess – the pressure, the commitment, everything around it! And I really enjoy my life now. All is good.â
Peer reached the US Open Juniors semifinals in 2004, and played her first US Open womensâ qualifiers that same year, where she advanced to the second round. She played in the US Open every year from 2005-2015, reaching the quarterfinals in 2007. Peer reached her best singles ranking of No. 11, the highest of any Israeli tennis player in history, in January 2011. She achieve a doubles ranking of No. 14 in 2008.
In contrast to Peer, fellow Israeli womenâs player, Julia Glushko acknowledged: âI do miss it â a lot! I donât feel sad at all â Iâm very thankful for everything tennis gave me and for the opportunity to play the best game in the world.â
Glushko participated in every US Open from 2011 through 2019, with the exception of 2017. She played in the qualifiers for four years and played in the main draw four times. Glushkoâs biggest success at the US Open was in 2014 when she reached the third round before losing to Daniela Hantuchova in a third set tiebreaker.
Glushko, who retired in 2019, that she does âmiss competition though and funny enough, when I think of tennis, I think of the US Open most of the time. It is my favorite Slam and Iâve always done well there.â
Glusko playfully noted that when she âsaw that Caroline [Wozniacki] was coming back to playing, it made me think that maybe I can do the same? I donât think I will, but it definitely gets you thinking.â
Glushko will attend the 2023 to support her good friend Australian Pricilla Hon, No. 207, who is in the qualifying tournament.
While Amir Hadad, 45, may not be as well known as other Israeli tennis players, a single act one summer at the US Open lives on in tennis history.
âI still remember that famous summer of 2002 like it was yesterday. It was the one-year anniversary of 9/11,â Hadad recounts, referring to the time he teamed up at the US Open to play doubles with Pakistani Muslim player Aisam al Quershi.
The doubles team made it to the third round, where it lost to Wayne Black and Kevin Ullyett, both of Zimbabwe. Hadad also advanced to the quarterfinals of the mixed doubles, which he played with Petra Mandula of Hungary. That year, Hadad also advanced to the final round of the singles qualifiers.
âI love New York and the US Open. It is always great to be there to play. The last experience was a very big one. There was a lot of buzz around us. There was some good tennis and it was a special one for sure!â
While Hadad last played professionally in 2010, he continues to be in touch with friends from his playing days, including Indian doubles player Rohan Bopanna, 43, who is still competing professionally. He is also âstill interested and very much involved in tennis.â
The father of two teaches and coaches in Tel Aviv and âwatches all of the US Open â singles, doubles, all!â
Dudi Sela, a long time US Open favorite of Jewish and Israeli fans due to his good nature and stunning late-night battles on court, gives himself mixed reviews for his performance here, but praises the fans.
âI miss a lot playing the Grand Slams â the pressure and the excitement before the match, and of course the feeling of winning a match. Although I didnât have much success in New York, I have a lot of friends in the city. I love the atmosphere on the courts and the Jewish people coming out to support the Israelis. I am lucky I found something that I like doing and I am still in tennis coaching.â
Sela will be on hand at the Open coaching Israeli junior Mika Buchnik, the 43rd-ranked junior in the world. The 16-year-old phenom trains at the Dudi Sela Tennis Academy and will be competing in the girlsâ qualifying tournament. âI really want to help the younger generation in Israel to fulfill their potential and be much better players,â Sela adds.
Israeli tennis star ‘doesn’t miss’ travel and work of competitions
Andy Ram, half of the beloved Israeli doubles team of Ram and [Yoni] Erlich, hopes to spend some time at this yearâs US Open.
âThe US Open is a nice place to come. It is the biggest event in the tennis world. I am always excited to come as a spectator and to remember I was part of it. But I donât miss the travel, the efforts. Watching it on TV and enjoying it and thinking I was part of it in the past is a nice feeling,â Ram noted. The 43-year-old retired from professional tennis in 2014.
Ram has kept busy since retiring. He spends time with his three children â ages 12, 8 and 4 â he owns three (soon to be six!) ice cream stores throughout Israel, he is a public speaker, and he works with an Israeli businessman as a consultant.
Ram continues to be involved in tennis as well.
âI am still close with Yoni. We talk every day and I am helping him with ITEC [Israel Tennis and Education Centers]. While he is not competing professionally, the US Open is on his mind. Ram jokes: âI still have a chance to win it â it is the only Slam I did not win!â
Ramâs Grand Slam accomplishments are far too numerous to mention. He won the Australian Open in doubles in 2008 with Erlich, and he won the mixed doubles at both Wimbledon (2006, with Vera Zvonareva) and the French Open (2007 with Nathalie Dechy). Ram and partner, Max Mirinyi, lost in the 2009 semifinals in Flushing Meadows.
Jonathan âYoniâ Ehrlich, 45, the other half of the Ram/Ehrlich team, recently retired from a decadeâs long and distinguished tennis career. In addition to winning the 2008 Australian Open with life-long friend, Ram, he won 22 tournaments and attained a world doubles ranking of No. 5 in 2008. He also represented Israel at the Davis Cup and in the Olympics on many occasions.
While Erlich is not planning to attend this yearâs US Open, he may be in a good position to assure Israelis will soon make it to the big stage. He recently joined Israel Tennis & Education Centers as Director of the High-Performance Program. He acknowledges: âWe had had no great Israeli players in the last 20-25 years,â and says, âMy focus these past six months has been on how to rebuild â coaches, players and the program.â
âMy biggest challenge is to help create the next generation of Israeli professional tennis players.â
When Erlich is successful, we look forward to see him cheering on Israeli juniors and pros â from the coachesâ box at the US Open.
For those in the New York area who want to experience a Rosh Hashanah experience outside of the staid synagogue, look no further than the traditional rock & roll Bowl Hashanah.
The Brooklyn Bowl â the now-famous combination music venue, bowling alley, and restaurant in Brooklynâs Williamsburg neighborhood â has hosted an eclectic, intergenerational group of High Holy Day worshipers for over a decade.
Bowl Hashanah, set for September 16, is for those seeking the energy of live music with a narrated journey through the traditional stories, liturgies, and rituals of the New Year, according to Rabbi Daniel Brenner, Bowl Hashanahâs spiritual leader.Â
What is Bowl Hashanah?
âFor many of my friends who are not synagogue-connected Jews, but have a strong sense of Jewish identity, the peak spiritual experiences of their lives happen in music venues as they experience the flow of energy between the musicians and the audience. Bowl Hashanah is a beautiful hybrid of concert energy, storytelling, and dance that grounds and uplifts at the same time,â he said.
Think of it as a musical Rosh Hashanah gathering with musical friends you would even pay to see on a night out.Â
Blowing the shofar (Illustrative) (credit: David Cohen/Flash90)
Musical personalities and acts involved in the project include musicians loosely connected to the jam band scene that the Brooklyn Bowl has nourished over the years. This yearâs talent includes musical director Jeremiah Lockwood, Antibalasâ Jordan McLean, Yula Beeri, John Bollinger, Stuart Bogie, Yusuke Yamamoto, Armo, Dave Harrington of Darkside, and Alex Bleeker of Real Estate. This year, Lockwood is debuting a new suite of holiday music.
While fun, engaging, and musical, tradition also has a place at Bowl Hashanah. There is prayer, Torah reading, shofar blowing, and âplain-sense explanations of the religious aspects of the holiday.â
Doors at 9 a.m. and the show starts at 10 a.m. An optional lunch will follow services at 12:30 p.m. Concert fans should feel right at home.
Tickets, which range from $25 to $500, are available at www.ticketweb.com
