Camp Ramah ( he, מחנה רמה, Machaneh Ramah) is a network of

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

summer camps affiliated with the Conservative Movement. The camps operate in the United States, Canada, and

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

. All Ramah camps serve

kosher (also or , ) is a set of dietary laws dealing with the foods that Jewish people are permitted to eat and how those foods must be prepared according to Jewish law. Food that may be consumed is deemed kosher ( in English, yi, כּשר), fro ...

food and are ''

Shabbat Shabbat (, , or ; he, שַׁבָּת, Šabbāṯ, , ) or the Sabbath (), also called Shabbos (, ) by Ashkenazim, is Judaism's day of rest on the seventh day of the week—i.e., Saturday. On this day, religious Jews remember the biblical storie ...

''-observant.

History

During the 1940s, the Jewish Theological Seminary established Camp Ramah as a tool for furthering

Jewish education Jewish education ( he, חינוך, ''Chinuch'') is the transmission of the tenets, principles, and religious laws of Judaism. Known as the "people of the book", Jews value education, and the value of education is strongly embedded in Jewish cul ...

. The founders, including Rabbi Ralph Simon of Chicago, envisioned an informal camp setting where Jewish youth would reconnect with the

synagogue A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of worshi ...

and Jewish tradition, and a new cadre of American-born Jewish leadership could be cultivated. The founders of Ramah camps were inspired by

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 ...

and Camp Cejwin. The first camp opened in

Conover, Wisconsin Conover is a town in Vilas County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 1,235 at the 2010 census. The unincorporated community of Conover is located in the town. History The town is named after Seth H. Conover, a descendant of Wolphert ...

in 1947. The program was drawn up by

Moshe Davis Moshe Davis (January 12, 1916 in Brooklyn, New York – April 19, 1996) was a rabbi and a scholar of American Jewish history who taught at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America (JTS) and Hebrew University. Biography He was recipient of a ...

and

Sylvia Ettenberg Sylvia Cutler Ettenberg (July 27, 1917 – June 21, 2012) was a Jewish educator at the forefront of many Conservative Jewish educational initiatives and was one of the founders of the Camp Ramah camping movement. A graduate of Brooklyn College an ...

of the JTS Teachers' Institute. In October 2007, Ettenberg was awarded ''Pras Ramah'' (the Ramah Prize) as part of Ramah's 60th anniversary celebrations. Many of the early staff were ex-

people and JTS students. In 1950, the second Ramah camp opened in the Poconos and in 1953, the third Ramah camp opened in Connecticut (this camp was later moved to Massachusetts). In addition to typical summer camp activities, Ramah camps offer an educational program focusing on Judaism,

Zionism Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after ''Zion'') is a Nationalism, nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is ...

, and

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

-language instruction on different levels. Camp Ramah offers sleep-away camps with an option to stay for either two, four, or eight weeks, day camps with busing, an Israel summer tour program for teenagers, a day camp in

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

for American and Israeli children, and a variety of high school programs in Israel. In addition to its university-aged American counselors, specialists and educators, the staff of each camp is joined by a corps of emissaries from Israel known as the "''mishlachat/מישלחת''".

Educational impact

Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...

researcher, Ariella Keysar, documented a significant impact of Ramah on college students: She found that Ramah graduates were three times more likely to date only Jews, four times more likely to attend synagogue services, and three times as likely as the general Jewish population to spend significant time in Israel. According to the Jewish Agency for Israel, Camp Ramah "is not just a camp, it’s a lifestyle." Among North American '' olim'', one finds communities of former Americans who attended Camp Ramah and reconnected later in life. Many spiritual leaders, social justice advocates, educators, and community board members in North America trace their strong Jewish values and commitment to Judaism to their summers at Ramah. An educational initiative by Camp Ramah produced

Siddur Lev Yisrael Siddur Lev Yisrael is a siddur written by Cheryl Magen and published by the Ktav Publishing House. The siddur was developed in part, as an initiative of Camp Ramah. Lev Yisrael is influenced by the ideology of Conservative Judaism and is the pri ...

, one of the only Conservative siddurim without an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

translation. This is done in support of Ramah's educational mission to emphasize and spread the use of

Overnight camps

Camp Ramah in the Berkshires

Camp Ramah in the Berkshires Camp Ramah in the Berkshires, near Wingdale, New York, is one of nine overnight summer camps and three day camps affiliated with the Conservative Movement of Judaism and the National Ramah Commission. It is accredited by the American Camp Associa ...

