The Importance of Jewish Summer Camp (Temple Beth Or)

In tractate Kiddushin, the Babylonian Talmud discusses five things that parents are obligated to do for their children. These include two rituals requirements (to perform the rites of circumcision the traditional redemption ritual for first born boys), one moral education requirement (specifically, to teach children Torah), and two steps to prepare children for a successful life (to find them a spouse, and to teach them a trade). There exists, however, a divergent voice in the Talmud which interjects and adds to this list: A sixth obligation, according to this source, is to teach children to swim.

This sixth obligation, from the 2,000-year old rabbinic canon, resonates especially well with me as I consider a phenomenon of our modern Jewish landscape; as the summer begins to draw to a close, I find myself reflecting on a (relatively) new Jewish tradition. While it is less than a century old, this tradition has left an indelible mark on all streams of Jewish life- Reform, and Orthodox, Conservative and Reconstructionist. And, while this tradition ostensibly matters most to children, it would be inaccurate to suggest that it does not affect Jews of all ages.

The tradition in question? Jewish summer camp.

While completely unknown (or even imagined!) in essentially all of Jewish history, summer camps in the United States have had an outsized impact on contemporary Judaism. In less than a century, the American Jewish camping movement has grown to include over 70,000 Jewish children a year. In addition to that, study after study has made it indisputable that those who attend a Jewish summer camp as children grow up to become more active, committed members of Jewish communities. Even more than that, these camps have changed the way that we conceptualize Judaism within our synagogues, from how we approach education to the manner in which we participate together in musical worship.

Clearly, Jewish summer camp is not just about recreation.

When the Talmud discusses the teaching I mentioned a moment ago (that parents should teach their children how to swim), it does so in an uncharacteristically terse fashion. Quoting itself, it writes: “And some say, ‘He must teach him to swim in water.’” It then asks, “What is the reason for this additional obligation?” The short, simple, sweet answer the Talmud provides is “chai-yuteih hu”, “It is his life.” The meaning of this seems clear, and were it not to plain enough, Rashi makes it quite explicit: “He must teach him to swim in water: Lest he should [someday] depart in a ship and fall [into the water], and thus be put in a dangerous situation since he would not know how to swim.”

In our modern reality, sending a child to Jewish summer camps has become the new equivalent of teaching him or her how to swim. Like enrolling them in Hillel Academy, bringing them to Shabbat services, or including them in our new Makor program, sending children to Jewish summer camp is a concrete step any parent can take to help ensure that his or her children have the Jewish skills necessary to grow into healthy, well-prepared Jewish adults. Jewish summer camp, no less than any other component of Jewish education, is an experience that is exceptionally important for our Jewish youth. We might even say say: “chai-yuteih hu”—this is an obligation in securing for them a lifelong and fulfilling love of Judaism and an enduring Jewish life!