Camp Massad of Canada ( he, מַחֲנֶה מַסָד, ) is a Zionist Jewish summer camp in

Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts is a town in the province of Quebec, Canada, in the regional county municipality of Les Laurentides in the administrative region of Laurentides, also known as the "Laurentians" or the Laurentian Mountains (in English). Sai ...

, Quebec, with

headquarters Headquarters (commonly referred to as HQ) denotes the location where most, if not all, of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. In the United States, the corporate headquarters represents the entity at the center or the to ...

in Montreal. It was founded in 1947, with the creation of Massad Alef on Lac Quenouille in the Laurentian Mountains. At its peak Massad had nearly 400 campers. Camp Massad has a long tradition of Hebrew language immersion. It is shomer Shabbat and has a kosher kitchen under the

supervision Supervision is an act or instance of directing, managing, or oversight. Etymology The English noun "supervision" derives from the two Latin words "super" (above) and "videre" (see, observe). Spelling The spelling is "Supervision" in Standard E ...

of the Montreal Va'ad Ha'ir. Massad attracts campers of various Jewish backgrounds from Montreal and other parts of Canada, various cities in the United States, Israel, and many other places throughout the world. Camp Massad is a member of the

Foundation for Jewish Camp The Foundation for Jewish Camp (FJC), formerly known as the Foundation for Jewish Camping, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit serving North America. It serves as an advocate and resource for nonprofit Jewish camp professionals, lay leaders, families and oth ...

and the Ontario Camps Association.

History

Early history

Camp Massad was founded in 1947 by the

Keren Hatarbut Ha'Ivri Camp Massad of Canada ( he, מַחֲנֶה מַסָד, ) is a Zionist Jewish summer camp in Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts, Quebec, with headquarters in Montreal. It was founded in 1947, with the creation of Massad Alef on Lac Quenouille in the Laurentia ...

under the leadership of Aron Horowitz and a small group of Canadian Hebraists. Horowitz had previously founded Camp T'chiyah in

Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...

in 1944, the first Hebrew-speaking summer camp in Canada. Massad's first president, Isaac Gold, invested three thousand dollars as a deposit for a camp-site at Lac Quenouille in the Laurentians. With the assistance of Gold and other philanthropists, Massad grew from a small camp-site with no pier, no level ground for sports, few showers, a short supply of drinking water, and one hall for both dining and activities. In its first summer, Massad had eighty campers. In the camp's second season the number applicants more than doubled, and Massad could only accept 150 campers. Campers were divided into four age groups: ''Chalutsim'', ''Olim'', ''Bonim'', and ''Shomrim''. Following the Histadrut HaNoar Ha'Ivri's American Massad movement, the groups were soon renamed ''Shoresh'' (), ''Geza'' (), ''Anaf'' (), and ''Tzameret'' ().

Growth and development

With the success of Massad Alef, a second Massad camp, Massad Bet, was opened by the Keren Hatarbut in 1950 in the

Muskoka Muskoka may refer to: Canada Geographical * Lake Muskoka, lake located between Port Carling and Gravenhurst, Ontario, Canada * Muskoka River, a river in the Muskoka District of Ontario, Canada Municipalities * District Municipality of Muskoka, a r ...

region north of Toronto under the directorship of David Taub, with the assistance of Massad Alef alumni. The new camp, lacking in funding and witness to constant turnovers of camp directors, was closed in 1977. Massad Gimmel in Winnipeg was officially incorporated as a branch of the Hebrew Camps Massad of Canada in 1962. In 1955, with backing from the Jewish Agency, Keren Hatarbut established a Machon l'Madrichim (; or ) program for youth leaders from Hebrew high schools across Canada in conjunction with Camp Massad and the Hebrew Youth Movement. The Machon program consisted of three summers of extensive training, along with the requirement of attending the National Leadership Institute in the city throughout the three years. Graduates served as leaders and counsellors in all three Massad camps, and at other Canadian Zionist youth movements. Originally, the first month of the summer program was held at Massad Bet, and the second at Massad Alef. The Machon program was moved to Massad Alef after its first year, primarily because of inadequate facilities at Massad Bet. Registration for the second year had reached fifty. In 1958, Massad held its first trip to Israel, becoming the first Hebrew-speaking youth group from the

Diaspora A diaspora ( ) is a population that is scattered across regions which are separate from its geographic place of origin. Historically, the word was used first in reference to the dispersion of Greeks in the Hellenic world, and later Jews after ...

to visit Israel. In 1959, Aron Horowitz proposed the building of a second unit across the road from the original camp-site for the accommodation of Massad and Machon l'Madrichim's growth. Galil was opened in time for the 1959 season. Camps Emek and Galil were two self-sufficient camps, the former for

elementary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ed ...

students, the latter for high school students, who entered the Machon program at age fourteen. By 1963, Emek and Galil had a total of 249 campers, 108 of whom were members of the Machon l'Madrichim. The number rose to about 370 campers in the mid-1960s.