(

Wingdale, New York Wingdale is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the town of Dover in Dutchess County, New York, United States. It was first listed as a CDP prior to the 2020 census. The community is in southeastern Dutchess County, in the southern part ...

) is located on Lake Ellis, 90 minutes north of New York City by car. It opened in 1964 and serves the metropolitan New York/New Jersey area.

Camp Ramah in California

Camp Ramah in California (

Ojai, California Ojai ( ; Chumash: ''’Awhaỳ'') is a city in Ventura County, California. Located in the Ojai Valley, it is northwest of Los Angeles and east of Santa Barbara. The valley is part of the east–west trending Western Transverse Ranges and is ...

) is located in the mountains of

, 90 minutes north of Los Angeles by car. It opened in 1956 and aims to serve California and much of the western United States.

Camp Ramah in Canada

Camp Ramah in Canada Camp Ramah in Canada, ( he, מחנה רמה, transliteration=Machaneh Ramah) is a Jewish summer camp located at Skeleton Lake in Utterson in Muskoka, Ontario, approximately two hours north of Toronto. Part of the National Ramah Commission, Rama ...

( Utterson, Ontario) is located in the Muskoka Region of Ontario, two hours north of Toronto, on Skeleton Lake. It opened in 1960 and serves Canada and parts of the northern United States.

Camp Ramah Darom

Camp Ramah Darom (

Clayton, Georgia Clayton is a city in Rabun County, Georgia, United States. Its population was 2,003 at the 2020 census. The county seat of Rabun County, it is in the Blue Ridge Mountains. History The area that eventually became Clayton was called the Dividings ...

) is located in in the

Appalachia Appalachia () is a cultural region in the Eastern United States that stretches from the Southern Tier of New York State to northern Alabama and Georgia. While the Appalachian Mountains stretch from Belle Isle in Newfoundland and Labrador, Ca ...

n Valley near

, 2 hours north of

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

. It opened in 1996 and serves the southern United States.

Camp Ramah in New England

Camp Ramah in New England Camp Ramah in New England (CRNE), located in Palmer, Massachusetts, is one of the oldest Ramah summer camps, organized by a Jewish conservation center. The camp traces its roots to Ramah Connecticut in 1953, followed by Ramah at Glen Spey, and has ...

(

Palmer, Massachusetts Palmer is a city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 12,448 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. Palmer adopted a home rule charter in 2004 with a counci ...

), also known as Ramah Palmer, is located approximately 1½ hours west of

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

and 45 minutes east of

Amherst Amherst may refer to: People * Amherst (surname), including a list of people with the name * Earl Amherst of Arracan in the East Indies, a title in the British Peerage; formerly ''Baron Amherst'' * Baron Amherst of Hackney of the City of London, ...

and

Northampton Northampton () is a market town and civil parish in the East Midlands of England, on the River Nene, north-west of London and south-east of Birmingham. The county town of Northamptonshire, Northampton is one of the largest towns in England; ...

. It opened in 1953 as Camp Ramah Connecticut and serves the New England area as well as DC, Virginia, and parts of New York. Camp Ramah New England also operates the Ramah Day Camp of Greater Washington, DC, a day camp located in Germantown, MD.

Camp Ramah in Northern California

Camp Ramah in Northern California (

Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Gov ...

near

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

), also known as Ramah NorCal or Ramah Galim, opened in 2016. Ramah NorCal is a specialty camp with three tracks, ocean exploration, performing arts, and adventure sports. Camp Ramah in Northern California also hosts a Tikvah program for campers with special needs.

Camp Ramah in the Poconos

Camp Ramah in the Poconos (

Lakewood, Pennsylvania Lakewood is a village in Preston Township, Wayne County, Pennsylvania, United States. Lakewood is on Pennsylvania Route 370 (PA-370), approximately east of Thompson, Pennsylvania and about southwest of Hancock, New York. The Preston Township ...

) is located in the mountain region of Wayne County in Northeastern Pennsylvania, three hours driving time from both New York City and

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

. It opened in 1950 and serves parts of the northeast United States.

