Dear Friends,
This week we were privileged to take a group of 21 of our Jteens on a camping trip in upstate NY, and we must share our experience.
As you may know, this is not the first time we have gone camping with young people, in fact we do this about six times every summer with Fair Lawn Jewish Day Camp with our Adventure camp and pioneer divisions, and the kids really enjoy learning independence, socialization, meeting new people, and enjoying new experiences.
On camp trips with younger kids we have many rules to ensure the safety of the children. One big rule we have is about not having cell phones, to ensure that kids socialize and enjoy the outdoors instead of being stuck to their devices. Counselors are charged with keeping kids safe and implementing these rules.
But this trip was different - Jteens are in high school. Most of the teens are camp alumni and we have known them for many years since they have been children. Many also participated in those camp trips before when they were much younger.
However, on this teen trip, there were no rules about cell phones, and I have to say, these two days showed us how special our teens really are.
Throughout the trip our teens demonstrated independence, doing responsible things without even being asked, setting up and helping each other, proper etiquette during meals, cleaning up, and saying please and thank you.
Most of all, was so inspiring to see 21 teens sit together for hours, first in some great social games, and then around the fire talking, asking questions, discussing deep philosophical ideas, and showing respect to those who were in disagreement.
And here is the best part. There were no phones being used at these times, everyone was involved, talking and enjoying each other's company, with zero electronic distractions, and all this without a single rule of “no phones”.
This continued throughout the night into the morning, through breakfast, and cleaning up our tents and areas and preparing to leave. Teens were independent, kind, thoughtful and helpful, without even being asked or told to do so.
Our point? We have awesome young people in our community who have great parents that educate them and raise them with values.
Our teens have a great interest in Judaism, questions and conversations were deep and intellectual and on an adult level of understanding.
Parents, continue to do what you are doing. Be involved in your kids' lives, take interest in them, and continue to role-model Jewish morals and ethics to them. We have a strong Jewish teen community here, let’s work together to continue to grow and accomplish great things! And we can confidently say that our teens are the proud educated Jews of the next generation and will be the ones to bring about a better world with the coming of Moshiach!
Sincerely,
Rabbi Mendel & Elke Zaltzman
