As posted on January 11, 2013 by Sam Blustin on Soup for the Neshama
“The Rabbi of Kotzk had some prestigious guests over to his house. Suddenly, he turns to them and asks, ‘Where does G-d dwell?’
The guests chuckle, thinking the answer is obvious. ‘That’s easy,’ they reply, ‘Doesn’t G-d dwell everywhere?’
A smirk comes to the Rabbi’s face, and he replies, ‘G-d only dwells where we let G-d in.'”
A few nights ago, I attended a seminar entitled “When Jewish Education Fails.” The panel of speakers talked about their experiences with Jewish education, and particularly what we need to do to correct some of their perceived issues.
Most interestingly for me was the discussion about Jewish camping and the great successes that camps have in fostering and helping to develop Jewish identity and pride. The question for me then was, what lessons can we take from Jewish summer camps to transform the way we teach and truly engage students?
At summer camps, campers are placed in their own little bubbles of Judaism, relatively isolated from the world. Everything they do is Judaism infused, and most of the time, they don’t even realize it. Jacob Cytron, director at Camp Ramah Wisconsin, describes it as a controlled area, where millions of little Jewish particles bombard campers at all times, like in a science experiment of sorts. In settings like this, campers live Jewishly and feel connected to Judaism at all times. Camps are places where G-d dwells.
Of the many great things that camp can teach us, I believe that constant G-dly presence is one of the most powerful and transformative experiences that we can have in our lives and that we can give to others. If a Jewish education takes place only in the Synagogue or at Hebrew school, or even only at camp, than we aren’t getting as full and as meaningful of a Jewish experience as we can be.
In order to create a full Jewish experience, it really starts in the home, and how we incorporate Judaism into our every day, and every moment. Parents need to instill their love of Judaism to their children, and create an environment where Judaism is truly important. But having been raised in a Jewish environment isn’t the be all and the end all. In the end, it’s up to each of us to decide what importance we want Judaism to have in our own life. Once we’ve decided that, we can take the steps we need to create and shape our lives according to our values. Only then does G-d truly dwell with us.
This Shabbos, my blessing is that we are all able to explore, embrace, and spread the Judaism that is so meaningful to us.
Shabbat Shalom,
SB
This is one of my favorite new songs, “Every Storm (Runs Out of Rain)” by Gary Allan. “Hold your head up and tell yourself that there’s something more. And walk out that door.”
Story adapted from a story in the High Holidays Mahzor