Ramah in the Rockies

Ramah in the Rockies (

Sedalia, Colorado Sedalia is an Unincorporated area, unincorporated town, a post office, and a Census-designated place, census-designated place (CDP) located in and governed by Douglas County, Colorado, Douglas County, Colorado, United States. The CDP is a part of ...

) is located in the Rocky Mountains, a camp site 1½–2 hours by car from

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

and Colorado Springs. Ramah Rockies opened in 2010 and is the first Ramah specialty camp, focusing its program on outdoors and environmental education, with a base camp covering 360 acres at 8,000 ft. elevation. In January 2018, BaMidbar Wilderness Therapy launched their 40-day-wilderness program for adults struggling with mental health.

Ramah Sports Academy

Ramah Sports Academy is located in Fairfield,

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

, on the campus of

Fairfield University Fairfield University is a private Jesuit university in Fairfield, Connecticut. It was founded by the Jesuits in 1942. In 2017, the university had about 4,100 full-time undergraduate students and 1,100 graduate students, including full-time ...

. The location offers campers top-level collegiate athletic fields and facilities including gymnasiums, an indoor pool, fitness and conditioning facilities, and more. RSA offers three two-week sessions over the course of the summer. These intensive athletic experiences will take place within the inspiring Jewish environment that has been the hallmark of Ramah camps.

Camp Ramah in Wisconsin

Camp Ramah in Wisconsin Camp Ramah in Wisconsin is a Jewish summer camp based in Conover, Wisconsin, on Upper Lake Buckatabon. The Wisconsin camp was the first of the Ramah camps, established in 1947 by Rabbi Ralph Simon, under the direction of Conservative educator Henr ...

(

) is located in the lake region of Northern Wisconsin, north of Eagle River, from Chicago, and from

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

, on the shores of Lake Buckatabon. It opened in 1947 and serves the midwest United States.

Day camps

Ramah Day Camp in Chicago

Ramah day camp in Chicago is located in

Wheeling, Illinois Wheeling is a village in Cook County, Illinois, Cook and Lake County, Illinois, Lake counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. A suburb of Chicago, it is primarily in Cook County, approximately northwest of downtown Chicago. Per the 2020 United Sta ...

Cook County, Illinois Cook County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of Illinois and the second-most-populous county in the United States, after Los Angeles County, California. More than 40% of all residents of Illinois live within Cook County. As of 20 ...

, northwest of Chicago. It started as a camp called Circle M Day Camp which opened in 1953.

Ramah Day Camp Greater D.C.

Ramah Day Camp Greater DC, which meets at the Wellspring Conference Center in Germantown, Maryland, offers a variety of programming. Campers can specialize in a variety of sports, arts or exploration programs, or they can mix-and-match to sample a variety of activities. Of these aforementioned varieties, live action musical performances from the likes of the Bible Players and other world renowned spiritual artists are included.

Ramah Day Camp in Nyack

Ramah Day Camp in Nyack is located in Nyack, New York, in

Rockland County, New York Rockland County is the southernmost county on the west side of the Hudson River in the U.S. state of New York. It is part of the New York metropolitan area. It is about from the Bronx at their closest points. The county's population, as of t ...

, approximately 45 minutes by car from New York City. An eight-week day camp at which the staff remains overnight, though the campers, ages 5–14, go home every day. Activities for campers include basketball, soccer, hockey, tennis, a low ropes course, a full high ropes course including four rock climbing walls and a zip line, art, woodworking, ceramics, and cooking. A hot kosher lunch is provided daily to the campers, and the staff receive three meals per day. Staff members participate in an intensive program of Jewish learning, leadership development, and social engagement in the afternoons and evenings.

Ramah Day Camp in Philadelphia

Ramah day camp in Philadelphia is located in the Perelman Jewish Day School in

Melrose Park, Pennsylvania Melrose Park is an unincorporated section of Cheltenham Township on the Philadelphia city line in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, It is bordered to the south by Cheltenham Avenue, to the west by Old York Road, to the east by New Second Street ...

