The Torah Communicates Jewish Truths in So Many Different Ways.

More Thoughts on our Children in Jewish Summer Camps

When Moshe Rabbeinu, Moses our Teacher, presented the Torah to the Jewish people, he gave us a document filled with so many different kinds of teachings and literary styles! Moses and the Rabbis of succeeding generations handed down to us a text containing narrative stories, history, early Jewish law, architecture, census, sacrificial rituals, poetry, and more!

The Sidrah of Balak is possibly the strangest Torah portion from all fifty-four! It is one of only two Torah Sidrot/portions that is named for a non-Jew. The Lubavitch Rabbi in our Pocono vacation community taught that Balak, king of Moab described in this sidrah/portion, was one of the major anti-Semites in Jewish history, a more insidious Jew hater than even Haman! Balaam, a notorious pagan and seer, is hired by Balak to curse the Israelites as they marched through his kingdom of Moab. Balaam owns a donkey who talks back to his master after his master viciously thrashes him. The text describes that the donkey refuses to move after viewing an angel sent by G-d Almighty.

Balaam tells Balak, king of Moab, that he is only able to recite words that he learned from the Jewish G-d. Nevertheless, the king brings Balaam to three different locations in Moab. But instead of cursing the Israelites for which he had been hired, he showers the Israelites with blessings and praises. In the third location, Balaam recites a sentence that has become part of our Shabbat and High Holiday worship to this day: “How goodly are your tents, O Jacob, your dwelling places O Israel/Mah Tovu O-ha-lecha Yaacov, Mishk’notecha Yisrael!” (24:5). The Rabbis expanded on this verse, and the Ma Tovu prayer was placed at the beginning of every Shabbat, Festival, and High Holiday service to this day!

So far, we have read of so many different forms of communicating of G-d’s teachings to Moses and to B’nai Yisrael/Childen of Israel: signs and wonders, the flood, pillars of fire, the Ten Plagues, the Revelation of the Ten Commandments at Mount Sinai, earthquakes, dreams, proclamations, manna from heaven, and now a talking donkey! In this portion, we read the beautiful poetry that the false seer Balaam recites in praise of Israel. There are so many different forms of G-d’s revelation of His law to the Jewish people.

In my last EKI column, I told you about the many Jewish summer day and overnight camps in the Poconos and throughout the USA, where our children spend four to eight weeks living Jewish lives for 24 hours daily, every day for the summer. I told you that every Jewish denomination, Reform, Conservative, Orthodox, and Jewish communal organizations offer camps throughout the USA. Our KI children and young adults attend Camp Harlam, directed by Lisa David, wife of our beloved Rabbi Ben David. Our grandchildren attend a wonderful Jewish day camp at a JCC in New Jersey, and our daughter is associate director of Camp Ramah in the Berkshires, the largest in the Conservative Ramah camping network.

Just as the Torah text offers so many different ways to communicate G-d’s teachings, all of these camps use a variety of the most contemporary high tech devices and programs to teach and communicate with parents what is happening in camp daily and weekly!

When I was a camper, we were required to write a postcard containing 4 or 5 sentences to our parents three times a week. These cards were collected as we entered the dining hall before dinner. Today, parents examine daily the websites and the Facebook posts of the camps for daily pictures of their children. Ellen and I search for photos and videos of our grandchildren as they participate in an endless variety of camp activities. Our daughter is the moderator and narrator for the weekly videos that are on the Ramah Berkshires Facebook page. These videos are photographed and superbly edited by camp staff. They are entertaining, smooth and slick, fun, and so informative of the activities at camp!

Just the way the Torah uses a variety of different teaching modes and literary styles to teach us G-d’s truths, our Jewish camps use an endless variety of contemporary high tech methods to keep us up to date on our children’s and grandchildren’s activities.

I am sure you are enjoying similar glimpses in the lives of your children and grandchildren from their camps.

Ellen and I wish you a cool Shabbat Shalom and a healthful summer!