Attending a Jewish day camp is often seen as icing on the cake, a nice addition to Hebrew school, Jewish communal events and even day school. But for children in many smaller communities, the Chabad-run Gan Israel day camps are often their single point of entry to the richness and beauty of Jewish life.
“I did not have any Jewish education before I attended camp four years ago,” attests 16-year-old Ashley Brauning of Solano County, Calif. “There are no other Jewish people in my school, and I know only one other Jewish person my age in town, so camp opened up my eyes to a beautiful world that I never knew existed.”
Brauning now serves as an assistant counselor at her local Camp Gan Israel, directed by Rabbi Chaim and Aidel Zaklos, who co-founded Chabad-Lubavitch of Solano County in Vacaville, Calif., in 2009. “It’s a lot of work to put together a camp for no more than 20 children,” acknowledges the rabbi, “but every year when the summer ends, I tell myself that this is the most rewarding project we do. The children come out singing Jewish songs, excited to be Jewish and so proud of who they are.”
Operating in a small community with no other social or religious programs for Jewish children, Zaklos says the secret of the camp’s success lies in the counselors, mostly teenage girls from the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn, N.Y., as well as other Chassidic enclaves. “Just being who they are—inspired, excited, warm, caring and loving Chassidic young women has a powerful effect on both the campers and their parents,” says the rabbi.
“For me, getting to know and stay in touch with the counselors has been so special as I grow as a Jew,” concurs Brauning. “The rabbi and his wife are amazing, and they have taught me so much, but it’s really nice to be friends with and learn from people who are closer to my age.”
Brauning says she recites the prayers she learned in camp every morning and evening, and says the blessings before food. “It’s something that has really changed our entire family,” she explains.
“My younger brother went to camp as well, so he has begun saying these prayers, and our mother, who is Jewish, does this as well. Since learning in camp how many kosher products are available in our local grocery, we have begun seeking out kosher food.”
She says they have even starting waiting the requisite period after eating a meat meal before consuming dairy.
‘A Very Homey Feel’
While Chabad had been organizing summer day camps as early as the 1950s, the first official Camp Gan Israel day camp was opened in Minnesota in 1963 as a supplement to the string of overnight camps for boys and girls in New York, Michigan and Montreal.
The Gan Israel day camp (commonly referred to as “Gan Izzy”) has since been replicated in hundreds of communities from India to Indiana, filling an especially crucial need in small communities that do not have many other programs for Jewish children.
In addition to the Jewish education her daughters receive, Lena Raikhman of Brookfield, Wis., says she values the tight-knit group and family atmosphere that small-town Camp Gan Israel provides. “It has a very homey feel,” she says about the Camp Gan Israel directed by Rabbi Levi and Freidy Brook of nearby Waukesha. The Brooks, co-directors of Chabad Lubavitch of Waukesha, minister to the Jewish people living in the sprawling suburbs west of Milwaukee.
“My 10-year-old daughter adores Mrs. Brook and looks forward to it all year long. It showed her that there are other Jews in the area and helped her become comfortable as a Jew living in a non-Jewish environment,” she continues. “And when she experienced anti-Semitism in school this year, she was able to stand up for herself and deal with the issues. That’s something I think she gained from camp.”
More than just extended Hebrew school (in fact, many emissaries emphasize that camp is a time for play and socialization, and not formal learning), the Chabad couples make sure to incorporate lots of entertainment and activities into the schedule. “People come knowing that there are adventures every day,” says Brauning. “The children are always going somewhere, doing something—just having a blast.”
And that, says Zaklos, is the secret to the camp’s international success: “It’s a place where Judaism is fun, and the fun is Jewish.”
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