Late 20th century

In 1964 the Keren Hatarbut was absorbed by the United Zionist Council, and again by the

Zionist Organization of Canada Canadian Zionist Federation (Hebrew language, Hebrew: הפדרציה הציונית של קנדה), or CZF, is a Nonprofit organization that promotes Zionism. It was founded as the Federation of Zionist Societies of Canada (FZSC: 1899-1921) two year ...

under the Canadian Zionist Federation in 1971. Massad, left without the aid of the Keren Hatarbut, lost its financial backing. Massad Alef's enrolment had fallen to sixty children in 1971, though it had picked up to ninety-five in 1973. In 1974 the Zionist Organization of Canada resolved to close Camp Massad, to the shock of camp leadership and the Canadian Jewish community. A group of Massad alumni led by David Finestone and Moe Bauman prevented the closure by incorporating Massad as an independent company, ensuring it would not be included in the Zionist Organization of Canada's take-over of the Keren Hatarbut. In the mid-1970s, the Galil ''

ulam Ulam may refer to: * ULAM, the ICAO airport code for Naryan-Mar Airport, Russia * Ulam (surname) * Ulam (salad), a type of Malay salad * ''Ulam'', a Filipino term loosely translated to viand or side dish; see Tapa (Filipino cuisine) * Ulam, the l ...

'' (named after Isaac Gold) collapsed, fire had taken some bunks, and most of the facilities were in need of repair and renovation. The Canadian Zionist Federation and Allied Jewish Community rejected pleas for assistance. Nonetheless, Massad succeeded in improving its facilities and increasing enrolment. The summer of 1974 saw 143 campers and a staff of 38.

Recent history

Though the camp no longer enforces total immersion of campers in Hebrew, Camp Massad remains a strongly Hebrew-speaking, Zionist camp. Along with

Camp Massad Camp Massad may refer to: * Camp Massad (Manitoba), a Jewish summer camp at Winnipeg Beach, Manitoba * Camp Massad (Montreal), a Jewish summer camp in Ste. Agathe, Quebec, based in Montreal * Camp Massad (Poconos) Camp Massad ( he, מַחֲנֶה ...

in Manitoba (formerly Massad Gimmel), Camp Massad is the only remaining camp of the Massad movement and its American counterpart.

Activities

The summer is climaxed by the Maccabiah colour war, where the camp is divided into two teams competing against each other in sport and spirit, and Ma'apilim, a night-time

re-enactment Reenactment or re-enactment may refer to: Legislation * Consolidation bill, a bill that consolidates several Acts of Parliament into a single Act in the United Kingdom * Repeal with reenactment, where a law is replaced with one more suitable Oth ...

of Jewish immigration during the '' Aliyah Bet''.

Notable alumni

Bernard Avishai Bernard Avishai is an Adjunct Professor of Business at Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He lives in Jerusalem and the United States. He has taught at Duke University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and Dartmouth College, and wa ...

(1949– ), writer * Irwin Cotler (1940– ), Minister of Justice *

Charles Dalfen Charles Marvin "Chuck" Dalfen (February 23, 1943 – May 26, 2009) was the chairperson of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) serving from January 1, 2002, to the end of his term on December 31, 2006. Born in ...

(1943–2009), chairman of the CRTC * Gilah Yelin Hirsch (1944– ), artist * Gad Horowitz (1936– ), political scientist *

Chaviva Hošek Chaviva Milada Hošek, ; (born 6 October 1946) is a Canadian academic, feminist and former politician. Background Hošek was born in Chomutov, Czechoslovakia. Her mother was imprisoned in Auschwitz during World War II. The family initially mov ...

(1946– ), academic and politician * Henry Morgentaler (1923–2013), camp doctor *

Allan Nadler Allan L. Nadler (born May 8, 1954) is Wallerstein Professor Emeritus of Religious Studies and Former Director of the Jewish Studies Program at Drew University in Madison, New Jersey. Biography Nadler was born in Montreal, Quebec, and was educated ...

(1954– ), academic * Mark J. Poznansky (1946– ), scientist *

Linda Rabin Linda Rabin (born September 28, 1946) is a Canadian dancer, choreographer and educator. The daughter of Max Rabin, a clothing salesman, and Mina Rosen, a Polish immigrant, she was born in Montreal. Rabin studied modern dance with José Limón, wit ...

(1946– ), dancer and choreographer *

Robert Rabinovitch Robert Rabinovitch (born March 1, 1943) is a Canadian public servant and businessman who was President and Chief Executive Officer of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation

(1943– ), President of the CBC *

Victor Rabinovitch Victor Rabinovitch was the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Canadian Museum of Civilization Corporation (2000 – 2011), which is responsible for two of Canada’s national museums: the Canadian Museum of Civilization and the Canadian Wa ...

, museum director *

David Roskies David G. Roskies (Yiddish: דוד ראָסקיס; born 1948, Montreal) is an internationally recognized Canadian literary scholar, cultural historian and author in the field of Yiddish literature and the culture of Ashkenazi Jews, Eastern European ...

(1948– ), literary scholar * William Shatner (1931– ), actor *

Morton Weinfeld Morton Irwin Weinfeld (born 1949) is a Canadian sociologist, who has conducted studies on Canadian Jewry. He is chair in Canadian ethnic studies and former chairman of the sociology department at McGill University. Weinfeld was born to Polish Jew ...

(1949– ), sociologist * Ruth Wisse (1936– ), literary scholar

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Massad (Montreal) 1947 establishments in Quebec Buildings and structures in Laurentides Montreal Jewish education in Canada Jewish organizations based in Canada Jewish summer camps in Canada Jewish youth organizations Jews and Judaism in Montreal Jews and Judaism in Quebec Organizations established in 1947 Summer camps in Canada Zionism in Canada Zionist youth movements