. It shares a pool with the Jewish Federation Day Care Center and rents the Olympic-size pool of a nearby apartment complex. Activities include sports, swimming (twice a day – instructional and free), art, drama, nature, cooking, Judaic studies, music, and dance. Special events include

Rick Recht Richard Samuel "Rick" Recht (born August 28, 1970) is an American rock musician who was one of the early pioneers of contemporary Jewish rock music in the early 2000s, performing for Jewish teenage and young adult audiences. Career Recht grew up ...

concerts, Yom Yisrael (a carnival celebrating Israeli culture, history, and people), Maccabiah (

color war Color wars is a competition played in summer camps, schools and some social organizations (such as sororities, fraternities, or small businesses). Participants are divided into teams, each of which is assigned a color. The teams compete against ea ...

), and Yom USA (July 3). Older campers go on overnights, while younger campers have 'undernights.' An arts festival is held at the end of the summer, combining drama, song, and dance.

Ramah Jerusalem Day Camp

The Ramah Jerusalem Day Camp is intended for English-speaking children from abroad and Israel entering kindergarten through eighth grade. The camp is located at the Israel Goldstein Youth Village in the San Simon neighborhood of Jerusalem, surrounded by a security fence. Once each week campers go on outings to tour Jerusalem and its surroundings. The other days campers are involved in fun educational activities on the Goldstein campus, including sports, arts and crafts, music, drama and swimming. Hebrew language is incorporated through activities and songs. Daily Tefillot (prayer services), "Oneg Shabbat" (a culmination of the week) and activities related to the summer theme create an environment of Masorti Jewish tradition that is an important element of all Ramah programs.

Ramah programs in Israel

The Ramah movement’s Israel programs include Ramah Israel Seminar, Tichon Ramah Yerushalayim (TRY), Ramah Israel Institute, Ramah Jerusalem Camps and Ramah MITF (MASA Israel Teaching Fellows)

Ramah Israel Seminar

When campers age out of the Ramah summer camping experience at age 16, they can sign up for the Ramah Seminar in Israel. The six-week program is devoted to exploring the north, south, and center of the country. It is based at two principal sites:

Havat HaNoar HaTzioni Israel Goldstein Youth Village, known in Hebrew as the Havat HaNoar HaTzioni ( he, חוות הנוער הציוני), is a youth village and high school in Jerusalem, Israel. History Havat HaNoar HaTzioni was established in 1949 as a home for 40 ...

in Jerusalem, and the

Hodayot Hodayot ( he, הוֹדָיוֹת) (lit. "Thanksgiving") is a religious boarding school and youth village in northern Israel. Located to the west of the Sea of Galilee, it falls under the jurisdiction of Lower Galilee Regional Council. In it had a ...

youth village, adjacent to

Kibbutz A kibbutz ( he, קִבּוּץ / , lit. "gathering, clustering"; plural: kibbutzim / ) is an intentional community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. The first kibbutz, established in 1909, was Degania. Today, farming h ...

Lavi Lavi ( he, לָבִיא, ''lit.'' Lion) is a kibbutz in northern Israel. Located 310 meters above sea level and 10 minutes from Tiberias, it falls under the jurisdiction of Lower Galilee Regional Council. In it had a population of . History The ...

near the

Sea of Galilee The Sea of Galilee ( he, יָם כִּנֶּרֶת, Judeo-Aramaic: יַמּא דטבריא, גִּנֵּיסַר, ar, بحيرة طبريا), also called Lake Tiberias, Kinneret or Kinnereth, is a freshwater lake in Israel. It is the lowest ...

. The seminar includes an optional ten-day trip to Poland to learn about Jewish life in Eastern Europe before the

Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; a ...

. In 2010, Ramah Israel Seminar offered a second optional program, "Yarok," (Green) focusing on the environment.

Tichon Ramah Yerushalayim (TRY)

Students in grades 10–12 may choose to come on a two-month track (USY High) or a four-month track (TRY) in the spring semester. The highlight of the program is the intensive Israel Core Course, an 18-credit-hour study of Israel from ancient times to the present, and which includes both fieldwork and engaging classwork. All studies are accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools, with all AP courses certified through the College Board's AP Course Audit program.

Tikvah special needs programs

Ramah in New England offers inclusion bunks for special-needs and mainstream youngsters, stand-alone bunks, and a vocational training program for older children and adults. There are bunks with entrances that can accommodate motorized scooters, barrier-free bathrooms, and paved roads suitable for wheelchairs.

Program for bereaved children

Since 2003, the Friends of the Israel Defense Forces association has sponsored a summer camp program, ''Moreshet'', for Israeli children who have lost a parent or sibling in a war or terrorist attack. The children spend the summer at Jewish sleep-away camps in the United States. In 2007, Camp Ramah in the Berkshires hosted 50 campers and staff members. The program continued in 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2016.

Notable staff and alumni

* B. J. Novak, actor/writer/comedian/director (''

The Office ''The Office'' is a mockumentary sitcom created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, first made in the United Kingdom, then Germany, and subsequently the United States. It has since been remade in ten other countries. The original series of ...

'') *

Ethan Slater Ethan Samuel Slater (born June 2, 1992) is an American actor, singer, and composer, best known for his role as SpongeBob SquarePants in the musical of the same name, for which he received a Tony Award nomination and won a Drama Desk Award in ...

, actor (''

SpongeBob SquarePants ''SpongeBob SquarePants'' (or simply ''SpongeBob'') is an American animated comedy television series created by marine science educator and animator Stephen Hillenburg for Nickelodeon. It chronicles the adventures of the title character a ...

'') *

, Jewish-American rock musician * Max Bemis, singer/songwriter of the band Say Anything *

Ben Bernanke Ben Shalom Bernanke ( ; born December 13, 1953) is an American economist who served as the 14th chairman of the Federal Reserve from 2006 to 2014. After leaving the Fed, he was appointed a distinguished fellow at the Brookings Institution. Durin ...

, Chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve * Wolf Blitzer, journalist * Joel Chasnoff, stand-up comedian and author *

Ted Deutch Theodore Eliot Deutch ( ; born May 7, 1966) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative from Florida's 22nd congressional district from 2010 to 2022. His district, numbered as ...

, United States

Congressman A Member of Congress (MOC) is a person who has been appointed or elected and inducted into an official body called a congress, typically to represent a particular constituency in a legislature. The term member of parliament (MP) is an equivalen ...

* Michael Dell, Founder & CEO,

Dell Computers Dell is an American based technology company. It develops, sells, repairs, and supports computers and related products and services. Dell is owned by its parent company, Dell Technologies. Dell sells personal computers (PCs), servers, data ...

* Glenn Fine, Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Justice *

Moshe Greenberg Moshe Greenberg (Hebrew: משה גרינברג; July 10, 1928 – May 15, 2010) was an American rabbi, Bible scholar, and professor emeritus of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Biography Isaac Herzog Isaac "Bougie" Herzog ( he, יצחק "בוז׳י" הרצוג, Yitskhak "Buzhi" Hertsog; born 22 September 1960) is an Israeli politician who has been serving as the 11th president of Israel since 2021. He is the first president to be born in ...

, President-Elect of the State of Israel *

Michael Levin Michael Levin (; born 21 May 1943) is an American philosopher and writer. He is professor emeritus of philosophy at City University of New York. He has published on metaphysics, epistemology, race, homosexuality, animal rights, the philosophy o ...

, paratrooper in the

Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; he, צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the Israel, State of Israel. It consists of three servic ...

. Died during the

2006 Lebanon War The 2006 Lebanon War, also called the 2006 Israel–Hezbollah War and known in Lebanon as the July War ( ar, حرب تموز, ''Ḥarb Tammūz'') and in Israel as the Second Lebanon War ( he, מלחמת לבנון השנייה, ''Milhemet Leva ...

after making

aliyah Aliyah (, ; he, עֲלִיָּה ''ʿălīyyā'', ) is the immigration of Jews from Jewish diaspora, the diaspora to, historically, the geographical Land of Israel, which is in the modern era chiefly represented by the Israel, State of Israel ...

, and is regarded as a hero for his actions. *

Caissie Levy Caissie Levy (born April 15, 1981) is a Canadian-American actress and singer, mainly known for her work in musical theatre on Broadway and in the West End. Her early Broadway credits included Penny Pingleton in ''Hairspray'' and Sheila in ''Hair ...

, Canadian stage actress and singer (''

Wicked Wicked may refer to: Books * Wicked, a minor character in the ''X-Men'' universe * ''Wicked'', a 1995 novel by Gregory Maguire that inspired the musical of the same name * ''Wicked'', the fifth novel in Sara Shepard's ''Pretty Little Liars'' ser ...

'', ''

Hair Hair is a protein filament that grows from follicles found in the dermis. Hair is one of the defining characteristics of mammals. The human body, apart from areas of glabrous skin, is covered in follicles which produce thick terminal and f ...

'', ''

Ghost A ghost is the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that is believed to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to rea ...

'', ''

Rent Rent may refer to: Economics *Renting, an agreement where a payment is made for the temporary use of a good, service or property *Economic rent, any payment in excess of the cost of production *Rent-seeking, attempting to increase one's share of e ...

'', and ''

Hairspray Hairspray may refer to: * Hair spray, a personal grooming product that keeps hair protected from humidity and wind * ''Hairspray'' (1988 film), a film by John Waters ** ''Hairspray'' (1988 soundtrack), the film's soundtrack album ** ''Hairspray ...

'') *

David Lieber David L. Lieber (1925-2008), rabbi and scholar, was president emeritus of the University of Judaism (now known as the American Jewish University)

, rabbi and scholar * Dahlia Lithwick, journalist * Daniel Mann, actor *

Daniel C. Matt Daniel Chanan Matt is a scholar of Kabbalah and a professor at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley. He received his Ph.D. from Brandeis University and taught at Stanford University and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Matt is best known f ...

Kabbalah Kabbalah ( he, קַבָּלָה ''Qabbālā'', literally "reception, tradition") is an esoteric method, discipline and Jewish theology, school of thought in Jewish mysticism. A traditional Kabbalist is called a Mekubbal ( ''Məqūbbāl'' "rece ...

scholar * Debra Messing, film, television, and theatre actress *

Laura Miller Laura Miller (born November 18, 1958) is an American journalist and politician who served as the 58th mayor of Dallas, Texas from 2002 through 2007. She decided not to run for re-election in 2007. She was the third woman to serve as mayor of Da ...

, Mayor of Dallas, Texas *

Edwin Minden Edwin B. "Ted" Minden is a Canadian judge on the Ontario Superior Court of Justice. On the recommendation of then-Attorney General and Minister of Justice Allan Rock, Justice Minden was nominated for the court in 1996 by then-Prime Minister Jean C ...

, Canadian judge * Jerrold Nadler, U.S. Congressman *

Ben Platt Benjamin Schiff Platt (born September 24, 1993) is an American actor, singer, and songwriter. He began his acting career in musical theater as a child and appeared in productions of ''The Sound of Music'' (2006) and ''The Book of Mormon'' (201 ...

, Tony Award-winning actor *

Marc E. Platt Marc E. Platt (born April 14, 1957) is an American producer who has worked in film, theatre, and television. He has received numerous accolades including two Tony Awards, two Primetime Emmy Awards, as well as nominations for three Academy Awards ...

, film, television, and theatre producer *

Chaim Potok Chaim Potok (February 17, 1929 – July 23, 2002) was an American author and rabbi. His first book ''The Chosen'' (1967), was listed on ''The New York Times’'' best seller list for 39 weeks and sold more than 3,400,000 copies. Biography H ...

, Director of Ramah in California before embarking on career as a writer *

Samuel Schafler Samuel Schafler (February 20, 1929 – April 3, 1991) was a New York-born rabbi, historian, editor and Jewish educator. He was Superintendent of the Board of Jewish Education of Metropolitan Chicago and President of Hebrew College in Brookl ...

, Rabbi, historian, editor, and Jewish educator * Steve Silberman, writer *

Abby Stein Abby Chava Stein (born October 1, 1991) is an American transgender author, activist, blogger, model, speaker, and rabbi. She is the first openly transgender woman raised in a Hasidic community, and is a direct descendant of Hasidic Judaism's fo ...

transgender A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Many transgender people experience dysphoria, which they seek to alleviate through tr ...

reality star and activist, and Jewish educator. * Jake Tapper, journalist and author; previously ABC, currently CNN * Henry Waxman, U.S. congressman

References

External links

*
"Research Findings on the Impact of Camp Ramah," 2004

Ramah Programs in Israel

Conservative Survey Shows Ramah Kids Have More Frum

Bunk 19, Forever: Reuniting After 58 Years
{{Conservative Judaism Conservative Judaism Ramah